Middle school is tough. I remember being in the sixth grade, bouncing towards home on a big yellow school bus, when someone began teasing Penny. I have no idea who or what started it. Maybe it was because Penny was taller than everyone else, or smarter, or different in some other indiscernible way. All I remember is that once one person started, everyone joined in the verbal attack. Penny did absolutely nothing to deserve it, and she could do nothing to defend herself or stop it. She was harassed and helpless, like a sheep without a shepherd.
Fortunately, it wasn’t a long bus ride … and Penny wasn’t alone. As we mercifully arrived at her stop, Penny rose quickly to exit the bus, along with several other kids, trying her best to cover her tears. And then something astonishing happened. One of Penny’s friends—who was nearly a foot shorter than Penny—turned on her heel, faced the pack of bullies and pronounced with the ferocious vocal power and rock-solid conviction of a fiery Baptist preacher: “PENNY IS A SEXY WOMAN!”
It was an odd thing for a kid in the 70’s to say, but effective. I’ve always admired Penny’s friend’s compassion. She felt Penny’s pain and came to her defense. Haven’t we, at various points in our lives, felt harassed and helpless? Maybe by the teasing bullies of middle school? Perhaps by relentless telemarketers, persistent online scammers, or predatory lending practices? Did anyone notice our pain and come to our defense? It’s a scary thing to be a sheep without a shepherd, but we are not without a shepherd!
Scripture makes it clear that God cares about God’s people. That’s why God entrusts the kings of Israel with caring for the wellbeing of God’s people. They’re not enthroned for their personal enrichment and enjoyment, but with the purpose of serving as shepherds of the flock. And when they fail to do that sacred task of guarding the sheep, God speaks words like these through the prophet Jeremiah:
“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord…I myself will gather the remnant of my flock …I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord.” (Jer. 23:1-4)
Jesus is the good shepherd, raised up for the harassed and helpless. We shouldn’t be surprised then to learn that Jesus has compassion for the crowds. He sees their plight and feels their pain. But it’s more than sympathy. He has compassion for them—he suffers with them, he shares their pain. It hurts him to see them harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd.
With that compassion, knowing he can’t be everywhere, Jesus authorizes the twelve, sending laborers to harvest the fruits of compassion. To heal and restore lives. To cleanse demonic systems. To be the good shepherds of the Good Shepherd, tending God’s sheep with love and mercy. We know their names: Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, James (son of Alpheus), Thadeus, Simon and Judas. But these are only the first twelve, not the last.
Yesterday, Karin MacPhail became the next, the 1,178th bishop in the succession of this Province of the Anglican Communion. Of all the emotions, music, and prayers of the occasion, that number stood out to me. Bishop Karin is in that long line of apostolic teaching and fellowship, AND she is in that long line of shepherds—sent to those who are harassed and helpless.
But here’s the thing. This is about more than Karin. It’s about us. Whether it’s Bishop Karin or some other bishop in that long line, we too are sent out into that harvest where the need for compassion is so plentiful. Every time someone is sealed with the oil of baptism (blessed by the bishop) or has apostolic hands laid on them at confirmation, we too are sent to stand with those who are harassed and helpless. To be shepherds of the Good Shepherd to those who are relentlessly pursued and hopelessly downtrodden. Our names are added to that list.
That may seem improbable, a task possibly better suited to those whose names we know…or who wear the pointy hats. But it’s not. It starts with noticing, grows to compassion, and results in active shepherding.
So, what should we look for? To be harassed implies being under constant, relentless, ongoing, merciless attack. To be helpless indicates a power differential, an insurmountable vulnerability. Think about the plight of refugees and asylum seekers in our country who are being relentlessly pursued, frequently vilified, and hopelessly detained or cruelly deported. Or people living under a mountain of medical debt. Harassed by bill collectors without any possibility of paying it off. Burdened by their credit rating and then further financially strained by the effects of their credit score. Both groups are harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. The harvest is plentiful…and the shepherds are working.
Christ Church in Binghamton, New York, for example, came to the aid of families in their area harassed by the crushing weight of what seemed like infinite debt. They were able to forgive more than a million dollars in medical debt by partnering with a non-profit called UnDue Medical Debt—an organization that acquires debt, often for pennies on the dollar. The donated money from Christ Church then paid it off. Every dollar they donated eliminated $100 in medical debt. Check my math here, but $15,000 donated would erase $1.5 million in medical debt. That eliminates a lot of helplessness and harassment.
Closer to home, a group of people from our community, including here at Trinity, are supporting families whose relatives have been detained or deported. Can you can imagine the fear and financial helplessness a mother feels when her husband disappears into the murky uncertainty of our current immigration system? How will rent get paid? What about groceries? Where will the funds come from to pay an attorney, assuming you can even find one? Fortunately, the group called “Familia” is raising funds to ease the pain and fear of their situation, to remind them that they are not alone.
Jesus continues to send us out into that plentiful harvest—the numerous places where there is still so much need for compassion; to be shepherds to the harassed and helpless, to rescue those who are vulnerable and without hope. Bishop Karin – Bishop 1178 can’t do it alone. This is our work too. And if Penny’s four foot tall friend can face down a busload of middle schoolers, surely, we can do our part too.
