Do you mind if I complain a little this morning? Well, you are going to read it anyway so you better get settled into your chair.
When you were in kindergarten and the teacher asked you what animal you wanted to be when you grew up, I am certain the first one that came to mind was, “sheep.” Yes the ever popular “sheep.” It ranks right up there with “amoeba.”
Of course, you did not answer “sheep.” You answered “lion,” because of is the king of the jungle. You answered “eagle,” because of its majesty and its courage as it dives from heights and plunges unto the water. You answered “giraffe” because it was tall, stood above the rest, and because you had an unusually long neck for a five year old. But “sheep” was chosen as often as “cow.” It was not prime animal want-to-be real estate.
Sheep are dumb. They wander around aimlessly, bumping into things. They stray, walking off into nowhere; having no clue where they are going or what kind of trap they are going to fall into. And, all they care about is eating; eat, eat, eat.
That being said, why would anyone ever consider comparing a child to a sheep? Why would anyone ever consider comparing a grown man to a sheep? Alright! I’m complaining this morning because I do not want to be called a sheep, even though I do bump through life, wander the wrong way, and, let’s face it, I love good food.
We are sheep, and we do need a shepherd. We need Jesus who loves us, directs us in the right paths, feeds our souls, sends us out into the world with a purpose, sends us out to love and serve others, and directs us back to the green pastures to rest. Unfortunately, we are a lot more like sheep than we would want to admit, and we do need our shepherd Jesus.
“Need,” what a terrible word. Who would like to stand up right now and admit that they “need” anything or anyone? Come on, someone stand up and tell us how you just cannot do it, how you are a wimp, how you are too dumb to figure it out, how you are a pansy. Come on! All you proud pansies out there, raise your hands high!
This is not something we like to admit in our culture is it? Have you not failed in our culture if you have not figured out how to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps? Have you not failed if you are not smart enough to figure it all out on your own? Are you telling me that you would have failed as a pioneer on the American frontier? Shame on you.”
But, is it not also true that he who needs no one, has no one.
One thing we fail to remember about history is that the majority of the those lone pioneers did not make it on their own. They either died, or left the frontier with nothing. The frontier is littered with abandoned pioneer houses. In our collective history, we fail to remember that it was the communities of people, the Germans, the Norwegians, etc. who came after the pioneers who made it. They made it through the harsh conditions of the frontier not because they alone could do it, but because they had a whole community with them. Sheep do not do well alone. They get eaten by wolves. Even though we are not used to admitting it, we are sheep, and the Lord is our shepherd.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.
That was nice to read was it not? I could finish my sermon right there, on that beautiful note. I hear the “Please do” ringing through your heads. But I am not quite done complaining. My other beef with the Lord this morning has to do with his command to lie down in green pastures.
“Sit still.” “Do nothing.” “Just stay put for a second will ya?” is the command that the Lord gives to his disciples after they return from the long, hard days healing and the preaching they were sent out to do. Now really, who should be complaining about the command to rest. If told to just “stay put, do nothing for a while” you would think that most of us would just drop to the floor right there and say, “Wake me next year.” But, that does not happen does it?
As soon as we sit down to rest, we think of what still needs to be accomplished. We toss and turn with the idea of doing nothing. We need to be on the move. We need to be productive. Do you not want us to be productive Jesus? Do you not want us to be out there healing and caring and loving? Do we really need a Sabbath, because there is a lot of better things that we could be doing than doing nothing at all?
Seriously, are you not considered a loser in our culture if the conversation goes like this, “what have you been up to lately?”
“I tried not to do anything worth while today, thank you. I plan to do the same tomorrow.”
That is just wrong. We need to be on the move. We need to be strong and productive. And, that is fine to a point, but it can go too far. To our inability to slow down Jesus answers, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while."
“You are a sheep, do you not remember?” Jesus implies. “You will wander into dark places. You will run yourself dead. You will forget to listen to wisdom. You will forget to listen to me. Come next to the still waters, rest in the green pastures and listen to my teaching,” says the Lord. “You are my sheep, and I know you better than you.”
If you could be any animal in the world, what would it be? It really is OK to be a “sheep.” A sheep may not be wise, courageous, or great but a sheep trusts in the one who is, the Lord.
All Scripture quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyrighted, 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and is used by permission. All rights reserved.
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