Bishops walk in the steps of the Good Shepherd

By Patricia Kasten
Compass Associate Editor

"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want."

Today, this familiar 23rd Psalm is most often associated with trials, suffering and death. However, it is also associated with the Good Shepherd, Jesus. And through Jesus, who sent his apostles into the world to teach and baptize all nations, that psalm extends its image of a shepherd to all bishops.

As Vatican II taught: "Bishops, as successors of the apostles, receive from the Lord, to whom was given all power in heaven and on earth, the mission to teach all nations and to preach the Gospel to every creature, so that all people may attain salvation by faith, baptism and the fulfillment of the commandments" (LG 24).

The image of a caring, watchful shepherd is ancient in the traditions of our faith. From Abel to Abraham to King David, the Lord has led his people through those who knew about shepherding. In fact, as Scripture scholars Sulpician Fathers Michael Barre, and John Kselman, note, the image of shepherd-kings was the ideal for rulers throughout most of the ancient Middle East.

In exploring Psalm 23, which traditionally dates to the time of King David (about 1,000 BC), we can gain insight into the modern role of the bishops who follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Doing so through the image of a crosier, the ceremonial staff of a bishop that resembles a shepherd's crook, brings a bishop's role into clearer focus.

"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want."

Adonai ro'i lo echsar (Hebrew).

Even today, on the back roads of Israel, you can see shepherds, carrying staffs and leading sheep. Unlike Western society, where animals are herded from behind by horse, dog and even truck, sheep in Israel follow their staff-holding shepherd, led by his voice. In the same way, the bishop uses his preaching office to lead his flock.

"He makes me lie down in green pastures,

"He leads me beside restful waters; he restores my soul."

In Isaiah, we hear that the Lord will shepherd us, feeding us and gathering the weak in his arms (Is 40:11). To feed sheep, a shepherd sometimes draws hay out of storage, pulling it free with his crook. In the same way, a bishop feeds his flock with the stored wisdom of church teachings (traditions).

"He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

Shepherds' crooks often have both a curved top, which can hook a straying sheep and pull it back into the herd, and a pointed foot. This prod is used to goad lazy sheep. Many crosiers also have a pointed foot. As the Catholic Encyclopedia describes such a crosier, "the end is sharp and pointed wherewith to prick and goad the slothful, the middle is straight to signify righteous rule, while the head is bent or crooked in order to draw in and attract souls to the ways of God." In this image, we see a bishop's twin roles of teacher and leader.

"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I shall fear no evil, for you are with me;

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

A leader also protects, which is why a bishop carries his crosier with the crook facing forward. (An abbot or abbess carries a crosier, but theirs are turned backwards to indicate the internal community they lead, as opposed to the more universal nature of a bishop's role.)

"You prepare a table before me in the sight of my foes.

"You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows."

The shepherd's staff brings food as well as healing (comfort). In the same way the Lord - through his shepherds bring us food - the Eucharist - and healing - through the sacraments. Many of the sacraments contain oil, a major ingredient in ancient medicines. Through the bishop, the power of the sacraments comes from Christ to the flock. A Latin rite bishop's crosier does not as clearly symbolize this as the crosiers of many Eastern rite bishops; their crosiers are often topped with two twined and facing serpents, looking up at a cross. These snakes resemble the medical symbol, the caduceus. However, a caduceus derives from Greek legends of a healer god, Asclepius. The serpent staff of bishops serves to remind us of Moses who, at God's command, made a bronze serpent and put it on a pole to heal the straying Israelites (Num 21:6-9).

"Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever."

The bishops act in Jesus' name, feeding lambs and tending sheep as Jesus told Peter to do (Jn 21:15-17). However, their final job is to lead us to the Good Shepherd who promises, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one shall take them out of my hand" (Jn 10:27-28).