Throughout the scriptures, shepherds have played a central role and are often portrayed as a symbol of God’s oversight. It is the shepherd’s part to guide, to protect and to lead the flock. 

The beloved lamb, a symbol of new life and of innocence, is the one who needs that protection and deliverance. 

And yet, beginning with the first Passover, God has shown that the ultimate power to protect, to deliver and to redeem would come through the sacrifice of the lamb. 

Each Easter we celebrate this ultimate gift, remembering how The Shepherd of our Souls was also The Lamb of God. In this final week of His life, Jesus passed through all things to receive all things and to make possible our deliverance from death and sin. 

“And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection. But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ. He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death.” (Mosiah 16:7-9)

May we take this time celebrate and sing our own hosannas as we remember that source of endless life and light, from the star of Bethlehem to Easter Sunday’s sunrise.