Behind the scriptures today (if you listen closely) you can hear the faint sound of sheep bleating. The psalmist certainly hears it. Jesus hears it too and you can’t begin to imagine how powerful the images of sheep and shepherd are with us today.
But most of what we’ve come to know about sheep is unflattering to say the least. How do you regard them? Some say they’re dumb, likely to get lost or killed by their ignorance of how the world works. Lambs can be charming, but most sheep lack what you would call a winsome personality. Most sheep even look alike! Can you tell one from another? To refer to someone as a sheep is likely to be received as an insult in our time, don’t you think? Instead, we like to think of ourselves as being independent and starched with our own strong sense of self.
Can you hear the sound of sheep bleating from where you sit?
