A Sheepish Sermon for Easter 4

The Lord is my shepherd.

Well, that makes me the sheep, doesn’t it? And that simple suggestion calls up all sorts of images and connotations. I am a sheep. Baaa.

Knowing how sheep were herded and tended in the biblical time and location makes a difference to how we hear the message of the psalmist and of Jesus. Sheep: not the brightest creature God created, right? We hear about the stupidity of sheep, we teach our kids camp songs about how we don’t want to BE sheep, the scriptures repeatedly mention how the sheep are easily led or wandering astray.

However: the biblical references here lead us in a different direction.

Sheep: belonging to one, guarded by another, tended to by yet another.

Belonging.

The one who owned would have had significant interest in the well-being of the sheep; the sheep would have provided wool, food, income. The owner wanted to make sure there was health and abundance for the sheep, to keep them healthy, to keep them his own. We’ve all seen how we treat our animals – we know them, we know where they belong, we know when there’s something not quite right with them, we look after them. And so, those that ‘belong’ to us know us and know they will be loved.

Belonging to someone can, therefore, be a good thing.

Then we get the guarding. Well, we all like to be looked after, don’t we? In this society, our doors have locks. We can call the emergency services if we need. We can ask a neighbor to keep an eye on things while we’re away. Guarding is serious business, and always has been.

So the reference to the gatekeeper here is important to us, the sheep. The gatekeeper will make sure that we all get inside safely at the end of our day. The gatekeeper will make sure that any stragglers are found and brought home, that any stragglers from another flock are returned safely to their home. The gatekeeper will make sure that no dangers come in, even to the point of putting himself in danger to fight off thieves, wolves, other unsavouries. The gatekeeper is so dedicated to keeping the flock together, for their own benefit, that he will sleep at the gate and be ever on guard.

Being guarded can be a good thing.

Then we have the tending.

The shepherd has the most hands-on connection with the sheep. He is walking with them day by day, he is calling us – by name – to follow. Sure, the sheep can choose to ignore the shepherd and go their own way, but even then we hear of the biblical shepherds who came after the lost sheep, who invited them back.

Being part of a flock is being in community; it’s the support and culmination of care. Being part of a flock means that the shepherd is going to provide: food, shelter, safety. The shepherd will find the green pastures that were few and far between in the dessert of the scriptures. He will find some stream that is calm enough to approach and drink from; also a rarity. (Imagine if we had to get all of our water from the Birdtail – hardly ‘still waters’ recently!)

He will carry a staff to pull us from rocky cliffs and a rod to beat away any approaching threats. He will journey with us, finding a place for us to rest; he will keep us healthy; he will provide everything we need – individually and as a community - and more.

Being herded, being tended to, can be a good thing.

So. The Lord is my Shepherd. I am God’s sheep. I am not a stupid wandering creature: I am known, I am guarded, I am cared for. Whether it’s the bright sunny days or the darkest most threatening situations, I have someone to rely upon.

He restores my soul; he guides me in the right direction. He gives me everything I need for this life and –more importantly-for the next. He encourages me to change enemies into friends at the heavenly banquet.

He pours out his grace so completely that it overflows any of my expectations: my cup overflows without concern of making a mess or wasting the feast but as a celebration of such abundance that I can’t even begin to comprehend.

I am the one that Jesus himself came for, to bring life: to bring that spiritual health and joy and blessing- and to have them in such abundance that I can’t help but to share. I am the one who can choose to follow that leader, that great shepherd of the sheep, to celebrate his promise that he came to bring life, and have it abundantly.

The Lord is my shepherd; I am God’s sheep. And I wouldn’t want to be anything else.