However, in a rather interesting book called A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, by W. Phillip Keller, he lets us know what it is truly like to be a shepherd. As far as his credentials, Mr. Keller explains: “First of all, I grew up and lived in East Africa, surrounded by simple native herders whose customs closely resembled those of their counterparts in the Middle East. So, I am intimately acquainted with the romance, the pathos, the picturesque life of an Eastern shepherd.” He also poignantly adds, “Secondly, as a young man, I actually made my own livelihood for about eight years as a sheep owner and sheep rancher.” So, Mr. Keller is well acquainted with shepherding and the characteristics of sheep.
First off, Mr. Keller relates how he had to use his own hard-earned money to pay for the flock of ewes: “It was money earned by the blood and sweat and tears drawn from my own body during the desperate grinding years of the Depression. And when I bought that first small flock, I was buying them literally with my own body which had been laid down with this day in mind.” He adds, “Because of this I felt in a special way that they were in very truth a part of me and I a part of them. There was an intimate identity involved which, though not apparent on the surface to the casual observer, nonetheless made those thirty ewes exceedingly precious to me.” In order to make his point very evident, he goes on to explain that, “[a]s their owner, [I] have to continually lay down my life for them if they were to flourish and prosper. Sheep do not ‘just take care of themselves’ as some might suppose. They require, more than any other class of livestock, endless attention and meticulous care.” 1
He literally lays Himself out for us continually. He is ever interceding for us; He is ever guiding us by His gracious Spirit; He is ever working on our behalf to ensure that we will benefit from His care.
By now we should be getting the idea that as the sheep need extreme care to thrive, we need that same careful and continuous attention from our own Divine Shepherd, Jesus. “He literally lays Himself out for us continually. He is ever interceding for us; He is ever guiding us by His gracious Spirit; He is ever working on our behalf to ensure that we will benefit from His care,” as beautifully expressed by Mr. Keller.
At the risk of belaboring the point of what is the “Good Shepherd,” Mr. Keller states that:
He is the sheepman to whom no trouble is too great as He cares for His flock. He is the rancher who is outstanding because of His fondness for sheep — Who loves them for their own sake as well as His personal pleasure in them. He will, if necessary, be on the job twenty-four hours a day to see that they are properly provided for in every detail. Above all, He is very jealous of His name and high reputation as “The Good Shepherd.”
He is the owner who delights in His flock. For Him there is no greater reward, no deeper satisfaction, than that of seeing His sheep contented, well fed, safe, and flourishing under His care. This is indeed His very “life.” He gives all He has to it. He literally lays Himself out for those who are His. 2
Repeatedly throughout the day he casts his eye over the flock to make sure that all is well. Nor even at night is he oblivious to their needs. He sleeps as it were “with one eye and both ears open,” ready at the least sign of trouble to leap up and protect his own.
Mr. Keller relates a message of the diligence of the Good Shepherd:
From early dawn until late at night this utterly selfless Shepherd is alert to the welfare of His flock. For the diligent sheepman rises early and goes out first thing every morning without fail to look over his flock. It is the initial, intimate contact of the day. With a practiced, searching, sympathetic eye he examines the sheep to see that they are fit and content and able to be on their feet. In an instant he can tell if they have been molested during the night — whether any are ill or if there are some which require special attention.
Repeatedly throughout the day he casts his eye over the flock to make sure that all is well. Nor even at night is he oblivious to their needs. He sleeps as it were “with one eye and both ears open,” ready at the least sign of trouble to leap up and protect his own. 3
From this we can imagine Jesus as he is speaking to the Pharisees:
What man of you that hath an hundred sheep: and if he shall lose one of them, doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert, and go after that which was lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, lay it upon his shoulders, rejoicing: And coming home, call together his friends and neighbours, saying to them: Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost? (Luke 15:3-6)
Now, what Mr. Keller relates on the lost sheep makes it more pertinent to what Jesus is saying. That is, a lost sheep would be in extreme danger if not found within a fairly short time. That is, a lost sheep may be a “cast down” sheep. This is an old English shepherd’s term for a sheep that has turned over on its back and cannot get up again by itself. As Mr. Keller relates:
A cast sheep is a very pathetic sight. Lying on its back, its feet in the air, it flays away frantically struggling to stand up, without success. Sometimes it will bleat a little for help, but generally it lies there lashing about in frightened frustration.
If the owner does not arrive on the scene within a reasonably short time, the sheep will die. This is but another reason why it is so essential for a careful sheepman to look over his flock every day, counting them to see that all are able to be up and on their feet. If one or two are missing, often the first thought to flash into his mind is, One of my sheep is cast somewhere. I must go in search and set it on its feet again.
