Tale of the Loving Shepherd

The teacher told his disciples the tale of a loving shepherd...

"Sometimes love wounds those she loves the most," he said. "When a lamb won't stop wandering away, the shepherd breaks her leg so she can't walk far from his side. And so, he protects her by hurting her and he rescues her from herself by sending her a suffering most kind."

And the students nodded.

"But who in the story are you?" he asked them. "The shepherd or the sheep?"

And some said one thing and others said another.

Finally, the teacher said, "We are both the shepherd and the sheep, but we do not wish to be either."

And one of the students in the back of the room added, "So is God. But he is willing to be both."

Then the master handed his staff to that student and sat at her feet, as a child sits before his mother.

Excerpted from Sailing Between The Stars by Steven James