Katz and Dogs, Sheep and Donkeys (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

Jon Katz is an author well-known for his books and articles about dogs. They are his passion, and he writes about them quite a bit. Many claim his writings have transformed their relationships with their dogs … to the better. One of his books, The Dogs of Bedlam Farm, tells of a year he lived on a farm in upstate New York. His idea was to borrow some sheep and teach his border collies to herd them.

He discovered so much more.

The first lesson he learned was that what he was really doing was “trying to become a better human” through his interactions with his dogs; reasoning (with some validity) that his dogs would be better behaved if he were.

There is something, though, I’m sure Jon Katz did not plan on. Through his many trials and tribulations that first year —struggling almost daily with the farm’s ever-crumbling infrastructure, agonizing through the lambing season that landed smack in the middle of a very harsh winter, fighting off attacks on his herd by predators, searching for sheep that wandered away when not closely watched, and in every way possible dealing with the constant needs of the sheep for food, warmth, shelter, and protection— Jon Katz emerged ... a shepherd.

Having read The Dogs of Bedlam Farm, when I now read scriptures like Psalm 23, I have a very real understanding of what it means for the Lord to be “my shepherd.” I now understand why “He makes me to lie down in green pastures,” and why “He leads me beside still waters.” I know what is intended when the Lord says “My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.”

Jon Katz has given me those mental pictures.

I know he never intended this outcome (a primer on shepherding). But, unintended consequences are a big part of the personal journey he describes in that book, so I think he will forgive me for ending up where I did.

There are some moments in Katz’s book when embracing his shepherding responsibility means he must act in heartbreaking ways, for the good of his sheep. And there are some moments when joy suffuses every action. I suspect it is exactly this way for those who shepherd us in this life, as well as for our “great shepherd.”

Jon Katz learned how (and why) to lead his sheep. God already knows, and will, if we allow it, lead us to “dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
..........

What’s that? Oh, yes; the donkeys. You’re going to want to read the book for that. 😇

_________________________
PHOTO: https://www.amazon.com/Dogs-Bedlam-Farm-Adventure-Sixteen/dp/0812972503

A different version of this reflection appeared in 2014.

_________________________
READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Fourth Sunday in Lent (March 22, 2020)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=27

1 Samuel 16:1-13
Psalm 23
Ephesians 5:8-14
John 9:1-41
_________________________

As you may have concluded, DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast is on hiatus until we reach the end of the Corona Virus situation. At this point, we have no idea when we will resume meeting together; certainly not before Waco lifts its ban on in-restaurant dining.

We will miss all of you. Keep safe. Keep in touch.

Blessings,
Steve