"No More Sheepish Faith"

(Ephesians 5:8-14)

Rev. Billy D. Strayhorn

INTRODUCTION:

There was this guy who wasn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer. Everybody thought he was at least one McNugget short of a Happy Meal. He decided to become a shepherd and raise sheep. Everything went along fine. But then all of a sudden he started feeding his sheep Geritol and gave them all kinds of other iron supplements. When asked why, he told everybody he was trying to get his sheep to grow steel wool!

That was pretty baaaaad, wasn't it? OK then how about a true story from the Christian Reader. Julie Helms writes: My husband and I, with our two daughters, operate a small sheep farm. One day a non-farming friend asked, "How can you bear to slaughter those cute little lambs?"

My husband explained, "We don't want to get emotionally attached to the ones we plan to eat, so we don't give them names."

Not satisfied, the friend probed, "What about your kids?"

Her husband quickly replied, "Oh, we name them!" (1)

Have you ever been around sheep? Maybe some of you raised a lamb as an FFA project. My only real experience of sheep is in West Texas. I didn't herd sheep or anything. I just smelled them. You see, South of town was a Sheep Feed Lot. The odor was horrible. Especially the day after a rain.

When Jesus looked at us, Scripture says he had compassion because we were like sheep without a shepherd. Being a shepherd is an honorable profession. But being called sheep is really not much of a compliment. You see, sheep are basically dumber than dirt. Oh, lambs are cute and adorable but what babies aren't? Sheep are timid, smelly, prone to wander, prone to get lost easily. Without a good shepherd they are just a smelly bunch of critters.

If you think about it, we've all slapped the skunk. We all have the stink of sin in our lives, so maybe Jesus wasn't so far off? Jesus saw we needed a shepherd and calls us to follow Him. He is the Good Shepherd. He did lay down his life for his sheep. It's pretty easy to follow someone like that. But then here in this letter to the Ephesians, Paul calls us to move beyond living a sheepish faith. Not in so many terms but that's basically what he says.

I. SHEEPISH FAITH:

A. Let's talk about what I mean by sheepish faith. For the most part, as Christians, we've become more and more like sheep. that's not ALL bad. We should follow the Good Shepherd like sheep. We should have faith and trust in the shepherd like sheep. We should rely on the Shepherd for everything we need. But we shouldn't have a Sheepish Faith.

Unfortunately many of us have become sheepish in our faith. We are timid, smelly, prone to wander, prone to get lost easily, and we live our faith without a sense of purpose or joy.

There was a man who was deathly afraid of thunder. He went to a prominent psychiatrist who specialized in the treatment of this phobia, which is called "brontophobia." The psychiatrist said: "It's silly to be afraid of thunder at your age. Just think of it as a drum roll in the symphony of life."

The patient asked, "Will that cure my fear of thunder?"

"If it doesn't," the doctor replied, "then do as I do. When you hear thunder, stuff your ears with cotton, crawl under the bed, pull a blanket over your head, and sing, 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' at the top of your voice." (2)

We've become sheepish in our faith. We've become timid and afraid. Afraid that others might find out that we go to Church, that we believe in Christ. Why are we afraid? Most of us are afraid someone will find out and ask us why. Or ask us to share our faith. We're not just timid, we're scared to death. When the truth is that we've got the greatest news anyone has ever heard. And our Good Shepherd, Jesus, promised to be with us in every situation.

B. We're timid because we're prone to wander. We easily get distracted from the walk of faith. The path IS narrow and there are a hundred thousand paths leading off the narrow way. All of them look and sound so enticing, so inviting. And sometimes we forget ourselves. Sometimes we lose ourselves in the noise and the lights and the promise only to find that what really waited for us at the end of the path was nothing but a bunch of brambles and thorns in which we find ourselves entangled. The only way out is to call on the Good Shepherd to rescue us.

We're timid because sometimes we let our pride get in the way and we won't ask for help. We won't ask to be saved. If we can't do it ourselves, we're sure not going to ask for help from someone else.

Sometimes we just won't admit that we're stuck. We're still struggling, we're still fighting the thorns and brambles and telling everybody that we are enjoying every moment of it. It's our chosen life style. It's how we want to spend the rest of our lives. We made our bed, now we're stuck with it.

Sometimes, it's guilt that holds us back. We've strayed done this path or a similar one before. We've cried out to be saved and the Good Shepherd has reached out and rescued us or led us back to safety. And here we are, again.

