FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER B

[cappie]

Every year,  at this time, we are invited to live in a world where there are a whole slew of sheep and one, good, sacrificial Shepherd. It can be an unusual time, since not many of us have first-hand experience living off the land, tending to a flock, or roaming about foraging for food, this morning, scripture is patiently and imaginatively asking us to enter its world.

What does this mean, then, to be a sheep?

To be a sheep is, at its most basic, to be a creature created and loved by their Creator. They do not spend their days thinking that they are the centre of the universe, nor the creature at the heart of creation. Sheep, it is just so happy to be sheep: eating and walking and sleeping their way through life. A sheep is a creature,

Being a sheep also means being a part of a community, a herd. They are safest and happiest as part of a big community of sheep. When one does wander off, it knows it is alone, scared, and in a precarious position. It knows that – out here on this hillside all by itself – it will be an easy and quick dinner for that wolf or other roaming predator.   Their body depends on other bodies forming into one large protective pile. Sheep do not think they should live all alone, independent. A life alone would be a sad and crazy life for a sheep.  

And while we could say lots of other things about sheep, we conclude with one last thing about being a sheep:

Sheep are followers  because they have no idea where they are going.   all of the best pastures around.   They need someone to call out their names and they need someone to call  out, “Hey, over here, there’s some really thick and luscious grass for you to eat.” Sheep need a guide – someone who knows their needs and can tend to them; someone defend them in the face of danger; someone who  knows their distinctive identities; someone who will help bring new lambs into the world;  someone who is trustworthy and someone who knows the places of danger and the places of respite.

We are sheep, in this metaphorical world, because we cannot be anything but sheep. We are not the ruler of our lives, our herds, nor the masters of our destiny. To be a sheep – and at this point it is glaringly obvious – is remarkably similar to being a human. Creatures who need community and who cannot help but follow – since we often have no idea where we are going in the first place.

We are sheep because we are in desperate need of a Shepherd.

And this shepherd is a particularly good shepherd. One who will lay his life down for you. This good shepherd will take you on a long and winding journey. And as you follow this shepherd, there may be days where you wonder to yourself: does this shepherd know what he is doing? He seems to be taking us to a far and strange land. Those pastures back there seemed good enough for us – why, oh why, are we traveling again?

But then you will arrive.  This is a good Shepherd, and he knows what he is doing. The Good Shepherd is beckoning you – can you hear him? He is calling out your name, he is inviting you to get close, to join the herd for the journey, to rejoice in your created goodness, and to follow him wherever he leads, even though those valleys of death.

Will you follow? Will you go where he calls? Will you let him love you? Will you let him carry you when you are wounded and heal your loneliness? Will you trust him, the Good Shepherd, with your very life?

Surely, surely, his goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen.