The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel
Ephphatha Parish of the Deaf
Episcopal Diocese of Central NY
I wonder why Jesus said that.
I really wonder why he choose to talk about sheep.
Oh, it makes a very nice picture: the shepherd, Jesus, leading the sheep through a rocky landscape, carrying a little lamb in his arms. It's a lovely picture.
That is, it's a lovely picture if you don't know anything, close-up and personal, about sheep.
But if you grew up in a farming area, where sheep are raised, it might look different to you.
Sheep, you see, are pretty stupid critters.
They wander off all over the place. They wind up stuck in muddy creeks, falling over steep rocks, things like that. Sometimes they go off and have their lambs in impossible places where the farmer or shepherd can't get to them, and the lambs die.
And they aren't smart enough to stay close to the other sheep.
It's very easy for a fox or other hunting animal to get a sheep away from the others, and you know what happens then.
And if they wander off and fall over a rocky ledge, they can break a leg, and the shepherd is going to have a horrible time trying to find the sheep and lug it up over that sharp, steep ledge. These critters have no common sense.
And then...they'll drink dirty water and eat almost anything, including nettles and poison plants. Somehow they never seem to learn; they do it over and over again.
And yet...this is the animal that Jesus choose to be an example. He, Jesus, is the shepherd. We, the people, are the sheep.
Are we really that stupid? Are we really so lacking in common sense? Are we really so slow to learn? Is that how God really sees us?
Oh, you and I are city folks and we might not see all this. But the country people Jesus was talking to, certainly understood it! So I wonder why he said that. It was sure to make them mad.
Maybe, I think, just maybe, Jesus wanted us to understand how much he cares about us.
He's the shepherd. We, the sheep, are supposed to know his voice, follow him, and stay close to him. Okay, that makes sense.
And Jesus cares for us. Looking after us isn't just a job to Jesus. He loves us. He hopes and expects that we will love and obey him. But even if we don't, he's still going to take care of us. He won't give up when he sees how stupid we are, and go off and look for a better, easier job. He'll stay with us no matter what.
What's more, Jesus is, himself, the door or gateway to our place of safety. He puts his own body and his own life between us and danger. He sleeps across the gate to be sure no thief or wild animal comes after us when we are vulnerable and our guard is down.
Jesus, like any good shepherd, knows each of us intimately. He knows us by name. He knows which of us are apt to stray off and get lost. He knows which of us will listen to a con man or fall for a sucker trap, or get into trouble
because we don't think ahead, or because we are so stubborn we do what we want even when he tells us not to do it. And he'll come and rescue us if we do those dumb things, too. And then he'll pick us up, wet and stinky and trying to get away, and cuddle us and take us safely home.
Maybe that's why he said it.
Maybe that's why he risked making everybody mad at him for calling us all dumb sheep.
He just wants us to know that he loves us more than we can possibly understand, and that he will take care of us no matter what. That must be it.
Amen.
