A Tireless And Timeless Image
Sermon
Sermons On The Gospel Readings
Series I, Cycle B
Images are highly influential. They become emblazoned on the wall of our minds and they evoke a wide range of responses. Millions of people will remember the fireman carrying the baby out of the ruins of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. World War II veterans, particularly the ones who served in the South Pacific, will always remember Mount Surabachi and the Marines who raised an American flag at its summit, as well as the image of General MacArthur returning to the Philippines. Neil Armstrong taking that first step on the moon in the early '70s is frozen in many memories, too. If you were old enough to watch and understand television in l963, you probably remember young John F. Kennedy, Jr., at the casket of his father Jack. Much closer to our own time, many of us will long retain the image of students running out of Columbine High School with their hands over their heads. Some images are immensely powerful and have a tenacity that is tireless and timeless.
If there is one image associated with the Christian faith which, more than any other, has found an enduring place within the collective life of the Christian church, it is the image of Jesus as the good shepherd. Even if you weren't reared in an agrarian culture, the chances are excellent that you have a very firm grasp of what a good shepherd is. The imagery is in our hymns, in stained glass windows surrounding Christian sanctuaries, and in paintings. In the Bible, there are over 500 references to sheep. You might be familiar with the confession found in the book of Isaiah (53:6) that runs: "All we like sheep have gone astray ..." And in one of our classic prayers of confession, we tell God that "we have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep."
Even if people have never heard of shepherds and sheep, it is an easy matter to acquaint folks with both. To understand matters that attend to being shepherded sheep is to acquaint ourselves with the language of intimacy.
Shepherded sheep certainly were the beneficiaries of security. Shepherds, in a variety of ways, saw to the security of the sheep. They did that with rods and staffs. A rod was a stout piece of wood, around three feet long, with a lump of wood at the end about the size of an orange. With it, the shepherd fought the battles of the sheep; he would use it to drive off wild animals and defend the flock against robbers. A staff was a long crooked stick, and if a sheep showed signs of straying, the shepherd would use that staff to pull it back. The psalmist says of the two items, "Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me." Obviously those tools attended to the security and therefore the comfort of the sheep.
Additionally, when the sheep were resting for the night in a cave, the shepherd would recline in its entrance. This made it possible for him to intercept any intruder from the outside, while at the same time stopping any sheep from leaving.
Ideally, when children are young, they have regular occasions when they are safely tucked into bed, and then sent off to sleep with words and gestures from both Mom and Dad, indicating they are loved beyond measure and totally safe within the boundaries of parental care. That's security -- and it's a wonderful feeling.
The shepherd/sheep relationship was also marked by affection, sometimes playful affection. Here's one recorded observation: "I once watched a shepherd playing with his flock. He pretended to run away; the sheep pursued and surrounded him. Then he pretended to climb the rocks; the goats ran after him; and finally all the flock formed a circle, gamboling round him." Writes William Barclay: "The shepherd literally talks to his herd in a voice and a language that they can understand."1
The securing of food for his flock was also an ongoing shepherdly activity. You will easily remember the words we enjoy from Messiah: "He will feed his flock like a shepherd." Pastures and wells were in short supply, and the good shepherd led his flock to both. In a fast food culture, it is easy to lose sight of the culinary rhythms that are so rich in symbolic value. When most of us go to our places of employment, we do not think of going forth to provide food for our loved ones. Maybe we should recover the beauty of that simple, and yet profound, act. I can tell you this: Parents and children being routed from their homes anywhere in the world are not taking this rhythm of going forth, securing, and then preparing food lightly at all.
Empathy also marked the shepherd's bearing toward the sheep. If there were little lambs who could not keep pace with the flock, the shepherd would carry them by hand. That empathy was also reflected in the fact that every sheep in the flock had a name; a shepherd and a sheep could be together for as many as eight years, and over that time a strong relationship developed. Those of us who have had pets for animals know much about how all that happens.
It nearly goes without saying that shepherds had to have tenacity. Sheep were in constant need of supervision and care, like infants and young children need the constant supervision of Mother and Dad. That which is tenacious holds firmly, strongly, and persistently. If you have ever seen a sheep dog at work, you have seen what is virtually an artistic rendering of tenacity. I have also seen, and you have too, a parent whose lovingly tenacious ways with a young child can approach artistry. Such a parent cabins and curbs, but not jerkingly, and certainly not violently. Effective parenting means a child is loved, yet controlled; given freedom, but not so much as to be endangered; free to explore, with only with the bounds of what is safe and friendly.
