Smelly sheep

We may have seen religious pictures depicting Jesus carrying a cute and cuddly little lamb on his shoulders. We sigh gratefully at such a gentle picture. But let Desmond Tutu give us a different interpretation of this text:

A lamb will hardly stray from its mother. It is the troublesome, obstreperous sheep which will likely go astray, going through a fence, having its wool torn and probably ending up in a ditch of dirty water. It is this dirty, smelly, riotous creature which the good shepherd goes after, leaving the good, well behaved ninety nine sheep in the wilderness.

This makes sense given the context of the story. Jesus was attacked for apparently having very low standards when it came to the company he kept. They were a disreputable lot. Wasn’t Jesus giving God a bad name by associating with such types?

In fact Jesus was displaying the grace of that God. He met and accepted all irrespective of their reputations or failings. Of course we must not forget he called all such people to turn to him and seek to live new lives. But in order to offer that invitation he had to meet them where they were and as they were.

The good shepherd doesn’t demand we clean up our act before he comes looking for us. It is the smelly sheep who end up on his shoulders.

Blessings
David Reay