What does it mean to be a sheep? The second in a series looking at inclusion and integration

A couple of years ago I wrote a contemporary version of Psalm 23 when I was helping at a youth Alpha day; it went something like this.

The Lord is my saviour, I shall not hide
he saves me from my nightmares,
my self doubt, my anxiety.
From demons in the night,
from destruction of anger, mistrust
and fear.
He is the restorer of my soul
He guides me through the darkness of my mind.

Even though I still get scared,
even though I sometimes find it hard to pray.
He provides me with all I need.
He sends Angels to walk by my side
and fills me with his Spirit.

I fear no evil when God is with me,
holding me in his arms, surrounding me with his love.
Surely I will rest in the wings of the Lord, my saviour all the days of my life.

Whilst it is OK, one of the main failings as far as I can tell is that it is very “me” focused”.  And that says a lot about my criticism of a lot of Christian teaching and worship today.  We are often told that Jesus died on the cross for me; well he did but it was also so much more than that.  He didn’t just in some mysterious way die for me and you and you and you, but he died so that the two parts of creation, that we call heaven and earth might be brought back together, that all separation is resolved and healed.  In truth, what Jesus did at Golgotha was likely the greatest act of inclusion and integration the world has ever seen; the three synoptic gospels all share a picture of the temple curtain being torn in two.  The separation of heaven from earth removed. 

The original meaning of Psalm 23 is lost in history at present, we have given it meaning most often at funerals and for giving comfort in suffering but the original meaning of the psalmist is not known, so we interpret the scripture and try to make sense of it.

The same is true for the Gospel reading from the evangelist.  Jesus talks about the good Shepherd and his sheep; that the sheep will know him and will recognise him, and will go out and come in via the gate.  Jesus is using symbols to paint a picture for the people of him being the gate and sometimes the shepherd.  Jesus being the gate resonates with the early name for the followers; who were called followers of the way.  It was code for followers of Jesus.  Jesus is the way, just as he said he was the way, the truth and the life. (John 14)

There have been plenty of sermons regarding Jesus being the Good Shepherd and being the gate through which we need to go to reach eternal life; but I would actually like to focus in this story and in part in the identity of the psalmist as the Sheep.  If the story is symbolic then what does the Sheep represent?

I guess it is likely and relatively simple to suggest that the sheep is meant to signify us.  But, what does that picture mean to us.  The problem with picture language is that is will mean different things to different cultures and to different times.  Jesus coming down the hill on a Donkey didn’t represent humility to the 1^st Century Jews, it was a deliberate echo of Jeremiah’s prophecy and was seen as such, however we often see it in Palm Sunday services as indicative of an image of Jesus’ humility riding in to Jerusalem on a Donkey, portraying a slightly comical figure:  We see things differently.

So when we look at the Sheep we need to be careful and be aware that any interpretation we make may well be and most probably will be influenced by our own time and culture.  However, it is imperative that we try and struggle with scripture in order to develop more of an insight and understanding, because it is in the struggle that we will often find moments of inspiration.

When we are pictured as Sheep, does that mean that we are mindless creatures, that we will just follow one another in a sort of herd mentality, does it mean that we lack individuality?  That is indeed one picture that we might take away with us, but if we did I think we would be missing part of the picture.  A friend of mine owns an Alpaca farm, she keeps Sheep too and told me a story of how when they are put back together they actively seek out other Sheep with whom they have shared time with before as though they were greeting friends.  If Jesus perhaps didn’t mean that we were to be a mindless group of followers blindly following him, (and his audience would likely be very conversant with the individuality of Sheep and Goats etc), perhaps he had something different in mind.  Perhaps it was vulnerability.  Sheep were certainly vulnerable to being stolen, or being taken by Lions or Wolves.  So are we to understand that we share a vulnerability with others?

If we are all vulnerable then we are no different from others and any differences that we do perceive; be they physical (as in a physical disability), psychological (as in a behavioural difference), or lifestyle (perhaps a gender or sexuality difference); do not change the underlying truth that we are all vulnerable.

Arrogance is the forgetting of our own vulnerability and it leads to a sense of our difference, which in turn leads to separation.  Essentially the same sin as pictured in Eden that separated humanity from God.  We place the curtain in position again instead of accepting the free movement from earth to heaven and back again.  Separation means separation from our true self; the self that is made in the image of God, separation from others; when we build walls and seek to lock out our neighbour; and as a consequence, separation from God which is what sin accomplishes.

 God invites us through Jesus to live out a life of intentional availability; this means being available to ourselves; making time for ourselves, being available to others; making time for others, and being available to God.  Where the practice of momentary mindfulness becomes the practice of momentary prayer and prayer becomes part of our natural rhythm of life rather than some extra chore that we need to do to prove ourselves as Christians.  Being intentionally available will lead to us being intentionally vulnerable and open to ourselves and others and God, that self-realisation of vulnerability reconnects us with ourselves, with our neighbour and most therefore with God.  We would then start to exhibit signs of true humility, we would walk with God, we would enjoy the presence of God, living in the Kingdom that Jesus announced when the curtain was split in two and creation was healed.  We would become what we are meant to be; an image of God reflecting God to everyone and everything we meet. Now wouldn’t that be revolutionary, and that stems from the supreme act of inclusion, integration, and what it means to be a Sheep.

In the name of God, the perfect Trinity who lives in you and me.

Amen