Sheep in the Fold

    Sunday last was Shepard Sunday. I go to church with the pianist early since she sings in the choir and they practise for half an hour before the service. Since I am there before almost anyone else, I have time to read  the lessons for that day beforehand and think about them and watch the church gradually fill up with what can be called the Body. Since I sit on the side isle near the front I can see virtually all of the members of the fold gathering into the seats, whereas sitting in the center seats means you only see the back of everyone's head. I can see the lectionary and alter as well as anyone else but the body for me is the important thing as well.
    In the practice of Medicine for forty some years I had the experience of being a member of the Body. That sense of union was equally strong and the commitment was alive. Last week the pianist and I went to the Annual Dinner of the Victoria Medical Society and despite being retired for seventeen years I felt an integral part of that Body and could pass the peace with untold numbers of the many. Of course it did not accord reliance to a Shepard but it had the qualities of service and mercy that I knew so well in the olden days.  
    Watching a Body file in and fill up in the fold and not stuck with the back of their heads of one another and passing the peace is another joy of age. Belonging!