In this second Sunday of Advent we celebrate another name of Jesus: The Shepherd. Shepherds were common int he Middle East as sheep were very important to commerce and life itself. Jesus calls himself the Shepherd which makes us...the sheep. discover some of the relationships that have commonly been brought out in sermons about the sheep/shepherd relationship....but then, go deeper with me into a cultural - spiritual connection with Middle Eastern culture which brings out a deeper and richer meaning to our text for today.