Calendar

HERMAS AND THE SHEPHERD OF HERMAS
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31
Ephesians 4:17-32

1 John 1:8-10

 

“If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just

to forgive us our sins…”

 

HERMAS AND THE SHEPHERD OF HERMAS
 
Hermas (remembered through the early Christian text “The Shepherd of Hermas”) was a visionary writer in Rome during the second century AD. The “shepherd” in his work refers to an angelic figure who guided him through a series of visions. According to the Muratorian Canon (c. third century AD), the book was written by the brother of Pius, Bishop of Rome, though it remains uncertain who the true author is.
 
Hermas was not a church leader but a seer of visions, and his book is divided into five visions, twelve commandments and ten parables. His central concern was repentance. Wrestling with his own sin after baptism, Hermas reflected on the tension within the Roman church: some believed repentant sinners could remain in fellowship, while others insisted that post-baptismal sin required complete exclusion. His writings sought to guide believers toward renewal and a deeper commitment to Christ.
 
The “Shepherd of Hermas” emphasises ethical living and calls Christians to purify their lives, turn wholeheartedly to the Lord, and pray with confidence. He urged believers to clothe themselves with faith, resisting distractions and vanities, and to cultivate an identity distinct from the surrounding society. His message remains timeless: repentance is not merely a sorrow for sin, but also a renewed devotion to God.
 
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing” (Phil 3:13-16).
 
THOUGHT: Are my mind and heart truly focused on God? Or are they distracted by the vanities of this world?
PRAYER: Father, help me to live a life worthy of being called a true follower of Christ. Purify my heart, strengthen my faith, and keep my mind fixed on Thee alone.

Search