Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.”
Luke 15:3-6 (NIV)
Jesus describes an image of the good Shepherd who is so happy to bring His lost sheep home. One thing is certain from this passage; God loves all the black sheep of this world.
Black sheep are people who are either at odds with their family or who never quite fit into society. They may have mental health issues, controversial opinions, or substance addictions that separate them from being a part of societal norms. Black sheep wander far away from the rest of the flock. Most families have a black sheep in it, some may be a child who was raised in the faith, but grew up to reject it. This is why any parent can deeply relate to this parable.
One lady I have befriended at the Nursing home has been a black sheep most of her life. She used to sincerely believe as a young child but after decades of wrong choices and drug abuse, she figured she had gone too far, and that God would never love her or accept her back again. Every so often she says that God is disappointed in her, and I have to keep reminding her to look forward and not at the past. I try to convince her that God never stops loving anyone. She struggles to believe but I do believe that the good Shepherd is carrying her home on His shoulders.
My son Jon has been a black sheep in the family for years. He always stood in opposition to the opinions or advice of the family. He distanced himself from all friends and family for a four year period prior to his motorcycle accident. Though there never was a dispute or a conflict with anyone, he disappeared, changing his cell phone number and address, with no one knowing why, or where he was during that period. Only after his accident, the family was able to reconnect with him, even though he is now unable to speak.
God is looking for all the black sheep of this world, in every culture, ethnic origin and religious identity. Jesus, the good Shepherd, searches diligently for the complicated lost sheep of the world, who are running away from the flock, entangled in the messes and misfortunes they made out of their lives. The mercy and love of God is revealed in Jesus’ words, with the image of a Shepherd who never gives up His pursuit of all souls.
In the song that is attached, Ben Fuller sings to all the black sheep of this world because as a recovering alcoholic, he was one himself. One line in the lyrics say that “amazing grace can be a pesky thing”, since the Shepherd’s love is relentless. In His search for the black sheep, there is nowhere He won’t go to save them.
Then he mentions the hound of Heaven, which comes from an 1890 poem, written by Francis Thompson, centering on the relentless love of God who is in pursuit of lost souls. It’s the poem that influenced J.R. Tolkien who later wrote his Christian themed works, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
We are living in days of black sheep, who will finally recognize their Good Shepherd, and the inexhaustible mercy and love which has been pursuing them all the days of their life.
Lord, thank you for your relentless love and mercy that seeks all the black sheep in the world, to draw them close and carry them back to the fold, on your shoulders. Amen
