The Book of Shepherds

Once upon a time in the resent present, there was a little sheep named Simon, who grew up in a very manicured abundantly green pasture. All the fences were strong and in good repair. Everything was neat and tidy. The sheep knew when to come and go. Each sheep was very respectful. Then one day the shepherd took notice of Simon and asked him if he would like to be a shepherd. Simon was very excited, and gladly accepted. The Shepherd taught Simon many things, like how to attract sheep and how to use the shepherds’ staff. The shepherd daily encouraged Simon that the Great Shepherd had a wonderful plan for him. Simon had deep respect for the shepherd, for the shepherd was very dignified. And out of this deep respect for his shepherd and Love for him, Simon dreamed of being a dignified shepherd one day.

As the days past Simon became to look more and more like a shepherd. And one day the shepherd took Simon out to a new pasture and said, “This is your domain. Make the pasture green and abundant. Keep the fences in good repair, so that when the Great Shepherd passes by He will be pleased.

So, Shepherd Simon worked diligently on the pasture. He attacked passing sheep and some of them ended up staying. The number of his sheep grew and grew. They helped Shepherd Simon by mowing the grass and fertilizing the pasture.

One day as he was shepherding his flock, He noticed one of the sheep had lumps on her back. Shepherd Simon was concerned for he was a good shepherd. He tried to figure out what was going on, but couldn’t. As time went by, Shepherd Simon noticed the lumps had turned into little wings.

Little Sheep Lilly was very excited about her new wings. She would fly all around. At times she would be flying above another sheep and notice that they were heading towards a pit or a swamp of some wolf was in their path, and she fly down and warn the other sheep. The other sheep would chuckle and laugh amongst themselves, “Oh Little Sheep Lilly is just lifted up by her pride.”

Shepherd Simon hear the rumors of what Little Sheep Lilly would say and would investigate them, but none the less, he didn’t have the perspective that Little Sheep Lilly had. And so he went to her and said,
“Little Sheep Lilly, how can you eat grass when you are always flying around. Plus you are scaring the other sheep. And some of the other sheep are getting mad at you for they say you are spying on them.”

“You know me Shepherd Simon. I don’t go looking to spy on the sheep. I just happen to be flying around and I see what is coming at them or where they are heading. And I warn them. You know I Love the other sheep.”

“I know Little Lilly.”

Shepherd Simon, this morning when I was flying way high, I saw that there were wolves coming toward this pasture.”

“Silly Lilly, I have never seen any wolves. You shouldn’t be flying so high. The wind currents may hurt you.”

“But Shepherd Simon when I fly that high I turn into an eagle.”

Beware Silly Lilly, you may be attacked by the Great Dragon, and I wont be able to protect you. You should stay in the pasture within the fences.

“But I have been to the outskirts of the Great Shepherd’s pasture and have wonderful conversations with the Great Shepherd. And He told me that I was to tell you to knock down some of the fences so that the sheep could have freedom.”

“Oh Silly Lilly, the Great Shepherd only talks to the shepherds and then not that often. But He doesn’t need to. For He is only concerned with the abundance of these pastures and how many sheep we have and how they are getting along with each other. Why don’t you come back to earth and keep the pasture mowed and well fertilized like a good little sheep.”

“But the Great Shepherd calls me to fly.”

“Are you sure that was the Great Shepherd and not the Great Dragon. Are you so wise Silly Lilly. Because in your flying the Great Dragon can deceive you and make you think he is the Great Shepherd. It is even said he can transform himself into an Angel of Light.” Can you hold on a second Little Sheep Lilly.
“Johnnie how many times have I told you not to play with that two-edged sword. You know how many times you have hurt others and hurt yourself when you used to play with those daggers.

“But Shepherd Simon the eagle said this sword is a gift from the Great Shepherd. She said if I use it in Love it is for the healing of the sheep. The Great Shepherd said it was for the dividing of the soul and the spirit.”

“Johnnie you listen to me, I’ve heard enough about this. You are scaring the other sheep. They help me and are complaining that you want them to fight against the wolves. And they are saying that you sometimes hallucinate and see some of them as wolves. Stop this now. Who do you think you are a mighty warrior and the Great Physician all at once. How dare you be lifted up in pride. Why don’t you use that sword to intimidate Billy over there to quit wandering around outside of the fences. Every time he returns he has got one or two more scraggily sheep with him. Some of them don’t even have teeth and so he chews the grass for them and feeds them its juices. Plus they got flees! And the other sheep keep getting irritated because they don’t want to be infected by them. You know how they fear getting flies and ticks from scraggily sheep. Then the other day Billy brought in a sheep that had leprosy. And Helen said she was going to carry it for him and take it to the Great Shepherd. I tried to run that leprous sheep off. But Helen went with him and got him to a cave outside of the pasture fences. You know how Helen is, she thinks she can carry anything. Remember how burdened she used to be with all those rocks and twigs weighing her down. I tried to council her not to carry other people’s burdens. I swear as she left the camp she turned onto a leprous Ox. She took off for that tree on that far hill. I wish she wouldn’t do that. She doesn’t need to carry that burden also.”

