Shepherds, Sheep Dogs, and Sheep (4th Easter C)
- Guillermo Arboleda
- May 11
- 6 min read
A sermon by the Rev. Guillermo A. Arboleda, written for and delivered at the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, Savannah, GA, on Sunday, May 4, 2025, which is the 3rd Sunday of Easter (RCL Year C).
Primary Bible Readings
Psalm 23
1 The Lord is my shepherd; *I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures *and leads me beside still waters.
3 He revives my soul *and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake.
4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; *for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; *you have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over.
6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, *and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
John 10:22-30 (CEB)
22 The time came for the Festival of Dedication in Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple, walking in the covered porch named for Solomon. 24 The Jewish opposition circled around him and asked, “How long will you test our patience? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered, “I have told you, but you don’t believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you don’t believe because you don’t belong to my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life. They will never die, and no one will snatch them from my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them from my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
Shepherds, Sheep Dogs, and Sheep
By the Rev. Guillermo A. Arboleda, Program Manager for New Starts, ELCA
“My sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me.” (John 10:27)
Kelly and I visited Scotland last year for our anniversary and we grew to love the land and the culture. A couple of weeks ago, ironically on our wedding anniversary, we attended the Savannah Scottish Games. I didn’t know this event existed, but apparently, it has been happening in Savannah for about 20 years. The festival was full of bagpipes, sheep dogs, live music, heavy athletic competitions, and lots of ale.
For the first time in my life, I witnessed a sheep dog demonstration. A real-life shepherdess brought her sheep and her sheep dogs and showed us how it all works. The sheep left the open and immediately crowded around the shepherdess. They knew her voice and they came to her. But then she separated herself from the sheep. And with whistles, she directed four different border collie sheep dogs to lead and guide the sheep around the yard. In a competition style, she had the dogs guide the sheep into pens and around cones and other obstacles. Each dog had a unique whistle so it knew when the shepherdess was commanding it. They all knew her voice. The dogs were fiercely loyal and defensive. If anyone besides the shepherdess got too close to the sheep, they growled and snarled and suddenly looked like they might attack to protect the flock. As soon as the shepherdess put the dogs at ease, though, the dogs were happy-go-lucky and friendly to adults and children alike.
The thing that stood out to me was just how helpless the sheep acted whenever they didn’t have a direct instruction from the shepherdess. They were fundamentally still afraid of the dogs so they just moved opposite the dogs — wherever the dog wasn’t, they went. The only time the sheep seemed okay was when they were pressed right up against their person. If she was there, they felt safe. And mind you, this was a noisy place. There was a crowd of people around who were talking, playing bagpipes, and making other noises, but the sheep and dogs never listened to them. The rest of us were not their shepherd, and they didn’t know our voices.
This experience helped open up the Bible’s shepherd metaphors for me. The sheep and the dogs were completely locked in and focused on the shepherdess and her voice. The dogs followed her every command, even when the terrain was difficult or unfamiliar and it took a couple of tries. The sheep, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have a lick of sense. Even when they were trying to do as the shepherdess wanted, they struggled. They were easily confused and distracted and lost. They didn’t get it. Without the shepherdess and the sheep dogs it would be easy to deceive them and “snatch them” away.
Unfortunately for us, Jesus regularly refers to us as sheep. We’re not the bold, courageous sheep dogs. We’re not the calm and wise shepherd. We’re the scattered, panicked sheep. It’s not exactly a flattering metaphor, but it might be accurate. We struggle at times to do what we are told either because we are stubborn or senseless. And Jesus says that we need to learn his voice and trust him as our Good Shepherd. Only then will we be led to green pastures and beside still waters (Psalm 23:2). Only then can we be protected from evil.
So how do we learn Jesus’ voice? One way is to seek it out, to study the Word of God through daily Bible reading and prayer. There are lots of amazing prayer and Bible study resources out there. I’ll share three: (1) Morning and Evening Prayer are found in the Book of Common Prayer on pages 75 and 115, respectively. These are amazing prayer services, filled with inspiring and challenging words from Scripture. Churches can gather to pray these services publicly, as All Saints’ does occasionally, or they can be used privately for devotions. Candidly, it takes some effort to learn how to navigate the Prayer Book and a Bible to pray Morning or Evening Prayer, so I recommend using a website or app that lays everything out for you; I can offer specific recommendations after worship. (2) A simpler and shorter form of prayer from the BCP is called “Daily Devotions for Families and Individuals,” starting on page 136. These are great resources for busy families. The downside is that they don’t have a built-in lectionary or rotation of Bible readings; you would have to add that on your own if you want to use it regularly. (3) Forward Day by Day is a book of daily devotions produced by Forward Movement, an Episcopal publisher. It’s available in standard and large print, and it’s all available for free online at the Forward Movement website. Again, these are just suggestions. But if you don’t have a regular practice of reading the Bible and prayer, I strongly encourage you to try one or more of these and see what fits for you.
Go with what you can do consistently, and over time you will become more and more familiar with Jesus’ voice. The scriptures reveal many aspects of God and God’s character to us. Prayer and Bible readings make it easier to tell if something is godly — that is loving, merciful, and wise — or just our own self interest.
When trying to make a difficult decision recently, someone asked me if I had “a good idea or a God idea”? Because they are not the same thing. The sheep that wanders outside the pen and toward the open field thinks it has a good idea. There is green grass there and I’m hungry. But it didn’t look out for the wolf pack coming from over the hills. It didn’t listen to the voice of the shepherd who would lead it on a more difficult, but ultimately safer path.
What big decisions are you facing these days? How do you discern the right path forward? How do you tell the good ideas from the God ideas? How are you listening for the shepherd’s voice day by day? Where do you think Jesus the Good Shepherd is leading you? And how can this church help you get there? Because the shepherd doesn’t travel with just one sheep. The shepherd leads the flock together. Amen.
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