Hirelings and True Shepherds

In the 10th chapter of the Gospel according to St. John, Christ warns us to be weary, weary of the distinction between true shepherds, and hirelings. Christ says to us, the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. Christ, of course, not only taught this command but he lived it. He gave us a living example of what it means to lay down our lives for our sheep.

Now, St. Gregory, the great says to us, in this action of laying down His life for us, Christ taught us what it is to have complete contempt for the loss of our life for the sake of God. But we need to be careful because it’s so easy for us to have false fantasies about martyrdom. The reality of martyrdom is gritty, it can be nasty and unpleasant. And it can go unseen to the world, hidden away. Many Christians have less lost their lives in hidden places, not noticed, or even remembered by the world itself. But of course, they’re remembered by God.

St. Gregory the Great says to us to avoid this fantasy let challenge ourselves and say, “Do I really think I would offer that which God has given me which is so precious life itself in the service of God and my fellow Christian?” How do we judge this?

About the author

Father Spyridon is an Orthodox priest serving in ROCOR in England and a prolific author of many spiritual books. Orthodoxy And The Kingdom of Satan has drawn most attention because of its exploration into the ways in which Satan is working to construct a One World Government through the institutions we see in today’s world. It explains how many trends in modern culture, including Hollywood, ecumensim and the arms trade are being exploited to enslave us. Fr Spyridon spoke out about the sexual deviance in Hollywood long before the Harvey Weinstein case hit the media.
Fr Spyridon’s most recent book, The UFO Deception, explores the UFO phenomenon and identifies how movies, technology and philosophy have been used to guide public perception of what is happening. But as a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church, he demonstrates a much longer history that lies behind it, and how a terrible deception is at work.

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