A good shepherd is a wonder in contrapposto, an artistmapping the Serengeti with kingdom lines. A good shepherd angles a lion’s eye, traps gazellesin dry fields, copies a cheetah’s spots one leg at a time. A good shepherd does not give you stoneswhen you ask for toast, does not ask you to work without a burningContinue reading “For the Shepherd Who Is Also the Path the Sun Makes in Daytime”
Tag Archives: John 10
I Am the Door of the Sheepfold
I am the door of the sheepfold.Not one that’s gently hinged or deftly hung,Not like the ones you planed at Joseph’s place,Not like the well-oiled openings that swungSo easily for Pilate’s practiced pace,Not like the ones that closed in Mary’s faceFrom house to house in brimming Bethlehem,Not like the one that no man may assail,TheContinue reading “I Am the Door of the Sheepfold”
I know my sheep and am known of mine
During the riots in Palestine in the middle thirties, a village near Haifa was condemned to collective punishment by having its sheep and cattle sequestrated by the Government. The inhabitants, however, were permitted to redeem their possessions at a fixed price. Among them was an orphan shepherd boy, whose six or eight sheep and goatsContinue reading “I know my sheep and am known of mine”
O Night brighter than day!
O Miracle! Hades has swallowed Christ the Lord and has not digested him. The lion has devoured the lamb, and has not stomached him. Death has swallowed life and has vomited in nausea, even those which it has previously devoured. The giant could not bear the dead Christ. The corpse was dreadful to the giant.Continue reading “O Night brighter than day!”
The sheep’s only security is the shepherd
Sheep have a special problem. They have no defenses. Cats have teeth, claws and speed. Dogs have their teeth and their speed. Horses can kick, bite and run. Bears can claw, bite and crush. Deer can run. But the sheep have no bite or claws and cannot outrun any serious predator. They can butt otherContinue reading “The sheep’s only security is the shepherd”
Locus Communis 