American author Julia Ward Howe is remembered chiefly for her poem “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” According to her daughter, Howe once invited her friend US Senator Charles Sumner to meet a rising young actor. But he declined her invitation, saying, “I don’t know that I should care to meet him. I have outlived my interest in individuals.” Julia later wrote in her diary “Fortunately, God Almighty had not, by last account, gotten so far.”
Be glad on this Yom Kippur that the Lord
hasn’t gotten beyond caring about people.
In fact, the Ribbono shel Olam, the Master of the Universe, is
interested in every individual member of the human family. In the prayer Unetaneh Tokef we declare “On this day we all pass before You, one
by one, like a flock of sheep. As a shepherd searches for his flock, and has
his sheep pass under his staff, so You review every living being…”
Rabbi Elie Kaunfer explains the line “‘As a
shepherd searches for his flock, and has his sheep pass under his staff…’ The
beginning of this line (As a shepherd searches for his flock) recalls the
intimate image of the relationship between God and Israel presented in Ezekiel
34:12. There God acts as shepherd to stray sheep, which are explicitly compared
to the most vulnerable of society: the sick, the injured, and lost. God
castigates Israel for not tending this flock and steps in as the ultimate
shepherd to seek out the lost and neglected. It is at once an image of intimacy
with the downtrodden and a critique of the powerful. This is not an impartial, unfeeling
judge, but a justice demanding shepherd.” (Who by Fire, Who by Water
edited by Rabbi Lawrence A Hoffman, page 99) I would add continuing with this
metaphor that our Shephard is a most compassionate judge.
Are you a lost sheep needing God to find you?
Call out to Him today. Remember, you matter to God.
No comments:
Post a Comment