Breaking the patterns of being sheep

The Bible is a collection of ancient writings, written over a period of more than 1,000 years. The writings inform us about the journey of a distinct people as they tried to figure out life. They were deeply religious. They argued a lot. The writings do not represent a single perspective, but many.

Bible readers should recognize the arguments that take place in the Bible. The best understanding of the writings is found when the reader joins in the argument. I am thankful that my seminary training taught me to engage in the arguments of the Bible.

Recently I read from the 10th chapter of the John gospel. The first half of the chapter presents Jesus as the good shepherd. As I reread the passage, I became more and more uncomfortable with the shepherd/sheep relationship. The argument began.

I did a little reading about sheep. Their reputation as being dumb is undeserved. By most standards of animal behavior, sheep are quite intelligent. The problem is that their intelligence is overridden by their instincts to herd and to follow. Sheep, one of the very earliest animals to be domesticated, are very docile and non-aggressive. Given this combination of traits, sheep cannot on their own survive in the wild.

Jesus knew sheep. He is reported, when looking out at the crowds, to see people as sheep without a shepherd.

He did not volunteer to be their shepherd. He volunteered to be their teacher. He volunteered to be their liberator. The Matthew, Mark and Luke gospels are full of reports about Jesus as teacher. There is almost nothing in them about Jesus as a shepherd. As I read the teachings of Jesus, his goal was to encourage people to stop acting like sheep and to encourage them to become loving, active participants in the kingdom of God. His favorite reference to his followers was “friends.”

The earliest writings of the New Testament do not build on the sheep/shepherd model.

The John gospel is one of the later New Testament documents. John wrote two or three generations after the death of Jesus. The early church was in disarray. John’s writings were an attempt to bring order out of chaos, to bring control out of disorder. He embraced the shepherd/sheep model of understanding. John’s writings won the day. The writings were included in the list of holy writings that we now call the Bible. It was John who made Jesus into the great shepherd. Eventually ordained church leaders became Christ’s representatives, like assistant shepherds.

Around most churches we call clergy “pastor” and expect church members to be nice, quiet, obedient sheep. There is a great sense of security in the relationship. But what if Jesus rejected the sheep/shepherd paradigm and actually advocated a family paradigm of the kingdom of God on earth?

Unfortunately, by the end of the first century CE, the Christian church had adopted the sheep/shepherd organizational structure and made it holy. This paradigm of church structure has turned many devout believers into docile sheep. Understandably this sheep/shepherd paradigm gave religious sanction to relationships with all kinds of hierarchical structures. Powerful leaders and lots of unthinking followers were abundant. It makes for the perfect shepherd/sheep relationship.

Jesus was a critic of the structures of his own day. Every one of the structures he challenged — religious, governmental, and economic — were hierarchical. People behaved like obedient sheep to their own detriment.

Paul from Tarsus was the first of the great Christian writers. He was a brilliant theologian and had good insights into what Jesus was about. He wrote “For freedom Christ has set you free. Let no one put a yoke of bondage on you again.” Never in his writings does he use the shepherd/sheep paradigm.

The great problem with the sheep/shepherd paradigm is that it underestimates the potential of the least of human beings. Jesus approached life from a different angle. Once when Jesus was talking to his followers, he commented “You will do greater things than I do.”

I remind you. As sheep mature, first they are sheared of their wool, and then they become lamb chops.

If Jesus had been an ongoing part of American history, what role would he have played? He would have been on the side of the Indians. He would have worked long days along side black slaves. He would have been an abolitionist. He would have moved in with minority Americans who suffered from discrimination. He would have welcomed every immigrant that came to America. He would have led the struggle for woman suffrage. He would have been an organizer of farmers’ cooperatives. He would have been a union organizer in Detroit. He would have marched with Martin Luther King Jr. He would walk a picket line at Wal-Mart and organize its employees.

As you can see, I really do not like the sheep image for Christians. I joined in the argument. Should you not be participating as well?

The Rev. Howard Bess is minister at Church of the Covenant, an American Baptist church in Palmer. His e-mail address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.