Sermon for April 25, 2010: Right in Front of Your Nose

Today I am going to talk about sheep, shepherds, Jesus, and you – in that order. If you are really only interested in the part about you, then maybe for the next ten minutes or so you can make better use of the time by looking at the stained glass windows while I talk about sheep and shepherds and Jesus.

I have always heard that sheep are a really dumb animal, scoring low on their SAT’s and not being able to tell when someone is pulling their leg. Seriously, I have always heard that sheep were not smart animals. Yet in the early part of the tenth chapter of John, the chapter where our passage comes from today, Jesus says that a shepherd can call the sheep by name and they will know his voice and will follow. That doesn’t sound too dumb to me? I know sometimes when people call my name and give me some instructions instead of following right away, I delay by saying, “Who me?”

So I did a little research on sheep to see what the experts say about them. I discovered that this generalization about sheep being dumb isn’t really well-founded. It may have developed because of the tendency of sheep to have a herd mentality that, for example, shows up when sheep become frightened. They are quick to panic and will flee as a herd in the face of stress. Just like people do when someone in a crowed theater yells, “Fire!” So when sheep get all excited and panicky when threatened by a wolf or loud sound they may all go off running up a mountain (they tend to move uphill when disturbed) even when their shepherd is yelling to them not to panic or jump to conclusions. When that happens shepherds have been known to turn to anyone nearby and say, “Dumb animals!” So that’s how sheep’s reputation for being dumb may have started.

Studies have been done on sheep to see just how intelligent they are and the results show that their intelligence is just below pigs and on par with cattle. I don’t know what that really means but how often to you hear someone say, “Dumb cow!”

The article I read said that sheep can be trained to know their names and that they have the ability to “differentiate emotional states through facial characteristics.” I don’t know how researchers determine this. Maybe they show them a series of pictures of people looking happy and then cranky and then bored and somehow the sheep indicate they can see the differences. The most amazing story I read as a demonstration of the intelligence of sheep is that a flock in West Yorkshire, England allegedly found a way to get over cattle grids by rolling on their backs. Can you picture that? If sheep can do that then I don’t think they are too dumb. However this story has not been adequately documented so it may be that someone is trying to pull the wool over our eyes.

Alright, I am feeling a little sheepish about spending so much time talking about the characteristics of sheep so let me move on to my next topic. Trust me – I’m going to tie this all together at some point with a spiritual point.

The role of a shepherd is to take care of the flock. We may tend to think of that primarily as protecting the flock from predators but just as important and perhaps more common is the need to keep flocks moving to green pastures so they can find food and to a good water source so they can keep well-hydrated. Cows tend to eat slowly and to graze when they eat, eating a bit here and a bit there. Sheep tend to eat everything around them and because of the shape of their face crop plants close to the ground when they eat. Thus shepherds have to keep their flocks moving over time or they will overgraze land.

Shepherding is one of the oldest professions. It’s estimated to be about 6,000 years old. Shepherds generally live apart from society, being largely nomadic. They are often solitary men with no children. They sometimes work with other shepherds, even combining their herds and then splitting up tasks. In such cases it was important for them to know their own sheep. They also keep close tabs on the health of sheep because sickness can make them vulnerable to predators. Sometimes individual or small groups of sheep do wander away from the flock and need to be herded back.

Okay, now to Jesus – you can probably see how this is coming together now. In an early section of John 10, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. . . . I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.” He said some other things about laying down his life on his own accord and having the power to take it up again and this set some listeners around him into a frenzy. John says (10:19-21), “Again the Jews were divided because of these words. Many of them were saying, ‘He has a demon and is out of his mind. Why listen to him?’”

It is clear in the gospel accounts that many people had problems with understanding who Jesus was. It wasn’t limited to Jews. It wasn’t limited to temple authorities or priests or council members. It wasn’t limited to residents of Judea or Nazareth. Even his disciples seemed to have great trouble understanding. Repeatedly in the stories of Matthew and Mark and Luke and John, the underlying question behind everything else that took place is, “Who is this man?”

