“A Wild Sheep Chase”

There’s some strange news for us in our Old Testament and Gospel readings this morning. I think it’s good news too, but before it is good, frankly, it’s just plain weird.

In Ezekiel, God tells us a little bit about Himself. That’s a nice way to get to know people, especially people you’d like to be close to. Have them tell you a little about themselves. Builds relationships, that does. So it’s nice to hear the Creator and Lord of the Universe tell us a bit about Himself. Makes us realize He actually is interested in us. Which is strange, that the Maker and Ruler of All should be interested in us. Hard to see what in us would interest Him, really.

But like I said, this is not the strangest news in Ezekiel and Luke for us this morning. No, the strangest part is what God tells us about Himself. He says that He is a Shepherd at heart. He is One who seeks out lost sheep and gathers them to good pasture. Now, if you were God, is that how you’d spend your time? Chasing after sheep? Surely there are better things to do when you are the Omnipotent Ruler of All? Hmmm?

If we had all the power in the universe concentrated in our own hands, wouldn’t we be more the CEO types? Wouldn’t we deck ourselves out in glorious attire, with retinues of servants, fancy chariots, huge palaces, armies, and all that? Wouldn’t you just sit back and enjoy being the King of All? I think most of us would. Why in the world, if you had all the power in the universe and could spend eternity amusing yourself in any fashion that you like, why in the world would you spend your time as a shepherd chasing sheep? I say that’s just plain weird. I wouldn’t have expected that from God.

But that’s what He tells me of Himself. He is a God who spends His time as a shepherd, a lowly cattle hand. Out in the fields. Chasing sheep. With no help. He doesn’t take His armies of angels and archangels with Him, you notice. Nope. He tells us through Ezekiel that “I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.” He won’t delegate the task to others. He won’t sit in His corner office and manage it all, leave it to others to do the chasing and sweating and freezing out in the field. Nope. He’ll search and seek out His sheep Himself. That is to say, all by Himself. This is how God spends His time: on a wild sheep chase! Who knew?

Well, we do, now that He tells us. And it gets stranger still. That the Lord of the Universe spends His time decked out as a shepherd, in lonely fields, looking for sheep is bizarre enough news. But weirder still is that He isn’t even looking for the good ones. If you had some fat, healthy, strong sheep with rich, thick coats, and they wandered off, I could see how it would be worth your time to go and find them (though really, if you are Lord of All, with servants, I still can’t see why you’d do the dirty job yourself instead of farming it out to the hired hands).

But those aren’t the sheep the Lord of Heaven is looking for. Nope. The fat and strong and healthy sheep He says He will destroy in judgment—not His favorites. God is the Shepherd out looking for the lost and scattered sheep, the skinny, scrawny, and sick few. The ones without the good sense to stay put in the pasture. The ones who wander. It is the Almighty God’s delight to seek out the lost and scattered and broken sheep. It is His everlasting joy to find them, feed them with rich food, lead them to green pastures, make them lie down beside still waters, and share the splendor of His Kingdom with them.

And that’s strange news. What a strange God! The lost and the straying capture His heart. But the strong and proud He has no use for. Truly this is a wild sheep chase. The sheep who are strong enough to spend their time helping the others find no place in God’s kingdom. But the ones who wait on Him for rescue win His heart. What a strange God!

But Jesus tells us in the Gospel that this is Him. This is who He is. This is what He does. When God comes down to earth from heaven to find His lost sheep, He comes as a humble one. The son of a carpenter who doesn’t take up His stepfather’s business, but becomes a shepherd on a wild sheep chase. He chases after the worst ones, the sinners, the losers, the low-lifes. And He promises them all is forgiven, all is well. He feeds them with Himself—His pardon, His peace, His body, His blood. Gives it all away for a few lousy, lost strays…

Which ticks off the Pharisees and scribes, the religious elite of the day. They complain “Why do You waste Your time on this wild sheep chase? Why do You receive sinners and eat with them?” Which is to say: “It’s bad enough that God comes down in the guise of a humble Shepherd. Worse still that He chases the wild sheep, the bad ones!” Maybe God is not so great after all?

But Jesus answers: “Which of you having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the 99 in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders rejoicing…?”

And the Pharisees really should answer: “Uh, none of us would do that! Leave 99 good sheep to chase one bad one? That’s a sure-fire way make your flock small! No, the money is with the many. We’ll pursue a decent, potentially contributing sheep, but turning our back on a big flock to chase one wild one is not something we’d ever do!”

But Jesus would. Jesus does. It’s who He is: a Shepherd on a wild sheep chase, seeking the lost, the wandering ones, one at a time…

Which leads us to the important question (which determines whether this is good news for you or just strange news): what kind of sheep are you? A lost one? A wandering one? Or a strong and grounded one? It makes all the difference in the world, you see, how you answer that!

The Pharisees were strong sheep who’d outgrown shepherds, who could manage the Law’s demands themselves (they thought!). They would seek sheep too, would “travel land and sea to win one proselyte” [Matt. 23:15]. But they did them no favors, as the Pharisees led these sheep not to rest in Christ, but only to hard labor.

So Jesus bypassed the Pharisees. Had no use for their strength or “goodness”. Never asked for, never needed their help. But went by Himself on a wild sheep chase, seeking the lost, the sinners, getting all goofy with joy when He found one. The Pharisees turned away from this strange Shepherd. He was not for them.

But the sinners and the tax collectors, the doubters and the wanderers, the lost and the straying rejoiced to hear that all heaven threw a party when Jesus found one sinner and forgave him or her. For all the wild, wandering, worthless, lost ones, a Shepherd who spends all His time on a wild sheep chase is the only One for us…

So Jesus continues His wild sheep chase—here and now! By Gospel Word and Sacrament He seeks and saves all who are lost and wandering. And whom will He find on His chase this morning? Will He find you? Are you lost? If so, not only is heaven rejoicing right now, but the Peace that surpasses all understanding is guarding your heart and mind in Christ Jesus, your Shepherd, forever. Amen.

Rev. Kevin Martin