I have always thought that the suggestion that we are like sheep was a bit offensive. I always thought that the metaphor was a cheap shot at us, because I – probably like most people – always considered sheep to be a particularly dim witted animal. That is, until very recently.

Do not ask me why, but not too long ago I read an article where scientists had tested – and I cannot begin to imagine why, or how – but they tested the IQ of sheep, and it turns out that in the intelligent stakes, they are on par with cattle, and only slightly lower than Pigs. Anyway, what led to sheep being tested in the first place was that there was a flock in Yorkshire, England which over time developed problem solving abilities.

Do you all know what I mean when I talk about a cattle grid? Well these are those metal grids that are placed in the ground in place of a gate. The principle behind the grid is simple – the metal bars are placed far enough apart so that a the leg of an animal with hooves such as a cow or a sheep, would fall between the grids – the animals learn pretty quickly that this is not wise, and thus avoid them. They have been used all over the world to keep animals in certain boundaries – on the road to Alice Springs, which is where that photograph was taken, grids cross the highway to keep the cattle together. So back to this flock of sheep in Yorkshire; they worked out that if they rolled on their backs over the grid, that they could escape the paddock.[i] They could be set free from their fleeced, grass eating bondage. I imagine the situation to be somewhat like a Wallace and Grommet episode; the flock of sheep, under the cover of darkness, with dark lines painted under their eyes, approach the grid, crouching down in the dust, and one by one, on the given signal, roll their way to freedom, accompanied by the leader sheep whistling the theme music to ‘The Great Escape.’ All of a sudden, being compared to a sheep isn’t so bad.

In this day and age, the concept of Jesus being a Shepherd carries with it an entirely different meaning from the one implied in the text of John’s Gospel. Today, a shepherd, more often than not, is a generalist farmer – with sheep being but one of the many facets of the farm’s produce that keeps it all ticking over. Farmer’s these days drive dual cab four wheel drives, or ride off road motorbikes to keep an eye on their flock. We’ve all seen no doubt the expert farmers, with their highly trained sheep dogs, who can move a flock of sheep through gates, and around obstacles with a simple whistle and command. Although not riveting viewing, a well paired and practiced team of shepherd and sheep dog, moving a flock in harmony, is still a unique sight to behold. But that, with the exception of the sheep, has nothing to do with the concept of Jesus being a shepherd.

In the ancient middle-east, shepherds had a very hard life, since they endured and faced all the hardships of the tough landscape through which they herded their flock. They literally ate, slept and spent all their time with their flock – it was their life. They faced head on, all the dangers and difficulties that the flock faced, and they were just as vulnerable – to the extreme heat of the day, the bitter cold at night, and to the many predators, both animal and human that haunted their paths. I am sure that shepherds lived with the reality of sleeping with one eye open. When they could sleep, without the fear of predators, they slept in the same location as their flock, and were therefore seen as poor prospects as husbands and fathers, since they had to leave families alone and vulnerable at night. If a shepherd were to be lucky enough to have found a wife, due to their being away from home, and being unable to protect the honour of their household they were considered to be dishonourable men – little more than common thieves. In terms of a career path being a shepherd, was right up there in Jewish society with being a ass driver, a tanner, a sailor, a butcher, or a camel driver – basically you were perpetually unclean and unfit for a relationship with God, which meant you were unfit for a place in general society, which meant you were literally a nobody. And yet this is who Jesus identifies himself with. Because that is the life Jesus lives for and with us.

Having been one of the most vulnerable, Jesus journeys with societies most vulnerable and takes on all of their vulnerabilities. He knows what it is like to be out in the cold. Jesus knows what he is saying when he calls people to leave their homes and villages, and even their families, since he had done the same himself. He knows what it is like to have people think less of you, or think you’re crazy or irresponsible because of what you leave behind and let go of, because people have said and still say those things about him and hopefully, his followers.