“Now back to you Little Sheep Lilly.”

Ummm… Shepherd Simon. Well… Ummm… in my flying one day I saw Helens path to that tree and I lead her up there.

“You what! It seems every time my sheep get near that tree they start changing. That is where Billy says he was given his sword. That sword is going to be the death of some of the sheep and I hope he feels very sorry for it. And then there is that Glenn. He keeps wandering off to that tree. You know the one with only two branches and no leaves. He even said that he is mo longer able to work at fertilizing the pasture. And he keeps trying to invite people to just sit before that tree with him. But I have seen you flying up there and perching….Ahhhh Perching! I HATE IT! Sheep aren’t supposed to perch! What is my flock coming too! You know you are going to cause a falling away in this pasture Little Sheep Lilly. You and that Glenn. He keeps going into other pastures and tries to get them to sit in front of that tree with him. Good thing the other sheep are distracted by the cares of this world. Because as they feed on the grasses they richly fertilize our pasture. I even thought I saw him hanging from that tree. It looked like he was dying. I must have been hallucinating. But the rumors are that he is trying to get the others to voluntarily die on that tree. He says that if they join him and die together they will become one and even one with the Great Shepherd, Have you ever heard of anything so preposterous. I will have to have a talk with him.

“Then there are those sheep with the bows. They are going to hurt someone. I looked out of my lodge one night and those four sheep were heading up to that tree. When I cornered one of them on Sunday, she said they head up there to that tree to pray.

“I asked her why she couldn’t pray in the pasture.”

She said, it was only at that tree that they could get fully healed, cleansed, with eyes to see in the night. She said once their bodies turned and became strong and swift like horses that they could head into the thickets of death to fight the bats that torment the sheep at night. I asked her about the bats and she said,

“The bats are servants of the Great Dragon and they have strongholds all around the area. And they suck the life out of the sheep.”

“I told her that no way the bats could get past the sheep’s’ wool. And I told her that she was heading into very dangerous ground. And she agreed. Her agreement totally threw me. She said that is why they spend so much time at the tree. To make sure they are fully healed, fully strengthened, that the Great Shepherd is going with them and they know his battle plan.

“I tried to tell her to stay in safe country but she said they Love the other sheep, and the Great Shepherd wants them freed from the bats.

Because He Loves them and wants the land purified from their strongholds.”
“But I do have to say those four sheep do look very strong. The problem is; I never see any bats.

“Ummm… Shepherd Simon, you never spend any time with the sheep at night.

“Are you trying to criticize me? Are you judging me? You know I have to take care of my family in our lodge. Plus every time I am around the sheep too much they start trying to look under my clothes. They say they can smell something. How dare they look under my robes. How rude. Don’t they have any class. Plus what sheep would want to follow a smelly shepherd? Or a shepherd that smelled like a sheep. Don’t they know I am doing a great work for the Great Shepherd?

“I do have a small confession. I sometimes use some of that dignified shepherd cologne to distract the sheep. But that is our secret, ok?”

“But on another note. Then there is that Gooffy sheep. He keeps praying, ‘Oh God lets go out and get in trouble together.’ I cant believe he is so… well… Gooffy. The other day I saw him out in the Unsecure Plains and three wolves went to pounce on him. Just at that time a butterfly landed on his big toe. He bent over to get a closer look at it and all three wolves leaped right over him and right into each other. The butterfly flittered away and Gooffy didn’t even know that the wolves were even there and were now fighting each other. Then as he was chasing the butterfly it landed on a tree branch and Gooffy swung up into the tree just as a ram was about to butt him. The ram instead butted the tree and knocked itself out. I didn’t know rams could knock themselves out.

“I talked to Gooffy and told him to be careful and in a nice way that he wasn’t the most cleaver sheep in the flock. He agreed but you know what he told me. ‘The Great Shepherd appears to him at that tree and tells him which butterfly to chase that day

“Have you ever heard any thing so preposterous?”

“Oh No! You didn’t lead him up to that tree too. Did you?”

“Well… Ahhhh… No Shepherd Simon. But after I lead Helen up to that tree and Gooffy saw how the Great Shepherd healed the leprous sheep. He wanted Helen to lead him up there.

