They had done it a million times; eating with each other that is. So why did this time seem so foreign?
As he cut his steak, he tried to think of something to say. He tried to think about something to talk about. But, what had they not already talked about over the course of the last 32 years?
A young couple nearby in the restaurant, infatuation dripping from their lips, glanced over at the long married couple. They giggled at the “old” married couple who stared blankly at their food and ate in silence.
“You will get your turn,” the man thought when he caught their stares. "You will have your fun together, then you will have your children which will consume your entire life, then they will leave the house, and then you will eat steak together with nothing to say. Don’t giggle too loudly; you will get your turn.”
“How did we get here?” he thought.
“Do I really even know this person sitting across from me? I feel lost.”
“How’s your steak Honey?” he offered.
“Good” she replied.
They both returned to their own silent thoughts.
About a mile away, at the High School, she sat on the bleachers. A piece of formerly suspended, glittery ribbon was stuck to the heal of her shoe. As she picked it loose, she watched as other couples danced together.
“Am I really the only one who came to the prom without a date?” she questioned.
“I’m pretty. I have a great dress. What’s wrong with me?”
She took a swig of punch, determined to get up and search for a dance partner, but was deflated in motivation when the DJ took a quick break at that very moment.
“It is as if the world wants me alone,” she thought in the darkness.
Across the world from the young girl and many years previous there sat a man on the side of the road. He felt the familiar handle of the wooden cup, and lifted it up when he heard someone approach.
Sometimes he would feel lucky as he heard the sound of a coin plunk the bottom of the cup. Sometimes he would feel just as forgotten as always when he heard the feet walk past without recognition.
He used to call out to people as they passed by, but it did not seem to make a difference. Now, he just sat in silence with the cup; trapped by his own thoughts.
As the random thoughts swam through his head, a conversation nearby broke his mild-mannered concentration.
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.”
Then the man heard the sound of spitting and rubbing. Soon he felt the cool feel of mud on his eyes.
“Go, wash in the pool of Siloem,” the one who touched his face ordered.
As soon as the waters splashed his face, a bright…something, pierced through his eye lids. Light? Was that what light looks like?
He looked around and saw the world. He had never seen the world before: flowers, trees, people, birds, shovels, dirt, and that gooey, smelling stuff on the side of the road. Just what is…oh, never mind, we know what that is.
The man that had healed him was like a shepherd that he never realized he had. His new shepherd came, searching for him, sacrificed some time to care for him, and healed him.
Even after the religious leaders questioned him about his healing and drove him out of town because of their own fear, Jesus still came back and found him once again.
"I am the good shepherd.” Jesus explained. “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.”
As Jesus continued talking, the man considered how shepherds would face wolves with staff in hand. Hired men would not do such a thing. They did not care about the sheep. They just cared about their paycheck, and would stand by watching as some of the sheep were slaughtered by sharp fangs.
Jesus was not one of those who just stood by, or walked on by in his case. Jesus was like a shepherd who actually took the time to care.
“I have other sheep,” Jesus continued, “that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
“Other sheep” he thought.
"Of course," he realized, "I am not the only one lost in the world. There are other sheep who need to know that someone would be willing to lay down their lives for them."
“I have other sheep.”
Yes, there are other sheep. So, from that day forward, he sought to lay down his life for others, as Jesus had done for him. He sought to be a good shepherd who sacrifices out of love and sought to share the story of how Jesus had taken the time to save him.
“I have other sheep.”
The phrase echoes through time and around the world.
“I have other sheep.”
The phrase falls upon the heart of a young woman who looks over the shoulder of her date as they swung around of the dance floor. She sees a girl, one of her friends, sitting by herself in the darkness.
“I think we have room for one more person as we have fun tonight, don’t you.”
Her date turns his head and sees the girl, alone. “This is a big dance floor, and my car is plenty big to go to the party.”
The young couple stopped dancing, took notice, and sacrificed their plans for the night. It is not the inherent fate of the sheep to be lost or threatened. A good shepherd takes notice of troubled sheep, and does not run away.
Later that night, the sacrifice of our shepherd, Jesus falls upon the heart of one other person in the town.
Finishing his steak, the man makes up his mind and looks his wife straight in the eye.
“What? Why are you staring at me,” the wife spoke up.
“I’m going to need some yoga pants,” he said.
“That was random...and weird,” she says with an inquisitive smile. “You hate yoga. You read the paper, have coffee, and plan your next hunting trip during my yoga class.”
“Not any more,” he said. “From now on I am going to be doing some upward facing felines with you.”
“That’s downward facing dog honey,” she responded with a smirk.
“Whatever. It’s an animal facing some direction. At least we will be doing it together. If that is OK with you?”
The man could still surprise her. She felt like a sheep that, previously was not exactly lost, but was just unattended to. She felt like a sheep that needed some healing, and was just provided with some balm.
“Of course. I would love that.” she said, basking in the power of a sacrifice.
Our savior, Jesus Christ, is the author and Lord of loving sacrifice.
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