Good Shepherd Sunday

This is the Sunday we hear the 23rd Psalm and Jesus as the Good Shepherd. The normal homelitical plot for this day goes something like:

1. There are lots of "sheep and shepherd" stories in the Bible
2. While they appear cute on the surface, sheep smell bad and are stupid and hurt themselves
3. Isn't it nice that we have Jesus to save us from us?

Happily, I did not hear that type of preaching today. The parish I visited invited graduating seniors to witness their stories before they went off to college. While somewhat predictable, these stories reinforced something that God is working within me: If God made us, God does bear some responsibility for who we are, warts and all. Our "sheepness" is the imprint of the divine and our imperfections conceal the eternal.

I've heard jaded pastors say that sheep are good for two things: fleece and mutton. How sad. While not an expert on the topic, I've never heard of a sheep that fleeced its peers out of half of its 403 (b).

The Horse and the Stone

Mine that Bird, a 50-1 shot, won the Kentucky Derby today. My own random pick, Join the Dance, another 50-1 runner, did not make the top 10. No matter. I love it when an underdog takes the roses.

Millionaires from Dubai, having flown in their courses on private jets, were thwarted. An overlooked horse, trucked in on a trailer from New Mexico finished by a long shot.

So it is with Jesus . The stone that the builders rejected has become the corner. It is marvelous in my eyes. Now, where is that recipe for Mint Juleps?