“What am I going to do with you. You know if Gooffy gets mauled or lost in a swamp its going to be all your fault. He has no sense. He just keeps saying, ‘I’m just following the butterflies that the Great Shepherd tells me to follow each day.’ He says he is being Gooffy for the Great Shepherd” I tried to council him. I tried to encourage him to find stability so he had resources to fall back on the stormy days when no butterflies flitter about. Where is the profit in it? Tell me where is the security? I asked. I tried to tell him that there is peace found in security. But he gave me some odd proverb about
‘True peace is not dependant
On the condition of the sea.’

At that point I was just tired and kind of exasperated and just figured it was another on of Gooffy’s goofy statements.

“Hey Little Lilly can you tell me about Gunthor. He really confuses me. First he flitters into the pasture in the shape of a butterfly and gets near a sheep or two. Then he starts to weep uncontrollably and wounds off the other sheep start appearing on him. I’ve noticed after that the wounds on the other sheep start healing after that. All the counseling I’ve done with them has never brought the slightest change in their lives, and I know it isn’t just coincidence because I personally know they have had these wounds for years. The other day he started weeping after walking through the flock and he had ten different wounds on him all of a sudden. You know I tried to pray for him when he is like that. I also brought him in for counseling, but he must be in denial. Every time I try to sooth his wounds he says they are not his. I’ve seen them on him and he still denies they are his. But every time he has those wounds he heads off to that tree and for some reason when he comes back he seems fine. Yeah I think he is in serious denial.

Then one day Gunthor changed right before my eyes and turned into a Lion. He comes to me with such regality but such sadness. And then he tells me that the Great Shepherd Loves me deeply. I’m the shepherd! I know that! Who does he think he is? … but I get so uncomfortable around him. His eyes are so hard to look into, sometimes he just stares, like he sees into my soul. Like he sees wounds inside of me and that makes me feel like he is going to pounce on me because he sees blood, but he never does. He tells me he Loves me and the Great Shepherd loves me, and that if I ever want someone to talk to, to come and find him. Then he changes back into a butterfly and flitters off. Never know when I’m going to see him again. I wonder when Gunthor is in his butterfly form if Gooffy has ever been told by the Great Shepherd to chase him. Ha Ha Ha. What am I saying! I’m starting to sound like all you who go up to that tree. That tree is going to be the death of me! And my flock! I’m going to head up to that tree and deal with that tree once and for all.”

“Shepherd Simon, may I go with you?”

“Yes Little Sheep Lilly it would be my pleasure”

“You know Shepherd Simon, all of us who go to the tree Love you very much.”

“That I have noticed but all of you who go up to that tree confuse me. You don’t stay inside the fences. You come and go as you please. Your not intimidated by my shepherd’s staff. And You talk as if the Great Shepherd is always with you and talking to you. It is all very strange.

“Talking about strange, here comes that Vivian. She has such a beautiful dress and she dances all the time. But those open wounds on her wrists cause her such pain but she always seems to be in such rapture.

“Hello Vivian”

“Hello Shepherd Simon”

“May I ask you something personal about your wrists?”

“Yes Shepherd Simon feel free.”

“Ahhhh…Well… Where did you get them?

“This may be hard to comprehend, Shepherd Simon, but they were a gift from the Lover of my soul, the Great Shepherd. You see, one day I was dancing before the tree and I saw the Great Shepherd crucified on that tree. The next thing you know I was hanging from a tree. While we were both crucified, He came nearer to me. To the point his face was against mine, I could feel his breath on my cheek. He then interlocked His fingers in mine. And we began to dance. We danced and danced it seemed like forever and I never wanted it to end. Then His face began to change. As we were standing face to face. I saw wounds start to appear on His face, I saw Him being beaten and I saw blood start to run down his face. The wounds were so horrendous that His face was no longer recognizable. He gripped my fingers even tighter so I couldn’t get away. Then his face changed even more, and for just a moment, his face changed into something that was almost demonic. So horrible and hideous I wanted to run, I wanted to let go, but He held my hands so Lovingly but firmly and said, ‘This is your sin that I willingly took upon me, because I Love you. I cried and cried.

“Our hands were still interlaced and then a spikes thrust through each of His wrists into mine. Each spike went through both of our wrists, so that we were bound together by the spikes. I am so thankful, Shepherd Simon, I never want the spikes to be removed. I never want to stop dancing with Him. For now I have become His bride.

“Little Sheep Lilly, I have never felt such great passion, never have I known that there was such deep intimacy available with the Great Shepherd. Little Sheep Lilly, will you lead me to the Cross?”

“You know my shepherd. I have waited and prayed for this day. It would be my pleasure to lead you there.”

Copyright 2007 James Wood

For more writings by James Wood:
http://www.xomba.com/the_garden_by_james_wood

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