|
|
I think most of you are aware that while in seminary I had two internship experiences. One of those summer internships was spent in Mt. Pleasant, NC. Mt. Pleasant is as rural as it sounds. While there I had the opportunity to stay with a younger couple who lived in the family’s old homestead. The Homestead was situated on a good amount of land, and on the weekends the husband would tend his large vegetable garden and care for the 50 head of sheep and the 20 head of cattle that they had. Now you also know that I am not necessarily someone who grew up in the country. I am more at home with BMWs and suburban houses with pools than I am with sheep, cattle, feed, and barns. But, I had a great desire to spend time with my host family and learn something new.
Needless to say I did learn something new… Steve, the husband of the family kept rebuffing my attempts and offers to help. I think deep down he knew as well as I did that it probably wasn’t smart to let a preppie city boy out unsupervised to work with livestock. He also knew that church work was pretty heavy work as well – and he wanted to wait before he shocked me into realizing what I had offered to help with. One thing that he did keep mentioning was that about the middle of the summer he was going to need help re-stringing some barb wire fence. I knew deep down that I was in over my head - but I kept offering and saying that I would be very interested in helping out when he got around to putting up the barb wire fence.
Well, lucky for me the barb wire was actually a new system of moveable electrical fencing that did a better job of keeping the sheep in their pastures and letting Steve rotate the pastures so that the grass grew systematically and the sheep always had food to eat. Now, once we were able to string the fencing and attach the power source it was just a simple matter of getting the sheep all in the right pen.
This would be a good opportunity for me to share with you a little about sheep. I was amazed at the ugly "herd" quality of these animals. They did not like to go anywhere.. much less have you try and determine where they were to go. My first experience with the sheep was during a "de-worming" episode when we had to put the animals through chutes and give them medicine. As Steve was giving medication I was to herd them through the chutes. Have you ever tried to move a sheep through a chute? You could pull all day long on his ears, or on the muzzle and the sheep would never budge. After a few good laughs.. Steve showed me the way to get a sheep to move.. it was to gently push on their backside. They would move forward in a nice slow way if you just put some constant pressure on their hind quarters.
You can imagine the frustration I had trying to make this work without any chutes after we strung the fencing. But luckily, Steve and I were not alone in the task. Steve had a sheep dog … a Jack Russel Terrier, named Glen. These dogs naturally liked to herd things. This particular dog would yelp and yelp if Steve went out to the pasture without him. In fact if left alone in the yard he would eventually begin herding the family’s nine outdoor cats. So Steve went and got Glen to help herd the sheep. Steve was kind enough to tell me that he had acquired this dog in a peculiar way. He had acquired him for little money because Glen had flunked out of sheep-herding school. But Steve had confidence in him and was patient.
As Steve began giving commands to Glen to herd the Sheep, I began to walk toward the house to get a drink for Steve and I since the work was almost done. Little did I know that this would be one of Glen’s bad days. When I came back with the drinks the dog had been fired (of course I think the dog might have said he quit). The sheep were scattered everywhere. And Steve was running after them with his hands raised out trying to "herd" them into the pen. But he was having little luck.
For the next twenty minutes we proceeded to be laughed at by the sheep, Steve’s dog, and later on Steve’s wife Myra as we clumsily tried to get the sheep into the pen without a sheep dog –- well, without a cooperative sheepdog.
I hope you can see why it is hard for me to read this passage without thinking about my experiences with Steve and his on again, off again sheepdog, Glen.
The ancient middleastern shepherd was similar to Steve and I except for one major difference. The sheep knew the Shepherd, and the Shepherd knew the sheep. You see in the evenings all of the Shepherds in a region would gather their flocks together into a fold - sort of like a pen. And one Shepherd would keep watch at the gate. This Shepherd was responsible for the sheep through the night. He had to watch both for escaping sheep and predators who were looking for a late night snack.
When morning came the other Shepherds would return to the fold and would walk to the gate and call for their sheep. There are two miracles that would happen next -– one is that the sheep would know who their shepherd was – and the shepherd knows which sheep were his flock. They meet together at the gate and each flock separates and goes to its own part of the pasture to graze and pass the day.
"The sheep know their shepherd." And follow his voice. Unlike Steve and I, who clumsily ran around the pen trying to get the sheep into the pen, here the Sheep confidently come to the call of their shepherd – not just any shepherd but their shepherd.
I think there is a message here – but first lets cover a little ground. Jesus says "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. " This is point number 1. That Jesus - the Good Shepherd values us as his sheep - his stinky, matted wool, herd-minded, obstinate sheep as worthy for him to lay down his life for us. Next Jesus says "The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-- just as the Father knows me and I know the Father--and I lay down my life for the sheep." Not only will the Shepherd die for us the stinky sheep. But he loves us and cares for us so (in marked difference from the hired hand) That we have an intimate relationship with the Shepherd."
