Pastors talk about shepherds a lot, the problem is, in general we have very little actual “real world” knowledge about sheep or the sheep herding profession. Sadly, a lot of the “knowledge” comes from passed down anecdotes, previous sermon illustrations, assumptions, tropes, casual “one off” observations, relying on passed on “reliable” information that has come to you via talking with someone whose best friend’s, third cousin’s college roommates sister who once dated a guy that knew a person who said that they worked on a sheep farm for a summer, or saying it because it “seems” right. Even our nursery rhymes have misinformed us. Jesus would have been around shepherds as would many people of his time. It wasn’t such a foreign concept and using sheep and shepherds as illustrations would have resonated on a more factual level than a sentimental one. So, as it turns out there’s a lot to being a shepherd. So one challenge is thinking about what Jesus was saying from a factual basis. So why is it a big deal? The Gospel is about what Jesus taught, not what we wished he taught. Here’s your example. There’s a frequently repeated sermon illustration about the “fact” that shepherd’s usually in some wiser, far off place break a leg of a sheep that strays so that the shepherd will carry it and tend to it and the sheep will learn to trust and never leave the shepherd’s side when it heals. I thankfully had never heard this illustration, but when it popped up I was mortified. Actual shepherds and sheep ranchers have responded to this myth. There are so many things wrong with it and the idea of it. It’s just not true and for the professionals the idea was beyond ridiculous. So I wondered if the things I thought I knew about sheep and shepherds were based in fact or just things that supported an idea. The place I started was trying to answer Jesus’ question and that is what brought all of this up. Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? In many discussions the conclusion is, no one. It would be foolish to abandon and risk the whole flock for one, so Jesus’ point is that he exhibits “counter intuitive grace.” This is great stuff! Jesus for sure goes to the unexpected and exhibits unexpected and overflowing love and mercy. This is a very valid point, but the fact that we live with a sheep guardian dog does not make me a shepherd nor does the 23rd psalm make pastors and theologians trusted sources for all things sheep herding. Thank goodness for the internet and the ability to read the words of actual sheep herders and ranchers and hear them discuss lost sheep and sheep care and herding practices. The number one thing I could tell from what I read was that herding was not a solitary practice. There are multiple shepherds or dog helpers. A huge part of their job is counting sheep and then looking for missing ones. I would imagine that you would end up with a pretty small herd of sheep and severe fiscal problems if you took an “oh, it’s just one sheep” attitude. The shepherds were telling of how a small depression in the ground where a sheep laid down could cause them to not be able to roll upright and get their feet under them and they would die there without help. One shepherd found a sheep on its belly on a stump because he was listening and he recognized a call for help. All four feet couldn’t touch the ground and it was stuck. So the point is, there’s a responsibility to go, listen, search, find and help. The problem Jesus is pointing to is the willingness of those rebuking him to do so much better for sheep than fellow human beings that have wandered off. Also, you will tear your house upside down looking for a lost coin, but lost people? You sit around and criticize and scold those who are looking, welcoming, healing and helping. Are you kidding me? He asks. I remember having some important keys on my keyring some years ago. I had them in the house and then I didn’t. On another occasion, I had some of my mother’s jewelry after she passed away and we put it away in a place that made sense at the time. Both occasions we tore the house apart multiple times. We could not stop looking. We would stop, then we were back at it. The jewelry came back to my wife in one of those dawning realization, Aha! Moments and she went and got it. The keys? We had even looked in places that made no sense at all, aside from the places that did make sense. All Around and in my nightstand and under the bed next to it, but as it turns out, over a year later, we discovered that we should have shaken out all of the shoes from under the bed. There was also this. In a town near ours we happened to see a dog in a yard when we were driving through a neighborhood. It was the same breed as ours, a keeshond, which was a rare breed in that area. Right after Christmas one Sunday, members of the church asked if our dog was lost because there was a LOST DOG ad in the paper. It was a keeshond. We went back to that town and spent a day riding around looking for a needle in a haystack and did not find the dog, Smiley. Remember…not our dog and we did not know the owner, but lost dog and we are keeshond lovers. What if it were our dog? The next day my wife called me from her work. She arrived at work, and at the front door of the office building, miles away, in a different town was Smiley and he ran to my wife and jumped into her arms. I know, It sounds like a made up story, but it is a first person fact. It’s pretty unbelievable circumstances, but Jesus did say seek and you will find, but I guess the one in need found us. It had a broken leash on it so it had probably been stolen for a Christmas gift, and tied outside where it escaped. We got to reunite the dog and owner back where we had seen the dog…a whole town away! So, that’s stuff we’ve looked for, searched hard for, so I guess what Jesus is asking me today is, Am I that diligent and concerned about the people that the church or the world considers lost? Am I seeking to be that person of unexplainable, miraculous trust where the lost know they can find the way home and are my arms open wide to receive them like Smiley? I’ve heard sheep blamed for being dumb for wandering off or into dangerous situations, and getting lost, but the shepherds tell a different story. Sheep are in need of something, are afraid, stolen or are sick when they separate from the flock. I’m thinking that’s the case with people too. Do we spend our time blaming or trying to understand and alay or protect from fear, fulfill needs and treat and heal sickness? Good Shepherds do. I mentioned our dog Cordelia. She’s a Komondor/Great Pyrenees mix. Both breeds are huge white herd guardian dogs. Her job is not to run around and round stuff up. If you met her, you’d soon know what a joke that is. No, her job is to protect. Both breeds will stand up to bears and wolves. The interesting and sometimes frustrating thing about her is that you cannot dissuade or distract her from her duty, which is to make sure her flock, that is our family, is safe. They’ve also shown that the breed never forgets a face. Two and a half years away from my cousin and she instantly remembered him. Her bark is thunderous and her vigilance remarkable, letting potential threats know that she is there and prepared. Everything that goes by outside, she somehow knows and fear does not seem to be in her vocabulary. Those are some Good Shepherd qualities. The good news is that Jesus makes a stand and is not dissuaded from his duty. The shepherds said that sheep that are in trouble can die quickly. Jesus is the Good Shepherd that searches and responds immediately, even on the Sabbath. Jesus knows his sheep and the sheep know his voice, that’s also a shepherd verified fact. Like real shepherds, to Jesus every sheep is valuable and precious. The very least that Jesus is asking for in return is to not interfere with the protection, outreach to, loving and caring for his sheep, but the Jesus’ call to action is for us is to go and search, love, welcome and care for one another, especially those those cast out, in trouble, sick or on the the outside and to see the value of every child of God. I would like to close by remembering those, who on this day 21 years ago took up the shepherd’s staff, entered the World Trade Center buildings and searched. Searching and helping and ultimately giving their lives for the sheep. They did so without question of sin status, righteousness, race, religion, sexual orientation or nationality. Some, through their vocation, answer that call everyday, and for them we are extremely grateful for their service and sacrifice and they stand as an example to us all. There is a call for all of us, to be searchers, shepherds, protectors, and doers of the word, to be vigilant for those in need and to do God’s work with our hands, that all may know that they are precious to God and to us. Amen
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