Dear Friends,
This weekend I had the pleasure of chatting with a friend from what feels like a lifetime ago. Having moved so many times in the last decade, I’ve also attended a lot of churches, and this friend was someone I spent my grad school years worshipping alongside. Her children, born after I moved away, are seven and four now. It’s been a long time – but Godly Play led us to be on the other side of a phone call spanning all those years and about 1000 miles.
I love how Godly Play shapes so many of the conversations I get to have, and it also shapes how I have them – because speaking Godly Play is its own dialect. So, when I looked ahead to this Sunday’s lectionary and discover the Good Shepherd there, my brain runs through a few key points.
I AM
On the focal shelf of every Godly Play room, you’ll find several key items, but the top shelf alone speaks volumes. There, beside the Holy Family on your left, you’ll find a large white candle, while looking to your right you’ll see the sheepfold with its sheep and shepherd. Here are the two great “I Am” statements:
I am the Light of the World.
and
I am the Good Shepherd.
I wrote last month about how “I am the Light of the World,” and the baptism lesson’s approach to this light, is one of those Godly Play texts that lives in me, but that can also be said about the Good Shepherd in its own way. Or maybe it’s not the Good Shepherd that I feel so strongly about, but rather the Ordinary Shepherd.
On Being An Ordinary Shepherd
What is striking about the Parable of the Good Shepherd is the figure he stands in contrast with: the Ordinary Shepherd.
The Ordinary Shepherd isn’t bad at his job, so to speak. No, he doesn’t know the sheep by name, but if you were hired to watch some sheep, how long would it take you to differentiate between their forms in a flock of dozens or even hundreds? The Ordinary Shepherd is afraid of hungry wolves – a natural response. He’s a normal guy with normal concerns and you know, he’s probably not paid enough to lay down his life for the sheep.
Now, I’m going to assume most of you don’t have a lot of experience with sheep, and I didn’t either when I began writing this newsletter a few years ago. Since then, though, my life has gone on to include way more sheep. My wife’s vet school has a research flock of Jacob’s sheep that she regularly works with – shearing, vaccinating, and the like. But the school flock isn’t actually managed primarily by a shepherd, or even a person. No, the vet school has a very special employee who cares for the sheep: Lucy the Guard Llama.
Lucy is great at her job. She also, undoubtedly, does not know the names of the sheep. (To be honest, I don’t even know if the sheep have names given that they’re primarily research subjects.) There are a lot of ways to be good at your job.
So here we are. Maybe we’re just ordinary shepherds, sure, but we still get to be the best ordinary shepherds we know how to be.
Shepherd Stories
Wherever you are this week, there are so many ways to come close to the Parable of the Good Shepherd.
Hear the story:
And make sure to check out the Equity Audit toolkit! This story was an early recipient of some updates on pieces like the dangerous places, so take some time to look at your materials if you’re in a place that uses Godly Play.
Explore Your Metaphors: As a parable, the Good Shepherd begins in a familiar way - There once was someone who did such wonderful things and said such amazing things that people began to follow him. One day they asked him who he really was, and he said…
Jesus makes “I Am” statements besides “I am the Light of the World” and “I am the Good Shepherd” – you can see all of them here. Which ones do you know? Which ones do you have questions about? Do these metaphors form an image or scene for you? What might it look like?
If someone were to write a parable about you, how would it begin. “There once was someone who X and Y so people Z. One day the people asked…. and ….”For Tiny Humans: I’m more than a little enamored by Be A Heart’s Good Shepherd wooden puzzle. I think it’s an excellent piece for toddlers and preschoolers, whether that’s at home or on a shelf in your Prayground. Plus, with the chunky wooden pieces, it allows for open-ended play, not just taking the puzzle apart and putting it back together. (Shining Light Dolls also has a very cute wooden Good Shepherd set, but their designs skew a little silly).
Follow The Questions: One of my favorite things about working with kids is that they aren’t going to make conversation with you for the sake of it – they’re going to follow their curiosity. That may mean that instead of thinking about the salvation metaphor in this story, you’re looking up different types of sheep and watching sheep shearing videos. Don’t bypass those opportunities! I wonder what would you like best about your job if you were a shepherd? I wonder if some kinds of sheep are easier to take care of than others? To be honest, exploring the Bible with children is a little bit like herding sheep – you’re preventing them from falling into a ditch or being eaten by wolves, not determining the direction they go otherwise.
We’re all out here being wayward sheep and ordinary shepherds or maybe fierce and perplexing guard llamas. Who are you today? Who are the children in your life?
Peace,
Bird