Now friends, this is Gospel. This is the good news for you today. Regardless of how un- "Mary had a little lamb-like" we are-- Jesus still cares deeply for us. No matter how many times Jesus has to round us up and call us back from the edge of a cliff - Jesus will continue to do so; Why? Because he cares for us. No matter how low and unworthy we feel as stinky sheep in a herd of other stinky sheep that just go from pasture, to barn, to pasture, to barn. Eat, walk, go to the bathroom, eat, walk, go to the bathroom. The Shepherd loves us so that he would lay down his life for ours. This my friends is Gospel. This is Good News.
The Gospel also is that there is only one Shepherd.
Think about it –- everybody wants to be a shepherd. Nobody wants to be a sheep. Don’t believe me? How many times have you been offered the opportunity to participate in a seminar on how to be a good follower? How often do we give instructions on how to follow an effective leader? When is the last time you studied the art of followership? Nobody dreams big dreams of being a follower. Nobody dreams of growing up to be a sheep… except the church.
The Gospel is that there is only one Shepherd. There is only one Shepherd, there is only one leader of the flock, and Head of the Household of Faith. And it is not me, nor is it soon to be D.S. Mark H Young -- nor is it you or anyone else. No amount of Wednesday Night Worship, Sunday School, or Bible Reading will change the fact that we are sheep. Jesus is the Shepherd. For he is more able and willing, and capable to love our stinky wooly selves then we are. To the Good Shepherd we are treasured parts of the flock.
Now back to this "knowing" thing. "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-- just as the Father knows me and I know the Father--and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. What is this knowledge thing? It seems to me that the outsider is at a disadvantage. The sheep know the shepherd, and the shepherd knows the sheep – but what kind of knowing is going on here? Is this knowing like having the ovalteene decoder wheel and being able to decode the secret message? Or is this knowing the secret passageways in Tomb Raider II so that you can win the game and defeat the dark overlord? Or is this the knowing of knowing the test questions and the answers before the test is given? No, all of these are wrong. They are all not examples of knowing as the shepherd knows the sheep and the sheep know the shepherd.
Knowing between shepherd and sheep is similar to having a family pet. The shepherd named the sheep, called to them and whistled for them. He listened for their voices and took time to count and make sure that all were present. This knowing was a relationship. This knowing was not just analytical knowledge (similar to our discussion last week) but a relationship. The Shepherd didn’t know the sheep by way of resume, references and research – he knew them because of time spent with them. He knew them through experienced based interaction.
The Hebrew word here that I think the Jewish disciples would be familiar with is yada. It is a word that is used for many different kinds of knowing. But one of its favorite connotations for new interpreters of the language is the intimate first hand knowledge that a husband and wife share physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In beginning Hebrew classes it is not uncommon for students to blush and giggle as they realize what it means for Adam to know Eve. In a similar way of intimate first hand knowledge the shepherd knows the sheep, and cares for them.
So, how do we as Farewell Disciples begin to move from knowing about the shepherd to knowing the shepherd. How can we begin to hear his voice and respond to the opportunity of a relationship that he offers us? Well. first lets get something taken care of – the knowledge that is discussed by Jesus -- is not special knowledge that enables the disciple to find salvation. It isn’t a secret decoder ring for Jesus.. rather it is purely and simply a knowledge and belief in the faithfulness, the love and care that Jesus offers. We, cannot save ourselves – no knowledge will save us – only the Good Shepherd can save us.
Next, let’s focus on the one quality that we can do – we can begin to tune into the Shepherd’s voice. We must begin to listen and hear what he is saying, and where he is calling the flock to go. Notice the word here is flock and not individual sheep. The Shepherd sees everything in terms of the flock. Yes, he cares for individual sheep – but in the end he is interested in the flock and its well-being. Sheep are vulnerable when isolated from other sheep, and in danger of their lives when separated from the Shepherd. So too it is with you and I – there is safety and security in numbers, and being in the flock – we know that the Shepherd will watch over us. There is safety in the church as we follow Jesus.
By tuning in and following we are choosing not to be the shepherd. We are choosing faith as opposed to pride. We recognize that there is only one shepherd, and that we are sheep and our job must be to follow. To know the shepherd is to follow the shepherd – to hear the voice is to follow its call and to allow our lives to be changed by what it says. In the world – everyone wants to be a leader, the top dog, to write the story of their lives. But in the fold of the flock – sheep allow the shepherd to call, lead and provide for us. Christian disciples call this faith.
To use the analogy of a radio, Christians first must turn the radio on – hear the music, tune into the station and follow the voice’s directions. It is more than just knowing the station to listen – Jesus calls us … And we who are Farewell Disciples hear his voice and … follow. This is the Good news of the Resurrection for our lives.
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – Amen.