Trashy was not a glorious cat.
His name was actually supposed to be “Trash Heap,” the name given by the farmer that I helped occasionally when I was younger, but his young son could not quite say, “Trash Heap,” so “Trashy” it was. And, even a passing glance at the cat would reveal in a horror filled split second why he was called that.
You would immediately see that Trashy’s left eye was more on the side of his head than it was on his face, looking like his face had melted in the sun while lying on his side. In addition, his face was so flat that he probably could have run straight into a wall without even scratching his nose. He was scrawny, obviously the last of the liter to get nutrition from his mother. He could not hear either. That, paired with the bum eye made the little thing prone to walking into the wrong places; like the sharp edge of the metal shed, or the upturned tongs of the rake, or awaiting snakes in the tall grass.
Did I mention that the thing had scars and bites everywhere?
And, to top off the Batman evil villain look that he seemed to be going for, Trashy had a tail that was permanently in the shape of an L.
The thing was a walking horror show, and most of us helping on the farm treated him as such. Some of the kids helping on the farm were outright mean, sneaking up on it, and throwing rocks its way.
I was not like them. I was scared to death of the thing. I remember once being trapped in a corner and the monstrosity tried to rub its freakish head on the legs of my jeans.
With all of that said, when asked to choose his very own kitten from the litter, the young son of the farmer chose the little, purring horror show with love in his eyes.
Trashy and the young kid were inseparable around the farm. Trashy would rub its disgusting face on the child, and the child would stick close to his side, playing with him, and rescuing him from danger. Trashy was his cat after-all. He chose Trashy, and he treated Trashy with an endless sort of love.
One day during harvest, Trashy decided to go on a run that looked more like a drunken stupor then a full out run, and the stupor led him out into the driveway where a grain truck was just turning in. Yelling, “No” the little boy chased after his cat, ran in front of the truck, and scooped up the little horror show. The driver saw a quick flash of little boy, quickly put the brake pedal to the floor, slid in the gravel, stopped just short of the boy and his little monster, and all was good.
That little boy was willing to lay down his life for that cat, in more ways than one. He chose the cat and gave his life over to spending time with it. He walked with the cat, protecting the cat from the dangers of the farm. And, of course, he put the cat’s life above his own in the driveway.
Who would do that?
This boy, obviously, but maybe, the little boy was not the only one.
[Jesus said:] 11“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12The 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. 13The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. (NRSV, John 10:11-15).
Why do I tell stories like the one of the little boy and the not quite so precious cat? It is the same reason that Jesus talks about shepherds and sheep: to make the love of Jesus Christ real; to proclaim that Christ shows up in very real ways throughout our lifetimes.
Christ shows up in the love of a little boy for the cat that no one else would love; a boy who would risk his life to save a beloved creature of God.
Christ shows up in the lives of shepherds who stretch their bodies out in front of the wolf so that their bodies might block the attack, allowing the sheep to run to safety.
You see, Christ is not some religious concept that we carry around in our heads, but is actually God who comes to us in the flesh. Jesus chooses to pursue us and run after us, even when our lives have become a deformed horror show.
And, “pursue” is the right word. Psalm 23, you know the one that begins, “The Lord is my shepherd…” ends with the words, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (NRSV, Psalm 23:6). But, that is not actually translated correctly. The Psalm should actually end, “Surely goodness and mercy shall “pursue” me all the days of my life…”
God’s goodness and mercy do not “follow” us, like an obedient dog. God is not obedient to us. God does not answer to us. But, God’s goodness and mercy do pursue us.
God’s goodness and mercy chase after us. They hunt us down. They search and find. God’s goodness and mercy run into the pathways of grain trucks and grab us. They lie down in front of wolves and protect us. They go to the cross and save us. God’s goodness and mercy do not abandon us.
The Bible puts it this way: Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.”
Have you ever considered that in Jesus’ kingdom, you are not left out of the ball game because you are terrible at hitting the ball?
In Jesus’ kingdom, you are not left out of the beauty contest because your eyes do not line up perfectly, or because your body has never understood how to be shaped like an hour glass?
In Jesus kingdom, you are not left out because you are late to the dance or left alone because you dance with two left feet.
In Jesus kingdom, you are not the one in your group of friends that everyone forgets to call.
In Jesus’ kingdom you are known by name. Jesus knows you like a shepherd knows his sheep, and you know Jesus in the same way that sheep follow only their shepherd’s call.
Jesus walks with you through the dark valleys. He guides your journey through the lands of the enemy.
Jesus knows you, all of you. Jesus knows the hidden parts, even the ugly and deformed parts. Jesus truly knows you, and he pursues you with grace and love anyway, like a little boy who saw nothing but beautiful creature to love in the crooked, smashed face, and broken tailed little kitten.
Have you ever considered that Jesus looks at the broken parts of your life, and sees nothing but someone to love?
And, have you even considered that Jesus looks at the broken parts of other people’s lives, other sheep who are not yet a part of his sheep, other people who are not yet a part of his people, and he actively pursues them with goodness and mercy? It is true. God pursues them with goodness and mercy, as the Bible reminds us today, rather than pursuing them with judgment and exclusion.
That is the message of the cross. That is the truth of goodness and love. That is the way of the followers of Jesus Christ.
I could not possibly say it any better than the writer of 1 John, so listen up followers of Jesus Christ:
“We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. 17How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? 18Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. 19And by this we will know that we are from the truth…” (NRSV, 1 John 3:16-19).
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