Christ, as Shepherd

A sheep named Baarack received a much-needed shearing after rescuers in Australia found the abandoned animal with more than 75 pounds of wool weighing it down. A video of his transformation on TikTok has more than 18.5 million views. After rescuing Baarack, sanctuary staff gave him the long-overdue shearing and found the fleece clocked in at about 78 pounds.

According to Kelly Dinham with Edgar’s Mission Farm Sanctuary, sheep need at least yearly shearing to keep their coats light enough for the animals, otherwise it will continue to grow. Despite his heavy fleece, Baarack was actually underweight after being sheared. The wool around his face impaired his vision, too. Dinham said they found grit and debris "pooling in the gap between his cornea and the lid." And a grass seed stuck in there had caused an ulcer.

If a sheep goes for an extended period of time without adequate care, the overgrown wool can lead to build up of manure and urine that then could lead to infection, according to a North Dakota State University fact sheet on sheep shearing.

Possible Preaching Angle

This illustration easily applies to the Chief Shepherd and his sheep (and the undershepherd and their flock). As the sheep of his pasture, we need to be under the care of our Shepherd, otherwise we can wander off (Luke 15:4) or be attacked (Acts 20:29). We need those peaceful streams and quiet pastures, and his loving care (John 10:1-18; Psalm 23:1-6).

A 71-year-old woman was hospitalized with injuries to her head after her car’s windshield was destroyed by a hard, blunt projectile while she was driving along the freeway. That projectile? A turtle.

The 911 recording of the call recorded the following exchange: “There is a turtle in there,” a man can be heard saying. “A turtle!” the victim’s daughter exclaimed. “An actual turtle?!” Yes, an actual turtle. “It’s crazy,” said the dispatch supervisor, who took the call at 10:18am that Wednesday morning.

The woman was treated by first responders on the scene and, according to paramedics, did not lose consciousness on her way to the hospital. However, witnesses say the turtle walked away with just a few scratches on its shell, obviously benefitting from having its home attached to its back.

Authorities are unsure how or why the turtle ended up in the air, theorizing that perhaps it was kicked up by the tires of another vehicle on the freeway. However, the most shocking thing about this story is that it’s not the first report of such a turtle windshield assault. Apparently, a similar phenomenon occurred in neighboring Volusia County back in 2016.

Possible Preaching Angle:

Those who walk according to God's will can expect God's protection. Not that nothing bad will ever happen to us, but God has and will continue to equip you to withstand the things life throws your way.

In the film Greyhound, actor Tom Hanks plays the captain of a US destroyer that is commanding the escorts of a 37-ship convoy. They are crossing the Atlantic in 1942, at the height of the “Battle of the Atlantic.” The story focuses on the three-days that the convoy is in the “Mid-Atlantic Gap,” where they do not enjoy the benefits of air-cover. The convoy is subjected to relentless attack by a U-boat “wolf pack.” The U-boats sink seven ships from the convoy and one of the accompanying escorts. The escorts in turn sink a number of the U-boats. The majority of the convoy makes it through, delivering essential troops and supplies.

The intensity of the combat is unrelenting. Hanks is on the bridge of his ship throughout. A running motif of the film is that he never gets to eat. His stewards keep preparing him food, and bringing it to him, but when it arrives there is yet another attack and the food almost invariably crashes to the deck. In a poignant scene towards the end, he changes his boots for slippers because his feet are bloodied by standing for such a long period.

The film is based on the book The Good Shepherd by C. S. Forester, and the title indicates the spiritual symbolism of the story. Hanks’ character is clearly a committed Christian, who is shown praying at his bedside, and he has a prominent sticker of Hebrews 13:8 in his cabin.

Possible Preaching Angle:

C. S. Forester must have realized convoy escort duty is a good parallel for the work of Christian ministry. Pastors and leaders are called to protect their flock from the attacks of the enemy and ensure that they reach their destination safely.

In a post on Facebook, Emily Clarke wrote that she and her husband “encountered one of the most severe storms” while driving through North Queensland, Australia, saying that a truck driver helped them safely through it:

The water was lapping both sides of the highway and in some parts, it was over the road. We noticed a (semi-trailer) truck moving over to the left ahead of us. I asked (my husband), do you think he is pushing the excess water off the road for us? It was so bad that I could see only his brake lights at one point. It was unsafe to stop so I tucked in behind the truck and he guided me, braking frequently and putting his indicator on the side that there was an upcoming hazard.

She said she had a sick feeling that if they stopped on the road, even to let her husband drive, they would be in more danger, so they followed the truck until he turned off at a pub just before Mackay. She wrote:

My husband got out of the car and met him as he got out of his truck to thank him. His name is Footie and he is from Melbourne, and just so humble. We thanked him from the bottom of our hearts for helping keep us safe.

