Below is a recent post from Robyn Okrant on her website www.livingoprah.com
"...As many of us are in a constant flurry of action during our waking hours, I wonder what pushes us to stop, or at least slow down, for a valuable hour to watch Oprah on a regular basis. For 60 whole minutes, we get to take a load off and be part of a virtual community - all from the comfort of our sofas. We are able to feel a connection to millions of hope-or-entertainment-or-advice seeking individuals, mainly women, all within the safe, warm glow of the television.
This is a recent question of mine that I've been bouncing around in my brain lately: Does sense of "belonging" to a club of women, with a magnetic leader confidently steering the ship, keep us tuning in?
And if this rings true at all for you...consider the other side of the coin: if Oprah provides us a place to converge, does she consider us her community? See, I don't think so. I sense that we are more like her sheep...and believe it or not, I actually do not intend that to be negative. She seems to feel the responsibility to keep us safe (from tapered jeans and other fashion faux pas) and fed (spiritually) and she guides us about the pasture to feed in areas she believes we will be most fulfilled. And many of us hunger for leadership and succumb without testing the fields for ourselves.
Response
I do not know anything about Robyn's spiritual beliefs. But I find it intersting that she, an Oprah fan, seems to be having some reservations about being a sheep in the fold of Oprah, the shepherd. Regardless of how Oprah views herself, it is unlikely that she would ever acknowledge her role as media-made shepherd. Such a declaration would be interpreted as quite arrogant.
Jesus, on the other hand, not only accepted the shepherd metaphor in his identity and mission, but vocalized it repeatedly and perpetuated it. That's bold. But it is Christ's tender use of the imagery which enables you and me to be called a sheep without it being insulting.
P.S. An outstanding devotional read, I commend to you A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by Philip Keller. An excellent writer, Keller, was an actual shepherd for many years and his experience brilliantly brings the most familiar psalm to new life. A great deal at $4.99 http://www.amazon.com/Shepherd-Looks-Psalm-23/dp/0310274419/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217040900&sr=1-2 Get your local bookstore to order it (if not in stock) and save the $4 shipping cost.)