© 2024, Dr. Tamilio
Even though there is a “Good Shepherd” Sunday on the liturgical calendar, readings about Christ as the Good Shepherd (including that much beloved Psalm 23) appear from time to time throughout all three years of the cycle. Today is one of those days.
I was recently listening to Dr. Charles Stanley on the radio, the founder of In Touch Ministries, and he was talking about sheep. They’re not the sharpest knives in the drawer apparently. To be sure that I was hearing this right, I went to the website Fauna Facts: a site that simply provides information about animals and pets. The author of the site, who simply goes by Chris, said, “Sheep are not intelligent animals like wolves or dolphins. This is because they are overly reliant on shepherds for protection after millennia of domestication.”[1]
How interesting! Furthermore, sheep do typically follow any ol’ shepherd. They become attached to one in particular. They get used to his presence, his voice, and even his smell, and they see him as their protector. Jack Wellman elaborates on this. He writes:
My uncle in Iowa raises sheep, and I can remember him saying a lot of things about his sheep; most of it bad. For one thing, sheep are defenseless against predators. They can’t fight back and they can’t outrun predators. They simply panic. They’re afraid of water and can only be led to still water by a shepherd (Psalm 23:2), and who can blame them? Sheep can’t swim. Imagine getting all that wool soaked, so they’re really good at doing two things in water…sinking, and drowning. They’re also very good at getting stuck on their backs and being totally defenseless. They can be frightened into having a heart attack by imagining a dog or wolf is going to attack, even if it doesn’t. And sheep must be led to green pastures (Psalm 23:1); otherwise they’d eat the grass down to the roots, destroying the pasture.[2]
In other words, sheep are not that bright! Dr. Stanley is right. That is why when people refer to you as a sheep (usually in political circles), it isn’t a compliment. It means that you are blindly following someone.
When it comes to religion, people refer to this as blind faith. I never understood why this term (blind faith) was held up as a virtue. There were a lot of people in Nazi Germany who had blind faith in Hitler — following what he said with unparalleled devotion, never question the plan that led Germany into World War II.
The world does not need more blind faith. It has led to unbridled fanaticism.
But that is not the faith we (as sheep) are to have in Jesus (our Good Shepherd). It isn’t exactly blind faith when the person you follow is willing to lay down his life for yours. Jesus tells us of his plan in John’s Gospel (10:11-15):
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Context is everything. Not too many contemporary readers are shepherds or even know someone who is. In an article in the Evangelical magazine Christianity Today, Patrick Mabilog writes,
It’s easy to miss the significance of the truth behind Jesus being our Shepherd because much of popular culture is unaware of the profession and work of tending to sheep. In ancient near-east culture, however, the profession of a shepherd was a popular one. Because sheep were a popular source of meat and their wool was a major source of material for clothes, shepherding was a popular profession.[3]
That is the case today. Yes, some of us eat lamb, fewer eat mutton, and you may have a wool coat or sweater in your closet, but when was the last time you even saw a sheep let alone met a shepherd? It is not common in our context, but it was in Jesus’. Some of his followers would have been shepherds. If not, they knew one or two or ten of them. It is difficult to think of a parallel contemporary example, particularly in an age and nation where one is encouraged to fend for himself or herself, to forge one’s own path. We are products of Ralph Waldo Emerson who encouraged “Self-Reliance,” not upon any person or organization who will guide us.
But think of someone who had a great influence on you. Think of a parent, a mentor, or a coach. Think of the aunt and uncle who raised you, or the neighbor who encouraged you to strive for excellence. Think of the scout leader, the teacher, or the friend who believed in you and fostered your talents. This is not unlike a shepherd, but Jesus as our shepherd is different. He not only encourages us to live our lives to the fullest, but to know, right in our bones, that he is the one who cares for us — to the point that he gave his life for us.
This sermon is as much for me as it is for you. I need to be reminded of this. I don’t know about you, but when I am exhausted or stressed I sometimes feel adrift — alone. I cry out, “Where are you, O God,” just as the Psalmist did. I want relief but find myself traversing a dry wasteland. But if I pause, breathe deeply, contemplate a passage from Scripture, and genuinely turn my heart to God in prayer, the answers come. I am saturated by the presence of the Living Christ, who speaks to my spirit from the infinite. It feels as if he is saying, “I am here. I am your shepherd. You shall not want. Your identity, your purpose, and the very answer to your questions are rooted in me. Follow me to the still waters and I will restore your soul. I’ve prepared a place for you. Your enemies are now friends. They’re at the table, too. I will be your comfort and your stay. Nothing will hurt you: neither the moon by night nor the sun by day. I am your shepherd. I am your Lord. I am your Savior”
And he’s yours as well. It takes nothing more than surrender. As Jesus said in Mark’s Gospel, “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it” (8:35). Allow Jesus to shepherd you. He will keep you in his care throughout this life and beyond — and there’s nothing better than that. Amen.
[1] Chris, “Are Sheep Smart or Dumb? (Here’s the Science),” from Fauna Facts (online.) Published January 31, 2022. Accessed July 19, 2024.
[2] Jack Wellman, “The Relationship Between the Good Shepherd and His Sheep,” from the blog the Christian Crier (online). Published: January 4, 2018. Accessed July 19, 2024.
[3] Patrick Mabilog, “What Is the Significance of Jesus Beings Our Shepherd?” from Christianity Today (online). Published: August 9, 2016. Accessed July 20, 2024.