[Propertalk] Proper 29 c 2016 - part 2

Wed Nov 16 19:16:37 EST 2016

Part 2
Bob

	 The problem was, as anyone could see, the shepherds – not just
those who were caretakers of the animals while they were out in the
fields, although they weren’t completely blameless either; the
problem was that those who had responsibility to ensure that the sheep
had food, and drink, and a safe pace to bed down for the night, and a
reasonable amount of shelter from the wind and the rain; these people
cared nothing for the sheep if it threatened their own way of life.
They collected sheep as a hobby. They made sure that they themselves
were living in as close to the lap of luxury as they could. They
wanted access to all the proper medical treatment; they wanted cable
TV, and a good phone land-line and a secure WiFi network … well,
actually, they simply wanted the best food, the best drink, the best
vacations, the easiest means of communication with their friends and
relatives. I mean, look at Herod: access to the leading Romans in the
territory, music and dancing whenever he wanted it, horses, chariots;
oh, and a palace of incredible proportions at Masada where he could
catch the breeze in summer to eat the stifling heat. And if this meant
that some of the sheep had to be run off on to different, scrubby,
almost barren areas of the hillsides; if this meant that he lost sheep
because no one cared enough about their safety; if this meant that
Herod and those in charge only focussed beyond their noses when they
were counting what was in their wallets; what was the big deal. You
could always breed a few more sheep.

	 But the sheep, thundered Jeremiah, the sheep are the people of God.
It doesn’t even matter whether or not they were YOUR sheep, they HAD
to be cared for, completely, whether they acted, as one translation of
the twenty-third psalm puts it, “perversely and foolishly”. The
behaviour of the sheep, in this instance, had absolutely NOTHING to do
with what bothered God. In many cases, they didn’t know which side
was up and if a shepherd took them to the edge of a cliff, or some
other life-endangering situation, they might well jump off. 

	 How Jesus must have sighed. If only the shepherds, and the owners,
and all the folk who had the means to make sure that the sheep were
well-cared for had actually done the job for which they’d been
taught for almost two thousand years, then Jesus job would have been
much simpler.

	 And so would ours.

	 But Jesus inherited a mess. The sheep STILL didn’t know which side
was up. 

	 Dick Reid can correct me on this, I’m sure – and I don’t know
if sheep are counted large or small animals. I suspect that they’re
large. But “To recognize clinical signs of diseases common to sheep
and goats, it is important to be familiar with what is normal.
Producers should assess the herd or flock’s general health on a
regular basis, including vital signs, body condition, and coat.” 1

	 I won’t ask Dick to get up and take a look around to see what’s
what, but you get the picture,

	 You, I, those whom we can’t see but who are walking past this
building at this instant, folk in hospital beds, people trying to get
sleep but can’t for whatever reason: the health of every one of us
was Jesus’ job in His day, and is ours today.

	 The thing that hold me back, though; the things that I hope troubles
me and troubles you, is that I, and you, and countless others who
COULD make a difference, often are reluctant to look around REALLY to
see what is happening; who is hurting; who is in danger; who is being
threatened or deprived of necessities. We have a pretty fair idea of
what is normal in human life. We even talk about such conditions when
we read the Declaration of Independence and see the words “Life,
Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”. 2 And we think of what this
entails so that our neighbours, and our families, and the sheep in the
next county and state, and those across the world may have caregivers
who are sensitive and appropriate.

	 But think again of what Jesus saw. The people were confused; they
were neglected; they were abused; they were threatened; that had no
hope beyond the certainty that they would die. And the problem that
Jesus created was that He said that the people, EVERYONE had the right
from God to expect more than that.

	 And THAT’S what got Him the death threats. That’s what took Him
to the Cross. That’s what caused those soldiers and the rabble to be
more interested in what they could get for Jesus’ clothes than what
was happening to His Body, never mind His Mind. Although He may not
have realised it at the time, the only thing about Jesus that was safe
was His soul, and even that was troubled because of the failure of the
shepherds.

	 And what of us? We’re troubled – no doubt about that. There are
all sorts of things that press on us, that occupy our minds and our
energy. Among the first thing that gnaws at le is that I don’t want
to end up on a cross too. No one COURTS crucifixion, however it’s
carried out in 2016. But it still happens – to us, to my friends
whom I described at the beginning, to all sorts of people who WON’T
abandon even one sheep, but will ensure its safety, its health, if
reminder that it is precious and is loved without reservation – like
that one man hanging at Jesus’ side who, in desperation after
everything seemed to have gone wrong; that one man who may simply have
stolen in order to feed his family and fallen foul of the Roman
authorities, we don’t know; that one man who in desperate loneliness
turned to Jesus and said, simply, “Help me, please!”

	 And that is the call for which WE must be looking and listening. Who
is calling for help? Who seeks to come before the Judge of all, to ask
for forgiveness. To say that she or he has tried to listen, to look,
to be compassionate, to keep the other sheep safe.

	 As terrifying as it is, Jesus is not Judge until He has been
threatened, and brutalised by society and authority, and been killed.
And it MAY be, it just may be, that we are called to follow in the
same way. I pray that there may be no crosses. Serious crosses,
anyway, for you, and for me. But Jesus didn’t give any guarantees.

	 Oh, and I’m sure that Dick would be happy to check you out as you
leave this morning. He’s kind of a gatekeeper – not to keep you
out, but to make sure that you ex[erience the greatest pleasure in our
Judge’s company!

	NOTES:

	[1] Common Diseases and Health Problems in Sheep and Goats [1]
https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/as/as-595-commondiseases.pdf
[2]

2 LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS - WIKIPEDIA [3]
HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/LIFE,_LIBERTY_AND_THE_PURSUIT_OF_HAPPINESS
[4]

	_Bulletin illustrations at_

	_ _

	_“__Soldiers at the Crucifixion”,_ detail, Andrea Mategna,
1431-1506, San Zeno Maggiore Church, Verona, Italy, from ART IN THE
CHRISTIAN TRADITION, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library,
Nashville, TN.

	 http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=46161 [5] 

AND

_CHRIST IN JUDGMENT”_ BY FERNANDO GALLEGO, CA. 1440-CA. 1507, MUSEO
DEL PRADO [6], MADRID, FROM ART IN THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION, A PROJECT
OF THE VANDERBILT DIVINITY LIBRARY, NASHVILLE, TN.
HTTP://DIGLIB.LIBRARY.VANDERBILT.EDU/ACT-IMAGELINK.PL?RC=47430 [7]

Links:
------
[1]
https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/as/as-595-commondiseases.pdf
[2]
https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/as/as-595-commondiseases.pdf
[3]
http://mail2.charter.net/HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/LIFE,_LIBERTY_AND_THE_PURSUIT_OF_HAPPINESS
[4]
http://mail2.charter.net/HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/LIFE,_LIBERTY_AND_THE_PURSUIT_OF_HAPPINESS
[5] http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=46161
[6]
http://mail2.charter.net/HTTP://DIGLIB.LIBRARY.VANDERBILT.EDU/ACT-PROCESSQUERY.PL?SID=20161113738708496&CODE=ACT&CODE=ACT&SUBJECTBUILDINGNAME=MUSEO+DEL+PRADO&SORTORDER=TITLE&=PHRASE
[7]
http://mail2.charter.net/HTTP://DIGLIB.LIBRARY.VANDERBILT.EDU/ACT-IMAGELINK.PL?RC=47430

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