“When a blind man carries a lame man, both go forwards”

I’m not nor ever have been a farmer. A cat and currently a carer for my grandson’s tortoise is as far as my husbandry skills extend. However, it’s lambing time and if we venture a short journey out of the suburbs, we soon see ewes and lambs enjoying a natural, close relationship in the fields and meadows. All this under the watchful and experienced eye of the farmer.

In yesterday’s gospel, Jesus tells us that he is the good Shepherd who cares for his sheep. Like the ewes in the meadows protectively watching their lambs, Christ has an all-seeing eye on us. He is committed to our care, to our well being. He knows the dangers that face us, he knows the safe routes and will show us the way through.

All of us face tricky situations sometimes in our lives – some seemingly more than others. Perhaps what will make us stronger is to assume the role of the shepherd rather than the sheep, so that we support the worried, the sick, the neglected, the lonely. We can listen to and support them, we can fight their corner. We can stand for justice.

“When a blind man carries a lame man, both go forwards.” (Swedish proverb)