I Just Want to Be a Sheep

Text: Psalm 23

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God the Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

          This morning we focus our attention on Psalm 23. I invite you to fix your eyes on Jesus in our window over here as you speak the words of this familiar Psalm with me.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
²     He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
³     He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.

⁴ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.

I had you focus your attention on the stained-glass window because there’s really no more well-known image of the Lord and His relationship with us than the image of the Good Shepherd. You could argue that the outstretched arms of Jesus on the cross is a more powerful image, but nothing provides us greater comfort than the image of the Shepherd and His Sheep. And there’s no more well-known Psalm than Psalm 23. I appreciated that as we spoke those words together that many of you spoke them in the translation that you likely learned them in as a child. For me that was the King James Version. It’s the translation that I generally slip into when I speak those words at the bedside of a dying member. And no words that I could conjure up in my own mind could provide the same comfort as these words of David’s Psalm. Hearing that description of the Good Shepherd who “maketh me to lie down in green pastures” and who “restoreth my soul” maketh me to want to say

I JUST WANT TO BE A SHEEP.

And I imagine those familiar words might make you want to say the same thing. Who wouldn’t want to be the sheep in the arms of the loving shepherd?

A couple years ago while visiting the Hispanic ministry in Sheboygan, which is led by Pastor Blas, who was here last week to lead you in worship, I kept hearing him say the words Buen Pastor as he was preaching to his congregation in Spanish. The little Spanish that I know told me that buen was good and I just couldn’t figure out why he was talking so highly of himself as the good pastor. Until I remembered that pastor is actually the Spanish word for shepherd. He was talking about the Good Shepherd. Jesus. Buen Pastor. In Spanish they don’t have separate words for shepherd and pastor like we do. Of course, I should have known right away because our English word pastor, the title you’ve bestowed on me, simply means the shepherd of a flock. Which makes you all the flock of sheep. And such a wonderful flock you are.

But we always have to remember that as the called and ordained servants of Christ in a particular place, we are simply under shepherds of the Good Shepherd. And under shepherds, unlike the Good Shepherd Himself, get to take our eyes off the flock for a moment now and then. And I appreciate the time you gave me over these past couple weeks to be away from the constant care of the flock. I didn’t forget about you and you were often on my mind, but, as a pastor it was nice to be able to sit at the beach, enjoy the sun and the breeze and the water, and be refreshed. But also, as a preacher, our minds are not ever totally off the next text that needs to be preached on. Which is why Psalm 23 was on my mind regularly over these past couple weeks. And visiting the Ark Encounter gave me plenty of opportunity to think about all God’s creatures, including sheep.

I think most of the time we think about sheep as soft and gentle creatures. Sheep’s wool, when fashioned nicely into clothing or a blanket, is soft and clean and fresh and we think of the animal that gave it in the same way. But if you’ve ever seen a sheep shorn correctly, the first thing that needs to be done is to give the wool a thorough washing. Because as that sheep is going about its daily routine, its thick, soft wool picks up a lot of dirt. What comes to us as an end product that’s clean and soft starts out filthy and muddy. Sheep certainly have other unpleasant characteristics as well. They’re prone to wander from the flock if some greener grass catches their attention. They can also be stubborn, headstrong, and willful creatures. Those gentle and soft creatures we first thought of are starting to sound a lot more like us, and that image of the Good Shepherd carrying His little lambs takes on a little different meaning.

Take a look again at that stained glass window. See the little lamb in the arms of Jesus? Tucked in there nicely in the strong arms of the Lord? Now take a look at the other sheep at the foot of Jessus. Waist high to the Savior. A pretty formidable animal. I once heard someone say that the thing that most surprised him about sheep was how heavy they were. All those pictures of Jesus carrying the little lambs or shouldering the sheep as He carries it back to the sheepfold paint a beautiful picture, but they neglect to portray the full weight of what Jesus is carrying for us.

We’re a handful. An armful. We are a significant weight for our Savior to bear. Because we’re big, heavy sheep, that too often stray from our Shepherd’s side. Who seek what we think are going to be greener pastures. And we’re often stubborn and headstrong and willful. Yet, I think those pictures of the Savior easily managing all the weight that we put on Him are the perfect representation of the Good Shepherd. “For His yoke is easy, and His burden is light.” And that’s exactly what David understood as he wrote the 23^rd Psalm. As a shepherd David knew what a good shepherd was, and he used that imagery to describe the Good Shepherd. He knew that as sheep we would often seek after pastures that were not so green and that the Good Shepherd “makes me to lie down in [truly] green pastures.” He knew that there would be days when the waters of life would not be so still and that the Good Shepherd “leads me beside [perfectly] still waters.” He knew that there would be times when the shadow of death was near and that the Good Shepherd would be by our side “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death” and that because He is there with us, we “will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.”

As I sat on that beach in Florida for four days, there were times when the ocean was calm and serene. So calm that I took some of the kids out on a kayak and had no trouble paddling around with them. But there were also times when the waves were so strong that I wondered whether the kids would come out on the other side as they tried to withstand the force of the crashing water. It all reminded me of the rhythm of the Christian life. Seeking the still waters in the midst of the storms of life. Trying to walk through the valleys on our own. And then realizing that on our own, we simply don’t have the strength to stand. We’re the aimless, wandering, fat with sin sheep that are lost without a shepherd. But as people who also believe in the comfort, the forgiveness, and the life given by our Good Shepherd, we’re like those who Jesus describes in today’s Gospel. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

When we allow Him to lead us into green pastures, beside still waters and through the valley He will restore our souls and  allow us to fear no evil. And in the end, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” It’s all a powerful reminder that we have a Good Shepherd. And it should make us all want to say, I just want to be a sheep. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.