John 10 : 11-18 3^rd May 2009.

Sometimes I think I must have been a rather weird child, although I remember going with friends, so perhaps it’s just that we lived very different lives in the 1950’s. For I just loved going to sheepdog trials. They were held in some fields near where I lived, or even better, when staying with my granny, going to Perthshire and sitting among the hills, but again watching that fantastic co-operation between shepherd and dog. The dogs were so alert waiting for any order from the shepherd or any move from the sheep. Any sign that the sheep needing guiding, protecting, and the dog would move quietly, without a fuss, to the right place to be their protector.

The picture of Christ as the shepherd and us as the sheep is something we have all been brought up with., and it is depicted in one of the stained glass windows in the Lady Chapel, and we also have we have Jesus’ command to Peter ‘feed my sheep and follow me’ in a window in the s. aisle. But do we see it just as some cosy picture, the sheep, us, safe in the arms of Jesus. The example of God and Jesus as the shepherd and us as sheep has been constant both in the Old and New Testaments. But do we take it seriously, see it as developing our Christian journey, working for the coming of the Kingdom. Do we see it as a call to be prepared to reach out, to help those around us - how do we relate it to our life.

At sheepdog trials the dog shows the shepherd’s concern, of caring for the sheep and the dog conveys the shepherd’s message to the sheep.

The pictures of Jesus as the shepherd are, as I said, lovely, somewhat comforting, peaceful. But life isn’t like that, it isn’t always peaceful, for many people life can be full of fear, anger, loneliness, with a feeling that no one cares, that they are really alone in a cold, unloving world. And its worth remembering that Jesus didn’t spend his earthly life among the affluent, the healthy, the powerful, he spent it among the outcast, the sick and the lonely.

We know that God loves all his children, that he reaches out, all we have to do is listen, but do we pass that message on. Are we alert like a sheepdog, alert both the voice of the Good Shepherd and to the needs, the fears of the sheep. Do they know they are safe in the hands of the Church? Do they see the Church as a safe place, or a place where they may be criticised, reprimanded, made to feel like second class citizens. Does the church today strive to keep people together or does it stand back and watch people scatter in fear, making themselves even more vulnerable to life’s problems?

I am sure that the Church should become like the sheepdog, model its outreach on love and concern, but a love and concern which is conveyed, at times, by just staying still, listening, watching and moving quietly without a great fuss to meet the needs of the sheep. Move in such a way that people can truly see Jesus’ ministry echoed in what we do. In sheep dog trials there is no hope of success for a sheepdog which lets one of the sheep get lost, they have to find it and bring it back to the fold, which wastes time. Perhaps the church needs to guard the sheep within its fold, its parish, with the same care and patience.

In the Gospel reading we learn how we are cared for. That God is with us in every danger and protects us, God sees that we are fed, God sees to it that we are never scattered and alone, God calls us and talks to us and takes care of people all over the world. We know this, but if we were to walk around Redhill today I am sure we would find people who would admit to being unhappy, feeling alone, but even more importantly would say they either don’t believe in God, they can’t see any point of the Church, or words like that.

The Shepherd loves his sheep and keeps them close, both to him and to one another. This is what Jesus meant in his commandment that we should love one another as he loves us. It’s a call to know, value, honour, and protect one another, to share with each other the joy of knowing Jesus. If we recognize Jesus by the tender care he gives us, the sheep, surely we should recognize the need for us to have true concern for all our fellow human beings and for all of God’s Creation.

God is here to talk to us, to listen to us, to see that we

are protected, guided and to see that we never feel alone. We know this but do the young Mums with screaming children, those everyone looks at in the supermarket when they yell as their child, do they know it? Does the lonely person sitting alone in their flat, or on a bench outside the Harlequin, perhaps not having spoken to anyone for days, know it? It’s great that we tell people of God’s love, but do we show it. Our Church is open most days, and we now have the coffee shop, but are we conveying God’s love in such a way that it seems a good idea to those on the outside, to take that big step of walking through those forbidding looking doors to discover what is on the other side, that it’s a risk with taking?

Christ’s promise is that one day the Kingdom will cover the earth and all of us will be one big community that listens and responds to God and is safe and joyful and at peace. But we are called to pass on that message. We cannot just be the sheep seeking the Good Shepherd’s protection, for there are many sheep in waiting, people who do not know the shepherd, we have to take on the role of earthly protectors – perhaps we need to be like a good sheep dog.

The good sheep dog doesn’t fuss over the sheep, doesn’t try to win them over by being overbearing, doesn’t pick on the weakest, most difficult sheep, to criticise. The good sheepdog watches and listens, moves when needed, quietly and with confidence, is always there to guide and protect. He will guard the sheep with his life because he sees them as his responsibility, the dog and the sheep are nearly as one - nothing can separate the good dog from the sheep, or indeed the good dog from the shepherd.

As Christians we are not only called to see Jesus as the Good Shepherd to deepen and strengthen our relationship with God, but to draw our community into the family of God to work for the coming of the Kingdom, by bringing God’s love to those around us.

St Francis of Assisi said ‘Preach the Gospel where ever you go. Use words if you must’ He understood the power and influence of communication beyond language – just as the sheep dog does. Amen