A Sermon In There Somewhere

This morning as I was driving down I-95 a rather unusual business name caught my eye. I was passed by a septic tank truck. There was nothing unusual about the truck, people with septic tanks occasionally need the services of a removal truck. It was what was written on the truck that I caught my eye. I remember seeing another such truck on the highway once and the logo on the back struck me as memorable; it said “smells like money to me!” That seemed appropriate and somewhat witty for a septic truck. But on this truck the company name was “Good Shepherd Septic Service.”

Good Shepherd Septic Service! Even the G & S were written in gothic script – like on our church letterhead - - Good Shepherd Septic Service. My first thought was, “you’ve got to be kidding me.” My second thought was, “Okay, there’s got to be sermon material in here somewhere.” Well, if not a sermon there should at least be a bog site article.

I don’t want to be crude or crass but a shepherd does do some pretty dirty work sometimes. One of my first jobs was mucking out horse stalls. My son is applying for a job at the zoo this summer and I bet if he gets it, it will involve similar activities.

So how does this mornings’ little epiphany fit with our parish’s name? Well what came to mind immediately were exorcisms and house blessings. It may not smell like money but it sure reminds me of the spiritual equivalent of my early equestrian career. Not all of the duties of a shepherd are clean and pristine. Some resemble in the spirit what that guy with the dirty job show does on TV.

Many times I and my fellow priests have been called out to do a dirty job in the spiritual realm. And in every case that I can recall the results have been noticeable if not remarkable.

Jesus, THE Good Shepherd gave us the example. He is the one who gave us the analogy of sheep and shepherd. Sheep are dirty critters, and shepherds don’t usually traipse about in pretty ropes. They live with the sheep, they care for them, lead them, protect them—and yes clean up after them Jesus even went so far as to descend among the dead in order to lead captivity captive.

So with that in mind, when people have a dirty little problem in their house or when someone needs to be set free from a demonic bondage in their life maybe the Good Shepherd Septic Service should be just another ministry of our parish. That’s what we do, we empty that stuff out in the spirit, and when we are done Jesus said the house is “swept and put in order” (Mt. 12:44 & Lk. 11:25). We are to live in the Spirit and are not to be tormented by the evil one. Church of the Good Shepherd has a ‘vehicle’ for spiritual muck removal and shepherds who are not afraid to get their hands dirty in the process. In the end we intend to see God’s flock, safe, free and clean!

Blessings,
Fr. Martin +