Nothing seems to so arouse his constant care and diligent attention to the flock as the fact that even the largest, fattest, strongest, and sometimes healthiest sheep can become cast and be a casualty. Actually, it is often the fat sheep that are the most easily cast.
The way it happens is this. A heavy, fat, or long-fleeced sheep will lie down comfortably in some little hollow or depression in the ground. It may roll on its side slightly to stretch out or relax. Suddenly the center of gravity in the body shifts so that it turns on its back far enough that the feet no longer touch the ground. It may feel a sense of panic and start to paw frantically. Frequently this only makes things worse. It rolls over even further. Now it is quite impossible for it to regain its feet. [How many of us have found ourselves in such a situation where we don’t have any way to right the trouble we have inadvertently got ourselves into by way of following an urge.]
As it lies there struggling, gases begin to build up in the rumen. As these expand, they tend to retard and cut off blood circulation to extremities of the body, especially the legs. If the weather is very hot and sunny, a cast sheep can die in a few hours. If it is cool and cloudy and rainy, it may survive in this position for several days. 4
In spite of having such a master and owner [Jesus as the Good Shepherd], the fact remains that some Christians are still not content with His control. They are somewhat dissatisfied, always feeling that somehow the grass beyond the fence must be a little greener.
In like manner, Mr. Keller then says if the sheep is found in time:
As soon as I reached the cast ewe, my first impulse was to pick it up. Tenderly I would roll the sheep over on its side. This would relieve the pressure of gases in the rumen. If she had been down for long, I would have to lift her onto her feet. Then, straddling the sheep with my legs, I would hold her erect, rubbing her limbs to restore the circulation to her legs. This often took quite a little time. When the sheep started to walk again, she often just stumbled, staggered, and collapsed in a heap once more. 5
However, the flip side to that Biblical imagery is to answer the question: What is the story of the sheep, and why does Jesus refer to his people as sheep in the first place? This, my Catholic friends gets to the matter at hand. In other words: Just what is being a sheep really like?
1. A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, 1970, 2007 by W. Phillip Keller, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI
2. ibid. 20
3. ibid. 29
4. ibid. 54-55
5. ibid. 55
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The Good Shepherd, Part 2
In part 1 of this two-part article, I related what Jesus most likely meant when he refers to Himself as The Good Shepherd, from the standpoint of W. Phillip Keller in his fascinating book: A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23.
Mr. Keller surprisingly says, “It is no accident that God has chosen to call us sheep.” What could he mean by this statement? He continues to explain, “The behavior of sheep and human beings is similar in many ways…. Our mass mind (or mob instincts), our fears and timidity, our stubbornness and stupidity, our perverse habits are all parallels of profound importance.” 1 (I had brought this up with a couple of Christian friends and both chaffed at the idea that is what is being labeled as sheep is all about us fallible humans.)
Now, I don’t know about you, but I had previously thought of sheep as rather mild beasts. But after reading the book, I have since changed my rather sheepish mind.
Many people have the idea that when a child of God falls, when he is frustrated and helpless in a spiritual dilemma, God becomes disgusted, fed-up, and even furious with him. This simply is not so.
As Mr. Keller makes the point: “In spite of having such a master and owner [Jesus as the Good Shepherd], the fact remains that some Christians are still not content with His control. They are somewhat dissatisfied, always feeling that somehow the grass beyond the fence must be a little greener. These are carnal Christians — one might almost call them ‘fence crawlers’ or ‘half-Christians’ who want the best of both worlds.” 2
In relaying these unfortunate traits, he mentions how he had an ewe that was constantly looking for ways to circumvent the fence to get to what she considered “greener pastures.” What made it worse was she also taught her lambs to do the same thing, and eventually the other sheep were soon following her example— even though there was extreme danger beyond. How like this are the admonitions of St. Paul: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema.” (Galatians 1:8)
The ancient prophet Jeremiah put it very bluntly when he declared, “My people . . . have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” (Jeremiah 2:13)
Mr. Keller opines that, “It is a compelling picture. It is an accurate portrayal of broken lives — of shattered hopes — of barren souls that are dried up and parched and full of the dust of despair.” 3
He further elaborates from his own observations:
They remind me very much of a bunch of sheep I watched one day which were being led down to a magnificent mountain stream. The snow-fed waters were flowing pure and clear and crystal clean between lovely banks of trees. But on the way several stubborn ewes and their lambs stopped, instead, to drink from small, dirty, muddy pools beside the trail. The water was filthy and polluted not only with the churned up mud from the passing sheep but even with the manure and urine of previous flocks that had passed that way. Still these stubborn sheep were quite sure it was the best drink obtainable.
