Lazy Geese and the Call to Life

And over the course of their short lives, these geese would gorge themselves at constantly refilled troughs of grain until they were so fat they could hardly walk, let alone waddle. He imagined they felt their lives were perfect as every need they had was catered in abundance. When autumn came, the truth became apparent. The wild geese that had spent the warm summer months in Denmark gathered in preparation for their southerly migration. They circled the skies above the farms, calling out to others to join in their flight. On hearing this the domesticated geese lifted their heads from the feeding troughs and looked into the skies at their untamed cousins. Listening to the call of the wild, they became animated, running as best they could around their enclosures emulating flight. Their gluttonous diet and life of luxury meant they were far too heavy to become airborne – did they really want to join their untamed cousins on such a perilous journey? Their instincts, however, drove them to emulate flight on the ground. As the wild geese flew off, the fattened, domesticated geese returned to their barnyard existence, ignorant of the farmer’s grim ultimate purpose – they were destined for the dinner table. Kierkegaard’s parable goes on to tell of a wild goose who looked with dismay at his domesticated cousins. In the interest of food and luxury, they had given up flight for the mediocrity of the barnyard. With splendid motivation, he decided to spend some time with them to help each awaken to their true calling and join the others in wild flight. Sadly, he lived there until he himself was tamed. Every year, when the wild geese honked in flight overhead, he like the others fluttered his wings, rose a bit and resolved to join them. But he never did. Instead, he became content to remain with the tamed and flightless – destined for the table. (Retold by Alan Hirsh in ‘Untamed.’) This is a parable of life and our world. Most of us succumb to the comfort and ease of the life of the domesticated geese, giving in to the seductions and distractions of life never fully aware of the life we are missing. Powerful and influential voices abound, many themselves serving these systems of servitude, to persuade us that we need more and more of everything – and then we will live. We need more wealth and prosperity, power and status, influence, experiences. Whilst we accumulate all of this in order to live, we miss the deep voice of wisdom inviting us into life that is rich and deep. In a world where power and violence are the means of influence and control, there is a voice calling us into love and justice, of breaking down barriers and building connections that are life-giving for all people and for the Earth itself. We watch war played out on our screens as a daily game between dangerous narcissistic fools, and feel the anxious desire for something different, another way. We feel deeply disturbed by the images and stories of innocent people killed, communities broken apart and young men and women sacrificed for the egos of ignorant, selfish, powerhungry men who should never be allowed to lead and rule. Into all of this we hear stories of faith. Communities will read the beloved Psalm 23, of God, the Shepherd, who leads us into places of peace and life-giving renewal; through valleys where death’s shadow lurks and confronts. We will read from John’s story of Jesus (John 10:1-18), where Jesus speaks of himself as the gate to the sheepfold, through which the sheep can come in and go out. He speaks of others who climb in to steal and destroy – they are thieves and robbers. He speaks of himself as the Good Shepherd and the sheep hear his voice and know his voice. The Good Shepherd lays his life down for the sheep and the sheep follow because they know his voice. There are so many images and metaphors here, along with cultural idiosyncrasies that it isn’t easy to see through and follow the storyline. What I realise, however, is the difference between the Good Shepherd, and those who may be other, who enter the sheepfold by another way or who would lead the sheep in an alternate path. There are smooth and seductive voices with stories that capture our imagination and lead us into distracted ways of accumulation, violence and alienation. What strikes me in the whole analogy of shepherds and sheep is that in Palestine in Jesus’ time, as elsewhere today, sheep are commodities. The shepherds protected the sheep not out of love but out of duty and because they were valuable. The shepherds cared for the sheep in some extraordinary ways to protect them from theft and danger – because they had to deliver them to the place of slaughter. The point came when the shepherd gave the flock over for sacrifice. There was, in Jerusalem, the Sheep Gate. This was a gate in the North-eastern wall of the ancient city where animals for sacrifice in the Temple were brought in and left for their sacrificial end.  Jesus, as the Good Shepherd, subverts this way of the world! Instead of delivering the sheep for slaughter and sacrifice, the Good Shepherd gave himself as a sacrifice to break open a system of violence, scapegoating, sacrifice and abuse. The Crucified Risen One becomes the way into a new and different life, lived in generous hospitality, reconciled relationships, forgiveness, peace and hope. It is a path that is grounded in love and justice, inclusive community and connected lives that serve the well-being of all people – and the very Earth itself. Jesus life, death and resurrected life turn the systems and powers of the world upside down and invokes a different agenda in the world. We are liberated to hear the call of the wild goose (in Celtic lands a symbol of the Holy Spirit) and follow the untamed life. Earlier in John’s story there is a section where Jesus speaks of the Spirit, like wind, blowing where it will and we cannot control or define it. We are invited let go and fly free in the Spirit’s power, rather than feed at the endless trough of accumulation and greed, overfilling ourselves to the point of uncomfortable dis-ease, where we yearn but are not able to let go and live. In the systems of our world, people become commodities or cogs in the economic machine on an endless treadmill of non-living and always dreaming of the future that never arrives. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, upended such systems and invites us to hear his gentle voice, to follow him and to enter the gate that is the way of love, justice, hope and peace. This is the way for a world teetering out of control where violence and greed are rampant.