The Downtown Presbyterian Church

Sermons

There’s A Little Blossom In All Of Us

Luke 15:1-10

Rev. Kenneth M. Locke

September 12, 2004

One day, many years ago, shepherd Benjamin was returning home with his flock of sheep after a lovely day grazing on the hillsides. He opened the pen and began counting the sheep as they went happily in. “95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 99, 99. Waite a minute who’s missing? Bill, Harry, Margaret?” “Yes,” they answered, “we’re all here.” “Then who’s missing?” All the sheep looked at each other and asked and finally one of them said, “Blossom. I’ll bet it’s Blossom again. Blossom, are you here?”

Well, Blossom was missing. So shepherd Benjamin closed the pen, told the sheep goodbye, and off he went. “Blossom, Blossom, where are you?” He looked behind trees and in caves and climbed up hills and scampered down the other side and finally, there was Blossom, calling out from where she was stuck. “Oh Blossom, I’m so glad to see you.” “Shepherd Benjamin, thank you so much, I was so scared.” In just a minute Benjamin had freed Blossom, hoisted her onto his shoulders and off they went for home.

All along the way, whenever Benjamin saw his friends or neighbors he shouted, “Look, Blossom was lost but I’ve found her. I’ve got Blossom back.” He couldn’t stop smiling, he was so happy. And Blossom baahed and bleated contentedly.

When they got back to the pen shepherd Benjamin let her in and said, “Look everyone, it’s Blossom, she’s back. Let’s rejoice and be glad.” But the other sheep just snuffled and stared and kept eating. “Come on everyone, aren’t you glad? It’s Blossom.” But the other sheep just looked the other way and sniffed and ignored him. “Please, my sheep, what’s wrong? Blossom was lost but now she’s found.”

At this, one of the older sheep turned around and said, “Oh Benjamin, get a life. This is the 3^rd time this month. How long are you going to enable this irresponsible behavior? She’s no better than an old alcoholic always going on a bender. Sleep in the shelter, rally a little, tell some lies, dry out, wait for the next time. And you want us to rejoice?”

Shepherd Benjamin looked startled but then he began to understand. “Oh. Blossom wanders off and has to be found and you resent it. Is that right?”

“Darn right it is! We don’t wander off. We’re not crack addicts, you don’t find us panhandling on lower Broad, we don’t sleep under bridges and then expect you to come and rescue us when it gets cold.

“We follow you like we’re supposed to. Every night we go straight to the pen. We give you 10% of our wool every week. We’re faithful to you and your leadership.

“But do we get any rewards for going to the pen? Do you say ‘Harry, Martha, so glad you’re here tonight’? We don’t see you rejoicing when we’re doing what sheep are supposed to do.”

Shepherd Benjamin sat down and was quiet for a bit. Finally he said, “Yes, yes I suppose you’re right. I don’t, do I?” But then after a moment he said, “Tom, do you remember last year I pulled you back from that cliff 3 times? And that was after I had asked you not to go near it. David, do you remember when you wandered over the ridge and you couldn’t see me and that wolf came out of nowhere? Do you remember how fast I raced over to you and scared off the wolf and fixed your leg where he had bitten it so badly?”

Shepherd Benjamin looked at the whole flock of sheep. “Sally, do you remember how upset I was but how I forgave you those three times you had an affair? And Michael, do you remember how you cursed me in your heart? Karen, do you remember when you had an addiction problem? Kevin, do you remember when your partner wanted to share a problem but you were so caught up with your own concerns you wouldn’t listen? Eunice, remember how you always tell everyone what a good old sheep you’ve always been but remember when you were young you stayed out of the pen for three years straight?

“Lately none of you has been as much trouble as Blossom. But each of you has wandered away from my love. And every time you’ve come back I’ve rejoiced just as much as I rejoiced over Blossom today.

“You know,” he said, “there’s nothing fun about being scared by a mountain lion. There’s no pleasure lying in bed at night scared to death over finances and children and parents and having no one to talk to. There’s no rejoicing in growing old alone with no one to share your life. There’s no fun in being afraid nobody loves you.

“No, certainly, none of you has done what Blossom has done. But each of you knows the fear of being lost, the joy of being found, and the comfort of being near me.

“Tommy, Shannon, Mariah, Will, each one of you is important to me. I love each and every one of you so much. And every day I can’t tell you how thrilled I am when I look at the hills and see you close by, enjoying the rich pasture my love is providing you.”

Shepherd Benjamin stopped talking and looked at the sheep. Some were embarrassed and wouldn’t meet his gaze. Some had lost interest and were eating. Some were scowling at him, still not satisfied.

Finally, after a few minutes, Shepherd Benjamin said, “Look, I don’t expect everyone to agree with me and how I feel. And if you want to resent Blossom for wandering so often I won’t stop you.

“But right or wrong, agree with me or not, I’m her shepherd and I love her enough to die for her and I will rejoice every time I bring her home even if I have to do it every day. That’s just who I am! It doesn’t matter how often one of you gets lost, I’ll rejoice every time I find you.”

And then Benjamin got up and, just like he did every night, he hugged each one of his sheep. Some were glad and accepted his hug. Some didn’t understand and stood there like always. Some scowled at him and looked the other way. But he hugged each and every one of them, told them all goodnight and to get some sleep. Tomorrow would be another big day.

That’s what good shepherds do. Thanks be to God. Amen.