Article February 19, 2024 Issue

“Shepherd, wash them clean”

Holding to the true, spiritual view of our neighbors blesses them—and us.

Roberta Brooke

Originally published for the Christian Science Sentinel online on November 30, 2023

Today there is an ever-growing need for us to be more loving toward one another. In public platforms, divisive rhetoric and false accusations are pervasive; insults are hurled openly. In personal lives we see many relationships on edge. What will it take for us to learn to be more loving? The last verse of Mary Baker Eddy’s poem “ ‘Feed my Sheep’ ” offers a clue:

So, when day grows dark and cold,
Tear or triumph harms,
Lead Thy lambkins to the fold,
Take them in Thine arms;
Feed the hungry, heal the heart,
Till the morning’s beam;
White as wool, ere they depart,
Shepherd, wash them clean.
(Poems, p. 14)