Nature images

A number of years ago I was chaperoning a group of students on a ski trip and staying at a hotel in the Swiss Alps. One morning there was a snow storm raging outside the hotel, and as I looked out the window, I saw shepherd leading a dozen or so sheep through the snow up the hillside. They were following him single file. At the end of the line there was a little lamb that suddenly veered off the path and was heading away from the flock.

Somehow the shepherd was aware something was off, and he stopped and turned around to see what was happening. When he saw the lamb, he made some sort of a sound, not a word, but a sound or a call that I could hear through the hotel window. The lamb heard and recognized the sound, looked up at the shepherd, turned around, and got back in line. The shepherd and the flock then continued up the hill. That’s the extent of my experience with sheep.

When Jesus spoke to his followers, he spoke about experiences they would know and be familiar with, and shepherding was certainly something known to the people Jesus would be speaking to. He often used images from nature in his teachings, because these are images that almost everybody can connect with—images that can tell us something about God and about ourselves.

We can learn life lessons from immersing ourselves in nature. This requires us to slow down to nature’s pace, which can be a challenge, and really be present and notice what’s in front of us, letting nature be a teacher. Those of you who are gardeners or who enjoy gardens or who are bee-keepers or photographers or fans of walking in the woods probably know what I mean by slowing down and being present to what’s around you, taking it all in. It’s a way of experiencing the divine presence in the moment and place where we stand.

“Know that the Lord is God, our maker to whom we belong, whose people we are, God’s well-tended flock.” (Psalm 100:3)