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LET'S GET SERIOUS - What kind of sheep are we PDF Print E-mail
April 25, 2010              

Acts 9:36-43; Psalm 23; Revelation 7:9-17; John 10:22-30

Our Scripture Lessons this morning are full of powerful images about sheep and the Shepherd ... an important Biblical image used by the Psalmist, many prophets, by John in Revelation, and by Jesus ... to portray the relationship of trust and joy which God offers us.  It is important imagery.  It is familiar imagery.

But with time, that image ... even those words - "trust" and "joy" - have become quite ... ordinary ... taken for granted.
Perhaps we picture Jesus holding a lamb ... the "good shepherd" ... perhaps sheep grazing peacefully on lush hills beside a clear brook ... or perhaps we think of a shepherd searching for one who is lost ... perhaps the sacrificial lamb - holding a banner of victory.  For most of us, raised in the traditions and worship life of the church, it is unlikely that the image of the shepherd and the sheep will excite us ... or have much impact on our lives ... our faith.

This is the reality ... and the danger ... of Christianity in our church, in this century, in this country. Whatever image comes to our minds, it will possibly be an image we have thought about or heard about before ... and, because of this, our faith loses its vitality and excitement.  The GOOD NEWS is now ... "old news" ... and, for some people, it isn't worth yawning over. 

There is, though, another side to the Shepherd.  Two thousand years after Jesus talked about the “Good Shepherd,” we have sentimentalized it into sort of a gushy Golden Book story . . . We have preserved the Good Shepherd for ever in the bright colors of stained glass and in children’s Bible stories.

The fact is that Shepherds were anything but warm fuzzy characters in first century Palestine. The Old Testament is rich with shepherd imagery. The prophet Ezekiel devoted an entire Chapter (34) of the book to prophecy concerning the
shepherds of Israel.  He includes these words: I will feed them with good pasture and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the stray, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak ...     I will set up over them one shepherd ... and I, the Lord, have spoken.  They shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they ... are my people, says the Lord God.  You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture and I am your God, says the Lord God.

When Israel was nomadic, that image was one that stood for leadership and pastoral care.  But as Israel became a cosmopolitan nation, centralized religiously and politically in the city of Jerusalm, as cultic concerns - concerns of things clean and unclean - and matters of ritual purity - and the proper forms of religion moved to the head of the class of things important.  And shepherds took a significant back seat.

By the time Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the occupation of the shepherd was seen as a demeaning one.  The orthodox people of the day despised them because they weren’t able to keep the details of the ceremonial law.  They couldn’t observe all the meticulous hand-washings and rituals.  People avoided shepherds much as we might avoid someone who wants to have us over to dinner in order to sell us into a pyramid scheme or the stereotypical man in the checkered sports coat with sleeves several inches too short and a tie louder than a rock concert who sells used cars at “Honest Bobs” in the City. 

When Jesus put the word “Good” in front of the word “Shepherd,” it was not all that unlike putting the word “Good” in front of the word “Samaritan.” Well, not quite as bad.  But you get the idea.  When Jesus identified himself as the “Good Shepherd,” Jesus was really in typical character.  He never cared much about reputation. That’s why he called tax collectors “good” by hanging out with them.  That’s why he called prostitutes ”good” by unilaterally and unconditionally forgiving them     and by allowing them to join his discipleship. That’s why he called lepers ”good,” by doing what no one else in the country would ever think of doing - physically touching them.

When Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd,” he was doing more than just expressing love and nurture and protection.
The Good Shepherd does all those things with no regard for reputation.  Jesus is the Christ through whom everything that exists was made.  Jesus is part of the same Trinity who created a few hundred trillion stars and all the diversity of life as we know it.  And what claim to fame does he take? He likens himself to a shepherd, who call his sheep, by name.
The Good Shepherd is one that cares for the sheep, not because they can do anything to enhance the shepherd’s reputation, but simply because caring for sheep is what it is all about!

We also need to note how Jesus ends this parable.  He speaks of “other sheep, not of this fold,” that he must also call.
Jesus can’t close this parable without making sure we understand the universalism of this love.  There aren’t any sheep who are denied admission through the gate: white sheep, black sheep, blemished sheep, good sheep, bad sheep, and yes even goats, it doesn’t matter!  The Good Shepherd loves them all and won’t rest until every last bleating one of them is in the pen safe and sound.

If today we heard the words of Jesus from the Gospel Lesson ... from HIM ... for the very first time ... WE WOULD BE EXCITED!  You bet we would!  Jesus affirms his Divinity ... he says, "The Father and I are one" ... and points to his miracles as proof of his unique relationship with God.  He talks about his sheep ... those he knows ... those who know him ... and he says, now hear this: "NO ONE can destroy them!"  "I GIVE THEM ETERNAL LIFE ... AND THEY SHALL NEVER PERISH!"

