Sunday, May 21, 2006

Green Group: A Good Question

Yesterday, I got to visit a home group from one of our churches. They call it Ge[a]r-ing Group.

The first word is from the Mongolian word for home (Ger), which is pronounced like the english word, Gear. The second word is borrowed like many Russian words heard here if there is no Mongolian equivalent. Together the term means home group, and when said quickly by Mongolians, sounds like Green Group.

Our friend and his wife met us at church on foot and walked us to the group's weekly meeting place. An older lady, near 60, greeted us and showed us into her house. It had two rooms, the smaller of which was the kitchen with a small sheet-metal stove for cooking and heating the house. We met in this room. Outside her home was a fairly large fenced area, where some vegetables were recently planted. She was teased about being wealthy because she had two baby calves and a pig.

About twelve people crowded into a tight circle. Our friends led the group in a couple songs, prayed, and them spoke from their Bible on John Chapter 10. Jesus likens people to sheep, and identifies himself as the Good Shepherd. The passage is read and explained and then questions are invited. One older lady finally asks, "Why does Jesus compare people with this animal, with sheep?" I don't know enough of the culture yet to know whether this seems really odd to Mongolians (like calling someone an old goat in our culture). I know that sheep are one of the 5 respected farm animals of Mongolia. (The others are Camel, Cattle, Goats, and Horses) I suppose it was just a good question Jesus want us to think about. So what do you think?

Mongolia has about 5 times more sheep than people. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Mongolians drawn to one of Jesus's many anaologies involving sheep. An amazing teacher, Jesus often uses the concrete world around us to explaing invisible or abstract things to come. What is God's Kingdom like, Who His Our Father, and how do we find comport, health and healing, in the arms of these mysterious Truths?

Feel free to post your insight to why Jesus compares people to sheep. Or if He entered your world today, what in your concrete world (or your workplace -- He was probably talking to shepherds about about their livlihood: sheep) would he use to lead you to Life abundant?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Though cute and cuddly, sheep are dumb. If not properly shepherded, they will follow a trail of grass right into a wolf's den. They are also helpless, cannot defend themselves. They need protection and guidance. Positively, they somehow know their shepherd's voice from a stranger's voice, and they are gentle and communal creatures. This from one who hails from the white, middle-class suburbs of Cleveland. -- Jeff