Hardy Wyoming Sheep Follow Their Shepherd's Voice

It's fairly easy to raise sheep in New Zealand. It's an island nation with no natural predators like wolves, coyotes, or bears. New Zealand has 7.7 sheep per human on the island.

It was a little more difficult to raise sheep while I was growing up in Wisconsin. We never worried about predators. We just had to make sure the sheep had food and water, stayed in their pens, and didn't headbutt us from behind.

It's much more difficult to raise sheep in Wyoming. Sheep will graze on the sparse, varied, and native forage that cattle often won't eat. Yet, sheep in high-altitude, open ranges are helpless against blizzard conditions and finding proper forage in the winter months. They are entirely dependent upon their shepherd for sustenance.

Unlike New Zealand, there are plenty of predators in Wyoming that can decimate a flock quickly. Coyotes, wolves, and mountain lions all find sheep to be a delicacy. The sheep are under constant threat.

It's difficult for ranchers to find enough hired hands to watch, feed, and move the flocks. A hired hand might abandon the sheep in a crisis, but a Wyoming rancher who is deeply invested in the sheep for their wool and meat, will risk everything to protect them and keep them healthy and safe.

Sheep are notoriously difficult to keep healthy and safe. They are not typically smart animals. If they roll over onto their back, they may die that way, because they are unable to roll over again. They're not fast -- unless you're a human trying to catch one. They're prone to wander, fall off cliffs, get stuck in mud, and get their heads trapped in holes. They're susceptible to a myriad of illnesses. It's said if you look at a sheep wrong, it will keel over dead.

There are cattle guards all over Wyoming. I was surprised to learn that cattle guards don't work as sheep guards. Cattle are afraid of the gaps in a cattle guard. Though sheep aren't typically smart, they are tricky. Sheep have been known to walk along the edges, jump over, or carefully walk along the rails to bypass the cattle guards. So, ranchers need a good gate to keep their sheep fenced in.

Sheep learn to recognize the voice of their shepherd. Even over vast landscapes, the shepherd can call his sheep and they'll come to him.

There are particular breeds of sheep that are more hardy so they are popular for ranchers to raise in Wyoming's harsh climate and severe environment.

Throughout Scripture, God's prophets, apostles, and only-begotten Son compare believers to sheep. They describe Jesus as our Good Shepherd. We are no different than the sheep raised and ranched around us in Wyoming. This statement is true for both physical sheep and we as God's spiritual sheep -- hardy Wyoming sheep follow their Shepherd's voice.

Jesus teaches, "Amen, Amen, I tell you: Anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the door, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ... A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:1-2, 10).

There are thieves and robbers who will attempt to steal sheep after they've been branded. There are predators that will attempt to devour the sheep. The Devil, his demons, and his false preachers are like thieves and predators. They attempt to tempt and trick us into unbelief. They lure us out of the safety of God's flock. They attract us away from the green pastures and quiet waters of God's Word and Sacraments. They bait us with sweeter water that's really poison to our faith. They entice us with tastier food that's really sickening to our soul. They tempt us to trespass where we don't belong. Their goal is to rob us of our salvation.

The Devil is a roaring lion looking to devour us as a tasty meal. He employs his demons as ravenous wolves and the world like crazy coyotes. We're not typically smart or fast to run away from danger. We have no natural defenses against spiritual, demonic predators. So, they chase us. They wear us down. They intimidate and terrorize us. Their goal is to separate us from our Shepherd.

We sang earlier the beloved verses of Psalm 23: "The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. He causes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me" (Psalm 23:1-4).

It takes hardy sheep -- you -- to live in Wyoming. Wyoming isn't for wimps. The environment is difficult with dry, warm weather this winter and now snow in late April. There's always plenty of that four-letter "W" word. There aren't many green pastures and even fewer quiet waters in Wyoming. There are lots of booms and busts with the energy industry. The economy is difficult. The confessional Lutheran flock is small in this state. It takes God's hardy sheep to live in Wyoming.

The way to survive here -- and really anywhere -- is by listening to the voice of Jesus as your Good Shepherd. There are lots of competing voices for your time and attention. Our sinful nature wants to listen to all of them ... rather than listening to the one voice that can nurture, rescue, and save us. That's the voice of Jesus as our Good Shepherd.

Jesus is no hired hand. He doesn't run or scatter when thieves or predators attack him while attempting to get at his sheep. He is the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep (John 10:11).

Because of the hours of tender care, the shepherd knows each of his sheep by name. The shepherd knows the distinct personality of each sheep. The sheep follow because they know the voice of the shepherd while they are wary of the stranger's voice. The shepherd places a brand on his sheep so other shepherds know whom they belong to.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd who knows each of you by name. He knows your distinct personalities. He made you his own at your conversion. He placed his brand on your forehead when the pastor made the sign of the cross over you at your Baptism. He leads you to the green pastures and quiet waters of his Word and Sacraments. He restores your soul with the words of his absolution. He guides you in paths of righteousness, so you go he wants you to go. He protects you from the Devil by shutting his roaring mouth. He keeps you safe from the demonic wolves and worldly coyotes by bonking them on their heads with his righteous rod.

Some of you are going through various health issues. My Uncle Gary died of cancer this week. Jesus leads his hardy sheep like you and my Uncle Gary through this dark valley of the shadow of death to the mountain of the Lord in heaven. Therefore, fear no evil, for your Good Shepherd is always with you.

That's why we want to always and only listen to the Good Shepherd's voice. Jesus teaches, "The doorkeeper opens the door for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own sheep, he walks ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will never follow a stranger, but will run away from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers" (John 10:3-5).

The Bible speaks repeatedly of Jesus as our Good Shepherd. "The Lord is my shepherd" (Psalm 23:1). "Like a shepherd he will care for his flock. With his arm he will gather the lambs" (Isaiah 40:11). "As a shepherd searches for his flock when his sheep that were with him have been scattered, so I will search for my flock and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own soil. I will shepherd them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys, and in all the settlements of the land" (Ezekiel 34:12, 13).

Jesus said again, "Amen, Amen, I tell you: I am the door for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. Whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture" (John 10:7-9). Jesus is the way into the kingdom of God so we may sit at the Lord's table and dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23:5-6). Yet, in our polytheistic culture, people want to believe in lots of gods and trust in many paths for salvation. They want to have salvation without a Savior. They want heaven without Jesus opening the gate to heaven for them. They want to live their lives with the robbers without ever following the Shepherd. They imagine they can survive in the company of the predators without being devoured.

Fences have become a way of life. People put up privacy fences to keep others from seeing into their yard. Farmers put up fences to keep the cattle in the field and sheep in their pasture. Businesses put up fences to keep thieves away from their warehouses. But every fence has a gate -- a passageway for those who are supposed to get to the other side of the fence.

Jesus says he is the gate -- not into a yard or a field -- but into the presence of God and eternal life. The only way to eternal life is through Jesus. He opened the way to God by removing all the barriers that stood in our way -- our sins, guilt, and the accusations of the Devil. He prepared us for life with God by ...