Sheep I Have Known

I grew up with sheep. If I just close my eyes, I am right there with them again. The familiar sheepy smell, the feel of their wool, the innocent brown eyes. The playful choreography of twenty or thirty lambs gleefully running and jumping in the early spring. The sound of the old sick ewe that hacked and coughed under my bedroom window at night.

Sheep have very interesting personality traits. The phrase, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, comes from observing sheep. Sheep won't eat grass that has grown tall, much less grass that has turned brown. Instead, they will go in search of the freshest, greenest meal they can find. And if it is on the other side of the fence, and there is just the smallest hole in that fence, a head will reach through for that fresh sweet grass. And chances are, if the head makes it through, the rest of the animal will follow. And sheep are like lemmings. Where one sheep goes, everybody goes. Through the hole in the fence, over the road, into the ditch, and pretty soon the whole flock is lost. Directionless. No one has a clue how they got there or how they could get back home.

Sheep are slow and clumsy. Built for comfort, and not for speed, you might say. That means sheep are vulnerable to predators.

They are dependent on their humans to protect them, to lead them to food and water, and to lead them back home when they've gotten lost.

It amuses me that the Bible spends so much space comparing people to sheep. I don't think that is just because of the proliferation of sheep and shepherds in Palestine. I think it's because there is great truth in that comparison. Have you ever heard anyone say that they felt "sheepish"? What do people mean when they say that?

I'm sure most of us would rather be compared to lions or eagles or race horses. But so often we are like sheep. It's easy for us to get distracted, and follow the green grass on the other side of the fence. We follow the crowd sheepishly, until we are lost and without purpose. All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way, the prophet Isaiah says.

And we are vulnerable. We would rather be strong, we would rather be in control of every situation. But let something go wrong in our day, an accident, a loss, a backup on the parkway, and we are quickly reminded of the limits of our ability to control what happens to us.

Like sheep, we need a shepherd.

We need a shepherd. Someone to guide, lead, protect. The question for today is, who are we going to place in that position in our life? Sheep can't choose their shepherd. But people can. And we do. In the passage from John, Jesus suggests that there are many applicants vying for this position in our life, eager to shepherd us, to lead us. Let's take a quick look through the applications and see what we've got to choose from.

Among the applicants for shepherd of God's flock are the thieves and robbers. In the literal sense, I suppose we can't really call them "applicants" since their intent is a hostile takeover. Their goal is to steal, kill and destroy. They sneak up in the dark of night, when the sheep are the most vulnerable, and when they think the shepherd is lost in sleep. Their hope is to cart the sheep off in the night before the shepherd notices.

Are there thieves and robbers trying to run your life? People who con you, deceive you, entice you, just so they can take something from you? People who know where your weak spots are, and when you're the most vulnerable? And who take advantage of that knowledge? Very often these people will masquerade as shepherds. Teachers, leaders, pastors, so-called-friends and lovers. But at heart they are bandits. They will control, abuse, and use you, but they will not empower you to become all you can be.

I think we can set aside the "thief and robber" applications and move on to some others. There are some shepherd applicants who are experienced hired hands. They have a long list of references, and have had the right education for the job. They may be very good at what they do, but they are mercenaries, only concerned with their paycheck. They will run when the enemy attacks, and leave the poor flock to be killed or scattered. Because they don't care about the sheep. The key here is motivation. Many people relate to other people simply because they can get something out of the relationship. That something may be money, or it may be sex or political advantage, or power or a variety of other things. And they will gladly continue to shepherd you, as long as you keep putting out. Or until trouble comes.

I read a story about two-year-old Kevin, who is apparently in training to be one of those "hired hands." Kevin enjoys the fact that his grandmother caters to his every whim. One time his mom commented that grandma was a "real pushover." So, when grandma was visiting, Kevin's mom asked him what he wanted to do the next day. And he said, "Well, let's go downstairs and push over Grandma!" (parables, 19.8.1)

While we are in search of a shepherd to watch over our needs, we need to watch out for the thieves and robbers, and the mercenaries. And there is one other category that we need to take note of. It's not mentioned in this passage, but I think you'll see the connection.

