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The Rev. Linda McCloud
“Jesus answered . . . ‘My
sheep hear my voice.
My Sheep Hear My
Voice God is indescribable. So why do we keep trying to describe God? Maybe it’s because we are made in the image of God. And yet, all we can know of God is whatever God chooses to reveal to us. Jesus Christ is the clearest revelation of God ever given to humankind, yet we have no photographs of Jesus. We have to rely on word pictures in scripture that describe his personhood. One description of Jesus in his own words is that Jesus is a Shepherd. Jesus is also the Lamb, the spotless Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. We carry over this symbolism from the Exodus, when Moses told the Israelites to sacrifice a year-old lamb that was without spot or blemish. They were to take some of the blood of the lamb and sprinkle it on the doorposts of their houses so that the death angel would “pass over” them. At Holy Eucharist we pray, “Lamb of God, that takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.” How could Jesus be both shepherd and lamb, both priest and victim? When we consider sheep and shepherds in a Biblical context, we might automatically think of the twenty-third Psalm – “The Lord is my shepherd.” In meditating on this Psalm, our reasoning can go something like this: If the Lord is my shepherd, then I have to admit that I am a sheep. Although I have met very few sheep face to face, I have heard that sheep are – well – less than brilliant. Maybe you have even heard it said that sheep are . . . stupid. So if I am going to be called a sheep, I thought I should learn more about these beautiful creatures.[1] As it turns out, sheep are not as stupid as I thought they were. Sheep are given credit for helping to bring about human civilization. It seems that about the same time that humans began to bake bread – maybe ten thousand years ago, we also began to herd sheep. This was a no-brainer because sheep naturally flock together for safety. Trouble is – sheep chew up a lot of pasture land. Civilization needed the prime land near the streams to grow grains to make that bread. So sheep had to go off to the mountains and the wilderness. There are dangers in the wilderness, and we could not let the sheep go out there alone. Besides, sheep follow each other, so they could wander off to who knows where. The farmer could not be in two places at once, so he or she hired someone to look after the sheep. Shepherds are the first middle managers in civilization. They had to take care of the sheep and report back to the owners. If the shepherd was not a member of the farmer’s family, the shepherd could possibly become a nomad and live outside the mainstream of society. The good shepherds lived with the sheep, never leaving them nor forsaking them, even when danger arose. They would gather their sheep in a pen at night and often lie down across the entrance to the pen. They had to protect the sheep from predators. When David the shepherd boy who would be king interviewed for the job of fighting Goliath the Philistine giant, David listed his qualifications. He said that as a shepherd he had fought and killed both a bear and a lion to protect his father’s sheep. He also wrote Psalm twenty-three. Shepherds were constantly moving about, always taking the sheep to greener pastures. They had to make sure the sheep had sufficient grass and water. They had to gently lead the ewes with young lambs, and those that were about to give birth. The sheep are smart enough to learn the shepherd’s voice. Other prominent Biblical characters were also shepherds. Moses’ experience as a shepherd was useful when God called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses had been tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro on the back side of the desert when God spoke to Moses out of the burning bush. Since King David was a shepherd, and Jesus in his humanity was of David’s royal lineage, we get Biblical images of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. When Jesus was born in David’s hometown, whom did the angels tell? It was the shepherds. They were the first to hear of the birth of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. As sheep go, it turns out that some sheep have attributes that are quite helpful. In Iceland they have a breed of sheep called Leadersheep. These brave creatures protect their own flock. Sheep in general are smart enough to stay together when grazing. The predators don’t go after a whole flock. They go after stragglers who are separated from the flock. Staying together is the only natural protection that sheep have. Sheep do not stand and fight. Their natural instinct is to flee when they see the wolf coming. Amazingly, after sheep have run from their predator, they will regroup and look straight at it. Maybe they are not as smart as I thought they were. Sheep are also social. So is the Good Shepherd. In fact, where two or three of us sheep are gathered together, He is in the midst of us. When the flock is scattered, the individual sheep are vulnerable to danger. That’s why sheep need a shepherd – to ward off predators and to gather the flock together. We have things that gather us – scriptures, hymns, the Creeds, Holy Eucharist. Sheep also have a highly developed tolerance for pain. If sheep showed pain, they would be more vulnerable to predators that look for the weak, injured ones. Christians have taken the Prophet Isaiah’s description and applied it to Jesus: “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” [Is. 53:7] Like sheep we also have predators, one of which is the temptation to sin. Saint Paul warns us to flee temptation. If we try to fight it, temptation might get the best of us. This solemn warning comes from Saint Peter: “Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith.” [1 Peter 5:8-9a] We can resist temptation when we listen for the Shepherd’s voice. His voice is our inner voice that helps us distinguish right from wrong. It’s more than just a good conscience. What you hear is the still small voice of the Holy Spirit of God that you received at your baptism. The Shepherd’s voice also helps us to decide between what is good and what is best. This will take some extra listening. In classic terms this is called discernment, which calls for prayerful consideration. If I’m going to be a sheep, I need the Good Shepherd – the Chief Shepherd. The Good Shepherd knows exactly how many sheep he has. If he has a hundred sheep and one gets lost, he makes sure the other ninety-nine are safe and goes looking for the one that is lost. The lost sheep has probably nibbled its way around the mountainside, looking for those greener pastures on its own. The lost sheep is not necessarily a bad sheep – it’s just a lost sheep, and needs to be brought back into the fold so everyone can get some sleep. You have noticed, of course, that Bishops carry a crozier, or shepherd’s crook as they pursue their official duties. I love the symbolism in the Episcopal Church. I’m getting a little more accustomed to being compared to a sheep, especially since the Lord is my shepherd. Listen for his voice as he invites us all to graze in his pasture and to feed on the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. Amen. [1] Factual information about sheep found at http://www.sheep101.info/flocking.html
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