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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2019-10-10, Page 22PAGE 22. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2019. By Rev. JoAnn Todd, Trinity Anglican Church, Blyth St. John’s Anglican Church, Brussels Most of you know I live on a sheep farm, and have for more than 40 years. I’ve made it a bit of a hobby to watch the behaviour and activities of our sheep – and their shepherds! Have you ever watched livestock grazing in a pasture field? They just kind of walk around with their heads down most of the time, grazing and chomping their way across the field. When they come to a fence, they either turn away from it and keep grazing or follow along the fence line. Every now and again they’ll look up and see what’s on the other side of the fence – and if the pasture looks better on the other side, they’ll walk the fence and try to find a hole to get through. Or they’ll push against the wire or the wood and make a hole. It doesn’t take much of a hole for sheep to get through; if there’s even the look of a gap in the fence, there’s bound to be at least one ewe on the wrong side. There are two kinds of ewes actually – those that just kind of unknowingly graze their way through a hole that just might be in the fence, and those that look for the holes and push their way through – and often two or three others will follow the lead ewe through the break in the fencing. For a while, the sheep on the wrong side of the fence are quite content grazing there. But what is really interesting about these sheep on the other side of the fence is their behaviour once they realize they’re lost, that they’ve been separated from the rest of the flock. Some just stand quietly looking at the fence, looking a bit lost. Most get panicky, noisily bleating and running up and down along the fence line, looking for the hole that they went out of so they can get back to the right side of the fence, back with the flock they’ve separated themselves from, back where they know they belong. In their panic, they usually go right past the hole that so attracted them out of the field in the first place, or blindly start charging the fence, trying to create a hole. They can get further and further away from the home flock. Often it’s the sound of their baa-ing that alerts us that somebody’s lost, generally sheep are pretty quiet out on the pasture. And sometimes it’s just a matter of opening the gate and calling the ewes and they’ll come and go through the gate. Sheep really can learn to know and trust their shepherd’s voice! But with the more skittish ewes, well, we have to get behind them and guide them up to the gate or in extreme cases, we’ve actually had to create a new gap in the fence-large enough for them to easily see, just so we could get them safely back home. It can be quite an adventure at times! And the sheep that aren’t lost? Well, they tend to ignore the noisy lost ones, they don’t seem to care, after all they’re where they’re supposed to be! Now, let me take you back to our gospel story. There’s a mixed group of folks gathered around Jesus today – sinners of various types – the less- than-desirable citizenry, and there are law-abiding Pharisees and scribes too. Jesus even sat and ate with these societal outcasts, the sinners and that was an out-and-out defiance of the religious laws. The religious people were not happy with Jesus spending so much time with ‘those kind of people’, and he even encouraged them to come and be with him. This was not proper behaviour; good religious folk kept themselves apart from sinners. Nor did the religious ones “take kindly to the possible repentance of those who lie outside their definition of the redeemable”1. They were very clearly the wrong kind of people, and not to be associated with, never mind welcoming them into the community. There were even rules about this sort of thing. So, Jesus being Jesus, senses a teaching moment here, and tells them a couple of stories. Stories of sheep and shepherds; this would be familiar territory for the people who were listening – there are many sheep and shepherd stories in the Old Testament scriptures. Everyone would have known that the shepherd was a metaphor for God and the sheep were the people. The idea that God the shepherd would actually abandon the flock to seek out one lost sheep was radical enough, but to risk 99 to predation to find one? That just doesn’t make sense from a risk perspective. Looking for a lost sheep in the rough Judean mountain terrain, full of wild predators would be significantly more challenging than cutting a fence and chasing a lost ewe through it. And then to throw a party to celebrate the finding of the lost one, well, that was almost too much to believe. If I put my farm business hat on, hosting the party would cost more than the value of the sheep that was found! So, what does that tell us about God’s values? The joy in the return and welcoming home even a single lost one was not only worth the efforts, but worthy of celebration! People who are on the margins of any societal group, the so-called “lost ones” know how people feel about them. And like those sheep who get lost from our flock, we know too that some marginalized folk can exhibit some unusual behaviours. And yet, here was Jesus, telling them they were just as important as the others in the synagogue – and that God was The Regional Ministry of Hope BLYTH BRUSSELS Trinity St. John’s 9:15 am 11:15 am COME WORSHIP WITH US! Rev. JoAnn Todd, Rector 519-357-7781 email: revjoann@hurontel.on.ca The‐Regional‐Ministry‐of‐ Hope St. Paul’s Trinity WINGHAM 11:15 am These Anglican Churches Welcome You THE CATHOLIC PARISHES OF NORTH HURON AND NORTH PERTH CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO ATTEND HOLY MASS. OUR SUNDAY LITURGIES ARE AS FOLLOWS: Brussels: St. Ambrose Saturday 6:00 p.m. 17 Flora Street Wingham: Sacred Heart Sunday 9:00 a.m. 220 Carling Terrace Listowel: St. Joseph’s Sunday 11:00 a.m. 1025 Wallace Avenue N. huronchapel.com huronchapelkids.com huronchapelyouth.com 519-526-1131 ~ 119 John’s Ave., Auburn Evangelical Missionary Church 9:30 a.m. Sunday School, 10:30 a.m. Worship Pastor Ernest Dow - “Gratitude, Limited” (Jer.5:20-31) Thanksgiving Sunday, October 13 Tuesdays 7-9 p.m. Celebrate Recovery Wednesdays 6:30 - 8 p.m. – HEIRBORN (JK-Gr.6) & YOUTH GROUP (Gr. 7-12) Hwy. 4, Blyth 519-523-4743 www.blythcrc.ca Minister: Pastor Gary van Leeuwen BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH Sunday, October 13 Morning Service 10:00 am No Evening Service Monday, October 14 Thanksgivng Day Service 10:00 am You’re Invited To Join Us In Worship Office Hours: Thursday ~ 9:30 am - 2:00 pm blythunited@tcc.on.ca Worship Service at 9:30 am Guest Speaker: Gayle Coleman Accessible Sunday, October 13 Blyth United Church Facebook: Blyth and Brussels United Churches OFFICE: 519-523-4224 ** Fall Supper ~ October 19 ** Youre Invited to come worship with us Sunday, October 13 at 10:30 a.m. & 6:00 p.m. 650 Alexander St. (former Brussels Public School) Sunday School for children 4 to 12 years of age at 9:30 a.m. Childcare provided for infants and preschoolers during the sermon. Coffee & cookies after the morning service. For additional details please contact Steve Klumpenhower 519.292.0965 Rick Packer 519.527.0173 MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13 Nursery care available 519-887-6687 Fridays 11:30 am - 1:00 pm ~ Soup & More 2 - a free community meal held in Melville’s basement, and made possible by the Brussels churches working together. Worship & Sunday School - 11:00 am Coffee & Snacks following the service We invite you to join our church family in: BRUSSELS United Church Sunday, October 13 Thanksgiving Worship at 11 a.m. Worship leader, Gayle Coleman All are Welcome From the Minister’s Study Luke’s big lost and found lesson: Todd Continued on page 25