The Shepherd's Leap

 The shepherd's leap or salto del pastor is a technique the shepherds of the Canary Islands use to move on the sharply inclined volcanic terrain of their islands using a long lance by which they can descend the way a fireman descends a pole in the firehouse. The shepherd can place the pole and jump from rock to rock or he can jump from a high point, pointing the lance to his landing spot, and slide down the pole, breaking his fall as he lands. It is a spectacular technique which probably originated with the Guanches, the primitive inhabitants of the islands, and it is not practiced anywhere else in the world so far as I know. Still used by the shepherds of the Canary Islands, it has also become a popular sport among young people.

There is a lesson to be learned for pastors, the spiritual shepherds of a Christian flock. Going back to the Psalms we learn that The Lord is my shepherd. and that He leads his flock beside the still waters and makes them lie down in green pastures. Also in the New Testament we learn that Jesus is the Good Shepherd. The Apostles are the appointed shepherds of the Church and the Pope and the bishops are their successors, and every priest or minister who has the "cure of souls" is in the same shepherding business. As the shepherds typically carry some kind of a staff, this is symbolized by the bishop's crozier.

It is well for those of us who are in pastoral work of any kind in the church to reflect on the realities of being a shepherd because Our Lord Himself draws attention to this precisely to inform his followers of what is expected of them. Here are some things that a shepherd does:

1. He tends both the sheep and the goats. This is important because the animals have a sharply different character. The goats are much more agile than sheep, and they can get to inaccessible places. The sheep are more docile than the goats, more willing to follow the shepherd, and because of this they have come to symbolize the more docile members of the Christian flock, while the goats are symbols of the more rebellious nature. Nevertheless, the true shepherd sees value in both animals and will always risk his own life to save them. Picture a shepherd using his lance to reach a high pinnacle where a wayward goat has got himself and refuses to come down, or he does the shepherd's leap to descend into a ravine where a sheep has got himself stuck and is bleating for help. If the shepherd's staff has a hook on the end, he can pull the sheep to safety. If he has a lance, he will have to take the sheep in his arms. The Christian pastor must be prepared to take risks to save individuals who get in trouble in life.

2. The shepherd must find a safe way to lead his flock. He not only is seeking green grass for the animals to graze on, but he must find solid ground so the animals don't fall. On the volcanic slopes of the Canary Islands, the ground is unstable. It can fall away under your weight or come down upon you from above. The shepherd can test the ground with his lance, and finally with his own weight. So too a pastor in the church must be sure he is on solid ground when he is leading his people. Today this is especially important when the ground seems to be shifting under our feet, figuratively speaking. What would have been totally rejected a generation ago is now accepted by many and in some cases is legal. Abortion, divorce, and same-sex marriage are the most obvious but not the only examples. It is important for the pastor to stand on solid ground, and if the stone he is standing on begins to shift, he must move to a rock that will not move. For a pastor, this may involve a lateral career move that may be seen in worldly terms as a bad move. The Canary Islands shepherd makes many lateral moves with the help of his staff. This goes to show that the shepherd's staff serves as much to support the pastor himself as it does to drive the sheep and the goats.

3. The shepherd usually has some dogs who help him keep the flock together. There is a hierarchy here. The sheep and goats are at the bottom in terms of decision making. The shepherd is at the top, and the dog is in the middle. The shepherd knows exactly where to lead the sheep, and sometimes the sheep will naturally follow him. The shepherd can communicate with the dog in a way he can not communicate with the sheep, and so the dogs can help keep the flock together and can communicate in an effective way to the sheep what the plan is. The sheep herding dogs can also help protect against predators. In modern church terms, there is also a hierarchy working with the pastor because he can not be effective alone. I am thinking of everyone else other than the Pastor who has a job to do. They are utterly loyal, work as a team, and share in the risks that a pastor takes to keep the flock safe from harm. A shepherd who can not train his dogs will have a hard time. Likewise the pastor who can not gather a team of effective people around him will not only be lonely, but may end up in disaster.

4. There comes a time when the shepherd can no longer withstand the rigors of the job. He can no longer climb and acrobatically swing himself up onto high ledges using his lance. He lacks the strength in his hands and his arms to break his fall when he does the shepherd's leap. His eyes may be foggy and his hearing may be failing. It is time for him to retire from going up the mountain with the flock. But that is not the end for him yet. He will still be useful and needed perhaps assisting in training the dogs, or making lances for younger shepherds, and training them to safely perform the shepherd's leap and other maneuvers on the mountain. Now he is no longer leading sheep; he is leading others who are leading sheep. In the Church the role of the seasoned elder pastor, whether officially retired or not, is tremendously important. He knows from experience what it is to be on slippery ground, and he will carefully train the younger clergy, if they will listen, to avoid the common pitfalls and temptations that they will inevitably encounter in their ministry.