It is no coincidence that in Luke’s Gospel, God chose shepherds in the field, watching their flocks by night as the first to receive the Good News of the birth of the Messiah. As an expectant father myself, my guess is that you want to tell everyone of the birth of your child, yet God chose specifically who would be the first to know. These men, who were considered to be dishonourable, social outcasts, were the first to be told the Good News, because the coming of the Messiah was the best news to the vulnerable of society. This new king, this shepherd king would make for an upside down kingdom - a place where the first shall be last, and the last shall be first – the shepherds, who were the least in the kingdom of men, would be among the first in the kingdom of God.

All through the story of God’s revelation to humanity – all throughout the scriptures we find displayed in action, word and deed God’s heart for the vulnerable. The widow, the orphan and the stranger are the trinity of God’s concern for creation, because it was these three groups of people who were the most vulnerable in a society which was structured around the family unit. Without a family who would stand by you in solidarity, in the ancient word, you were nothing. The shepherd, who likewise was often without family connections, could identify must more easily with the orphan, the widow and the alien.

As sheep we will recognise the shepherd’s voice and follow him where ever he leads. Through the dangers, toils and snares of life, on the well trodden paths and the narrow sheep tracks of life, we are called to follow. Will it be safe, following this shepherd? Not all the time – with bandits and thieves at the ready – following the shepherd who calls us by name, means taking up our cross daily, and following his lead through this life.

However, this other life – this crazy life of being on societies outer – of not making sense to the rank and file of the world – this life of the shepherd, that he calls his sheep by name to follow is not an ‘other life’ – it is the call to ‘life.’ It is the life of modern society, of economics and investments, or globalisation and rationalisation that is the other life – the life that Jesus calls us to, is the abundant life – life live following the shepherd, in loving, caring relationship with God, with each other’s needs ahead of our own – that is the life of Jesus, the abundant life to which we’re called.

Last Sunday morning, I challenged us all to going into the week to share our stories of the ordinary of life, seeking for God in all things, and breaking bread as a sign of the Risen Jesus. Well, I did not know it then, but the very next day – bright and early in the morning, I was breaking bread with colleagues in the city. At very late notice, I was invited to attend a World Vision Church Leader’s breakfast with the Rev. Tim Costello and Professor Dr. David Batstone. The breakfast was held to launch World Vision’s latest campaign, called ‘Don’t Trade Lives.

Who here saw ‘Amazing Grace’ when it was released last year? Who will admit to the fact that they teared up at the end, when William Wilberforce was told that his bill to end slavery had finally been passed, and that it was now only a matter of time before slavery was abolished? Wasn’t that a moving moment? Did you think to yourself in that moment, as I did, isn’t it a great thing that this evil blight is no more, and that it was brought about by a man’s firm belief in the Kingdom of God? This was the church, in certain parts, being as a shepherd to standing with the most vulnerable and walking them to safety.

The call is upon the church to once again stand in solidarity and give a voice to the most vulnerable in our world. More than 200 years have past since Christian reformer Wilberforce successfully campaigned for the end of state-sanctioned slavery, yet slavery still exists today. Today, slavery is referred to as ‘Human Trafficking’ and the estimates believe that their could be as many as 27 Million people bonded in this way. What that means, is that if those numbers are even remotely accurate, that there are most slaves in the world today, then there was in the entire 400 years of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

We were told, just in passing on Monday morning, that of the estimated 27 million slaves in the world today that four out of five are women, and three out of five are aged under 16 years. As it did for William Wilberforce many years ago, the modern slave trade of human trafficking calls us again to a gospel which is not just about what happens when we die nor how close we feel to Jesus in our worship; it is a gospel which seeks salvation from the systems of the world which would dehumanise people and promote an ever growing gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots.’ It is a gospel where our own salvation should be so rich and freeing – so abundant in life – that we are provoked into action. It is a gospel call to do justice, show mercy and walk humbly with our God. It is a gospel call to a new way of living, an abundant way of living which can change everything.

