Sheep and Shepherds

Photo taken by me, in Scotland (2017)

The Fifty Days of Easter continue to unfold. Sunday, April 25 will be the Fourth Sunday of Easter, also sometimes called Good Shepherd Sunday. I am not preaching, but these are some notes and reflections that may be helpful to those who are preaching and perhaps also for those who will be listening to preaching.

The metaphor of Christ as “good shepherd” presents some challenges to those of us who live in a technological society. Very few of the people in most of our congregations know any real shepherds. If we aren’t careful we can sentimentalize that language. As a farmer/theologian/priest friend of mine used to say, "sheep smell and when Jesus said we were like sheep, it was not a compliment."  

Shepherds were not revered in the Middle Eastern world that shaped the Bible. They were considered dirty and poor. It was hard work, and doing it didn’t get you into many society events. The fact that King David had been a shepherd simply suggested that God could take a lowly kid from the sticks and make him a king. It also suggested the kind of king that God longs for: someone who can identify with ordinary people’s needs and longings. But the fact that David had been a shepherd didn't change the fact that it was hardly considered to be a noble profession. 

The staff (or crozier) that bishops carry is, of course, a symbol of the shepherd’s work. By choosing that symbol, the Church invites us to think of the pastoral ministry of bishops (and priests) as shepherding. That shepherd’s crook was used for beating off wolves that tried to hurt the sheep. (Scarier still are wolves in sheep’s clothing, but that's another post.) That staff was also used for poking the sheep when they needed it, a reminder that pastoral ministry isn’t always about making people feel comfortable, but sometimes requires pushing them out of their “comfort zones.” 

Shepherds didn’t treat the sheep like a pet dog or cat, in spite of that image we probably all carry around in our head of the shepherd carrying that cute little lamb in his arms. The most important thing the shepherd can do is to keep the sheep together, not only for their protection but to make a living. And that isn’t about staying in one place! Sheep need to stay “on the move” toward greener pastures and stiller waters, if they mean to thrive. There is always the danger of one getting lost along the way, in which case the shepherd goes to get it in order to get it back with the others. But no good shepherd is always running to and fro trying to gather them all in! The whole point is to try to keep them together in the first place! (The parable, after all, is about how 99 were together and one got lost.) 

Years ago, I had the opportunity to be at Trinity Church, Wall Street, for the 34^th Annual Trinity Institute. The topic was “Benedictine Spirituality.” One of the speakers was Rowan Williams who was, at the time, serving as Archbishop of Canterbury. He spoke about how the Rule of St. Benedict provides a stable environment, a “workshop” that forms healthy disciples. “Stability,” he said, “provides a framework for the work of mending that needs to be done in all communities.” He used an image in that presentation that has stayed with me. He talked about the “currency” of the community and pointed out that...

...all communities need a medium of exchange, a language that assures their members that they are engaged in the same enterprise. It involves common stories and practices, things that you can expect your neighbour to understand without explanation, ways and styles of doing and saying things.

He went on to tell a story about an English priest who was interested in asking the question about what the “currency” of the university is. So he spends some time trying to pick up what people there talk about, and how. One day he figures it out: what these people “exchange” with one another are grievances. The currency of that particular university is grievance, he suggests. Williams then says this:

...what is in circulation is much like blood in a body: what you receive is what you give, what you put into the circulation. ‘If you put in grievance, you will get back grievance’  

He contrasts this example with a story about an elderly religious in Yorkshire,  

...unobtrusive and to the untutored eye rather idle; but it is he ‘who sets the currency of goodness and kindness circulating through that community." Without some such input into the ‘circulation’, communities will be at best dry and at worst deadly…what may be put into circulation are unresolved angers and resentments…anxiety or censoriousness…yet the [peace which St. Benedict’s] Rule envisages is more like a habit of stable determination to put into the life of the body something other than grudges.

So what does this all have to do with sheep, and shepherding? When I was a very young priest, part of my work included leading chapel at the pre-school that was a part of the parish I served as Associate Rector. I am not much of a singer, but kids are forgiving. We used to sing a song that went like this: "We are the sheep, and he is the shepherd; his banner over me is love." For sure. 

I would propose that the mission of the Church, now more than ever, is found in the little verse from I John appointed for this Sunday: “little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.” That verse is the key to understanding Good Shepherd Sunday and every Sunday when the community gathers, whether in person or virtually.  

We are meant for love to be the medium of exchange. Sometimes we do exchange grievances in the Church, and I've been to too many church gatherings where, sadly, that happens. But when you put in grievance, you get back grievance. We need to learn and re-learn to put in love and goodness and kindness that leaven the whole loaf in those places where we are called to serve. May we learn as these  fifty days continue to unfold how to live like we believe that, to live as God's own beloved, called to love God back and to love our neighbor as self. May we love in truth and in action.