From Sheep to Wine

We were blessed with having a sampling of farm animals from Shepherd's Farm and we were glad that Stephen Cousins was able to help us out. It helped draw attention to the World of Gifts project of the PWRDF and our desire to make helping others a major focus of our 250th Anniversary activities.

There’s a parable that Jesus told about a lost sheep that was lived out for real last week.

I didn’t get to see if for myself but, after the worship (when most of us were enjoying the potluck), as they were putting the animals back into the truck, the sheep made a dash for it. I can only imagine the hilarious sight of Stephen and Harley chasing a sheep in -14 degree weather. I can only imagine being the innocent guy just out for a stroll on a Sunday when suddenly he sees a sheep running towards him, being chased by two people. This heroic stranger managed to corral the sheep long enough for Stephen and Harley to capture the sheep and return it to the truck.

Imagine that! A parable lived out in real life. When Jesus asked the crowd what farmer would leave the 99 sheep to find the one lost sheep, they all knew the answer. Every shepherd looks for that one lost sheep. Even in - 14 degree weather. How much more does God love us? So much that God would send Jesus, risking his very life so that we would know the Word of Love.

The joy in the faces of Stephen and Harley was obvious. They found that lost sheep and saved it from the busy Charlottetown streets.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep is about what God will do to find us and bring us home. And it is about our search for God, for completion, for that one thing that makes us whole, that makes us 100%.

It’s a journey fraught with fears and doubts - and just when we think all is lost, that it’s all coming to an end, here comes the wine steward with fresh wine, with the best wine.

Wine is often a symbol of life. The wedding feast doesn’t have to end, not while we have Jesus who will bless us with an abundance of joy as we see our wholeness, as we seek our holiness.