I ask you to consider all of the philosophical realities that I’ve explored in these articles through the lens of the sheep and shepherd relationship. Psalm 23 says “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” John the Baptist sees Jesus in John 1 and says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” In John 10, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.” And, last one for now, St. John the Beloved heard an angel tell him in Revelation, “Write this: Blessed are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.”
Sheep are mentioned more than 500 times in the Bible and are THE most referenced animal in the Bible. This was a language everyone understood, because wool was a major fiber for creating most, if not all, of the fabrics in their civilization, but today, we are so removed from the creation of fabric that this language is almost lost on us.
Shepherds have an intimate relationship with their sheep. They share their life with their sheep. So much so, that a shepherd can recognize individual sheep based solely on their fleece, which is a sheep’s entire wool coat. Sheep are shorn - their entire wool fleece is cut off their body - at least once a year, usually in the springtime, to relieve them of their heavy and hot wool and to provide us with material for fabric. After the sheep is shorn, the shearer will lay the fleece out on the skirting table for the first step in fiber processing. This is where a shepherd could see the fleece and recognize, oh this is the sheep who loves to rub his back on the tree in the yard, or ooh this is the sheep who loves to snack on berries every morning for breakfast. Jesus’s words, “I know mine and mine know me,” come to mind.
Plus, wool is antimicrobial, fire retardant, mold resistant, wards off wear and tear, holds heat in and keeps heat out, and is an excellent insulator and natural humidifier. Honestly, wool is a miracle in itself.
The fleece is the sheep’s offering to the shepherd. It is created merely by its nature as a sheep. It’s freely given by the sheep and freely accepted by the shepherd. It is good for the sheep to give its fleece. So, what does it mean that the Shepherd became one of the sheep?
This is the Kerygma Series. Kerygma means “proclamation” in Greek and is a shorthand way of saying the proclamation of the gospel. This is the gospel, where the Shepherd became the sheep and laid it all out on the skirting table. This is “Our Very Nature,” and “Redeemed,” and the finale, “The Intimacy.”
