Good morning…
The chaplain team writes a devotional message for The Lovett School community each week. This past Monday, my husband Steve wrote a fun piece about the wisdom gleaned from a shepherd named John.
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Chaplain’s Message for May 1st, 2023 by Rev. Steve Allen
Acts 2:42-47 • Psalm 23 • 1 Peter 2:19-25 • John 10:1-10
I heard there are companies that bring sheep to your home to eliminate ivy and other invasive plants from your yard. My yard is full of this unwanted growth. So, I placed a call to one of these companies. A man said he would come to my house to get a lay of the land. I didn’t even need to be home. One day when I arrived home from work there was an estimate and a business card in my mailbox. The card said Ewe Can Do It Naturally: Defoliation and Weed Control by Sheep. Below was a man’s name and his title. It said John Wierwille – Shepherd. Now that’s a title you don’t see every day. For the first time in my life, I was going to meet a real life shepherd.
This week’s lectionary readings include numerous references to sheep and shepherds. It’s something that was common in biblical times. The relationship between a shepherd and his sheep was central to the land of Israel. In fact, even today, when you go to Israel you can still see Bedouin shepherds roaming the countryside with their flocks. It’s for this reason that so many Bible verses use it as a metaphor. Psalm 23 is perhaps the most famous in the Old Testament and Jesus referring to himself as the good shepherd in the gospel of John is probably the most famous in the New.
I called the number on the business card and John the shepherd answered. We talked for about 20 minutes. I was amazed at the similarities between what this modern day shepherd had to say and what the Bible says.
John: The sheep I’ll bring to your house all have names and distinct personalities. I know them all.
Gospel of John 10:3: He calls his sheep by name and leads them out.
John: The sheep know my voice – they also know the sound of my truck – whenever I pull up to the house the sheep come running towards me.
Gospel of John 10:4: The sheep follow him (the shepherd) because they know his voice.
John: The sheep have a tendency to wander as they graze. We’ll set up a fence so the sheep don’t get lost.
1st Peter 2:25: For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
John: Even if the property is next to a stream, the sheep won’t drink out of a moving creek.
Psalm 23: The Lord is my Shepherd…he leads me beside still waters.
John: You’d be amazed at the kinds of things I’ve had to do for my sheep. I’ve had to fight off coyotes. I even had to climb a tree to save one of my smaller sheep from an owl.
Psalm 23: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil.
John: We can be in a large group of strangers who are all talking but when I begin to talk, the sheep will hear my voice and come to me.
Gospel of John 10:5: They will not follow a stranger, they will run from him because they do not know the voice of a stranger.
I’m sold. Not only has John has convinced me to hire his company, but listening to John made me realize how crucial it is for both sheep and people to have a shepherd; a guide who knows our name; who leads us to green pastures; who knows how to find water when we’re thirsty; who leads us from going astray; who will keep us from evil.
This week may we remember to reach out to the shepherd who wants to do all this for us and more.
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The Eternal is my shepherd, He cares for me always.
He provides me rest in rich, green fields
beside streams of refreshing water.
He soothes my fears;
He makes me whole again,
steering me off worn, hard paths
to roads where truth and righteousness echo His name (Psalm 23:1-3, VOICE).
…Sue…