Then also there was an evaluation dimension to shepherding. An important part of knowing the sheep was taking their measure. A shepherd would not demand from the sheep more than their strength could deliver. He knew the limits of their endurance and how far to push them.
Part of the shepherd's evaluation of his flock was the practice of having each of the sheep pass "under the rod." At evening, as the sheep entered the fold through a narrow entrance, they did so one at a time and as they did this, the shepherd would hold his rod near to the ground and demand that each sheep pass under that rod. As they did so, the shepherd was able to give each sheep a quick examination to make sure the sheep had not sustained an injury during the day. Ezekiel uses this imagery in referring to God's relationship with his people: "I will make you pass under the staff, and will bring you within the bond of the covenant" (Ezekiel 20:37).
Here, then, is what the shepherd provided: security, affection, food, empathy, tenacity, and evaluation. In short, the shepherd provided safety for the sheep.
This tireless and timeless image is a blessed one for the community of faith and serves us in at least two very vital ways.
It gives tremendous substance to what it means for the Christian community that Jesus is, as it is expressed in the book of Hebrews, "the great shepherd of the sheep" (Hebrews 13:20). Who is the risen Christ for us? He is one who attends affectionately to our security; who feeds us; who has great empathy for us; who, like the good shepherd going after the one even though the 99 are safe, is tenacious in his endeavors to bring us into the fold of God's care; and one who takes the measure of our hearts, and leads us toward the throne of grace. Hence we sing the old lines, "Savior, like a shepherd lead us, Much we need Thy tender care." And we say with the psalmist: "Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture" (Psalm 100:3).
Secondly, the image provides us with some clues regarding what it means that the church is to be a pastoral presence in the world. Day care centers, medical clinics, programs of calling and support, housing, education, financial assistance, food pantries -- all these and so much more represent expressions of the church's pastoral outreach. These are all consonant with the church's understanding of how we as God's people have first been shepherded by God in Christ. The experience of being shepherded leads us to, in turn, shepherd. A shepherdless flock is an endangered and very vulnerable one.
You have come today because you are a part of this flock and want to be cared for in a pastoral way ("pastor" being the Latin word for shepherd). You will leave in a few minutes and tomorrow some of you will be in classrooms, some of you in offices, some of you in shops, and all of us in neighborhoods and homes. Into those places you will not carry rods and staffs. But you can carry with you the rod of informed judgment and the rod of language; and you can carry with you the staff of affection and caring. There are sheep out there needing care; you have skills that can make you a modern-day shepherd. Please take upon you this tireless and timeless image. You will be surprised how warmly, welcomingly, and gratefully you will be received. And your exertions will bring joy to the heart of God, who will always be your shepherd.
____________
1. William Barclay, Jesus As They Saw Him (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1962), p. 194.
If there is one image associated with the Christian faith which, more than any other, has found an enduring place within the collective life of the Christian church, it is the image of Jesus as the good shepherd. Even if you weren't reared in an agrarian culture, the chances are excellent that you have a very firm grasp of what a good shepherd is. The imagery is in our hymns, in stained glass windows surrounding Christian sanctuaries, and in paintings. In the Bible, there are over 500 references to sheep. You might be familiar with the confession found in the book of Isaiah (53:6) that runs: "All we like sheep have gone astray ..." And in one of our classic prayers of confession, we tell God that "we have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep."
Even if people have never heard of shepherds and sheep, it is an easy matter to acquaint folks with both. To understand matters that attend to being shepherded sheep is to acquaint ourselves with the language of intimacy.
Shepherded sheep certainly were the beneficiaries of security. Shepherds, in a variety of ways, saw to the security of the sheep. They did that with rods and staffs. A rod was a stout piece of wood, around three feet long, with a lump of wood at the end about the size of an orange. With it, the shepherd fought the battles of the sheep; he would use it to drive off wild animals and defend the flock against robbers. A staff was a long crooked stick, and if a sheep showed signs of straying, the shepherd would use that staff to pull it back. The psalmist says of the two items, "Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me." Obviously those tools attended to the security and therefore the comfort of the sheep.
Additionally, when the sheep were resting for the night in a cave, the shepherd would recline in its entrance. This made it possible for him to intercept any intruder from the outside, while at the same time stopping any sheep from leaving.
Ideally, when children are young, they have regular occasions when they are safely tucked into bed, and then sent off to sleep with words and gestures from both Mom and Dad, indicating they are loved beyond measure and totally safe within the boundaries of parental care. That's security -- and it's a wonderful feeling.
