Scripture

Isaiah 40:1,2,10,11

This is part of a great song of hope, with which we can assume Jesus would have been familiar.

Luke 15:1-7

Jesus says there is Someone who knows what is good for us, and who does everything possible to keep us in that way.

Last week we pondered the metaphor of the thrifty chatelaine (mistress of the household). That is the parable in which Jesus likened God to a woman who loses a silver coin, and searches until it is found. It comes in the same part of Luke's gospel as the parable of the prodigal son and the metaphor we look at today: what I have called The prudent pastoralist.

Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. What does he do? He leaves the other ninety-nine in the pasture and goes looking for the one that got lost until he finds it. When he finds it he is so happy that he puts it on his shoulders and carries it back home. Then he calls his friends and neighbours together and says to them, 'I am so happy I found my lost sheep! Let us celebrate!' In the same way, I tell you there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents that over ninety-nine respectable people who do not need to repent.

At first blush, this parable could be taken as virtually identical to the other one. Much of the wording is almost the same. Was Luke getting repetitive in old age? Or is it that, while sounding so similar, these two metaphors for God come from different times in Jesus' ministry? Could it be that there are some subtleties we should look for? Three questions then ...

1. Sheep as a metaphor for humanity

First, why would Jesus use sheep as a metaphor for humanity? I suggest because both have wonderful possibilities but can be rather dim-witted!

Domesticated sheep have a long history, of course. They're thought to have originated in the mountains of Turkestan. In biblical times, huge numbers of them were reared and farmed in the Holy Land. They were an immensely valuable resource. Their meat was a food staple, their wool provided clothing, and their skin leather and parchment. They could subsist on rough grasses and weeds, and survive longer than most animals without water. They also had the advantage of quick maturing - in about a year. The period of gestation was about five months, and twin lambs would not have been uncommon. All in all, given the variety of their uses and their rate of reproduction, it is not hard to understand why they should be so valuable!

But they were also vulnerable. Although mature sheep would have been quite hardy, they needed protection from severe weather and also from predatory animals. Young lambs would have been particularly at risk. I understand the Palestinian wolf is rare today, but then it would have been a major threat. The sheep wandering away from the flock would have been easy pickings for a pair of wolves lying in wait.

It becomes rather banal to push the comparison. What we need to remember is that even the most gifted and able of humanity can in some ways be awfully dim-witted. After all, an ounce of common sense is worth a truck-load of degrees if you've never acquired two penn'th of wisdom.

I'm sure I am disclosing no deeply-held secret when I say that in universities you find a degree of 'snobbery' between disciplines. Some of us are apt to think our own are a cut above the rest. I have a friend who teaches philosophy and ethics in a place some distance from here. He says to me that if ever theology could kid itself it was 'queen of the sciences', then surely philosophy was king! He believes children should learn classical Greek in primary school, and that no civilised persons would be caught without Plato's Republic in their pocket. In a recent letter, he commented with more than a hint of disgust on his daughter's partner getting a Ph.D. in Engineering Science. (Just so that the point doesn't elude you, 'philosophy' literally means 'love of wisdom'. It comes from the Greek philla [love] and sophia [wisdom].) He wrote,

Plato would turn over to think of such a barbaric, pleasure-seeking youth being given a doctorate in 'love of wisdom' - especially an engineer! He's never even had a one night stand with sophia [wisdom], let alone a love affair with her! I could approve a doctorate in cleverness, ingenuity and ambition - but never in the love of wisdom! Perhaps that will come in time.'

Allowing for a certain exaggeration there, perhaps he is making a point. Now and again I wonder if, alongside the mighty accomplishments and advances of humanity, we have acquired the requisite wisdom. If a place like this one does not teach a love of wisdom, even a hint of lust would be better than nothing.

2. Shepherd as a metaphor for God

Second question, of course, is why would Jesus use shepherd as a metaphor for God? Following on what we've said, I suggest it's because shepherding involves guiding and guarding.

It's probably clear from what we have said thus far that the role of a shepherd would be deeply etched in the consciousness of the people. Jesus' use of this metaphor would not have needed explanation. In the morning a shepherd would conduct the flock from fold to pasture land. Folds were generally constructed of piled-up stones. The shepherd would live in a cave or hut adjoining, so that he was never out of contact with his animals. During the day he would watch over them, alert to predators, and leading his animals to water at a running stream or a trough attached to a well. He knew each one, and a stray would be pursued until it was located. Shepherds were experts at tracking, and could follow the prints of a wayward animal for miles if need be. A shepherd could literally 'give his life for the sheep',

In a word, the role of shepherd was to set the boundaries within which it was safe for the sheep to meander: to define the space 'where sheep may safely graze'. There were places where it was not safe for them to venture, and from these it was his task to guide them back.

