Sheep

Peter got the cart before the horse.  Again.  There were a few moments in his walk with Jesus where he got a little ahead of himself, only to discover the hard way that he needed to back up the truck and revisit some things.

                At the end of john’s Gospel, Jesus appears to the disciples post-resurrection.  Peter was the most eager to see his Lord again, and was quite happy to move right along in his relationship with God.  But there was some unfinished business the needed to be addressed – something Peter certainly required but did not really want to engage.  As far as we can tell, Peter was quite comfortable avoiding the issue altogether, moving forward as if it was just a bad dream or something.

                But God wants a relationship with us that is unhindered by baggage and unfinished business.

                After breakfast, the scene we find is Jesus and Peter sitting around the campfire.  Then the questions came.  “Do you love me?”  Three times in a row.

                Peter’s confusion no doubt turned to clarity the third time the same question was repeated.  The smoke from the campfire reminded him of another time when his relationship with Jesus was in question.  During that episode, instead of a resounding affirmation of love, loyalty and devotion, Peter denied even knowing Jesus.

                This was Jesus taking the time to do what Peter wanted to avoid.  Jesus was moving Peter through a process of healing and reinstatement into full community with Jesus and the rest of the disciples.  Jesus chose a setting and a dialogue that was effective and efficient in helping Peter recognize what was before him.

                Don’t be surprised if you find yourself in a strangely familiar place, and sense God addressing unfinished business.  This is not God wanting to be mean.  God wants relationship with you again, and wants you to grow into your next level of life as a more whole person.

                Struggle with a hot temper?  Don’t be shocked if you find yourself in a situation that resembles a time you lost to the temptation to boil over.  Struggle with lust?  Don’t be surprised if you sense God tugging at you the next time you are faced with object of your infatuation – be it a person or anything.  Don’t give a rip about your relationship with God?  Get ready for a moment when you are faced with the opportunity to avoid or draw near – God is pursuing you.

                Peter gives us a realistic, very human response.  The lights came up slowly for him, and he chose the path of humility instead of denial and defensiveness.  We would do well to do the same, because we need a whole relationship with God as much as he did.

                Jesus didn’t just ask the question, however.  He gave instruction about our response, too.  After three identical questions about love, and after three affirmative responses, Jesus gave three (basically) identical charges: “Feed my sheep.”

                Of course, this was related to the reinstatement process.  Tending to the sheep was a sign to Peter that he was being entrusted yet again with those who follow Jesus – His flock.  But it points to a helpful lesson for us today.

                Love isn’t just a feeling – it is its own imperative and is the action needed to practically every situation we find ourselves in.

Peter was receiving two lessons, really.    First, he was hearing again about our status with God.  We’re sheep.  Peter was being reminded that he, like all of us, have gone astray now and then, and needed to return to the fold.

Are you in the fold?  Are you an obedient sheep?

The second lesson Peter got was that his unique role was to act as an under-shepherd for the real Shepherd, along with the rest of the disciples.  He was being entrusted with the daily operations of the Kingdom ranch.  A big, complex job that would require him to lose favor, on occasion, with the very sheep he was supposed to lead.

Ask a sheep what a shepherd’s role is, and they will tell you that it is basically to keep them happy.  Feed me, pet me, play with me, and clean me when I ask for it – spoil me.

But a shepherd has to do a lot more than that.  Sheep need to be sheared – their wool is a resource that needs to be used to pay for the ranch.  Some of the sheep need to breed while others should be the last in their family line.  And some of the sheep need to be sacrificed for the benefit of the ranch and the many beneficiaries such a sacrifice would yield.

As a pastor, I have to sort out my under-shepherd roles carefully and prayerfully, knowing that my decisions for the Ranch and for your life may not be welcome, but are, nonetheless, necessary.

But what about you?  What does it mean for you to be a good sheep?

Toward the end of Peter’s life, he offers us words as a seasoned under-shepherd:

Make every effort to respond to God’s promises.  Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. – 2 Peter 1:5-7 (NLT)

And he follows these words with an added insight:

The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins. – 2 Peter 1:8-11 (NLT)

What do we, the sheep, need to do in response to God’s question: Do you love me?