Footie told us, “I could see more than you, and if you were my family, I would only hope that another truck driver would do that for you.”

Possible Preaching Angles:

Christ is our guide through the dark and dangerous valleys of life (Ps 23:4). He knows the way because he has been there before us. He clears a path for our safe journey, as Heb. 12:2 literally says “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer/trailblazer and perfecter of our faith.”

The following prayer has been attributed to a Muslim convert to Christ:

"O God, I am Mustafah the tailor, and I work at the shop of Muhammad. The whole day long I sit and pull the needle and the thread through the cloth. O God, you are the needle and I am the thread. I am attached to you and I follow you. When the thread tries to slip away from the needle, it becomes tangled and must be cut so it can be put back in the right place. O God, help me to follow you wherever you lead me. For I am really only Mustafah the tailor, and I work in the shop of Muhammad on the great square."

The Telegraph, a British newspaper reported that a flock of over 1,300 sheep "had to be rounded up by police in the Spanish city of Huesca after their shepherd fell asleep." The article continued:

According to city authorities, the police were alerted to the presence of the extremely large flock attempting to negotiate the streets in the center of Huesca at around 4.30am on Tuesday when a local resident dialed Spain's 112 emergency number.

The dozing shepherd was meant to be keeping the animals in check outside the environs of the city while he waited for the clock to strike 7am, when he was due to guide the sheep northwards through Huesca towards Pyrenean uplands where his flock will graze during the hot summer months.

The police eventually found the herder, who was still peacefully slumbering. Together the embarrassed shepherd and police officers were eventually able to extract the sheep from the city and return them to their pastures.

Medieval cartographers (mapmakers) sketched hic sunt dragones (translated "there be dragons") on the edges of their maps. Those three words were used by the medieval cartographer of the famed Lenox Globe (c. 1503-1507) to describe the outer boundaries where knowledge ended and speculation began. After drawing on all of his knowledge, the mapmaker could only write those three provocative words to convey that these areas were at best unexplored, and at worst, perilous.

Yet maps of that era often held another image—Christ. For instance, The Psalter map (c. 1250), so called because it accompanied a copy of the book of Psalms, featured dragons on the bottom, as well as Jesus and the angels at the top. Such a map reminds us of the availability of "true north" as followers of Christ: Yes, there be dragons; but there is also Jesus and the angels. And we can follow him—and find our way.

In his book Deserted by God?, author and pastor Sinclair Ferguson shares the following story:

The first physician to die of the AIDS virus in the United Kingdom was a young Christian. He had contracted it while doing medical research in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. In the last days of his life, his power of communication failed. He struggled with increasing difficulty to express his thoughts to his wife. On one occasion she simply could not understand his message. He wrote on a note pad the letter J. She ran through her medical dictionary, saying various words beginning with J. None was right. Then she said, "Jesus?"

That was the right word. He was with them. That was all either of them needed to know. [And] that is always enough.

In his book Building a Church of Small Groups, Bill Donahue relays a story from his time as a part-time youth pastor while attending seminary. He was visiting a farm where two of his students lived, and their father decided to teach Bill a lesson:

He asked if I could help call in the sheep. I enthusiastically agreed. Sheep-calling was like preaching. We stood at the pasture fence, watching 25 sheep graze.

"Go ahead," he dared me. "Call them in."

"What do you say?" I asked.

"I just say, 'Hey, sheep! C'mon in!'"

No sweat, I thought. A city kid with a bad back and hay fever could do this. I began in a normal speaking voice, but Tom interrupted. "You are 75 yards away, down wind, and they have their backs to you. Yell! Use your diaphragm, like they teach you in preaching class."

So I took a deep breath and put every inch of stomach muscle into a yell that revival preachers around the world would envy: "Hey, sheep! C'mon in!" The blessed creatures didn't move an inch. None even turned an ear.

Tom smiled sarcastically. "Do they teach you the Bible in that seminary? Have you ever read, 'My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me'?" Raising his voice only slightly, he said: "Hey, sheep! C'mon in!" All 25 sheep turned and ambled toward us. Tom seized this teachable moment.

"Now, don't you ever forget," he said. "You are the shepherd to my kids."

As a young mother, one Christmas brought Brenda Nixon to despair. Amid all the holiday stress, her husband's job was shaky and the grim possibility of no income depressed her. She writes:

Among my numerous responsibilities was teaching my three-year-old's Sunday school class at church. When I looked at the teacher's book, I saw that the lesson was on Jesus, the Good Shepherd. What! The Good Shepherd? I complained. Surely something is wrong here. How does the Good Shepherd relate to the real meaning of Christmas? Besides, city kids can't relate to a shepherd. My low spirit was evident as I criticized everything about this lesson.

