My cousin Celeste keeps sheep on her small farm. Two of the ewes delivered recently, one with triplets, and she has been posting the most adorable pictures and videos of the lambs cavorting around the barn and pasture, happily scattering the chickens and then settling beside their mothers to nap in the sunshine. As enjoyable as they have been, she did have a scare last week when she glanced out her window and saw a lamb lying on its side in the grass outside the fence. Fearing the worst, she rushed outside to investigate, and was relieved when the little one roused from its nap and sat up, unharmed. The lamb had found a hole in the fence and pushed its way through. She must have been unable to return through the protective boundary and rejoin her family. Her mother hovered nearby on the other side, and thanks to its self-preservation instinct for remaining with the flock, the little one stayed close until Celeste could place her back inside the protective boundary. Seeing the photo of that little lamb lying outside the fence reminded me of the comparisons in scripture between human beings and sheep. I have heard a lot of sermons about the lost sheep and the ninety and nine, and about our tendency to go astray when we fail to listen to the shepherd’s voice.
Jesus’ metaphors would have been perfectly clear to his contemporaries; they operated within an agrarian culture and were immersed in its terminology and understandings. Most of us in modern times might miss some of the finer points of his lessons due to an ignorance of a farmer’s basic knowledge. Unlike Cousin Celeste, I have never kept sheep and can claim no first-hand knowledge. I was curious to learn a little more about sheep behavior, as well as the differences between sheep and goats, and thanks to Google and Bing there aren’t a lot of topics that are inaccessible nowadays. So I gained some insight from “Sheep 201: A Beginners’ Guide to Raising Sheep.”
Often sheep are mentioned in a negative context, and we certainly don’t want to follow just anyone or thing indiscriminately, like the “400 sheep in 2006 in eastern Turkey. The sheep plunged to their death after one of the sheep tried to cross a 15-meter deep ravine, and the rest of the flock followed.” –retrieved 2/01/18 from http://www.sheep101.info/201/behavior.html
The tragic loss of this flock above wasn’t due to stupidity, but to limitations of a sheep’s vision coupled with an otherwise beneficial instinct. While a sheep has a superior range of vision to detect movement of predators on all sides, its depth perception isn’t so great. The article further states that sheep “tend to avoid deep shadows and areas of sharp contrast between dark and light. They are reluctant to go where they can't see.” Unfortunately that doomed flock had their eyes on an inept leader instead of focusing on the warning signs in their path.
One of the most obvious points about, then, is this tendency to flock together. The previous anecdote is exceptional; as a rule sheep are safer and happier in a group of five or more. So why do they sometimes wander away, when being alone stresses them out?
“All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord has laid on himself the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6
Most of the sermons I’ve heard about straying sheep assume rebellion, willfulness and resistance. But from what I’ve read, it’s the goats that are independent and willful. Sheep tend more toward fear, because aside from the mature rams with their impressive horns, sheep lack an aggressive nature or much in the way of natural defense. They seek safety within their numbers and get into trouble when they lose sight of the flock. In the Gospels, the parable of the lost sheep shows both our dependency on one another, and God’s care for the individual. A ninety-nine percent success rate seems more than acceptable in just about any area; business, academics, or restaurant scores, for example! But instead of abandoning the lamb and being satisfied with the ninety-nine good listeners, the shepherd perseveres in love toward the foolish, frightened, desperate lost cause. Is the wandering sheep a warning against headstrong stubbornness? Maybe, but a farmer’s perspective gave me new insight into the message of love in the Gospels.
“Changes in normal behavior can be an early sign of illness in sheep. The most obvious example of this relates to the sheep's most natural behavioral instinct, their flocking instinct. A sheep or lamb that is isolated from the rest of the flock is likely showing early signs of illness (unless it is lost). Even the last sheep through the gate should be suspected of not feeling well, especially if it is usually one of the first.” 2
Elsewhere in scripture Jesus stated that his mission was not to the “whole,” but to those in need of a physician, and in I Corinthians 1:27 he said, “God chooses the foolish and weak to shame the wise and strong.”
After years of looking down on that stupid, irritating stubborn sheep who could not hold it together long enough to enter the safety of the fold on his own, I am ashamed to understand that the shepherd did not feel inconvenienced on his mission of mercy, but glad that a helpless and needy individual was finally ready to be carried to safety. It also dawned on me that while Christian people like to equate the sheep-fold with a final destination, in life the penning of sheep is not a one-time activity for a shepherd. The parable is relevant on a daily basis. The flock is in and out by necessity to interact with the environment. The sheep must all feed and find water and avoid danger continually, and chances are, one of those ninety-nine who was safe the night before might find herself in trouble soon enough. It would be arrogant to assume that any one of those sheep is not vulnerable to illness, exhaustion or attack.
Near the end of his ministry, Christ, who became helpless on our behalf, said to Peter, “If you love me, feed my lambs.” Goats are strong and independent. They will feed on anything and must be driven along with a sharp stick. However, sheep, because of their individual helplessness, are more compliant and trusting. It runs contrary to our human wisdom. But helplessness, dependence and even suffering are all unavoidable elements of the human condition, and when embraced, are gifts that allow people to experience and share supernatural love, and to find the peace that passes understanding.
