Sermon Seeds: Like Lambs

Sunday, July 6, 2025
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost| Year C
(Liturgical Color: Green)

Lectionary Citations
2 Kings 5:1-14 and Psalm 30 • Isaiah 66:10-14 and Psalm 66:1-9 • Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16 • Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?z=p&d=63&y=384

Focus Scripture: Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
Focus Theme: Like Lambs
Series: Raise Her Voice: Into the Deep (Click here for the series overview.)

Reflection
By Cheryl A. Lindsay

Have you ever considered what life is like as a sheep? We often think of the metaphor of shepherd, for good reason, as we meditate and pray the words of Psalm 23 and consider Jesus’ self-identification as the Good Shepherd. Often, that reflection invites us to consider the work and role of the shepherd. The sheep in the narrative seem passive as they respond to what the shepherd is doing and provides for them. At the same time, sheep have an identity and character of their own. They are not inanimate objects; they are living beings. As such, they not only respond, they initiate action.

The shepherd leads them, but where do the sheep want to go? Do they even understand where the shepherd is taking them or keeping them? Don’t they have their own leaders and leadership structures? We know that sheep are highly socialized animals. They gather and live life together in flocks. They do have a hierarchy and will fight to maintain those stratifications. What would they do without a shepherd? Undomesticated, they would likely protect themselves, using their instincts and collective power to respond to and avoid predators, find food, and seek shelter.

Of course, sheep are mature lambs. Lambs, like all babies, begin to learn about their world. They nurse from their mothers for the first four or five months until those teeth fall out. Their adult teeth start to mature between their first and second year of life. Therefore, for a significant period of time, lambs live with little or no teeth.

To be a lamb is to be vulnerable. And, in the gospel passage, Jesus sends out his largest known delegation of disciples “like lambs.”

The extreme demands facing disciples on the way toward Jerusalem may cause many to hesitate, as exemplified in 9:57–62. The crowds are still a factor to be reckoned with, however, and the company of Jesus is also venturing into new territory, where the news of God’s reign and its tangible expression in acts of healing and hospitality have yet to be experienced. Using the image of a harvest, Jesus employs new workers, sending seventy-two of his followers as an advance team to bring the message of God’s approaching realm. They return bearing the excitement of a successful mission, yet Jesus’ words of instruction before their departure, and of reflective commentary after their return, indicate that resistance to the reign of God is intense. The stakes in the mission are high, and many contemporaries of Jesus and his disciples will neither hear nor heed the message they announce.
John T. Carroll

Lambs live a dangerous life as they begin to navigate the world even as they develop the essential tools they will need to mature, especially to feed themselves. In his instructions, Jesus makes this particular mission clear. It’s a training exercise, yet at the same time, what happens is real. The expectations are not performative at all; they have been sent to minister in the name and authority of the Chosen One. Jesus seems to advise them to pray for themselves and for more like them: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Following that, he informs them they will be like lambs among wolves—these are not words of assurance. This is a commissioning service, and Jesus, in a particularly Lukan account, continues to prepare those who will follow to lead beyond his physical presence among them.

Only Luke narrates a second commissioning of disciples (a larger group beyond the apostles) for duty as evangelists, a preview of the mission to the whole world that will form the subject of Luke’s second book to Theophilus….The first task is to recruit additional workers, and Jesus taps seventy-two of his followers to complement the efforts of the twelve apostles (seventy-two others); he sends them to all the places he intends to visit himself (10:1). Like the messengers to Samaria (and like John the baptizing prophet before them), they will be an advance team whose task is to prepare for Jesus’ arrival (cf. 7:27; 9:51–53), but like the apostles they will also bring the message of God’s reign and the gift of healing (9:2, 6; 10:9, 11). The number seventy-two shows that beyond the Twelve the crowds accompanying Jesus include a large group of nameless disciples who have accepted the costs of following him. It also hints at the world mission to come in Acts, as various traditions held that there were seventy-two nations in the world). Sent out in pairs, they will bear credible testimony (cf. Num 35:30; Deut 19:15), both to the towns they visit and against the towns that reject their message. What is that message? The approach of God’s reign (Luke 10:9, 11), and the offer of peace that reign makes possible (v. 5).
John T. Carroll

Continuing to consider the analogy from the animals’ perspectives, wolves are also communal animals that run in packs. They are highly socialized with a hierarchy of their own. Sheep and wolves may have common traits and cultures, yet it’s important to note that relationally, wolves are predators and sheep would be their prey. The strength of the wolf pack affords its dominance in the hunt; the sheep band together in flocks, in part, for protection against the variety of predators threatening their existence.

Jesus forms his followers into communal groups and sends them in pairs, not as wolves, but as sheep. They are vulnerable, and to the wolves they encounter, they seemingly pose no threat. Yet, the world will come for them. That’s the warning that accompanies the instruction. However, a common tactic among predators is to divide and conquer. In other words, they will attempt to isolate one from the many in order to weaken, dismantle, and overcome their prey.

