I take the place of watchman for the souls who've lost their way

I take the place of watchman for the souls who’ve lost their way

You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me.  If I tell the wicked man that he shall surely die, and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked man from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death.   But if you warn the wicked man, trying to turn him from his way, and he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but you shall save yourself.  (Ez 33: 7 -9).

Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture, says the Lord.  Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, against the shepherds who shepherd my people:  You have scattered my sheep and driven them away.  You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds.  I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands to which I have driven them and bring them back to their meadow; there they shall increase and multiply.  I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear and tremble; and none shall be missing, says the Lord.  (Jer 23: 1 - 4).

Wow!  The very words for the Lord who places shepherds as watchmen over his flock and they do not adhere to his demand of caring for them.  Who among us, as shepherds, would refuse to care for their sheep as in the two warnings from Ezekial and Jeremiah?  Jesus was very forthcoming with the requirement as a shepherd:  “I am the good shepherd.  A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them.  This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.  I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.”  (Jn 10: 11 - 15).

Is the premise of how important it is for those chosen and accepting the role of an ordained ministry carries with it the responsibility to make an accounting of our ministry to care for the flock of Christ?  Many of the watchmen from Ezekial and Jeremiah did not.  The refusal of a minister with Holy Orders that is not leading and correcting his flock when they drift away may 

Take upon their own souls a punishment not given to other people in the Church.  Those of us who received this sacrament knew, or should have realized, accepting this sacrament and its requirements goes further than a certain respect for our position as clerics.  God calls those to ministry as deacons, priests, and bishops for the salvation of their flock no matter what level of authority we may have.  I have mentioned before that our judgment before Christ will have a more stern questioning as what we did for the sheep we acquired as shepherds.  Personal sin from weakness of the flesh is one that God will deal with, but to deliberately refuse to take care of your flock will be another matter, and something we who are ordained must remember.  To what else are we chosen for than to look after the sheep and ward off the wolves of the world.

Ralph B. Hathaway