July 20, 2003 - Sixth Sunday After Pentecost - Father Barry Woods

"And He had compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd."

About 25 years ago, I was serving on the Commission on Ministry in the Diocese of Los Angeles. It was a brand new commission at the time, and we weren't exactly sure what our job was; but we knew that, in general, we were supposed to advise the Bishop on all matters pertaining to the ordained ministry in the Diocese of Los Angeles. At one meeting, I forget what the topic was that we were discussing, but I remember very vividly that one of our clergy members (the Commission on Ministry was composed of both clergy and lay members) was going on and on and on, at some length, about shepherds and sheep. The more he spoke, and the longer he talked, it became very, very apparent to all of us that his view of shepherds and sheep was that the clergy were the shepherds, and the sheep were way down below them in some place. And so, his monologue went on and on and on, and everyone was becoming more and more and more uncomfortable about it. Finally, a lay woman, sitting next to me, turned to me and, in a whisper loud enough for all to be heard, said, "Somebody needs to remind this guy that it is the sheep who give the wool."

The imagery of shepherds and sheep is a very powerful one in the Church, and I am sure you know that. But, I have always mistrusted that imagery. The idea of the clergy as shepherds and the people as sheep has always been something I have mistrusted. I have mistrusted it because, in the minds of too many people, it seems to create a view of the Church as a pyramid, with the bishops at the top, and then the priests, and then the deacons, and then the lay people, the sheep. My view of the Church is to take that pyramid and simply turn it around, with the lay people at the top of the pyramid, supported by those who have been ordained and consecrated to the priesthood and as bishops. I have always mistrusted this imagery of sheep and shepherds, because it seems to suggest that the shepherds do the work of the Church, and the sheep support them; and the opposite is true.

And yet, that imagery of sheep and shepherds has some value, and it has some value because the laity have a right to expect that the clergy will always act for their good. You have a right to expect that we will never misuse the power that the Church gives us. You have a right to expect that we will never harm you in any way. You have a right to expect that we will never lead you into bad pastures, that we will never expose you to the wolves. You have a right to expect that we will fight with all of our might against the wolves that do threaten you. You have a right to expect that we will never, ever, ever do anything intentionally that will drive anyone from the flock. You have a right to expect that we will never exploit you in any way, not personally, not financially, not sexually.

And so, this imagery of sheep and shepherds has some value, but, for me, it stops there. We are given a charge at ordination, but we are not placed in charge. It is an old saying, and you have heard it a million times, but it needs to be repeated over and over again: There is only one Shepherd. And it is not Andrew Green, I'm sorry. And it is not Gethin Hughes, I'm sorry (don't tell him I said that!). We have only one Shepherd, Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and my view of ordination is not that we take one of the sheep and make him or her a shepherd. That is not my view. My view of ordination, even consecration, is that we take one of the sheep, and we hang a bell around his or her neck for a while. And maybe that bell rings loud and clear in our ears, and maybe it doesn't; but all ordination does is provide us with some lead sheep, and not a shepherd.

Today is July 20th, as I recall, and, in ten days, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church will begin in Minneapolis, and a whole bunch of bishops and clergy delegates and lay delegates will gather in Minneapolis and debate and vote on many important, and some frivolous, issues. And, if you haven't already begun to pray for that convention, now is the time to begin, because a whole lot of people, wearing a whole lot of bells, are going to gather in Minneapolis, and the noise and the clamor of those bells will reach into the newspapers and maybe even to the 6:00 news at night. The clamor will be tremendous, and it will not always be a pleasant clamor - all those bells tinkling. And our prayers for convention will vary. Some of you know the issues clearly and have clear views, and you will pray that those views will prevail, and that is fine. All of us must pray that the clamor and the clanking of those bells will cease, as all present listen for the voice of the one Shepherd. We must pray that all present there will remember that God has looked down from His Heaven on His flock, and has had compassion, and has given us our One True Shepherd.

AMEN