When we think of Jesus as the good shepherd we conjure up the popular image of Our Lord walking with a lamb under his arm. But a closer look at our gospel reading this morning indicates this is not the image that Christ is discussing in this passage. Looking deeper into the passage one realizes, like many of Jesus’ teachings, it is a two edged sword and can be interpreted in two different ways.
The gospel read this morning is not a lesson on raising sheep. As Pastor Robin Fish notes in his sermon, images of sheep do not necessarily conjure up pleasant pictures in our minds. When we talk about a bunch of sheep, we think of rather stupid animals who will follow whoever will lead them. They frequently wander from safety into danger without any thought. They don’t understand the dangers that confront them and when they discover such perils it too often is too late.
Unfortunately this image really applies to us. How often are we prepared to follow false gods. “Go with the flow” is a popular expression nowadays and sometimes is a cop out when we don’t want to take a stand on an issue. Young people will experiment with marijuana and even harder drugs because it easier to follow the crowd than stand up and be different.
When we are teenagers we want so much to belong to the crowd. We may do things that are wrong because we want to impress others. I remember as an elementary school boy seeing a bunch of older kids riding another boy because he came from a poor family and was not well dressed or particularly well groomed. I wish that I could say I came to his rescue. Instead I joined in the taunts and teasing. My own family wasn’t much better off than his and I frequently had been the brunt of school yard teasing. In my naivety I suppose I thought I might win acceptance by joining the herd. I felt badly afterwards and have never forgotten this and hopefully learned a lesson here. Perhaps Jesus was speaking to my subconscious juvenile mind telling me this behaviour was inappropriate. I learned early that following the crowd came with a price and having a guilty conscience from hurting someone else unnecessarily was a price not worth paying.
Perhaps we can blame youth and immaturity on our juvenile behaviour. But as adults we aren’t always much better. We want to do what their neighbours or co-workers are doing because it is easier than saying no. If the local bar features a stripper and we know the young girl is barely eighteen – perhaps the age or younger than one of our children, will we refuse to go or figure it is okay this time because we don’t want our friends calling us “a prude” or making us feel we will be the subject of Monday’s coffee room gossip.
Recently I returned from Saskatoon and was surprised to learn that Sunday is just like any other day. The stores open at 8:00 am and close at 11:00 pm. Recently the Manitoba government has announced that it plans to extend Sunday shopping hours to make Manitoba more competitive and improve the economy. If that means less people can attend church because they have to work or want to get a head start on shopping, how many of us will protest this? Or will we simply say “We can’t do anything to change this so we just have to accept it and get on with our lives.”
We are not alone in our going astray and not standing up to what is wrong. Recently the University of Manitoba apologized to the native people for their complacency in the Residential School issue. The apology says in part “Our institution failed to recognize or challenge the forced assimilation of Aboriginal peoples and the subsequent loss of their language culture and traditions. This was a grave mistake. We are sorry.” Complacency is going with the flow and not standing up. In others following like sheep as Christ warns us against.
Even when we have gone astray and off the path that Christ would have us lead, we make excuses. Like the smoker who has tried to quit smoking, we will say “just one little cigarette” can’t hurt and we find ourselves once more smoking a pack a day. Or we make excuses for other’s behaviour. We get drawn away from what is good to what looks like greener pastures on the other side of God’s fence. No wonder Moses in the Ten Commandments warned us against the sin of coveting.
Unfortunately Christians must struggle more now than at any time in our past. Our society is becoming more godless and false gods abound. It was noted in Friday’s Reminder that only 71% believe in God and this is down from 84% in 2000.Will we be led by Christ the good shepherd or by the shepherd who wants to lead us away from Christ? As Pastor Robin notes some people see Jesus as a taskmaster and a spoiler of fun. Do we follow their example and reject him?
As Christians we know in our hearts that Christ is the one true shepherd. He is the good shepherd not some hired hand. He will defend us and not abandon us. When the wolves circled his flock, he was willing to sacrifice his life in order to save ours. This is no cowardly act, but the act of the shepherd who loves his sheep no matter how stupid they might be and how disobedient and unwilling at times to follow. “The Lord is my shepherd,” as the psalmist says. If we follow Him we shall not want. He leads us into green pastures even though we frequently get confused and think that paths that lead us away from Him look better.
But the hired hands we encounter frequently in our lives are different. These are the friends that are with us during the good times. But when our fortunes are down and we face difficulties they are nowhere to be found. These kinds of friends are well described in the Book of Job and we all know people like that. They won’t help and are quick to say “I told you so,” even if they never offered any advice. But Christ is always true to us – He doesn’t run away when the times get rough. He doesn’t scold only wraps us in His arms of love.
As I said earlier, everything Jesus tells us is like a two edged sword. In John he tells us what he can do for us. But as God’s hands and feet upon the earth we are expected to do for others what Christ has done for us. Has he not instructed us in Matthew 25:40 that whatever we do for the least of our brothers and sisters we do for him? When we see a brother who is defenceless due to age, illness or social economic disadvantage, we need to be the shepherd who stops the wolf from snatching and scattering them away. If everyone stood up the bullies in the world there simply would be no more bullies. Perhaps you might say “But I am just one person. What can I do?” Men like Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther were people with a vision not blinded by false shepherds telling them they were doomed for failure. If every Christian united for a cause what power we would have. Sadly Christians are frequently too complacent and perhaps that’s why we find ourselves today as a struggling minority.
Pastor Martin Neimoller in reference to Hitler and the Holocaust also sums up well what happens when we follow the wrong shepherd and fail to stand up for what is right:
“First they came for the communists,
And I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
And I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
And I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for me,
And there was no one left to speak out for me.
Christ is the good shepherd. By dedicating our lives and following him he can take us all to greater heights than we could ever imagine. AMEN
