SHEPHERDS AND SHEEPDOGS

A dog is a dog and maybe we do not think much more about it. There are big dogs, like Alsatians, and small ones, like fox terriers. But dogs are dogs and they are just there – part of the environment, maybe making visitors or intruders think twice before approaching a house, but not much more.

There is, however, one type of dog that always captures my interest; the humble sheepdog. Every farmer, especially those who kept sheep, in the part of the world I come from, had one. The dogs were so dedicated to their work there were festivals and shows where they would display their skills. They were ‘one’ with the shepherd and could interpret every whistle, every call and sign.

They would go out to the hillside, gather the sheep and urge them to go in a certain direction – to a new grazing ground or to the sheepfold. What is intriguing to watch is their gentle manner. They never frightened the sheep, never lead them to panic – like a wolf would. They just nudged them along.

Whenever a sheep makes a break for freedom and runs off on its own, the dog races round it and block its path, never bighting it, never touching it, but just crouching in front and staring the errant animal in the eye. The sheep would then give in and turn back and re-join the flock.

Once a year we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday and perhaps we have our own images about what a good shepherd is. This is mine. The shepherd is there watching. He sends out his faithful helpers to show people the way home, the way to nourishment and security. If one of them strays they go in search and gently nudge them back.

A shepherd is a timeless image of a guardian – patient, gentle, faithful and prepared to go to enormous trouble to seek out someone in trouble. ‘Browser’, like so many words, has been picked by technology to serve that giant’s purpose. But it is a word that goes back to Ezekiel: ‘My people will browse in rich pastures on the mountains of Israel’ (34:14).

To browse is to explore and advances, big and small, have come with browsing. Modern education, at its best, encourages exploration. But there are many today who explore dangerously. Frustrated by the inequity of our age, they wander in to the hands of drug dealers and lose their way – even their lives.

We have a need for good shepherds.

30 April 2023             Easter Sunday 4A       Acts 2:36-42    1 Pet 2:20-25   Jn 10:1-10