These seem like natural traits, the kinds of things that come without thinking or having to do anything to achieve them. And yet, the prophet Jeremiah reminds us that we will need leaders, shepherds who remind us of our principle purpose. But some shepherds will destroy and scatter the sheep. “Woe to them,” Jeremiah says and then reminds those shepherds that God has said, “It is you who have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings.” Our gifts for leadership are sometimes compromised and not used for God’s true purposes. The unfortunate choices we make scatter the flock, and God will attend to our sinfulness. But the exciting thing is what Go d does next. God will gather the remnant out of all the places that the flock has been driven. God will bring them back to the fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. God will then raise up the leaders who can lead them and they will no longer be afraid, and no one will be missing.

This passage has so many possibilities for interpretation today. For Jeremiah, it had consequences for both church and state as he knew them. There was little separation back then. The people believed that God governed not only heavenly affairs, but was directly involved in their affairs as a community and as a nation. In this passage, we can surely see a little of what’s being said about the church. Believe you me, we all want to see pastors who are capable of leading the church – especially now as culture and beliefs and worldviews are changing all around us. And though I feel deeply called to the task of spiritual shepherd, I am reassured by this message that it’s a task that I’m not called to do alone. We see the need for a few of God’s appointed shepherds to guide our nation too. The American people feel scattered, driven apart, separated. Who will be the leaders, the shepherds who can unite us in righteousness that goes far beyond the political divides?

The reality is that we, as humans, are all more sheep than shepherd, and I like to think of this as good news. God will take note of our good and bad leadership qualities, but it’s more important that we follow the true shepherd than try to be shepherds on our own. The emphasis on leadership that dominates our culture has relatively little resonance in scripture. Those called out and called upon by God seem relatively bereft of leadership potential – at least when they start out. The aging Abraham and Sarah are called to be the great, great, great, great to the something power grandparents of us all. Moses is a Hebrew raised by Egyptians who has an incredible temper, but he is able to lead the people out of slavery. Saul, a persecutor of Christians, is called to be the best church planter ever known. The list even of Jesus’ ancestry includes people of questionable birth – harlots and conspirators – who are part of the most fruitful family tree ever known. There will be shepherds, great leaders of various times and places, but God’s shepherds will have common goals – the fruitfulness of human potential, fearlessness in bringing about justice, and the inclusion of God’s people. These leaders will rise above the rest and be an example to us. I’m sure we can all point to a few favorites in the course of human history.

Nevertheless, Jeremiah uses the traditional prophetic formula to tell us of what our future holds. “The days are surely coming says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.” This “branch” is part of the messianic prophecy. A divine ruler, a king, a leader steeped in justice and righteousness is thought to be the great hope for human unity. It is in Jesus Christ that we place this hope. Jesus is the branch of David, the prophesied good shepherd, the one who will bring together the scattered, the wounded, the unaccounted for.

Sadly, the scattering of the sheep seems to still be among us, maybe even more so as Christian believers deepen their divisions rather than being fruitful and multiplying. The causes for this are many. Our human messes seemed to start just about the time the first man and first woman were given the charge and they looked to the serpent for advice instead. We know it is our purpose to bear God’s divine light and love. We can quote our own creeds that the chief end of humankind is to glorify God and enjoy God forever. But do we feel it? Can we know what it feels like to be spiritually fruitful? Do we have a sense that good news can multiply in strength and numbers of people who are touched by faith?

Is our faith fruitful? Is it multiplying?

We are most likely to respond with our best and most creative gifts when we are following the shepherd God has sent. Like Jeremiah, the writer of Colossians imagines the Messiah to be powerful in both heavenly and earthly realms. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers – all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

This unity – the hope of the branch of David – the holding together in Christ – seems yet a fuzzy dream. When the “Peace, Unity and Purity” task force of the Presbyterian Church was doing their work, it seemed like those three words were words that couldn’t hold themselves together in a roomful of very unlike minds. Their remark was that it was only through Christ, the head of the body, the church, is it even thinkable that human beings could imagine peace, unity, and purity together.

The scattering of believers is much easier to witness than what holds us together. It’s easier to slink off with Adam and Eve to the tree of forbidden fruit. It’s easier to “tsk, tsk” with Jeremiah about the bad shepherds than to become a shepherd working for justice, freedom, and peace among God’s people. It’s different to say that “Jesus Christ is Lord” than to put Christ first in your daily life. Being fruitful and multiplying the good news of our faith is not necessarily our immediate response. We have to hear the call. We have to find our purpose. We have to sing our halleluiahs to Jesus, “Our King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”

Jesus says in John 15:16-17, “You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.” Our fruit is our love for each other grounded in our love for Jesus Christ. Our multiplying is not only telling our children, but passing it on to all people that God’s love is available to everyone. Be fruitful and multiply. Do not fear or be dismayed. God will be trustworthy in gathering in the remnant.

Amen.