Sometimes, we hear the words of an angry parent echoing in our heads, "This is the last time. If you ever do that again, you're on your own. Don't come asking for my help again. I've already done everything I'm going to do." We hear that voice and we equate it with God's voice. When the truth is that God, through Jesus Christ, is a God of grace and forgiveness. Our God is the God of second and third and fourth chances. Our God is the one whose heart breaks every time we stray and who comes looking for us whenever we get lost. We need to remember that. It will help us get rid of the Sheepish Faith.

C. Sheepish faith also causes us to lose our sense of humor. We all know Church members in whom there is no joy. We never see them smile or laugh. Nobody can tell they are Christians. It's like they're in disguise or have joined the secret service. When asked to witness to their faith, they immediately sign up for the witness protection program. You know those folks.

There's Fred and Freda Frown, they frown at everything new. And at everything old. They don't care what it is, it's wrong. All they know is that if it makes somebody happy, it has to be wrong.

Then there's Saul and Sarah Scowling. They scowl because the budget is too high. They scowl during every Stewardship Campaign. They scowl because the Church doesn't have a full time Associate or Youth Director. They scowl when the children make too much noise in Church but then they scowl because the Church isn't growing.

There's Peter and Paula Pessimist who were kicked out of the Full Gospel Church because they couldn't or wouldn't be filled with the water of life or the Holy Spirit or anything else. Now they're half empty and taking it out on everyone they know.

And how about Andy and Andrea Anger. They've been angry ever since they found out about the Grace of God in Christ. You see, they were hoping they'd get to sit with Jesus and pass judgment on everyone. And when they found out just how forgiving Jesus really is, they decided to do their best to remind everyone of how undeserving they really are, before it's too late.

There are a whole lot of other characters like that in every Church. Sheepish Christians who live a Sheepish Faith.

II. CHILDREN OF LIGHT:

A. Here in Ephesians, Paul calls us to put away our Sheepish ways. He calls us out of our Sheepish Faith and challenges us to become Children of Light.

Have you ever watched children? Children are active, hopeful, optimistic, curious, enthusiastic, excited, joyful, exuberant, and trusting. That's what Paul calls us to be as Christians. We're called to be active Children of the Light; enthusiastic about our faith, just about to the point of being totally obnoxious.

We're called to be child like. Not childish but child-like. Why is it that children can sit and laugh at a joke or say something funny and laugh forever. They will tell the same story or the same joke, or make the same silly noise; over and over and over again until it has lost any semblance of humor for us. We're ready to wring their necks to make them shut up. And yet they'll continue laugh just as hard as the first time they heard it or said it.

I remember one time when my cousins Bruce and Danny and I were reading the jokes out of the back of my copies of "Boy's Life". Our folks were in the dining room playing cards. We'd laugh a little at all the jokes but then there was one joke that just cracked us up.

It seems this old Native American walked into a watch repair shop, held out a pocket watch and said, "Watch no run." The watch repairman took the watch, popped the back off, and a small bug fell out of the watch. And the Native American said, "Hmm. No wonder watch no run, engineer dead."

I don't know why that joke was so funny. But it was hilarious to 11 and 12 year old boys. It's not even politically correct by today's standards. But I remember everything about that time and that joke almost like it was yesterday. I can remember our Dads hollering, "All right you knuckleheads, quiet down in there." But every single time that one of us went, "Hmm" or "No wonder watch no run . . ." we would bust out laughing. We laughed so much that our Dad's hollered, "quiet down in there" at least a half a dozen times.

It was so funny to us and such a strong memory that about a year ago, when my cousin Bruce came to visit from Washington State, we got to talking about old times and laughed about that joke nearly as much as we did when we were 11 and 12.

Why can children laugh like that? What enabled Bruce and I to laugh like that? Children can laugh like that because they are able to abandon themselves totally to the simple joy of being a child. That's what Bruce and I were able to do that night, not because we reverted to childish ways but because the ability to laugh is part of the Good News and we had both become Children of the Light.

B. You see, that's what Paul calls us to do. He calls us to abandon ourselves totally to the simple joy of being a Child of God, a Child of the Light. He calls us to abandon our sheepish faith and put on the light of Christ. It means getting rid of the Frowns and Scowls; the Pessimistic attitudes and the Anger. It means becoming a Child of the Light, one who can make the Good News of our Salvation visible to those around. One who can live for Christ with enthusiasm and joy. One who does that which is pleasing to God.

We're called to be Children of Light. We know what life in the darkness was like. I don't want to go back there. Do you? No, of course not. It was frightening and cold and lonely. Now we know the joy and warmth of living in the light. I wouldn't trade that for anything. As Children of the Light, we can't have a sheepish faith. As Children of the Light, we have to have a bold faith.

