Sheep, herd immunity and herd community

I grew up in an Italian neighborhood on Fifth Avenue in South Troy. My world was very small, though I didn’t know that at the time. I could safely walk to the small, mom-and-pop Italian grocery stores on my block. You know the ones with large balls of cheese and sticks of pepperoni hanging in the windows and filled with the smell of parmesan cheese. The jail, a fresh market and a lot where we watched softball games were in my neighborhood. I never saw sheep or a shepherd in my neighborhood. I did see a few pictures of the Good Shepherd hanging in St. Patrick’s grammar school which I attended. I was fascinated by this very tall handsome looking Jesus with a staff in hand and a herd of beautifully-groomed white sheep following him across a green pasture. 

I heard the story of the Good Shepherd many times but really could not relate to it until I saw some real shepherds and sheep. In Assisi, Italy, I watched a herd of a hundred plus sheep, black and white and mixtures of both colors, led by a shepherdess. In Ireland, a scrubby-looking shepherd stopped our car so his sheep could pass safely. In a small town near the Sea of Galilee, a shepherd safely led hundreds of sheep through the narrow streets and across busy roads without losing one of them.

We often reflect on the beautiful image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, but we might also explore how God speaks to us through the natural world — God’s magnificent creation — and particularly through the image of sheep. Jesus tells us that you and I are called to follow him like sheep.

Sheep are among the most defenseless of animals. They are easy prey for predators. They are naturally gregarious and find safety huddled together in a flock. They can become distressed when separated from the flock. Sheep also have a natural tendency to follow a leader and have excellent hearing. They recognize individual human and ovine faces and remember them for years. They are docile and learn things easily. You may be thinking what does this 4H lesson on sheep have to do with our faith. Jesus chose the example of the good shepherd and sheep to teach an important lesson. Like all good teachers, He used examples from real life to help his listeners understand his lesson.

We live in a nation and a world in which the human family is broken with divisions. Violence is commonplace. Fear, mistrust and prejudice separate us into separate tribes: people with different skin color; Muslim, Jew, Christian; poor and rich; conservative, liberal, radical. The list of divisive issues is endless. Even within our Roman Catholic community, divisions between conservative, traditionalists and progressives fracture the body of Christ. We learn at a young age to stay with our own kind and mistrust those who are different. We also learn to be self-reliant, independent, to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and take care of number one, ourselves. We have adopted the habits of the lone wolf, rather than the gregarious sheep. And being docile, eager learners is not our strength!

We have forgotten that Jesus calls us together as one flock who despite variations in color, creed and culture are meant to live together. We are challenged to be like sheep: interdependent, a community of disciples. Like it or not there is no such thing as a lone ranger Christian. Each of us has the responsibility to stay with the herd, to stay connected, to love one another even when we disagree. Jesus has formed us into one body.

Unlike the popular Frank Sinatra song, we are not called to “do it my way” but to work together for the common good, the good of the entire flock.

COVID-19 has increased our sense of isolation and loneliness and spurred a dramatic increase in depression, suicide and substance abuse. The lesson is clear: we are not meant to live life alone. When we separate from the flock, the community, we begin to break down.

Scientists tell us that we can only stop the virus when we achieve herd immunity, that is when 75-80 percent of the human family has been vaccinated. In other words, the health of each one of us is interdependent on the action of others, much like the sheep whose safety depends on staying with the herd.

Jesus came to gather the human family into a community of people who care about each other and work together to build the kingdom of God. That is the lesson of the gentle sheep who follow the Lord. We certainly need to develop herd immunity to protect all earth’s people from the coronavirus. We also must develop herd community to protect the human family from even more devastating viruses: injustice, greed, prejudice and disregard for Mother Earth and all of God’s creation.

This is not just a pie-in-the-sky idealism. It is the only way for us to survive as a species and as a Christian community! Let’s pray we have the courage to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow him as one flock despite our differences. It would be a very different world if we did!

Ed Solomon is a deacon at the Church of St. Peter in Saratoga Springs.