Framing Sheep

Away from the Flock, Damien Hirst

John 10:1-10

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens

When we look at or imagine sheep, we see more than sheep. We see sweaters in the making. We see counting devices that act as sleeping aids. We see dinner. We see cuddly creatures that should be cartoonized and turned into stuffed animal dolls for children. When I look at a sheep I see someone with the same hair texture as me. We project every image onto the animal except that of the animal. Scripture is no different in it's treatment of sheep. Sheep are used as a symbol of humility, obedience, innocence, etc. In today's scripture reading Jesus used sheep as a metaphor.The contemporary artist Damien Hirst used real sheep...not a painting of a sheep, not a sculpture nor a performance piece about the idea of a sheep but an actual dead sheep. Yet he even found a metaphor in it for the human experience, stating that it was like "“that failure of trying so hard to do something that you destroy the thing that you’re trying to preserve.” In an interview with Mirta D’Argenzio he revealed that "the title came after Hirst completed the work and observed the 'tragic beauty' of the animal. The lamb, identifiable within Christian iconography as Jesus, has been separated by death from the living so that, 'you kind of feel sorry for it.'” Christian imagery has long used the image of a sheep for Jesus, echoing the "Lamb of God" image presented in the New Testament. However, in this scripture reading Jesus isn't referring to himself as the sheep but to us as the sheep.



Away from the Flock, Damien Hirst

Preserving Sheep

When Damien Hirst first displayed this piece (and others like it), he and his fellow YBA's (Young British Artists) were catapulted to fame. This artwork was bold, confrontational and controversial. Yet one cannot argue that what he was doing was new. He was preserving a dead animal in formaldehyde. Taxidermists and high school biology students have been doing some variation of this for generations. But Damien Hirst took preserving a sheep and made it Art. Hirst use of the formaldehyde barrier protected the dead sheep from being exposed to decay. Jesus opens up his parabolic metaphor by making obvious statements that everyone would agree with then using that common ground to make a deeper assertion. They all center around the argument that the best way to protect precious possessions is to put it in a protective barrier. Everyone would agree with this because everyone does this. To the Ming Dynasty of China it's precious possessions to protect was it's people. So it reinforced and completed a series of walls to protect them against Mongol invaders. We now know it as the Great Wall of China. In the Wild West frontier era of the United States cattle rustlers were a constant threat to rancher's primary investments. Then Joseph Glidden invented barbed wire as a way to protect and contain livestock. To the ancient Palestinian Jews that Jesus spoke to sheepfold or an encircling wall was the best way to protect your sheep. The key to any if these barriers is to channel entrance to one guarded point. The guard at this portal decides who is safe to enter and who is a threat to keep at bay. Anyone who hops the gate, scales the wall or cuts into the fence at any other place does it because they have malicious intent. They are barbarians hoards, outlaw rustlers, thieves and robbers who either desire to harm the sheep or the owner of the sheepfold (by stealing the sheep). Everyone of Jesus' listeners understood this. As observant Jews they probably also caught his veiled references to Psalm 23. They understood that they (Israel) were the sheep and that the Lord was their shepherd. What some of them didn't understand was that Jesus was saying that the thieves and robbers were the Pharisees, Jesus was accusing them of being the agents of death and decay that he was sealing the sheep against. The doorkeeper would not open to them for he knew that to let them beyond the protective barrier would expose the sheep to spiritual decay.



Away from the Flock (Divided), Damien Hirst

Dissecting Sheep

and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”