Sometimes we do it without even knowing. Sometimes the joy of our faith is so spontaneous and so catching that it just takes over and we act like Children of light and we please God without even thinking about it. A Fourth Course of Chicken Soup for the Soul has a perfect example of what I mean.

Rita Price writes: Jayne Fisher watched anxiously as her 17 year-old daughter Katie pulled her unruly lamb into the arena of the Madison County Junior Livestock sale. With luck, Katie wouldn't collapse, as she had during a livestock show the day before.

Katie was battling cancer. This was her first chance in months to be outdoors having fun, away from hospitals and chemotherapy treatments. And she had come with high hopes for earning some sizable spending money. She had wavered a little on her decision to part with the lamb, but with lamb averaging two dollars a pound, Katie was looking forward to a lot more than just pin money. So she centered the lamb for viewing, and the bidding began.

That's when Roger Wilson, the auctioneer, had a sudden inspiration that brought some unexpected results. "We sort of let folks know that Katie had a situation that wasn't too pleasant," is how he tells it. He hoped that his introduction would push the bidding up, at least a little bit.

Well, the lamb sold for $11.50 a pound, but things didn't stop there. The buyer paid up, then decided to give the lamb back so that it could be sold again.

That started a chain reaction, with families buying the animal and giving it back, over and over again. When local businesses started buying and returning it, the earnings really began to pile up. The first sale is the only one Katie's mom remembers. After that, she was crying too hard as the crowd kept shouting, "Resell !Resell!"

Katie's lamb was sold 36 times that day. The last buyer gave it back for good. Katie ended up with more than $16,000 for a fund to pay her medical expenses, and she still got to keep her famous lamb.

Sometimes the Spirit just grabs hold of us and we live up to everything God created us to be. We're not sheepish about it at all. We become Children of the Light and we live out our faith in extraordinary ways.

CONCLUSION:

And the Good News is that anybody can become a Child of the Light. It doesn't matter if you're a lost sheep, a black sheep, a wolf in sheep's clothing or a sheep thief. Through faith in Christ Jesus, you can be pulled from the briars and brambles of life, set back on the path of faith and become a Child of the Light. It doesn't matter what you've done or where you've been. God can shine the Christ light into your darkness and make you a Child of the Light.

There is an old story about two brothers. They were likable enough young men but they had a little bit of a wild streak. It got so wild that they became sheep thieves. They earned their money by stealing sheep from the local farmers. As happens to all thieves, one day they were caught. Rather than kill them, the villagers decided to brand the two brothers on the forehead with the letters S. T. for sheep thief.

The action so embarrassed the one young man that he ran off, never to be heard from again. The other brother was so filled with remorse that he chose to stay and try to reconcile himself to the villagers he had wronged.

At first the villagers were skeptical. Most of them wouldn't have anything to do with him. But he was determined to make reparation for his offenses. Whenever there was sickness, the sheep thief was there to help care for the sick person. Whenever there was work that needed to be done, the sheep thief showed up to help. It made no difference whether the person was rich or poor, the sheep thief was there to lend a helping hand. Soon he was an integral part of the community, never accepting pay for anything he did. His life was lived for others. As a consequence, he was a friend of all and very well-respected.

Years later, a traveler came through the town. As he sat at the sidewalk cafe eating his lunch, he noticed a well respected old man with a strange brand on his forehead, sitting at a table nearby. It seemed that everybody in town stopped to pay their respects or share a kind word. Even the children stopped to play or give and receive an affectionate hug.

The stranger's curiosity was piqued and he asked the cafe owner about the old man, "What does the strange brand on his forehead stand for?" The cafe owner, a contemporary of the old man, thought for a moment then said, "It happened so long ago that I don't rightly remember. But I think it stands for Saint." (4)

You see, anyone can become a Child of the Light. Even those who walked in darkness can become as children of the light. And in the light they find what is good and true and right. And that which is pleasing to God. They step out of the darkness, put away sheepish faith and wrap themselves in the light and love of Christ.

Put away your sheepish faith. Wrap yourself in the light and love of Christ Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

This is the Word of the Lord for this day.

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Bibliography

1. Julie Helms, Goshen, Indiana. Christian Reader, "Lite Fare."

2. Parables, Etc. (Platteville, Colorado: Saratoga Press), October, 1989

3. Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Hanoch McCarty, Melody McCarty, The 4th Course of Chicken Soup for the Soul (Deerfield Beach: Health Commnications, Inc., 1997) p.

4. As told by Rev. Ruth Huber Rohlfs on a Walk to Emmaus in 1991

Other References Consulted