“I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold…” John 10:16
Not long ago, I was standing in line to get a receipt at a gas station near Oklahoma City. I was wearing my black clerical uniform so it was obvious that I worked for the church. The woman behind the counter, maybe in her thirties, handed me my receipt, looked me up and down, and asked, “you a priest?”
“A pastor.” I responded.
“I believe in God.” She said firmly. “But I don’t go to church.”
A man behind me had one of those big twenty-four packs of water bottles impatiently perched on his shoulder. There wasn’t much time for conversation.
“Oh…” I mumbled. Not one of my greatest evangelical moments.
“I don’t think you need to go to church to be Christian.” She continued. “I think God just wants you to have a good time.”
“Really.” I said dubiously as the man pushed by me and dropped his water bottles on the counter.
I pondered that almost-conversation during the two hour drive home. I wondered why she felt compelled to share that bit of her life with me? Confession? Affirmation? Argument? I’ll never know. But Jesus’ words about “other sheep” came back to me somewhere toward the end of hour one.
Was this woman one of those “other sheep”? I know she was. Beloved by God, she heard God’s voice, even if she didn’t understand it the same way I do. Claimed by a God, who, I am convinced, will be with her even when the good times she seemed to be pursing failed her. I felt guilty about not doing more to “witness” to her, but, in fact, I realized she had witnessed to me. She bore witness to the Good Shepherd who is always out there beyond the fold working in the lives of people we, who are church folk, might think are the most unlikely candidates for membership in the flock.
God is at work in the world. I am convinced of that too. Sometimes through us. Sometimes in spite of us. Sometimes in places where we wouldn’t dream to look. That is, until the Spirit opens our eyes.
That’s where the Church of Jesus Christ needs to be. On the margins. In the cracks in human lives. In the gaps where so many people live. In the places where God’s sheep beyond the fold witness to the grace that belongs to all of us, ALL of us, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Peace,
Bishop Mike
Keep your eyes open for God at work in the people you bump into along the way! Thanks for reading.
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