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September 16th, 2007—16th Sunday after Pentecost
Readings: Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28; Psalms 14; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-10
A man walks up to a New Zealand sheep farmer and says, "If I can tell you exactly how many sheep you have down there, can I keep one?" The farmer glances at the vast array of sheep, snickers, and says, "Sure." The man looks carefully at the sheep, then says, "5,279." The farmer, startled, says, "How did you do that?" The man says, "I'd rather not say. Can I have my animal?" "I guess so," says the farmer. The man picks up an animal and starts to walk away. "Wait!" yells the farmer. "If I can guess where you're from, will you give me my animal back?" The man snickers, and says, "Sure." "You're from Sault Ste Marie, Canada," says the farmer. The man, startled, says, "How did you do that?" The farmer says, "I'd rather not say. Can I have my dog back?"
This joke is not only clever but also ironic because it’s poking fun at human intelligence (or lack of it) when usually it’s the sheep that are ridiculed for being so stupid. Sheep are known to be stubborn creatures which need the constant attention of shepherds. In fact, Scripture often portrays human beings as sheep in order to show how ridiculous we can be!
The Psalms say that God’s people are “like sheep for slaughter” (44:11); “like sheep they are appointed for Sheol” (49:14); when seeking their freedom from Egypt God “led out his people like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.” (78:52) The prophet Isaiah honestly depicts our helpless state when he admits, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way…” (Is. 53:6).
Now I’ve never personally spent much time with sheep, but when it comes to stubborn animals I have had a few experiences there. The most stubborn creature I knew was our old family dog, Cindy. We loved Cindy like crazy, and she knew it. So she could get away with whatever she wanted. Naturally she became lazy, just sleeping on the couch all day. And it got to the point that when we would take her out for a walk she’d go for a few feet or so and decide she’d had enough. She’d just plop down on the sidewalk where she was, chin on the ground, and look up at us with her big brown eyes as if to say, “I’m not going any further!”
We always thought Cindy exhibited human qualities, but perhaps it was the other way around! Sometimes we human beings are as stubborn as animals, slow to figure out what’s best for us. So it’s no wonder that today in our lectionary readings we find the Parable of the Lost Sheep paired with Old Testament readings that really don’t paint us human beings in a positive light. Psalm 14 describes foolish people who refuse to believe in God, who’ve “all gone astray.” And Jeremiah calls God’s people “stupid children…they are skilled in doing evil, but do not know how to do good.” (4:22) To be sure these are not wringing endorsements of the human race! But I don’t think it’s inaccurate—our race practices hatred through racism, prejudice and violence. We have enough food and technology to feed the world yet millions go without each day. Our capacity for evil almost knows no bounds.
Yet as foolish as we human beings can be, as stubborn and cruel as we can be…I take hope in that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, does not tire of seeking us out. In the parable today we do not know much about the sheep that had wandered from the flock—perhaps it had ventured away looking for food because the other sheep had squeezed it out—but I don’t think we’re meant to know why he was in the state he was because the emphasis is on the loving devotion of the shepherd who would risk the rest of the flock just to save one wayward animal. This diligent Shepherd lovingly rescues the wayward sheep, lifts it into his strong arms, and carefully lays it across his shoulders to bring it home.
And that’s how it is with us and God! No matter how far we’ve wandered, no matter how terrible the things we’ve said or done, God is always pursuing us. His capacity to forgive and extend mercy is always greater than our capacity to sin. His love and grace are always infinitely more powerful than our apathy or our ability to hate.
“So strong is the love for the lost sheep that the 99 are left in the wilderness while the lost one is being sought. Such love takes risks in order to find the lost…What is central in (the parable) is the joy of finding…” (Craddock, 409)
God not only seeks us out, but once found, there is great celebration! Jesus says that all of heaven breaks out in jubilation at the return of one lost sinner! Now that means something!
However, I think if we’re honest we’ll admit that sometimes we don’t want to be found. This summer at Youth Synod we played the annual “counselor hunt” game where the campers had to search for us hiding leaders. Being my first year at Youth Synod I was anxious to earn my stripes by finding a great hiding place. So on the day of the hunt I decided I would take a creative approach to my hideout.
Down at the beach are a row of canoes propped up on wooden planks, upside down. I figured that the kids all knew to look under the canoes for their leaders, but I also figured that not many would be diligent enough to look up inside the canoe. So I staked my claim on that assumption and carefully maneuvered my way into the upside down canoe, placing my waist on the middle rail and resting my arms on the front seat. I was chagrined to realize that my legs were not going to have a proper resting place (I was not quite long enough for that), so I had to hold them up in the air against the bottom on the canoe so they would not hang down low enough to be spotted.
Well, 5 minutes in I knew this was going to be a painful enterprise for my contorted body, but I was stubborn to see it through. And sure enough within a few minutes I heard the campers make their way to the beach and I saw a few different sets of feet beside my canoe belonging to kids looking under the canoes. A few knelt down and looked under my canoe, and one camper even sat on top of my very canoe! But no one found me.
Several minutes later, my back aching from my twisted positioning for the past half hour but proud that I had not been caught, I ventured out of my hiding place back to the lodge where I figured I would be met by a group of incredulous kids wondering where I’d been hiding. And what did I find when I returned? They’d already moved on to the next activity! Not one of them realized that I hadn’t been found! I couldn’t believe it! Here I found a creative hiding space and put my body through back-breaking labour only to find my efforts went unnoticed and unappreciated! And the kicker of it all? My back still aches most mornings when I wake up after what I put it through!
I don’t want to spiritualize my little episode too much, but I do think it speaks to our spiritual condition sometimes. Whether it’s because we want to impress people by joining their crowd, or whether we simply choose to walk away far from God, we all have our ways of trying to hide from God. We can go to great lengths to keep ourselves from opening up to people and to God. We may even hide from God in our religion, we can say the words in the liturgy or sing a tune, but do we really offer them as prayers from the heart to God? Do we go to church simply to appease our loved ones or sooth our conscience? We run from conversations that might force us to open up and in the end up we end up all ‘out of joint’ when people don’t acknowledge us. It’s as if we’re afraid of this deep longing we have for a meaningful relationship with God, and meaningful relationships with others.
I think sometimes we stay hidden and closed because we’re weighed down by our guilt—we feel we’ve made too many mistakes to be forgiven so it’s just easier and safer to stay anonymous and hidden—that way we won’t hurt anyone anymore. Or perhaps we just feel inadequate, that we’re too old, too young, too sick, or too stupid to do much good for God so we don’t talk to Him for fear of what he might as of us.
The Good News of the gospel is that “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.” (1 Tim 1:15). That means God loves all of us through Christ and offers us healing and hope. The apostle Paul had previously lived an awful life of persecuting and killing Christians, but after his experience of the risen Christ he was overwhelmed with gratitude. In fact, God uses Paul as an example to all of us, that no matter what we’ve done in the past or the mistakes we’ve made, we can still serve God and be used to accomplish good things in this world.
Whatever you’ve done and wherever you’ve been, know that God has always been pursuing you like a diligent shepherd. He loves you and would see you fulfill your potential and purpose here on this earth. Confess the ways you’ve hidden yourself from God and your loved ones and He will forgive you and show you a path of wholeness and fulfillment. He can use each one of us here as an example of his wonderful healing power, if only we’d let Him.
“But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me…Jesus Christ…making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Tim 1:16-17)
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