January 21

Peace be with you! This morning I had the privilege of sharing the “Parable of the Good Shepherd” Godly Play story with our four and five-year-old day school students during chapel. This parable of Jesus says the Good Shepherd shows his sheep to the good grass and the cool, clear, still water. The Good Shepherd also shows his sheep how to go through the places of danger. If one of his sheep is missing, the Good Shepherd would go anywhere to look for the lost sheep. At the end of the story, the children and I wondered together. We wondered why our church and school share the name “Good Shepherd”. The children said Good Shepherd was our name because they were good and because the people here are good.  One of our young parishioners, Benji Cameron, added, “we have the name Good Shepherd because we have so many good people here who go out and make the world a better place for everyone.”

I love that our children can feel and name the goodness in themselves and in the people of Good Shepherd. This tells me that the people in our church and school communities are living the Gospel in our daily work together. Guided by the love ethic of Jesus and our baptismal promises, our people are striving to see Christ in each other and to respect the dignity of every person. Benji wisely knows that seeing the good in ourselves and in each other has the power to change the world.

I give thanks to God for all of the good people in our community!

We hope to see you this Sunday!