Monday, November 27, 2023 | Trey Comstock
By Rev. Emily Larsen
My husband and I love to homestead. We have it all planned out! We have grand dreams of bigger gardens, chickens and ducks, and someday– when we finally have the space for it–sheep! We have it all dreamed out and mapped out in notebooks. So many of our friends have goats, and they certainly have their place on the homestead as well. But I personally love sheep better. You see, sheep have a shepherd. Goats have a herder. When you start to spend time around these livestock, you start to notice the key differences between them. They can both be stubborn. They can both be rambunctious. They each have their role on the homestead. And they can all sometimes seek to exert their own personality into any situation. Both can be used for milk and meat and wool. So why sheep instead of goats? For me, it’s because sheep have a shepherd. Goats have a herder. Sheep will hear a shepherd's voice and follow. They know their shepherd who cares for them. They follow their shepherd willingly knowing that the best place for them to be, is in the shepherd’s care. And while I have known a few spoiled bottle-fed goats that do the same, as a whole goats tend to want to do their own thing. They want to go their own way and have to be herded from behind with livestock guardian dogs. It can be really tricky getting a goat back into their pen when they escape, and they are usually master escape artists!
To me, this demonstrates one of the key principles that Jesus is trying to get across in today’s scripture. While both sheep and goats have ears to hear Christ’s instructions, sheep willingly follow, while goats tend to want to do their own thing.
In John 10:27, Jesus says “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.”
When we belong to Christ, we become his beloved sheep and he becomes our King and Good Shepherd. When we follow Christ, we know we are cared for. We know that the best place to be, is in our Good Shepherd’s care.
As we continue to look at Matthew’s apocalyptic writings; along with the parable of the ten bridesmaids and the parable of the talents that we looked at these past two weeks, this parable of the sheep and the goats points to the end of times when there will be a judgment coming down from Christ as King and Lord of all. Here we see those who are blessed entering into Christ’s kingdom as his faithful and loyal sheep and those who chose to reject Christ’s Kingship and do their own thing instead. Sheep who followed their shepherd willingly are rewarded. These blessed ones have demonstrated their faithfulness to Christ by following Christ’s example, performing acts of loving kindness while here on earth. Their true faithfulness in Christ’s teaching has led to a fruitful life, bearing witness to and following the example of their Shepherd. Jesus gave us all a charge to care for the hungry, welcome the stranger, care for the sick and the estranged of this world. We are called to care for the least of these. Jesus didn’t just tell his disciples to do these things. He demonstrated them during his time here on earth. He fed the hungry, healed the sick, and ate with the estranged and isolated people of the world. We, as his sheep, are meant to emulate that example.
Service to the “least of these” concerns all Christians everywhere. The charge to minister to and care for those in prison comes right after Jesus warns his disciples that they will be persecuted for his sake. Prison at that time was a holding place for those awaiting trial. It was up to the individual’s family and friends to provide for them during their incarceration. Surely soon after Christ’s death and resurrection there would be many more Christians taking up space in prison cells. It was up to the believers to care for those who had no one else to look after them. The righteous did these acts of kindness to the least of these without any idea that they were doing them for Jesus. Jesus says that whenever they gave food to the hungry, welcomed a stranger, clothed the naked, or visited the sick or imprisoned, they acted in kindness toward Jesus himself. Jesus can identify with the least of these because he has walked in their shoes. It’s what makes him the best Shepherd.
Stanley Hauerwas writes, “The difference between followers of Jesus and those who do not know Jesus is that those who have seen Jesus no longer have any excuse to avoid ‘the least of these.'”
In Christ’s kingdom, there are no longer any oppressed. Nobody goes hungry or thirsty, naked or alone. There everyone-even the “least of these”-is welcomed and everyone is cared for. In Christ’s flock, when you can be counted among his sheep, you are cared for.
And so, we too must take on this charge to care for others. If we are truly following in the footsteps of our shepherd, we will learn to notice those who are on the fringes of our circles, and welcome them in. Who is Christ calling you to care for? To bring into the safety of the sheepfold? To care for as Christ has cared for you?