If only there were some way to cut through years of "hearing" these words, to LISTEN to them again, for the FIRST time ... you bet we would be OVERWHELMED by the goodness of God and the power and promise Christ offers us!

So let's take a NEW LOOK at the significance of the words of Jesus and the impact they CAN and SHOULD have on us and our church!"
 

What kind of sheep are we?
 
Arthur Gossip would perhaps say we are BORED and BORING sheep ... grazing in the highlands with no thought for the Shepherd who led us to a place of life.  He says that the JOYOUSNESS and SUNSHINE of worship in the early church ... which SPRANG from the hearts of people who were OVERWHELMED by the goodness of God and the saving power of Christ .. has been lost!  He writes:  "Whether it is that WE HAVE NOT REALLY EXPERIENCED THE LOVE OF CHRIST, which his first disciples knew so well ... or whether it is that WE HAVE GROWN ACCUSTOMED TO IT BY FAMILIARITY,THE REDEEMING LOVE OF GOD IN CHRIST no longer ASTONISHES US!"   The EXCITEMENT, the JOY, the UNEXPECTED GOOD NEWS of the Gospel message has lost its power.  It is there. But it is BURIED in custom and tradition ... particularly ... yes ... in FAMILIARITY.  Are we bored ... and boring sheep?  Have we become so accustomed to the voice of the Shepherd that what He says to us no longer raises ANY emotion ... joy ... excitement ... surprise ... thanksgiving?

Are we, perhaps, SUSPICIOUS sheep?  Are we sheep who say, "If you are the Christ, tell us plainly!"  In today's reading from John, Jesus is in Jerusalem for the Feast of the Dedication - Hanukkah.  He is speaking with the rabbis and their students in Solomon's porch of the temple.  THEY ask if he is the Messiah.  He suggests that his teachings have already been explicit enough on this topic, and his actions even more so. But they are not convinced.  I don't know a whole lot about sheep ... but I understand that they ARE suspicious and cautious ... wary of voices they haven't heard before.
There is a sort of "TENTATIVENESS" about them.  Perhaps this voice can be trusted.  Perhaps not.  As followers of Christ, are we like suspicious sheep ... moving slowly ... our belief impeded by fear or caution?  Someone once asked Marilyn Monroe about her belief in astrology.  She replied:  "I believe in everything ... a little bit."  We cannot ... of course.  We who believe in God can not be content to believe in God "a little bit!"

In AHA, Ralph Milton writes about the "rubber ice" of the Prairies.  I remember that stuff so well.  It only happens in a slough, hollow, or ditch where the water is exactly one inch deeper than the rubber boots I wore as a child.  I had forgotten about the fun I had with it.  Do you remember? The idea was to walk out carefully, one step at a time, and feel the ice give way underfoot, sending crackles in every direction.  As Ralph writes: "It takes a skill and daring of a mind that is found mostly in children aged 8 to 12 who are still passionate about living life right to the edges." "The idea is to test the strength of the ice and to quickly move to another spot as the ice underfoot starts to break."  Have you tried that?  It's SO much fun!  I don't know about Ralph, but the only part of rubber ice that wasn't fun, for me, was conjuring up some new excuse for having "full boots!"  But this walking on rubber ice takes nerve, and risk, and commitment: Once you're out there, you're out there!  And you're walking! And you're depending on that ice to hold you up! Because all that's left between you and full boots is trust and daring and a fair shot of courage.  As followers of Christ, we are called to be PASSIONATE about LIVING LIFE right to the edges ... ready to risk thin ice ... ready to move to new places ... with a twinkle in our eye, a smile on our face, a fair shot of courage, and ABSOLUTE TRUST in our hearts!
Cautious sheep? Suspicious sheep?  Are WE afraid to get out on the ice?  Let's hope not.  We who hear Christ say, "I DID TELL YOU ... I and the Father are one," are not offered the option of cautious suspicion. There is an "EITHER ... OR" choice in this Gospel Lesson.  Either we join the Jews in Solomon's Colonnade and hear Jesus say, "You aren't my sheep ..." or WE LISTEN TO HIS VOICE and follow him with hope and abandon!
 

I don't think there is much question that we are sheep who are EASILY SCATTERED. Implicit in Jesus' words, "they follow me," is the assumption that THEY ALL follow ... together ... as a group.  Our Gospel Lesson follows the passage where Jesus speaks of "one flock and one shepherd."  We know we are divided by doctrines ... theology ... denominationalism ... personal preference ... prejudice ... issues ... in this community and in this church.  We know this.  And I think we know what the Shepherd WHO LEADS ALL OF US would say to us about our silly squabbling.

SILLY!  Perhaps that is what we are ... silly sheep!  Perhaps we simply think that the grass will be green forever and the stream will never run dry.  Perhaps we just assume there will be no "winter" in our lives ... no time when WE will NEED the guidance of the Shepherd ... when we will ache for food and water ... and so we wander from one clump of grass to the next one ON OUR OWN!  We don't KNOW the shepherd. We don't think we NEED TO KNOW the shepherd.