It’s only in the gospel of John that we are told that Jesus calls himself “the good shepherd.” It’s a powerful image and it’s not a new image for his listeners. It is powerful in terms of what it represents as he expresses how he works in unity with God and he sees himself as shepherd who takes care of his flock, who leads them to green pastures and to still waters, who restores their souls, who leads them in the paths of righteousness. When we are under the care of the good shepherd and follow his voice and commands, we need not fear death or other shadows, we will be protected from our enemies, we can know that our cups will overflow, and goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives.

The good shepherd is not a new image. In Isaiah 40 (11), it is said that God will come with might, “He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gentle lead the mother sheep.” In Ezekiel 34 (11-16), it is said, “For thus says the LORD God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. . . . I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of the sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the LORD God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak but the fat and strong I will destroy. I will feed them justice.”

Now back to John 10. Jesus has said to the people around him, “I am the good shepherd.” It is pretty simple and pretty clear. I don’t know what is not clear about it. Yet when you come to the section beginning with verse 22 where we have our passage today, the Jews who had gathered around Jesus as he walked about the temple acted befuddled. They stopped Jesus as he was walking and said, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe.” I think Jesus was saying, “It’s really very plain and simple.” I have said so a number of times and more importantly, I have demonstrated who I am as with my actions: I have taken care of the flock. I have sought out the scattered sheep. I have rescued them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. I have worked tirelessly to bind up the injured and I to strengthen the weak. He then said, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.” The Messiah they had been waiting for for centuries was right in front of their nose yet they couldn’t see him.

So I have talked about sheep and shepherds and Jesus and now is the part about you. If you have been looking at the windows all this time, come back. This part is about you.

I think in the light of what I have shared that as in so many scripture passages, we are called to make a choice. The choice in this case is to decide if we will accept that God has sent Jesus as the “Good Shepherd.” It is not the only image that the scriptures give of Jesus but it is very encompassing of many images and roles. So we first have to decide, is Jesus the “Good Shepherd.” I don’t think we can answer this question along the lines of “sort of,” as if we can pick a number between 1 and 10 representing how much of a good shepherd we think Jesus is. I think the choices to the question of do we accept that Jesus is the “Good Shepherd” is either “yes” or “no.”

If your answer is “no” then I would ask you why not but we will have to address that another day though perhaps today you will be moved to change your mind and your orientation and decide that your answer has changed to “yes.”

If your answer is yes, then are you listening to the good shepherd? Do you know his voice? Does he know your name?

Several years ago I got very excited about saltwater aquariums. It all began one Sunday afternoon after lunch when I came out from a restaurant and saw a pet store across the street and decided to walk around inside for awhile as my lunch settled. I came across several saltwater aquariums and I became intrigued by the beauty of saltwater fish. I decided to buy a book and start my own 20 gallon aquarium. I really knew nothing about what I was doing but I figured with a little reading I could figure it out. Well things didn’t turn out so well for my first few fish; let’s just say they are no longer with us. I bought some other books and started going to several tropical fish stores to get advice.

I learned it would be easier to keep fish healthy if I had a larger tank. So I bought a 60 gallon tank. Of course I needed lights and filters and protein skimmers and timers and landscaping and ultraviolet lamps, and so on. I still had trouble keeping my fish alive and healthy. I discovered that I was getting conflicting advice about what to do and what not to do. I finally decided I needed to listen to one voice, one master so to say, and follow that person’s advice.

I picked Steve from a tropical fish store in Pasadena. When I wanted to buy a new fish and he told me my tank wasn’t ready for a fish that size or my new fish would eat everybody else, I listened to him, even when he disappointed me by not giving into all my requests and desires.

I think the Christian challenge is similar to what I learned I needed to do with my fish tanks – listen to one voice and be obedient. There are a lot of voices out there clamoring for our attention and following. It’s not that the intentions behind these voices are evil and will necessarily lead to serious problems for us. But if we fail to hone in on one voice, that of the one who seeks to guide us into the abundant life, we may find ourselves very confused and not able to reach where we want to go. Perhaps after all of our searching for happiness and fulfillment, the one who can provide the best directions for us is right in front of our nose, Jesus Christ. He may not always tell us what we want to hear but he can guide us to the place where we can affirm the testimony of the psalmist in Psalm 23, “surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”