Sheep
John 10:11-16
"All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:6)
In scripture, Sheep are mentioned more than 500 times. More than any other animal. Sheep are used in religious sacrfifice to God. Sheep were the economic backbone of society. Sheep were currency. They provided clothing, milk, and meat. The milk also provided cheese and yogurt. Sheep were everywhere.
And frequently in scripture we get compared to them in the words of prophets and teachings of Jesus. Sheep are characterized as in need of guidance, they get lost, and they get stuck.
Sheep are also loyal. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" Jesus says in John 10 where our passage this week for Sunday worship is located.
Sheep are also communal as well. They "flock" together. And this flocking behavior is interesting because leaders among the sheep emerge out of the group intuitively. This flocking instinct is present in all sheep, and it isn’t because they are dumb. Sheep know of the safety they have when they stick together.
As humans we flock together, in some ways, as well. The beautiful thing I find about being compared to sheep in scripture is that the comparison isn't really inaccurate. To God, I imagine we can be like sheep when we wander off and get ourselves lost and hurt. We can be like sheep when we huddle up together and follow the most aggressive person. We can be like sheep when we are productive.
And, like sheep are to their shepherd, I believe we are incredibly precious to God. Each and every one of us. So precious that even in a flock of 100, the Shepherd will risk their life to save the single lost sheep. So precious that "the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" when the wolves come.
Have you ever found it difficult to recognize your own inherent preciousness and value? Maybe you only see the mistakes you have made. Or maybe you only tell the story of your self with the parts where you got yourself lost or stuck. Maybe you only see your own weakness and helplessness.
There are two things that John 10:11-16 says to me this week about our precious belovedness. One is that even if we don't see our own preciousness, Jesus, "the Good Shepherd," does. And the other is that we can have a hard time knowing our own precious belovedness when we are alone.
We belong together. Like sheep we belong in a flock. That might be our family. It might be our close friends. It might be our chosen family. It might be our church community. When we are together, we can see our value reflected back on us from those who love us as we love them. So in that way, perhaps Sheep show us a way to understand beloved community. And perhaps that is why they get so many mentions in the bible.
And the work for us to do might also be found in this passage in John 10. Because Jesus reminds us: "And I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold: I must bring them as well." What other sheep do we need to bring into our fold?
