The Good Shepherd #54

An almost spiritual memory keeps flooding back from when we went exploring up in the higher pastures above Hora Sfakion. Overlooking the Mediterranean facing Africa we encountered a lone shepherd in traditional costume tending his sheep.
Lacking a common language, squatting on rocks, and sharing his food, we spent an afternoon achieving a profound empathy in what seemed a near biblical experience.
In an ultimate act of unimaginable generosity the shepherd gave Thomas his trusty crook - a twisted olive root with a rich patina from years of use.
We descended the mountain transformed. ‘Could that have been Jesus?’ we asked.