Therefore, Jesus advises the seventy-two on how to respond to the disparate ways they will be received on the journey. He divides that advice into two categories, seemingly letting them know that when they find other sheep, to make a home among their flock. But, when they encounter wolves, depart with a public demonstration of word and deed. Jesus does not invite them to try to persuade those who indicate no openness to the good news or to those who outright reject it. The most fruitful use of their time, energy, and presence is spent among those who receive them. The gospel is not imposed by will, domination, or fight; it’s an invitation to be accepted or rejected.

When the seventy-two return with joy, amazement, and powerful testimony, Jesus tempers their celebration. Like Jesus, the followers who will carry forth his mission will also encounter the rejection and resistance Jesus has and will face.

Satan’s fall is often understood as a mythological primordial event. Joel B. Green (1997, 419) pushes it toward the future. But Satan’s fall is manifest in the success of the seventy-two, though struggles against evil continue… .Because God’s commonwealth is an alternative to Rome’s, the dangers for the seventy-two are sociopolitical, like Jesus’ crucifixion. Evil, however, exceeds its manifestations in imperialism.
Robert L. Brawley

Rejoice that heaven holds your name is the assurance Jesus offers them. They have his authority, they will also have his challenges. They have been commissioned and will be sent throughout their lives in the name of the Lamb. Jesus not only identifies as the Good Shepherd; Jesus is the Lamb of God. Thus, to be sent like lambs is to be sent as Jesus was sent and to be like Jesus in the sending.

They, and we, have been commissioned…like lambs.

Reflection from Voices of People of African Descent
The 33rd General Synod adopted a Resolution to Recognize the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024). As part of its implementation, Sermon and Weekly Seeds offers Reflection from Voices of People of African Descent related to the season or overall theme for additional consideration in sermon preparation and for individual and congregational study.
I didn’t move to the quarter. I took some cookhouse advice that I’d once heard Luke give to Nigel. “Don’t argue with white folks,” he had said. “Don’t tell them ‘no.’ Don’t let them see you mad. Just say ‘yes, sir.’ Then go ’head and do what you want to do. Might have to take a whippin’ for it later on, but if you want it bad enough, the whippin’ won’t matter much.”
There were a few whip marks on Luke’s back, and I’d twice heard Tom Weylin swear to give them company. But he hadn’t. And Luke went about his business, doing pretty much as he pleased. His business was keeping the field hands in line. Called the driver, he was a kind of black overseer. And he kept this relatively high position in spite of his attitude. I decided to develop a similar attitude—though with less risk to myself, I thought. I had no intention of taking a whipping if I could avoid it, and I was sure Kevin could protect me if he was nearby when I needed him.
Anyway, I ignored Margaret’s ravings and continued to disgrace her Christian house.
And nothing happened.
Tom Weylin was up early one morning and he caught me stumbling, still half-asleep, out of Kevin’s room. I froze, then made myself relax.
“Morning, Mr. Weylin.”
He almost smiled—came as near to smiling as I’d ever seen. And he winked.
That was all. I knew then that if Margaret got me kicked out, it wouldn’t be for doing a thing as normal as sleeping with my master. And somehow, that disturbed me. I felt almost as though I really was doing something shameful, happily playing whore for my supposed owner. I went away feeling uncomfortable, vaguely ashamed.
Time passed. Kevin and I became more a part of the household, familiar, accepted, accepting. That disturbed me too when I thought about it. How easily we seemed to acclimatize. Not that I wanted us to have trouble, but it seemed as though we should have had a harder time adjusting to this particular segment of history—adjusting to our places in the household of a slaveholder. For me, the work could be hard, but was usually more boring than physically wearing. And Kevin complained of boredom, and of having to be sociable with a steady stream of ignorant pretentious guests who visited the Weylin house. But for drop-ins from another century, I thought we had had a remarkably easy time. And I was perverse enough to be bothered by the ease.
Octavia E.. Butler, Kindred

For Further Reflection
“Lambs have little chance to follow the right path if the shepherds go astray.” – Joseph B. Wirthlin
“The wolf always charges the lamb with muddying the stream.” – Elihu Root
“To my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Works Cited
Brawley, Robert L. “Luke.” Gale A. Yee, Ed. Fortress Commentary on the Bible: Two Volume Set. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014.
Carroll, John T. Luke. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012.

Suggested Congregational Response to the Reflection
During this series, Raise Her Voice: Into the Deep, in the season after Pentecost, we invite the local church to listen to Spirit speaking among us by developing the practices of testimony and exhortation. In testimony, one recounts how the Holy One has been present, moved, and guided in the past. In exhortation, one shares discernment based on what Spirit is still speaking to the church today. This may be done during worship as an immediate response to proclamation or in another format (i.e. blog posts, short videos on social media).

Worship Ways Liturgical Resources
https://www.ucc.org/worship-way/after-pentecost-4c-july-6/

The Rev. Dr. Cheryl A. Lindsay, Minister for Worship and Theology (lindsayc@ucc.org), also serves a local church pastor, public theologian, and worship scholar-practitioner with a particular interest in the proclamation of the word in gathered communities. You’re invited to share your reflections on this text in the comments on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SermonSeeds.

A Bible study version of this reflection is at Weekly Seeds.