Psalm 23<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Living in San Francisco or in the Bay Area, sheep are not what we see. There are dogs, cats, birds, and sea lions. There\u2019s no sheep meadow in Golden Gate Park. Here at Yosemite, we don\u2019t see sheep either. There are deer, bears, and rats I was told!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Bible, Jesus is the Good Shepherd and we are the sheep. In Psalm 23, \u201cthe Lord is my shepherd.\u201d This is an enduring image, captured perhaps millions of times in our art, music, worship, and our stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yahweh is the shepherd who leads Israel like a flock. God in the Old Testament is the Shepherd who leads the people out of exile and guided them in the wilderness. In the New Testament, Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. And we think of pastors as shepherds of the flock like how Jesus commissioned Peter to tend and feed his sheep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheep and shepherds are all over the scriptures and we tend to think of them only around Christmas time when the sheep and shepherds pay a visit to the family staying in the stable. But as mostly urbanized people, these images don\u2019t do much for many of us today. The sheep are mute creatures that do what they are told to do. They don\u2019t lead, they follow, and if they don\u2019t follow, a dog nearby keeps them in line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We don\u2019t like being led around by the nose. We might have a healthy respect for authority, but we can do without a dog nipping at our heels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For today while we are out here in this beautiful national park, I urge you to not surrender the symbols of the scriptures too soon. Remember that God has spoken to us most often in exactly such images, in signs we can sense and see and hear and touch and taste and smell. These signs are mysteriously on our minds and souls. They suggest more than they can clearly define or describe, pregnant with a depth of meaning that is evoked rather than stated: mountains, running stream or still waters, deep valleys, snowed capped peaks, thunder, clouds, the heavens, bears, deer, or a lost sheep. Don\u2019t give these up. This is how God speaks to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t shake off this image simply because there are no sheep meadow in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. God is still trying to tell us something. Today, we are reminded that the shepherd beyond all shepherds is Jesus. To be sure, others are called shepherds\u2014pastors and ministers, counselors and others. But they are only shepherds in how they resemble him. And what is the main characteristic of this Good Shepherd?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Care. Thank God, he cares. He could have left us to ourselves, but he took on our flesh, grew in it, faced temptation in it and died in the most extraordinary act of love in human history\u2014not only for sheep like us who behaved, but for each solitary one who wandered off. He doesn\u2019t punish that wanderer with his staff. He lays him or her on his shoulders, brings the person home and throws a party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This shepherd cares for all his flock, but also for you and me as unique individuals called to live in this shepherd\u2019s flock forever. This shepherd calls us by name, knows us more intimately than we know ourselves, knows it\u2019s tough being a creature of flesh and blood, spirit, intelligence and freedom. No matter how far we stray, this shepherd will track us down, cradle us in his arms and bring us home gently on his shoulder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Follow this Good Shepherd and return his love. Care as this Shepherd cares, open your arms wide to those who need your compassion and love. Help make the world a sheep meadow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let us pray.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Psalm 23 Living in San Francisco or in the Bay Area, sheep are not what we see. There are dogs, cats, birds, and sea lions. There\u2019s no sheep meadow in