Sheep Left Alone

luke

Luke 15:1–10 ESV

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

1 Timothy 1:12–17 ESV

I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

1 tim

1 Timothy 1:12–17 ESV

I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Luke

I’ll never forget the Christmas I was left home alone. It wasn’t nearly as exciting as the movie. I just sat around and played Nintendo and ate candy. There were no comical burglars trying to break in or anything. And my family hadn’t gone off to somewhere fancy like Paris and inadvertently left me behind. My little sister got sick and they took her to the emergency room. As it was Christmas and we had a new Nintendo and a metric ton of candy, there was no way I was going with them. But instead of one parent going to the ER with my sister and one staying home with me, they just left me at home. Before you start thinking my parents were terrible people, I was like 13 or 14 at the time and it was the ‘90’s so I’d been staying home alone for quite some time.

But it was Christmas. And as miserable as I would have been getting dragged to the ER with my sister, staying home alone stunk too. I was all alone. I was in a safe place and nothing bad was going to happen to me, aside from a candy-binge stomach ache, but it was lonely.

When I think about the sheep being left alone by the shepherd as he goes to find the lost one, this is what comes to mind for me. Not that the 99 sheep who stayed behind were playing MarioKart and going on a candy binge, but because it’s lonely to watch the one (or ones) who are there to take care of you step out to care for another. Even if you love that other one.

I’ll never forget the Christmas I was left home alone. It wasn’t nearly as exciting as the movie. I just sat around and played Nintendo and ate candy. There were no comical burglars trying to break in or anything. And my family hadn’t gone off to somewhere fancy like Paris and inadvertently left me behind. My little sister got sick and they took her to the emergency room. As it was Christmas and we had a new Nintendo and a metric ton of candy, there was no way I was going with them. But instead of one parent going to the ER with my sister and one staying home with me, they just left me at home. Before you start thinking my parents were terrible people, I was like 13 or 14 at the time and it was the ‘90’s so I’d been staying home alone for quite some time.

But it was Christmas. And as miserable as I would have been getting dragged to the ER with my sister, staying home alone stunk too. I was all alone. I was in a safe place and nothing bad was going to happen to me, aside from a candy-binge stomach ache, but it was lonely. MarioKart is much better as a two or more player game. Our dogs and cats were OK company, but it wasn’t the same as having my family around on Christmas.

When I think about the sheep being left alone by the shepherd as he goes to find the lost one, this is what comes to mind for me. Not that the 99 sheep who stayed behind were playing MarioKart and going on a candy binge, but because it’s lonely to watch the one (or ones) who are there to take care of you step out to care for another. Even if you love that other one. My sister was sick. She needed antibiotics. My parents needed to take care of her. But that didn’t make it feel any less lonely for me.

When the shepherd leaves the 99 sheep to go look for the lost one, he’s not being frivolous.

That lost sheep is in a ton of danger. There are all sorts of thieves and wild animals and cliffs out there that poor sheep might come across. That sheep truly is in danger of death out there.

The shepherd is also not neglecting the 99 for the sake of the one. It might feel a little like that for the ones left, but they are safe. They are in a safe and protected place.

And in fact, as lonely as it might sound for them, they wouldn’t have actually been left alone.

At the time that Jesus was telling this story, shepherds would not generally have grazed their herds alone. There would have been two or three or more shepherds with their flocks all in the same area. It gave them someone to talk to - some human interaction instead of just talking to sheep all day. It would have been a security tactic. Several shepherds have a better chance warding off wild animals or bad guys than just one. And. . . should one sheep from a shepherd’s flock turn up missing, he would be able to leave his other sheep where they were knowing that there was someone keeping an eye on them.

Because the shepherds would have shepherded in community, they were, in the end, better able to care for their flocks all around.

It can feel frustrating sometimes to be a smaller, more “traditional” congregation when there are all these cool new worshipping communities popping up. It can feel a bit like there are entire congregations of faithful people who have been left behind while the shepherd seeks the ones who haven’t been faithful. Sometimes, when a church is starting new outreach programs like we are doing right now, it can feel like there is a risk of people already in the pews being left behind.

But we’re never really left alone with no protection or guidance. We have other congregations who are in the same boat as us - the other sheep. We have elders and deacons and other church leaders who help to care for the flock. We can rely on each other and the leadership that God has placed right within the congregation. And when we rest in that knowledge, we are given the peace required to be able to rejoice when those sheep finding missions are fruitful.

