This has been an interesting week for me. I should tell you up front that yesterday I graduated from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, the school I’ve been studying at for 4 years to become a Pastor. It was a wonderful day for me. Some of you were there and you know how special it was for me to have my wife Rhonda and my children, Dylan and Christina, put my hood on (which is what you do to someone graduating from seminary).

But try as I might to stop the rest of my life to celebrate this special day, do you think that my graduation was the only thing in life that showed up on my radar screen this week? Is that the way life works? Of course not. So if you’re going to have something as wonderful and significant as a graduation in your life, then you must have something to counteract it; say, a broken sewer line. Yes, isn’t life full of surprises.

Yes, a broken sewer line. My plumber said dig or pay. And I’ve been digging ever since. Or so it seems. Each time I find an underground pipe, I stop, call the plumber, and pray. Please, let this be the stupid sewer main. Twice my plumber has come back and said no, you’ve found the water main, you’ve found the gas main. Finally, 8 feet down and fifty feet later I found the sewer main. And at that moment on Monday, finding that pipe was more important than anything else I was doing, including graduating!!!

So I don’t know what you do when you’re digging a fifty foot sewer line that reaches a depth of 8 feet, but what I do is think about my sermon. There are only so many hours in the week. So there I was, caked in dirt, dripping with perspiration, bones and muscles and joints aching; dig, dig dig; thinking about Jesus as the Good Shepherd. The good shepherd, I’m a city guy, I have no idea what a shepherd really does! Now that might not be the case for some of you out here in Rio Linda. For goodness sake, just a few short months ago, I think I saw Karen Durnay wander into church with a sheep to announce some 4H event. But I would wager that most of you sitting out there have not been exposed to shepherds to any great extent in your lives.

Now remember, as I’m thinking about this, I’m digging away like a little gopher. What possibly would God have me say about Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Dig, dig, dig. I mean, I get it about the sheep - so often I live my life just like a sheep; head down, wandering off to nibble on every enticing clump of grass that might come along until I’ve nibbled my way to the foot of the wolf’s den. Dig, dig, dig. I even get it about the hired workers; the ones who book on out of there at the first sign of the wolf because doing the job and getting paid is fine in the good times; but it sure isn’t worth sticking it out when times get tough and there might actually be a cost to take care of the things that have been placed right in front of me. Dig, dig, dig. But the shepherd; I don’t get that. I haven’t seen what a shepherd does; what a shepherd’s life entails. Dig, dig, dig. What possible insight can this city boy pastor wannabe bring out of this text.

Finally, giving up on my ditch and my sermon, I crawl out of this incredible hole that runs the length of my backyard, and just stare at it, wondering if this digging will ever end. And it hits me like a ton of bricks what I haven’t understood about the shepherd. The shepherd isn’t just there to beat off the wolves although that’s an important part of the job. But the most important part of the shepherd’s work is the guidance, the direction, the appropriate limitations, the encouragement that allows the sheep to live peaceful, content and safe lives. Now maybe you town and country folk understand this by knowing how animals are cared for on ranches; but I finally got this by looking at this ditch I am digging. You see, a sewer line is a rather essential component of city life. And I’m thinking about a sewer line as a symbol of faith. I can’t possibly preach on this; not on Mother’s Day? But then I think, Hey, if there is any group of people on the planet who appreciate a good waste disposal system it’s mothers, yes mothers, who change countless diapers of those in their care. Yes, the sewer line; now there’s something us city slickers can understand and appreciate. Without it, let’s just say, the waste of life you would just as soon flush away ends up spilling out, everywhere. In the city, we need the direction, the flow, the limits that a sewer pipeline provides so that we can live safe, clean, and healthy lives.

And looking at this then as a Christian, a person of faith; the question is simply this: Am I willing to funnel my life through Christian practices so that I live a life that ends up where God wants it to go. And what is the pipeline of faith: prayer and meditation, being still to listen to God; worship; tithing; serving the poor and outcast, being humble enough to listen to other people (even if they are very different from us). These are the practices of faith (the well-worn pathways we read together in the 23^rd Psalm). And that is the pipeline we are called to pour ourselves into. Sometimes I think we get distracted by the life-saving nature of the good shepherd (and it is there). But what is even more critical I believe is the guiding hand of the shepherd, the hand that directs us toward a new life; a new way of living.

Think of the elementary school teacher and parents who take the class on a field trip. They are protecting them as they walk though the busy streets; you’ve seen them haven’t you. That protection is important and I would assume that those adults would sacrifice their lives to protect those children in an emergency. But the whole point of the outing, the entire point of the "shepherding" done by these adults is to give the children a learning opportunity whereby their lives will be enhanced and their educations broadened. Know then that Jesus is your lifesaver; truly he has laid down his life for you. But will you also let this compassionate shepherd be your guide? Will you flow into the Way of Jesus; the ancient practices of the Church? Will you help others to realize the peace and joy that such a life brings even when the sewer line breaks?!

Over the course of the last couple weeks, I have been repeatedly struck by the number of people who have been a witness to me of the Way of Jesus as I pursued the call to become a pastor. Hundreds of people who supported me, prayed for me, helped me financially, encouraged me in this journey. I would hazard a guess that if each of you stops for just a moment to think about all those who God has sent to shepherd you in your life, you will recognize just how blessed you are. This is why we come to church each Sunday; to hear the Word of God, the invitation now goes out to come to the table where you will find forgiveness; soon we will pray together as the people of God, asking God to provide all our needs. We are in this wonderful pipeline we call the Church; together we set out on the Way, following Jesus. May each of you allow God to draw you more fully into this new way of being. Amen.