Some time ago, Lindor Reynolds wrote: When I was a little girl, our teachers would periodically herd us into the darkened cool hallway of H.C. Avery School. We'd be instructed to crouch down on the fading linoleum, each child squatting and pulling spindly arms over a tousled head.  This was our preparation for THE BOMB.  Our teachers reassured us that it was unlikely that the Communists would want to destroy an elementary school in the middle of Canada, but they were wily and we had to be ready.  So there we'd be, tiny bodies curling inward, convinced that our drills would save us in the event that the enemy did decide to rain its weapons upon us.  And then the "all clear signal" would ring and it would all be over. Perhaps the most sensitive of us feared the nameless enemy. Most of us didn't.  Our parents and teachers said we'd be safe. We had no reason not to believe them.

She continues: No parent or teacher can make that claim today. Evil has arrived in our lives, unpacked its bags, and declared it is staying. What we're learning is that no place is safe. We're all vulnerable. We want this evil to be exorcised. We want the enemy to be found and eliminated. But there is no one enemy. It would be convenient to point to a group on the lunatic fringe ... It's not that easy. We live in a world of weaponry and hatreds. We are all at risk. Pretending otherwise is as sensible as curling up into a ball in a school hallway to escape the ravages of an atomic bomb."  “(We have) guerrilla warfare, spy activity, international terrorism and political-economic instability in foreign lands."

Some time ago, people at the University of Winnipeg demonstrated - successfully, some thought - against a person whom they believed to be an advocate of a theology of "HATE" ... but those who were demonstrating wore the FACE of hate!  It is foolishness to think that southern Manitoba is somehow exempt from all of this.  Remember Altona?  And the murder of a young teenager?  And Carman?  Those communities have experienced and will experience the devastating results of intolerance, hatred, prejudice, greed, insanity, and oppression.  And WE WILL too!  There is no one enemy.  I'm reminded of words I heard somewhere:  "We have seen the enemy and the enemy is US!"

The "roots" of terrorist and criminal, are born in and are given life by the very human attributes of lack of respect for other people, lack of respect for other peoples' opinions and beliefs, lack of respect for the will of God, and lack of trust in and faith in God's power.  And we don't have to go any further than across the street or to the closest mirror to see those very human time-bombs.  In our wanderings, we may assume that things like this may happen to "other" sheep;
but not, TO US!  [And it will always be SOMEONE ELSE who gets cancer or has a heart attack.]  Well, there IS NO security in this world ... or in the Red River Valley!  Insanity and evil exist.  Fear exists.  The question is this, WILL WE BE PEOPLE OF FEAR?  OR PEOPLE OF FAITH?

In the midst of life, we are in the process of death.  Best we stop wandering from one clump of grass to another.
Whether we are bored or suspicious, easily distracted or scattered, or just plain silly, it is time to look at this image again because Jesus speaks to us of life and death ... of God's love for us ... and there is nothing "old" about this NEWS at all!
In our Scripture lessons today, we hear words of hope ... of the promise and faithfulness of God.

Edmund Stimle wrote: "Let's be specific.  One big danger in talking about death and resurrection is to leave it as an abstraction, (a theology).  Let's be specific.  We are talking about our death and our resurrection: yours, and mine, and those we love.” 

From our Scripture Lessons today ... because Jesus died and rose again ... we do have something SPECIFIC to say.
We can say to those who are growing old and dying ... to all who are ill, or worried about death ... that GOD HAS BEEN THERE - in the darkness, in the despair, in loneliness, in pain, in death - God has been there ... AND ALL IS WELL!  We can still say, in the face of evil and terrorism, anger and hatred, war and murder, that death and darkness DO NOT HAVE the last word!  This is God's world ... and GOD has the final say! We can say, "GOD IS PART OF LIFE HERE AND NOW" ...in his presence with us, in nature, in the gift God gives us to love each other, "AND GOD IS PRESENT WHEN WE FACE DEATH, AND BEYOND DEATH."

 
This IS what we can be specific about, for it is as clear as clear can be in the words of Jesus: "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has GIVEN THEM TO ME, is GREATER than ALL!"

Today, let's get serious!  Let's BE SERIOUS SHEEP!  This is a matter of life and death - for us, as individuals, for us, as a community, and for us, as the church.

We ARE dependent on the shepherd ... for sustenance, for life, for guidance, courage, and protection.  If we listen to His voice ... YOU BET WE WILL BE EXCITED!  If we hear Jesus say:  "I know YOU ... follow me ... I will give you eternal life ..." we will be OVERWHELMED by the GOODNESS OF GOD and the promise of Christ, and, after giving thanks ... we will go out IN JOY to share this very NEW STORY with the world!  Thanks be to God.