Taking this as a metaphor for the Divine - God has 'let us loose' in the world with freedom to wander, to explore, to graze and to fatten - but has set boundaries to that freedom, both in the natural order itself and in social morality. It is the shepherd's intention that we exercise our freedom, but remain within the boundaries beyond which lie danger and death.

It has always seemed to me that good religion sets the boundaries of our free space, within which it is intended that we exercise our own judgment. What I would call 'bad' religion restrains us twenty-four hours 'in the fold', if I may use Jesus' image. It would seem, from reading of the gospels, that this was the kind of religion with which he found himself in conflict. But the shepherd metaphor is nonetheless a reminder that we live in an order of what is true and beautiful and good - and that this is defined by the Eternal.

3. God as the indefatigable pursuer

Finally, though, is there some 'central' point to this parable? I suggest there are two. The first is a rebuke to the righteous, who are quick to judge and classify others. Recall how the chapter begins. 'Tax collectors and sinners were gathering to hear him.' The strength of those words can be missed if you don't know the background.

Rome, which governed Judaea, auctioned the franchises for collecting revenue. Some enterprising Jews found it profitable to serve the Empire in this way. Moreover, because they had behind them the might of Rome, there was plenty of scope for extortion. The collecting of taxes could be like a Mafia protection racket. Tax collectors were of all humanity the most detestable; certainly to be compared with those members of oppressed peoples in World War II who looked after their own interests by working for the Nazis.

The word translated 'sinners' basically means moral failures. But we need to remember that ill-fortune of any sort was widely believed to be the consequence of some wrong-doing. Remember the man born blind who was brought to Jesus? 'Rabbi, who sinned?' they asked. 'This man or his parents?' 'Sinner' could be a rag-bag term for every category of social outcast.

Not surprisingly, the respectable people were miffed that Jesus' following seemed to consist of the most odious and contemptible people in the land. 'This man', they said, 'welcomes such people and even eats with them!' Luke has this as the context in which Jesus spins the three parables: the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. I think it's fairly clear that he sees all three partly as a rebuke to respectable people. This is why he has Jesus saying, 'There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine respectable people who don't need to repent'. (Or presumably, 'think' they don't need to repent!)

But this parable is also a reminder that whatever else we may think we can say about the nature of the Divine, one thing is sure: God is the indefatigable pursuer of those who have lost their way. Indeed, if God could be said to have a 'bias', this is toward those for whom life has somehow gone wrong.

If that sounds too human a way to speak of God, let me try putting it a little differently. It often seems to me that Jesus finds everywhere he looks (not least in the daily occurrence of a shepherd retrieving a lost animal) evidence that there is some kind of providential energy working towards the restoration of wholeness and well-being.

Sometimes I wonder if it's critical what we call this, so long as we see it as a reality that brings hope and healing - in the way Jesus brought hope and healing. I have a friend on the faculty here who occasionally gets a sermon through the internal mail, and who will phone a day or two later. He says he can't in good conscience come here Wednesdays because he doesn't believe in God. 'However', he says, 'I do believe there's some kind of psychic energy - maybe the power of love, which inspires people to transcend themselves and is nudging the whole cosmos in some direction'. Well, maybe what you call it is less important than glimpsing something there other than purely human resources.

After all, as we've been saying these eight weeks, Jesus himself uses many metaphors, and for every one he uses, there are many more in the scriptures.

If you have been in my office, you will know the pair of paintings by my daughter Helen. They are large and arresting. Like Jesus' parables, they did not come with an explanation. I was expected to figure that out for myself. One is a hand reaching down, as though offering assistance. The other is a hand reaching up, as though seeking assistance.

When I talk with people, we sit between those paintings. I think my aim is to be a means whereby the hand of the human may somehow touch the hand of the Divine - so completing the circuit which can make all things new.

Jesus' metaphor of shepherd and sheep reunited is making the same point.

Reproduced here on the Warragul Uniting Church web site with the permission of the author,
Rev Dr John Bodycomb -2004.