My son-in-law is an arable farmer but does like to keep a few animals to enhance the environment and to ‘keep his hand in’ on the livestock front. Along with a few rare breed Golden Guernsey goats, a couple of large (and very entertaining) pigs, he has a small flock of rare breed sheep. They are ‘teddy bear’ sheep. Ryeland sheep. Smallish, short legged with a thick tightly curled fleece that almost covers their faces. Giving the impression of a teddy bear, they are docile and easy to manage. The breed goes back a long way. Apparently Elizabeth the First had her woollen stockings made from their fleece, for their warmth and quality. They potter in the fields looking all cuddly and relaxed, generally minding their own sheepy business, until something unexpected happens.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT SHEEP?!

The thing with sheep generally is that they are considered not to be the sharpest fleece on the farm. Having said that, my son-in-law thinks that’s a bit unfair as he has witnessed one or two lightbulb moments with them over the years! But fair to say sheep do seem to get into trouble without much encouragement from anyone else and frequently need to be kept an eye on. Easier to do if they are enclosed in a field. More difficult if they are free ranging sheep which can (and do) wander off away from the flock and are exposed to danger.

These are the sheep we read about in the Bible.

They don’t have to do too much to land in trouble. Just rolling over onto their backs is an issue as they can’t get themselves up again and can die in this position, so if they are grazing a large area they need to be monitored to avoid problems.

A SHEPHERD’S CARE

This brings us to one of the most well-known stories in the Bible. The shepherd should have a hundred sheep in his flock but in the course of his work realises that one has gone missing. It is his responsibility to find that sheep and bring it back home.

It is very important to him, as keeping sheep is his livelihood and even one sheep is worth a lot to him financially. But he is also fond of his sheep. He spends all day with them, checks on them, speaks to them, may have his favourites. He will have bred some of them and seen them grow from new-born lambs into mature sheep. He will know the awkward ones, the timid ones, the gentle ones, the ones who are sick and need extra care. He loves his sheep and doesn’t want to think of one being lost, possibly injured and afraid.

The importance of the animals to him can be seen in the fact that he’s willing to leave the rest of the flock, all ninety-nine of them, to go off and find the errant sheep and bring it back.

This story is so familiar that there is probably little else to say about it apart from reminding ourselves of the reason that Jesus told it. It is quite simply this: every individual matters to God and is loved unconditionally.

People sometimes wonder about the risk that the shepherd was running in leaving the ninety-nine sheep behind. Was it the right thing to do? I think that the shepherd did not deal in numbers. Every individual sheep was so important that he needed to go after it.

We can sometimes become very numbers-orientated in our church life. It is easy to look at our congregations and worry about the small numbers. This parable is reminding us again of how the individual counts. Every. Single. One.

We may sometimes smile when we think of sheep and their death-wish behaviour. But I for one am glad that there are compassionate shepherds who look out for them and care for them and roll them over when they are on their backs, and keep them warm in straw-filled barns when they are sick; who treat them for fly-strike, and foot rot, and remove those heavy fleeces when the summer comes; who help deliver their lambs at all times of the day and night.

Shepherds know their sheep, and God knows us. He will always be looking out for us and is always ready to rescue us and bring us home to himself.

This is the reason that Jesus told this story. To remind us that God never, ever, lets us down.