Then the time came for class. We survived the art portion of the lesson, gluing cotton balls to sheep pictures, and had our juice and animal crackers. Then it was circle time. Turning to each rosy-cheeked cherub, I began with, "What is a good shepherd?" To which came my reminder of truth as one tot positively replied, "He picks up his sheep when they fall down."

At Chancy Lutheran Church in Clinton, Iowa, the kids from VBS were preparing for their grand finale production of "The Good Shepherd." Guests slipped into their seats and checked their watches. The special stars of the show were two sheep, kept in a pen outside the church.

Then things got complicated. Ten minutes before the play was to start, the sheep…, well…they were lost. They ran away. Just got scared (stage fright, maybe?), hopped over the fence, and lit out for points unknown. The play's director, Sandy Mussman, along with her two kids, ran through town, chasing the sheep. "At one point," she later reported, "we passed a lady who was out in her yard. She said, 'Did I just see what I thought I saw?'"

Eventually, they tracked one of the sheep down near Clinton Community College, but at last report the other one was still on the lam, though several people reported seeing it around town. The church's pastor was even out looking. According to Mussman, "When people asked what he was looking for he'd say, 'A lost sheep.' Then he'd have to tell them he really was looking for a lost sheep, that he wasn't looking for sinners."

I suspect that in the finest tradition of the theater, the show went on. After all, the first act was entitled "The Lost Sheep."

Cattle-rustling is a major problem in Uganda. The Ugandan army daily attempts to reunite cattle with their owners. The biggest difficulty lies in proving ownership. This article recounts how one elderly lady settled the issue:

The BBC's Nathan Etungu witnessed the process beginning in a village north of Mbale. He told the BBC's Network Africa that when an elderly woman stood before the herd a remarkable thing happened. She called her cows by name and to the amusement of the soldiers, as each cow heard her voice, it lifted its head and then followed her.

As far as the army was concerned, it was as strong a proof of ownership as one could find.

When Ira Sankey was at the height of his ministry, traveling on a steamer in the Delaware River, he was recognized by some passengers. They'd seen his picture in the newspaper and knew he was associated with evangelist D. L. Moody. When they asked him to sing one of his own compositions, Sankey said he preferred the hymn by William Bradbury, "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us." He suggested that everyone join in the singing. One of the stanzas begins, "We are thine, do thou befriend us; be the guardian of our way."

When he finished, a man stepped out of the shadows and inquired, "Were you in the army, Mr. Sankey?"

"Yes, I joined up in 1860."

"Did you ever do guard duty at night in Maryland, about 1862?"

"Yes, I did."

"Well, I was in the Confederate Army," said the stranger. "I saw you one night at Sharpsburg. I had you in my gun sight as you stood there in the light of the full moon. Then just as I was about to pull the trigger, you began to sing. It was the same hymn you sang tonight," the man told an astonished Sankey. "I couldn't shoot you."

On February 24, 2001, a one-year old Canadian girl named Erika somehow wandered out of her mother's bed and house and spent the entire night in the Edmonton winter.

When her mother, Leyla Nordby, found her, Erika appeared to be totally frozen. Her legs were stiff, her body frozen, and all signs of life appeared to be gone.

Erika was treated at Edmonton's Stollery Children's Health Center, and God helped doctors and rescue workers bring her back to life. To the amazement of all, there appeared to be no sign of brain damage, and doctors gave Erika a clear prognosis—she would soon be able to hop and skip and play like other girls her age.

Some of us have wandered away from our Father's house, and it has brought us near the point of death. Our hearts have hardened, and our spiritual bodies look as lifeless as the little girl in the snow.

But our Father noticed we were missing and is searching for us. He can take our lifeless spirits and restore us to health. Let the Father pick you up and take you back to his house.

During the recent uprisings in the Middle East, Ron and Joke Jones, who serve with the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Israel, communicated the following in their prayer letter:

The result of the fighting and killing has left a profound sense of discouragement that hovers over the country. Several times we have come into closer contact with this conflict than our comfort zone allowed.

Yesterday a friend shared with us something she observed that was a delightful reminder of God's care for us. She watched a shepherd caring for his flock near the area where guns are fired. Every time the shots rang out the sheep scattered in fright. The shepherd then touched each of them with his staff and spoke calmly to them, and the sheep settled down immediately because they trusted the shepherd. And then another shot sounded, and the same routine happened again. Each time, the sheep needed the shepherd to orient them again and to reassure them they were safe.

We are like those sheep, and our Shepherd reaches out and touches us with his staff, speaking words of calm and comfort.