THE SHEEP OF HIS PASTURE
Psalm 23 John 10:22-30
A television commercial that still brings
laughs was first aired at a super bowl several years ago. You may have
seen it. It depicts some rough and tumble cowboys trying to herd
a huge number of cats on a cat drive. The cats, yowling and
hissing and running wild provide quite a challenge for the
cowboys. As one of the cowboys says, "Anybody can herd cattle but
holding together 10,000 half wild short hairs isn't easy!
It seems no one ever told those cowboys that you
can't herd cats. I wonder if anyone told them that you can't lead cats
either.
Someone needs to tell those cowboys:
You can't herd cats and you can't lead cats. Cats are very intent on doing their own thing!
You can herd cattle but you can't lead them. They are
not very good at following or listening to their master's call.
The animal of the week -- the sheep -- is altogether
different. You can't herd sheep very well. They are much better
at following. They hear their shepherd's voice and they follow
that voice or his flute or his lute. They don't follow the voice of
another shepherd. They listen; they hear; they follow even in a
flock of 10,000 sheep.
Perhaps a better name for their leaders instead of "shepherds" would be "shepleads".
The collect for today, ”Good Shepherd Sunday" brings the imagery of sheep and shepherd alive. Listen to it again:
O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your
people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who
calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the
Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Although sheep are often thought of as animals that aren't
very smart, they are actually quite intelligent. In one scientific
study, it was discovered that sheep can recognize individual human and
ovine (sheep) faces, and remember them for years. If worked with
patiently, sheep may learn their names.
On the downside, sheep can become very stressed when
separated from their flock. Their tendency to flee when stressed can
make shepherding a difficult task. Their primary defense
mechanism is to flee from perceived danger. They would never receive an
award for courageous risk taking or individuality.
Sheep appear in scripture, both the Old and New Testaments,
more than any other animal. That isn't surprising considering God's
people had wandered from place to place, living in tents and
shepherding their sheep from one pasture to the next for generations.
During Christ's time, especially in Judea, there were immense flocks.
The image of sheep and shepherds was one that people understood. It is
one we can understand even if we don't raise sheep or know anyone who
does.
Yet, If we were choosing an animal as a symbol to represent
us, a sheep probably would not be near the top of the list. We might
choose a cat for its independence or a dog for its ability to be man's
best friend, or a lion for its courage but a sheep? An animal
that follows but never leads? An animal that displays no
individuality? a creature that may be playful and cuddly as a lamb but
grows up to be boring and stodgy? a beast that is skitterish and
anxious?
Why would Jesus choose sheep to represent us -- not once but many times?
Perhaps it is because He knows we need a shepherd. For all
of our rugged individualism and professed self sufficiency, we all need
guidance. We yearn for the promise of eternal life even if we don't
acknowledge it. We all have hidden areas in our lives that we simply
can't handle all by ourselves. Psalm 23 which we just read offers such
hope: "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not be in want."
Perhaps Jesus likens us to sheep because He knows we get
lost in the flock. We label and we get labeled not by who we really are
but by what group we conveniently get placed in or stumble into all by
ourselves. It is so easy to label another as a faceless, nameless
person--just a stereotype of a group. Our Lord doesn't stereotype
us. He calls us by name. "He revives my soul and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake."
Perhaps Jesus calls us sheep because He knows we panic and
flee from perceived difficulties. We get caught up in the bushes and
fall off the cliffs. "He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters."
In the midst of chaos he leads us to peace. It isn't that we will
have no difficulties or sorrow in our lives; it is that our shepherd is
there to guide us through those rough times. "He guides me along
right pathways for his Name's sake. Though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; for you are with
me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You spread a table before
me in the presence of those who trouble me."
When a sheep gets separated far from the flock, the
shepherd doesn't send his sheepdog to retrieve the lost lamb.
Instead he goes himself. Each lamb is that precious to him.
Sometimes he sends us -- one of his sheep as his envoy. And when
that happens he anoints our heads with oil and our cup runs over
with the sacred responsibility that has been entrusted to us. He sees
the potential shepherd in each of us. He doesn't see us as faceless,
nameless sheep. He sees us as precious sheep -- his lambs.
Around Buffalo and Sheridan Wyoming, Basque shepherds still
tend their flocks as they do in the Pyrenees Mountains on the border
between France and Spain. A recent documentary titled The Last Link depicts
the lifestyle that is dying out, at least in Wyoming. A number of
shepherds are interviewed in the film. When asked, "What is the most
difficult thing about your work?"one shepherd replied, "The work isn't
hard. It is the loneliness that is difficult." Sometimes
being called to take on the work of the Good Shepherd can be lonely
too. Yet, being there and calling his sheep by their names has
its own rewards.
And he tells everyone, "My sheep hear my voice. I
know them, and they follow me. I will give them eternal life, and
they will never perish."
"Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."
May we listen and hear his voice when he calls each of us by name to follow him.
Amen.
The Rev. Betsy Porter
St. James' Episcopal Church
Eureka Springs, Arkansas
4 Easter Year C, April 25, 2010