False shepherds
I was preaching yesterday on John 10:1-15 (which is 2/3 of the Good Shepherd passage). Naturally, Ezekiel 34 was the OT reading. In both there is criticism of false shepherds who abuse and harm the sheep; in Ezekiel the particular charge is that the bad shepherds “eat the curds, clothe [themselves] with the wool and slaughter the choice animals” without care for the sheep.
Later I was reading the Sunday Telegraph and found this article about some of Iran’s clerics. The summary says it all:
“The Ayatollah Khomenei brought millions on to the streets of Iran to overthrow the decadence of the Shah. Now the late leader’s grandsons and other Iranian clerics face a backlash over their families’ fondness for fast cars, big houses and hot tubs.”
(NB the sermon is here)
“Dying, to give us life.
Weak, to make us strong.
Tormented, to give us peace.
Broken, to bind up the broken-hearted.
Lonely, abandoned and naked, that we might have life in all its fullness.”
Preach it brother!