Ezekiel’s use of the metaphor - ‘shepherd’ was already widespread in the Middle East. The prophets used it to condemn the failed political and religious leaders of Israel for the suffering and exploitation of the Jewish people under their leadership. Later, Jesus used the metaphor and proclaimed that He was the Good Shepherd through whom God would care for His people.

God’s boundless care is seen in Jesus’ parable of the generous landowner who went out to hire laborers to care for his vineyard. It shocked many to hear that the landowner treated all the workers equally at the end of the day, although some worked a full day while others worked only for a short time. This offends our concept of justice. And yet, we are told that the landowner, who in fact represents God, paid each the same daily wage. Given that the ‘daily wage’ was what was necessary for a family to survive for a single day, the landowner actually showed a much greater sense of justice than what we are often capable of - he gave to each what was necessary for life, no matter how much or how little they actually worked in his vineyard.

Jesus reveals then the kind of Shepherd our Father in Heaven is, Who looks after our needs, no matter how we are seen by the world which judges us by our performance and productivity.