A primary focus of World Vision’s “Don’t Trade Lives” campaign is on the coffee and chocolate industries. To use the words of Tim Costello, “Chocolate is a luxury item that adds to our waistline and often makes us feel guilty. Yet if we were aware of the exploitation and dangers children in the cocoa fields of West Africa are forced to ensure, chocolate would also make us feel sick.” 70% of the world’s cocoa, which is the basis for the chocolate we enjoy, comes from the Western African Nations of Ivory Coast and Ghana, and there are over 600,000 children working in these Cocoa fields. The vast majority of these children will not be paid for their work, and over half will never attend a school. There are claims that in the worst cases children as young as six are being forced to work 80-100 hours a week. Evidence suggests that up to 12,000 children have been trafficked into West Africa to work in the Cocoa fields. Recently, Police in the Ivory Coast liberated 200 children from a farm, while capturing a convoy of fake ambulances which was being used to fool authorities to smuggle perfectly health stolen children into the country so become slave.

The Chocolate industry is worth countless billions of dollars annually to the world economies, and most of the profits are earned off the back of these children. The CEO of Mars alone is worth $10 billion. However, in 2001 after a great media furore, the head of the major chocolate manufacturers, agreed to a voluntary protocol which aimed to establish credible standards of public certification that ensured cocoa production was free of the worst forms of child labour practices and slavery in Ivory Coast and Ghana. This process was meant to be complete by July 2005. They failed to meet this deadline. In truth, they failed to even begin this process. They gave themselves a new deadline of July 2008 – a deadline which will go sailing past again, with no signs of the industry adhering to their protocol. And why would they, if people like us do not know what is going on, why would we care how the chocolate comes to us?

As sheep who follow in the well worn foot marks of the Good Shepherd, the Shepherd who came to preach Good News to the poor, and liberation to the oppressed and life abundant. What can be our response to this tragedy? Hopefully, I can hear you asking, “But what can we do, in the face of all this money, power and apathy?” We can do plenty. Never believe for one second, that one voice cannot make a difference. As the Dalai Lama is quoted as saying, “"If you think you are too small to make a difference - try sleeping with a Mosquito".

World Vision have a four fold strategy for confronting this problem, and they would like us, as followers of the Good Shepherd to join in at what ever level we feel called, and are able

• We must implore Local governments, particularly in Africa, but elsewhere around the world, to must enforce domestic and international laws which prohibit child exploitation and trafficking. They must also tackle corruption.

• Big Chocolate manufacturers and exporters bear a lot of the responsibility in tackling this issue. We need to demand that they:

· Reassess their supply chains so that the products we buy are child labour- and human trafficking-free and guarantee farmers a fair price for their cocoa

· Publicly outline a time-bound Plan of Action to ensure their products are free of human exploitation. We call on them to do this by Christmas 2008 and to engage a wide group of stakeholders in the development of this plan.

• Retailers should stock ethical, or what is called “Fair Trade” chocolate. Retailers should convey to manufacturers that the Australian public will not tolerate buying goods made by exploiting children.
• You and I should not boycott our favourite chocolates, since this only hurts poor farming families even more. Instead, we should use our voices to demand ethical chocolate from manufacturers, and our purchasing power to support Fair Trade Chocolates and Coffee.

I have not given this sermon in order to make us all feel guilty, nor to make a political statement. Buying chocolate is such an innocuous thing in this country and I always feel guilty about indulging because it adds inches to my waist line, and only harms myself. But the simple facts are, that buying and consuming chocolate does not just affect me, it seriously and dangerously affects the lives of countless children in Africa.

The Good Shepherd knew what it was to stand with the world’s most vulnerable people. And as a response to his leading, as a response to his voice, the voice of the Good Shepherd that calls his sheep, that calls us to have and share abundant life and to love our neighbour as ourselves, how will we respond when children, the most vulnerable of our world are being exploited for love of money and chocolate. Will we be like the traditional sheep and follow the leader, follow the crowd who shops without a second thought or will we be more like those smart cattle grid rolling sheep and consider the impact of our day to day living on the most vulnerable of the Good Shepherd’s sheep?