Are We Like Sheep?

I’ve just returned from two pilgrimages both of which featured rolling landscapes with green pastures filled with sheep — and lots of lambs.  This reminded me of the imagery of sheep often found in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures in which we are compared to sheep under the care of the Mystery often called God, and of how in many cultures sheep symbolize qualities of innocence, purity, and sacrifice.  I’ve been pondering what the multitudes of sheep I experienced may have to teach me.

We often disparage sheep, thinking of them as dumb, skittish, easily led (often led “astray”), and defenseless. That’s not much of an encouragement to thinking of myself as a sheep!  Yet as I observed the sheep I encountered more closely, I found other qualities that surprised me.  They are curious — I found myself being closely observed, yet not with a sense of anxiety. They are resourceful — a couple of lambs, not satisfied with their enclosure, discovered that they could just squeeze under the wire of the fence and escape to the freedom of the open path. Ewes are patient and nurturing — they stood uncomplaining as lambs butted them to stimulate the flow of milk. Sheep are focused; their heads are down, eyes forward to find the best patches of pasturage to graze on.  I noticed how sure footed they are — sheep grazing and walking confidently on steep hillsides that I would be loath to try.  They are self-caring — on a warm day they sought out the few spots of shade to rest and cool.  And the ewes are caring, baa’ing to call their lambs, listening for their answering bleats, calling them to her for food or comfort. 

Also, though we usually think of sheep as white, most flocks contained a few that were dark – between chocolate and black. Some are white all over, others have black faces and white fleece.  There is quite a diversity in the flock that showed up in other variations.

Innocent? Pure? Sacrificial?  Those may be our anthropological impositions on sheep.  Seeing them as they are — as best I could — I found them much more than and other than this.  They are simply what and who they are, true to their own complicated and nuanced nature, getting on in life begetting and bearing young, nurturing them, living in community, yet each one very much its own creature.

What images of sheep have you grown up with? And, if you have had direct experience of sheep, what more have you noticed about them?

In the Hebrew and Christian scriptures sheep are most drawn upon to signify the loving relationship of the Divine and humanity:  “We are his people, the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100).  “ I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,” (John 10:14).  He takes care of them, even seeking out the one who is lost. 

To think of myself as a sheep is at first off-putting.  I’m hardly innocent or pure, and I’m not much drawn to sacrifice.  Nor do I see myself as dumb, skittish, or easily led.  But I’ve garnered a new respect for sheep, having seen so many on these pilgrimages, and having observed them more closely.  I might well choose some other animal as a metaphor for myself in relationship to the Divine (a dog? Maybe.  A cat? Certainly not for me!).

What image would work for you if you were to think of yourself as some other creature in relationship to the Divine? And what metaphor for the Divine if not Shepherd?

The deeper sense I draw from these reflections is that the fundamental relationship between the human (indeed any creature) and the Divine is love: God is One who cares, calls us beloved, friend, the “apple of my eye” and the ones in who the One is well pleased.  And if “sheep” works to evoke that sense, I’m for it.  And for any other metaphor that works!

How would you characterize the fundamental nature of the relationship between you and the mystery we call The Divine? How might you symbolize it?

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