Putting dead animals encased in formaldehyde was not a one time affair for Damien Hirst. Nor was displaying a sheep in this manner. A year later he would do another version of "Away from the Flock", but he would dissect this one in two. He actually called it "Away from the Flock (Divided)", "dissecting" is more of my word. Dissection denotes not only dividing something into parts, but rather dividing it into parts to better understand it. That is why we call Bible study/biblical exegesis "dissecting the scripture." When we dissect this part of the scripture we find that it dissects the nature of the sheep (the Christian). The first thing that we come to understand about the Christian and sheep comparison is that it is based on the sheep's listening skills. Apparently they are keen and Middle Eastern shepherding techniques are all based on them. Sheep can actually distinguish the voice of their shepherd from other voices. So they really won't follow others. This analogy was so tight that now you can understand why the Pharisees didn't follow where he was going with the illustration. It just appeared that he was just sharing shepherding instructions. When we dissect the analogy a Christian should have similar auditory capabilities. Hence we refer to the elect/people that God has chosen as "the called." Christians are not just the spiritually hungry and curious but those who (through the aid of the Holy Spirit) have recognized Jesus' voice amongst the cacophony of other voices claiming to be Truth. In recognizing Jesus as God they set out not only to be a "believer" but a "follower." That is the second quality that we share with sheep. Faith without deeds (of following) is dead. So by dissecting the sheep/Christian we not only makeup of sheep but also the potential behavior of the sheep. A sheep cannot do what it was not designed to do (like fly) and a person cannot do what the Holy Spirit has not called them to do (like have faith and works that glorify God). So the question begs: if sheep can recognize their shepherd how can Christians recognize the voice of God? Like with most parables, Jesus will eventually make it clear.



Away from the Flock (Divided), Damien Hirst

Encasing Sheep

Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

So what did Damien Hirst do that made his work artwork? Butchers have split sheep in parts for the ages. Students and taxidermists have suspended innumerable animals in formaldehyde. In fact it was probably one of them who did it for Damien Hirst because he is notorious for employing others to do his work for him. Well Damien Hirst is the one who encased it in a frame and put it in a gallery. In short he made it Art because he appreciated it as Art and made others see it as Art. In fact he had this to say of it “It’s not a ‘preserved’ lamb, it’s a dead lamb. But then it does have a kind of new life.” It is the framing in a casing of a gallery setting that gave it its new life as Art. So what did Jesus do that made his ministry different from the Pharisees? They were rabbis who taught about Scripture and were followed by disciples as well. Yet Jesus accused them (explicitly this time) of having come to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. Like with Damien Hirst, it is in the encasing of the sheep that the new life is found. You may have gathered by now that Jesus is the "good shepherd" in this parable but have you also come to realize that he is the one that constructs the sheepfold and gives it its formaldehyde-like powers to preserve you from death and usher you into new life? At this point in the parable Christ pulls no punches and says directly "I am the door of the sheep(fold)." Middle Eastern shepherds had a practice of standing in front of the opening to the sheepfold like a Samoan bouncer guarding the entrance into an exclusive night club. When they got tired they would sit in front of it. At night they would sleep in front of it. They were the only entry point and they decided who would and would not get beyond the velvet rope. The key to protecting the sheep is encasing them in exclusivity. That is not to inflate the ego of Christians but just to illustrate how valued they are by God. Platinum was just another really strong metal until someone valued it as jewelry. It may just look like dark silver to others but it is even more precious to the owner. Since we are that precious to Jesus, he shares the benefit of the sheepfold: life, and abundant life.



Away from the Flock (Divided), Damien Hirst

So that is what is behind Jesus' usage of sheep in this parable. It is also what separates Jesus from Damien Hirst and the Pharisees. The more I think about it Damien Hirst's artwork is a better illustration of the Pharisees' followers than Jesus'. Therefore the title of "Away from the Flock" is befitting. It is what happens when a sheep is drawn away from the sheepfold by one who has climbed up some other way rather than entered by the door. Yes the sheep may be look preserved but as Damien Hirst has pointed out it is still dead. Christ didn't come to beautify dead sheep and make them lifelike like Lenin "lying in state." Christ came to give you actual and full life. Yes I am talking about the afterlife but I am also speaking of the here and now. To often we live with the evidence of spiritual death lingering over us. That is the most that the Pharisees could promise their disciples: a reminder of their constant struggle with sin and God's judgment. I am not fully disparaging this because it is a necessary first step, however their is a second one too. This second step is not only a "freedom from" but also a "freedom to." It is a freedom from death and sin but it is a freedom to live, love and experience the fullness of what God has created you to be. That is the promise of the Good shepherd. Come back to the flock.