A friend of mine likes to tell the story of a time he went on a tour of the Holy Land, and at one point he was surprised to see a shepherd walking behind a flock of sheep, carrying a whip. He asked the tour guide why the shepherd was driving the sheep instead of leading them. "That's not the shepherd," the guide said. "That's the butcher."

Like sheep, we need a shepherd.

Well, we have one more applicant to consider. Lets take a look at his qualifications. I am the good shepherd, Jesus says.

The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. I came that they might have life and have it abundantly. This word abundantly is a little mild for what Jesus said here. It's more like super-abundant. This is the cup-running-over kind of life. In this kind of life there is freedom, love, confidence, joy, even in the midst of great pain and struggle.

We Americans knew a great deal about abundance. Abundance of things, of activities, of commitments. Yet for most of us there is a lack when it comes to life. Life often feels shallow, empty, vacant.

The good shepherd gives us what we need. First, life itself, and then along with it every thing we need to sustain that life.

The relationship of the good shepherd to the sheep is far different from that of the thieves and robbers and even the hired hand. The hired hand, he says, does not care for the sheep. The good shepherd says, "I know my own and my own know me." There is an intimacy in the relationship between shepherd and sheep. The sheep learn to recognize the shepherd's voice. They learn over time to trust the sound of that voice. If they get lost, and the shepherd calls across the hills, the sheep will run to that voice. To the shepherd, the sheep are not just so many lamb chops and wool sweaters. They are individuals with names and personalities and character traits. The shepherd knows each one by name. Every night as the sheep come into the fold, the shepherd gives each one a fond pat, and checks the sheep for injuries, gently placing healing ointment on cuts and scrapes that have accumulated through the day. This is represents what Jesus does for us. He knows us by name, he cares for us, he nurtures us and heals us as he leads us.

Unlike the hired hand, who abandons the sheep at the drop of a hat, the good shepherd is completely committed to the sheep. The good shepherd goes the distance. He lays down his life for the sheep. This is literally true, in a couple of different respects. Early in this passage, Jesus said "I am the gate" for the sheep. When a shepherd is away from home with his flock, he leads the sheep to a sheep fold at night. This fold is a walled enclosure with just one small opening, just enough for a sheep to go through. When everybody is tucked in for the night, the shepherd makes his bed in the doorway. No one can go in or out without the shepherd's knowledge. And if thieves and robbers or wolves want to come in, it is literally over the shepherd's dead body. The shepherd is the gate, leading the sheep into the fold where there is safety, and there is safety because the shepherd has laid down his life. It becomes quite natural for the sheep to trust this shepherd.

Tino Wallenda uses his children as examples of genuine trust: He says, "At one time or another I have taken each of my four children, Alida, Andrea, Aurelia and Alessandro, on my shoulders as I have walked across the wire. In those situations, the children really can't do any balancing; I'm the one who has to balance and support them. People have asked them, "Aren't you scared?" "No," they have said. And when they have been asked, "Why aren't you scared?" they have answered, "Because that's my daddy." (parables, 19.8.6) The trust comes out of the loving relationship that exists between father and child. The shepherd and his sheep.

Like sheep, we need a shepherd. Someone we can trust. Someone who will genuinely care for us. Lay down his life for us.

And now that we have seen the qualifications of several applicants for the job, which should you choose? The ones who are in it for what they can get out of you? The ones who want to control you, use you and abuse you? Or the good shepherd, who cares for the sheep, who wants to give you overflowing life that never ends?

It's really a no-brainer, isn't it? But we have to ask ourselves a tougher question: Who are you allowing to shepherd your life? Because unless you have made a decisive choice to follow Jesus, then you've chosen someone else.