The shepherd/sheep relationship was also marked by affection, sometimes playful affection. Here's one recorded observation: "I once watched a shepherd playing with his flock. He pretended to run away; the sheep pursued and surrounded him. Then he pretended to climb the rocks; the goats ran after him; and finally all the flock formed a circle, gamboling round him." Writes William Barclay: "The shepherd literally talks to his herd in a voice and a language that they can understand."1
The securing of food for his flock was also an ongoing shepherdly activity. You will easily remember the words we enjoy from Messiah: "He will feed his flock like a shepherd." Pastures and wells were in short supply, and the good shepherd led his flock to both. In a fast food culture, it is easy to lose sight of the culinary rhythms that are so rich in symbolic value. When most of us go to our places of employment, we do not think of going forth to provide food for our loved ones. Maybe we should recover the beauty of that simple, and yet profound, act. I can tell you this: Parents and children being routed from their homes anywhere in the world are not taking this rhythm of going forth, securing, and then preparing food lightly at all.
Empathy also marked the shepherd's bearing toward the sheep. If there were little lambs who could not keep pace with the flock, the shepherd would carry them by hand. That empathy was also reflected in the fact that every sheep in the flock had a name; a shepherd and a sheep could be together for as many as eight years, and over that time a strong relationship developed. Those of us who have had pets for animals know much about how all that happens.
It nearly goes without saying that shepherds had to have tenacity. Sheep were in constant need of supervision and care, like infants and young children need the constant supervision of Mother and Dad. That which is tenacious holds firmly, strongly, and persistently. If you have ever seen a sheep dog at work, you have seen what is virtually an artistic rendering of tenacity. I have also seen, and you have too, a parent whose lovingly tenacious ways with a young child can approach artistry. Such a parent cabins and curbs, but not jerkingly, and certainly not violently. Effective parenting means a child is loved, yet controlled; given freedom, but not so much as to be endangered; free to explore, with only with the bounds of what is safe and friendly.
Then also there was an evaluation dimension to shepherding. An important part of knowing the sheep was taking their measure. A shepherd would not demand from the sheep more than their strength could deliver. He knew the limits of their endurance and how far to push them.
Part of the shepherd's evaluation of his flock was the practice of having each of the sheep pass "under the rod." At evening, as the sheep entered the fold through a narrow entrance, they did so one at a time and as they did this, the shepherd would hold his rod near to the ground and demand that each sheep pass under that rod. As they did so, the shepherd was able to give each sheep a quick examination to make sure the sheep had not sustained an injury during the day. Ezekiel uses this imagery in referring to God's relationship with his people: "I will make you pass under the staff, and will bring you within the bond of the covenant" (Ezekiel 20:37).
Here, then, is what the shepherd provided: security, affection, food, empathy, tenacity, and evaluation. In short, the shepherd provided safety for the sheep.
This tireless and timeless image is a blessed one for the community of faith and serves us in at least two very vital ways.
It gives tremendous substance to what it means for the Christian community that Jesus is, as it is expressed in the book of Hebrews, "the great shepherd of the sheep" (Hebrews 13:20). Who is the risen Christ for us? He is one who attends affectionately to our security; who feeds us; who has great empathy for us; who, like the good shepherd going after the one even though the 99 are safe, is tenacious in his endeavors to bring us into the fold of God's care; and one who takes the measure of our hearts, and leads us toward the throne of grace. Hence we sing the old lines, "Savior, like a shepherd lead us, Much we need Thy tender care." And we say with the psalmist: "Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture" (Psalm 100:3).
Secondly, the image provides us with some clues regarding what it means that the church is to be a pastoral presence in the world. Day care centers, medical clinics, programs of calling and support, housing, education, financial assistance, food pantries -- all these and so much more represent expressions of the church's pastoral outreach. These are all consonant with the church's understanding of how we as God's people have first been shepherded by God in Christ. The experience of being shepherded leads us to, in turn, shepherd. A shepherdless flock is an endangered and very vulnerable one.
You have come today because you are a part of this flock and want to be cared for in a pastoral way ("pastor" being the Latin word for shepherd). You will leave in a few minutes and tomorrow some of you will be in classrooms, some of you in offices, some of you in shops, and all of us in neighborhoods and homes. Into those places you will not carry rods and staffs. But you can carry with you the rod of informed judgment and the rod of language; and you can carry with you the staff of affection and caring. There are sheep out there needing care; you have skills that can make you a modern-day shepherd. Please take upon you this tireless and timeless image. You will be surprised how warmly, welcomingly, and gratefully you will be received. And your exertions will bring joy to the heart of God, who will always be your shepherd.
____________
1. William Barclay, Jesus As They Saw Him (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1962), p. 194.