The water itself was filthy and unfit for them. Much more, it was obviously contaminated with nematodes and liver fluke eggs that would eventually riddle them with internal parasites and diseases of destructive impact.4
Mr. Keller than relates this to our own life situation:
People often try this pursuit or that with the casual comment, “So what? I can’t see that it’s going to do any harm!” Little do they appreciate that often there is a delayed reaction and that considerable time may elapse before the full impact of their misjudgment strikes home. Then suddenly they are in deep trouble and wonder why. 5
“There is the aspect, too, of a sheep simply having too much wool,” as related by Mr. Keller. “Often when the fleece becomes very long and heavily matted with mud, manure, burrs, and other debris, it is much easier for a sheep to become cast [upside down], literally weighed down with its own wool.” 6
There will come a day when the Master must take us in hand and apply the keen cutting edge of His Word to our lives. It may be an unpleasant business for a time. No doubt we’ll struggle and kick about it. We may get a few cuts and wounds. But what a relief when it is all over. Oh, the pleasure of being set free from ourselves!
Then Mr. Keller says something I believe that is critical to understanding the correlation of the sheep with humanity:
Wool in Scripture depicts the old self-life in the Christian. It is the outward expression of an inner attitude, the assertion of my own desire and hopes and aspirations. It is the area of my life in which and through which I am continually in contact with the world around me. Here is where I find the clinging accumulation of things, of possessions, of worldly ideas beginning to weigh me down, drag me down, hold me down.
It is significant that no high priest was ever allowed to wear wool when he entered the Holy of Holies. This spoke of self, of pride, of personal preference — and God could not tolerate it. 7
As a remedy to this sometimes dire situation, Mr. Keller relates:
Whenever I found that a sheep was being cast because it had too long and heavy a fleece, I soon took swift steps to remedy the situation. In short order I would shear it clean and so forestall the danger of having the ewe lose her life. This was not always a pleasant process. Sheep do not really enjoy being sheared, and it represents some hard work for the shepherd, but it must be done.
Actually when it is all over both sheep and owner are relieved. There is no longer the threat of being cast down, while for the sheep there is the pleasure of being set free from a hot, heavy coat. Often the fleece is clogged with filthy manure, mud, burrs, sticks, and ticks. What a relief to be rid of it all! 8
Mr. Keller relates this undertaking to our own situation:
And similarly in dealing with our old self-life, there will come a day when the Master must take us in hand and apply the keen cutting edge of His Word to our lives. It may be an unpleasant business for a time. No doubt we’ll struggle and kick about it. We may get a few cuts and wounds. But what a relief when it is all over. Oh, the pleasure of being set free from ourselves! What a restoration! 9
These were the reasons why Jesus would refer to his people as, should we say—fumbling, bumbling sheep.
Mr. Keller offers this spiritual lesson:
Many people have the idea that when a child of God falls, when he is frustrated and helpless in a spiritual dilemma, God becomes disgusted, fed-up, and even furious with him. This simply is not so.
One of the great revelations of the heart of God given to us by Christ is that of Himself as our Shepherd. He has the same identical sensations of anxiety, concern, and compassion for cast men and women as I had for cast sheep. This is precisely why He looked on people with such pathos and compassion. It explains His magnanimous dealing with down-and-out individuals for whom even human society had no use. It reveals why He wept over those who spurned His affection. It discloses the depth of His understanding of undone people to whom He came eagerly and quickly, ready to help, to save, to restore. 10
There is so much more the author has to say about the reasons why Jesus would refer to his people as, should we say—fumbling, bumbling sheep. But I am sure you get the more than humbling picture presented, and you will never think of the image of the Good Shepherd in the same way.
So, after the previous shepherdic revelations of what exactly the caring of sheep is all about, and the trouble they can really cause, and as disagreeable as they/we can tend to be, I leave you with these words of wisdom from Sister Faustina:
Humility, humility, and ever humility, as we can do nothing of ourselves; all is purely and simply God’s grace. 11
O Jesus, eternal Truth, strengthen my feeble forces; You can do all things; Lord, I know that I cannot live without You all my efforts are in vain. O Jesus, do not hide from me, for I cannot live without You. Listen to the cry of my soul, Your mercy has not been exhausted, Lord, so have pity on my misery. Your mercy surpasses the understanding of all Angels and people put together; and so, although it seems to me that You do not hear me, I put my trust in the ocean of your mercy, and I know that my hope will not be deceived. 12
1. A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23; 1970, 2007 by W. Phillip Keller, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI, 30
2. ibid. 30
3. ibid. 49
4. ibid. 51
5. ibid. 51
6. ibid. 58
7. ibid. 58
8. ibid. 59
9. ibid. 59
10. ibid. 58
11. Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, Marian Press, 2005, Diary entrée 55: 1933.
12. ibid. Diary entrée 69: 1929, The Trip to Calvary
