The Good Shepherd: Part Three

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The Good Shepherd

Guest Columnist

Father Michael Bergeron

(This is part three in a series of articles about the relationship of a shepherd with his flock.)

Sheep and Lamb as Sacrifice

Only domestic animals that were raised for food were acceptable for sacrifice – cattle, goats, sheep, pigeons and doves – and they had to be free from blemish, injury, disfigurement or disease. The believer’s rank and wealth were important in determining which animal was acceptable. A high priest would offer a young bull, a king would offer a ram, a merchant or landowner would offer a goat or lamb or sheep, a poor peasant would offer a pair of birds – as Mary herself had done in Luke 2:24. A very poor man would offer a small measure of fine flour.

The Lost Sheep

Now, let’s look at the “lost sheep.” There was a rather bizarre story from the Associated Press several years ago about 1,500 sheep that jumped off a cliff in Turkey. First, one sheep jumped to its death. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff. In the end, 450 dead animals lay on top of one another in a billowy white pile. Those who jumped later were saved as the pile got higher and the fall more cushioned.

The loss was devastating to the families who depended on the sheep as a significant source of income. The shepherds only had to relax for a few moments and the sheep plunged to their death. Dumb sheep.

Do I need to say to you that people do many more dumb things than do sheep? No sheep has ever been charged with abusing its own lamb. No sheep has ever been charged with stealing from a neighbor or with murder. Sheep don’t knowingly abuse their own bodies or minds. They don’t hate other sheep who are of a different color or economic level or religion. Sheep only have one or two ways they can become lost. Humans have thousands, and we seem to be inventing new ones every day.

When we hear Jesus’ question to the disciples about the good shepherd who lost a sheep: “Will he not leave the ninety-nine?”; we are still not accustomed to the answer. We want to say “No.” Why put the ninety-nine at risk? It’s absurd and irresponsible to risk the whole flock for one small lamb. Cut your losses, don’t throw good money after bad. Why every businessperson knows you have to accept a certain level of spoilage, that some of the product will be lost before it can be brought to the market. But Jesus saw it differently.

Only in Luke do we get the three parables of the lost. They become a trilogy, ending in a climax. First, we have the parable of the lost sheep – one sheep out of 100; then we have the parable of the lost coin – one coin out of 10; then we have the parable of the lost son – one son out of two.

In the parable of the lost sheep, we are the sheep and the shepherd is God. In the parable of the lost coin, we are the coin and the woman is God. In the parable of the lost son, we are the son and the father is God.

In the lost sheep story, the sheep did not intend to get lost. As I said, sheep are incredibly dumb animals. They can be grazing on the edge of a cliff and see a delicious piece of grass over the cliff and they will step over the cliff to get it. Dumb animals. In the story, the sheep just wandered away dazzled by the world. When it did, it was alone, vulnerable and defenseless. It did not know how it happened, it just found itself lost. Like us, we get dazzled by the world and then lost. And God, represented by the shepherd, goes out in search for it.

In the story of the lost coin, the coin fell and it did not have the power to resist. It lay lost in the darkness and couldn’t save itself. Like us, sometimes we find ourselves fallen into darkness and don’t know how it happened. And God, represented by the woman, searches for it.

In the parable of the lost son, the son is lost because he willfully leaves. He chooses his fate. He exercises a

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Part Three

his free will and he leaves God. And God, represented by the Father, allows him to leave and does not go out to search for him.

Luke is really showing the different ways in which a sinner is lost. There is a difference between the lost sheep and lost coins and a lost boy. The lost sheep or coin are not responsible for making decisions. But the lost son chose it. The father waits on the lost boy to make his own decision. That is the ultimate consequence of our freedom. God will not force himself on us. He will not force us to behave. He will not force us to love him. He will not interfere. We are free to choose life or death, love or indifference, heaven or hell. But when we come back to him, he waits with open arms.

Sheep without a Shepherd

A herd of sheep without a shepherd is a sad lot. It is not just the fact that sheep are particularly dumb animals. But in rugged mountain country like the hills of Palestine, a herd of sheep is vulnerable to a whole host of dangers. Wild dogs and mountain lions can wreak havoc with a flock if a shepherd is not around to protect his sheep against predators.

Newborn lambs are especially defenseless until they are old and strong enough to keep up with the flocks in their grazing. Moreover, a flock of sheep left to graze by themselves will not find enough grass and water to meet their needs. The good shepherd knows where the good pastures and watering holes are and he grazes his flock in those areas. A herd of sheep without a shepherd is a sad lot because sheep left to themselves are at the mercy of their enemies and their environment.

People without God in their lives are like sheep without a shepherd. That’s why Jesus pitied the crowds of people that followed him. It wasn’t that they were particularly stupid or evil. They just couldn’t take care of themselves alone. They bore burdens of guilt that they could not think away by themselves. They suffered sieges of illness that they could not heal by themselves. They faced threats of famine that they could not overcome by themselves. They fell victim to despair that they could not manage by themselves.

They were ordinary people whose lives were not working for them because they ran out of luck or made dumb choices. That is why Jesus spent so much time healing and helping, reaching and teaching the common folk. Without his guidance and assistance, they were a shepherdless flock.

Separating Goat and Sheep

We also know the story of the separating of the sheep from the goats. As in other places in the New Testament, this passage teaches that the good and the bad live together in this world. In Palestine, sheep and goats are often mixed in a single flock. In the evening, they are separated because the goats required more protection from the cold than the sheep. The shepherd, of course, had no trouble telling them apart. In the world of humans, on the other hand, we do not always recognize one another’s true identities. These differences are discerned with certainty by God alone. (Father Michael Bergeron is a retired priest of the Diocese of HoumaThibodaux.) BC