Worship - 26 April 2026

Summary Of This Week's Theme

In March, I visited the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao with my sister and was captivated by A Thousand Milks by Asunción Molinos Gordo. The piece is made from wool of every sheep breed in Spain, challenging the idea of ‘purebred’ identity. Its title, Mil leches, references an insult aimed at those of mixed origins - yet here, diversity becomes strength. The artist reminds us that sheep, by grazing, seeding, and pollinating, actually shape and sustain ecosystems. A refreshing thought, given how often humans are accused of doing the opposite. Sheep also carry deep symbolic weight across religions - appearing in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism - and have long guided human movement and survival. They are not as foolish as we make them out to be. In fact, they know to run from danger and follow the voice of the shepherd. Humans, on the other hand, often follow the wrong voices - those that steal our time, attention, trust, and peace. In John’s Gospel, Jesus says the sheep follow the shepherd because they know his voice. Yet understanding that voice is not always easy. Even Jesus’ first listeners struggled. Perhaps confusion is part of the point. Unlike propaganda, which delivers one clear message, truth, like art, invites ongoing discovery. As Augustine of Hippo wrote, ‘If you understand, it is not God.’ Inspiration begins with ‘I don’t know.’ Change, then, is unavoidable. As Octavia E. Butler put it: ‘All that you touch you change… The only lasting truth is change.’ In that shifting landscape, the voice of the Good Shepherd calls us toward abundant life - life that is not merely sufficient, but overflowing. This abundance reflects a God who is anything but utilitarian. Creation itself is extravagant. And Jesus, as both shepherd and gate, offers freedom: ‘they will come in and go out, and find pasture.’ This is a community of known and named individuals, invited into shared life. Humanity, like Mil Leches, is a tapestry of diversity. Attempts to enforce purity have always led to harm. The early church understood this, living in shared community, holding all things in common. Their example still speaks. If we listen for Christ’s voice, we are drawn into fellowship, generosity, and transformation. It is not a predictable path, but it leads to nourishment, healing, and growth. A life abundant, diverse, and alive, like a landscape shaped gently, faithfully, by those who know where to walk