It was 1945. World War II had just ended. The Americans had liberated the Philippines. Led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the American liberation forces had kicked out the Japanese invaders from the country.
Three years earlier, at the height of the conflict, Gen. MacArthur left the country for Australia, where he organized the liberation forces.
“I shall return!” the general said when he left. The country was hanging on to MacArthur’s words while waiting for the day when he would return. His words gave hope to the country.
“I shall return” sustained the Filipino and American forces who fought the Japanese during MacArthur’s absence.
After the war, the American government instituted rehabilitation programs that helped rebuild the Philippines, along with programs that promoted a democratic system of government in the country.
One of the most effective means of educating the nation on democracy was through the efforts of the USIS (United States Information Service), stations which the American government established all over the country.
The service promoted democratic government through forums, books and other means.
The USIS became very popular among the Filipinos, particularly because its cinema program attracted residents of the towns and villages.
In Balilihan, my hometown, folks from all areas surrounding the town walked as far as three or four miles to the central plaza to watch the movies.
They used torches made of dried coconut leaves to lighten their path as they walked to town, for there were no electrical services in the area.
The USIS brought its own big generators to generate the electricity needed to show the movie.
The USIS orchestrated the show very well. The presentations opened with remarks by then President Harry Truman, followed by a few cartoons which were intended to help the people develop health habits and practices to prevent the spread of tuberculosis.
At the time, this disease was rampant and there were no medications for the malady.
Folks who contracted tuberculosis were sent to a sanitarium. My extended family had some members sent there.
The main attractions were cowboy movies. In the Philippines, there are cows and horses, but no cowboys.
“I would like to be a cowboy when I grow up. How could I become one?” I thought.
I pictured myself in cowboy attire, smoking a cigarette and wearing a cowboy hat and kerchief.
I would be hard-riding and slow- talking and my best friend would be a horse.
I thought cowboys were cool guys. They were my heroes.
My dream of becoming a cowboy changed when I played a shepherd at an elementary school Christmas play.
It was then that I learned more about shepherds. On the surface, a shepherd is similar to a cowboy.
A shepherd, too, is rugged. He sleeps where jackals howl and works where wolves prowl.
He is never off duty and always alert. Like a cowboy, he makes the stars his roof and the pasture his home. But the similarity ends there.
The shepherd loves his sheep, while a cowboy does not love cows. A cowboy may appreciate his cows, but he doesn’t know them the way a shepherd knows his sheep.
I have never seen a picture of a cowboy caressing a cow, have you?
But I have seen pictures of shepherds caring for their sheep with love and tenderness.
Why the difference?
It’s simple.
The cowboy leads the cow to the slaughter. The shepherd leads the sheep to be shorn.
The cowboy wants the meat of the cow; the shepherd wants the wool of the sheep.
So, they treat the animals differently.
The cowboy wrestles, brands, herds and ropes.
The shepherd leads, guides, feeds and anoints.
The cowboy whoops and hollers at the cow.
The shepherd calls the sheep by name.
I am glad Jesus did not call Himself “The Good Cowboy.”
No flocks ever grazed without a shepherd and no shepherd was ever off duty.
When the sheep wandered, the shepherd found them.
When the sheep fell, he carried them. When they were hurt, he healed them.
Sheep are not smart. They tend to wander into creeks for water and their wool grows heavy and they drown.
They need a shepherd to lead them to calm waters (Psalm 23:2).
They have no defense – no claws, no horns and no fangs.
Sheep are helpless. Sheep need a shepherd with a rod and a walking stick (Psalm 23:4) to protect them.
Sheep have no sense of direction. Sheep need a shepherd to lead them on right paths.
So, do I. I tend to be swept away by waters I should have avoided.
I have no defense from prowling lions seeking someone to devour.
I, too, get lost. I have wandered away like a sheep and have gone my own way (Isaiah 53:6).
I need a shepherd. I do not need a cowboy. I need a shepherd to take care of me and to guide me.
And I have One, and He knows my name.
God knows our name. What an amazing truth.
Think about it.
In all of eternity, we were in God’s mind. We were in His mind even before we came into being.
When I was a little boy, I used to go up a hill near my house on clear nights.
I laid down on the grass and gazed at the heavens and wondered how great God is, Who created the heavens and the earth.
I did not know it then, but now I know. God created a vast universe. So vast, that some of the stars in heaven that we see no longer exist.
Think of it; the earth, which we call home, is only a tiny dust in the universe.
And on this earth, exist human beings created in the imaged of God.
And this God knows our name. When I think of it, when I think of what Christ had done for us when we have fallen from grace, my soul could not help but sings: “Oh my God, how great thou art.”
And what a mystery of love and mercy it is!
This God, Who created the vast universe and Who redeems the world, is Our Father.