It’s important to remember that we have all wandered off at some point. The author of 1 Timothy - who was probably not Paul, but someone writing in the second or third generation of theologians after Paul - starts right off by talking about his experience being the lost sheep. This is what gives him his perspective and reminds him and those around him of the power Jesus has to transform each of us, no matter where we’ve wandered to.

Each one of us has been a rogue sheep. And some of us did encounter bears or lions or cliffs while we were out wandering. Some just found a different type of grass. Some walked a few feet, said, “Nope!” and happily trotted right back to the flock at the shepherd’s heels. We all, once upon a time, were brought back to the flock by the shepherd in some form or another and that is really important to remember.

Some of us can name the person that walked alongside us. Some of us point to a ministry program that nurtured us. Some of us just felt grabbed ahold of or pestered by God until we figured it out. Every sheep’s story is different, but every sheep has a story worth telling.

Here’s the thing about sheep, though.

Sheep do not come when called.

I’m sure there are some sheep out there who have been treated more as a pet than sheep in a flock tend to be or some genius sheep prodigy who have actually come when called. But as a general rule, sheep do not come when their name is called. The shepherd has other ways of herding and calling them. And if they trust the shepherd, they will come to him and follow him anywhere. But when a sheep wanders off, the shepherd can’t just stand on the edge of the flock and yell, “Gerald! Gerald! Gerald the sheep!?” If Gerald is far enough away that he can no longer see the flock, Gerald is alone and confused and is not going to come when called.

So many churches, however, just stand on the edges of the flock and yell, “Young families! Young families! Where are you?” or “Unchurched people of the community! Unchurched people of the community! Where are you?” And then when the unchurched and the young families don’t come in when called from the edges, we get frustrated.

Yes. It’s uncomfortable to step outside of our walls to connect to the community.

Yes. It can feel a little like we’re neglecting the sheep within the walls.

But shepherds use a crook for a reason. You have to get a sheep’s attention in a tangible way sometimes.

And going outside of the fold to look for the sheep who are elsewhere doesn’t mean neglecting the faithful sheep who haven’t wandered. We can do both. Just like the shepherd saying, “Hey, friend. Can you keep an eye on these guys while I go find Gerald?” We can, and in fact should, assign some to outreach and some to care within.

In a way, we could consider ourselves the shepherd’s crooks. We are the tools that God uses to reach others. And if we’re always here with the rest of the flock, we’re not actually helping at all with the shepherd’s mission to find those who have been separated from their community.

Now, I realize that I have compared you all to sheep, shepherds, AND shepherd’s crooks all in the same sermon. That’s just how parables are. We’re meant to identify with many different players in the parable and explore how we play those parts in the world around us - for better or for worse.

So let me get to the main point today: the simple act of our being here in the faith community doesn’t help those outside the faith community find it. Last week, I asked you all to write down a few words about what you love most about this congregation. And I love the words that came up.

See word cloud.

They were words like:

Non-judgemental

Friendly

Welcoming

Loving

Warm

And I see that in you all. But these are all words that are the exact opposite of the reputation that the church as a whole has in our current cultural context. The church is notorious for the judgemental, unfriendly, unwelcoming, unloving, cold things that have been done to people in the name of the Bible and Christianity. If you ask people who aren’t going to church why not, you will frequently hear things like, “Because the church is judgemental.” or “The church isn’t very friendly to new people.”

So how do we get out there and let the people in our neighborhood know that we aren’t? What can we do in our neighborhood that communicates acceptance, friendship, welcome, love, and warmth? And then, how do we make sure that when someone walks in here who’s never been here before, they know right away that we are all those things here and we weren’t just blowing smoke to convince them to come?

I don’t have the answers to that right now. But we’re going to be asking those questions this afternoon at our discernment prayer meeting. This is why what we are doing right now is so vital to the future of this community.

Here is what I do know: You are fully capable of doing great things if you’re willing to let God take charge and do the crazy, unexpected sorts of things that God does. And I’m seeing that start to happen. There is creativity rising up out of the pews and the session meetings and the prayer gatherings and God is working. It’s going to get wackier and wackier because that’s how God rolls. And in that wild and wonderful recreation that God does, there is so much beauty, so much joy, so much rich community, and such a huge celebration over every sheep that finds its way into or back into the community of faith.

Sheep Left Alone

Sheep Left Alone

The sheep are left alone

The sheep are left alone

But they aren’t really alone

None of us would be here without a shepherd who came to find us

Sheep do not come when called

We are the “shepherd’s crooks”

Sheep Left Alone

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Sheep Left Alone

The sheep are left alone

The sheep are left alone

But they aren’t really alone

​

None of us would be here without a shepherd who came to find us

Sheep do not come when called

We are the “shepherd’s crooks”