Gutenberg: Sheepish and Unashamed

“Wake up, Sheeple!” This once was a cri de guerre reserved for the back alleys of Twitter and the blogosphere. But by now, if you wear a mask, you have probably heard someone call you “sheeple” or “sheep,” just walking around downtown Three Rivers. I know I have.

There’s plenty of debate about state-mandated mask orders, especially via way of executive order that bypasses the legislature. But please don’t mistake ambiguity about legal processes for ambiguity about whether one should demean a stranger or wear a mask in general. President Trump recently said that wearing a mask is “Patriotic.” And our police chief in Three Rivers Tom Bringman recently told Watershed Voice:

“This is something brand new, obviously, it’s something none of us have ever experienced before, but the only way our economy’s going to get back headed in the right direction is for people to like shopping and that. Wear a mask, turn away from people if you happen to be walking towards them, you know if you’re not feeling good stay home, you know stuff along those lines. All this stuff is for a reason. There’s no political agenda on anybody’s part.”

I confess I’m no longer surprised when public health becomes politicized. But my question is how did the humble word sheep come to get such a baaaaad rap[1]?

In my line of work, as a pastor—a word that means “shepherd”—the word sheep has a positive meaning. No one would read Psalm 23, the “Good Shepherd,” or the “Parable of the Lost Sheep[2] and come away thinking that being a sheep is a bad thing.

In fact, in Matthew 25, Jesus compares the Final Judgment to a shepherd separating the sheep from the goats. TL;DR? You would rather be a sheep.[3]

Why? Because the sheep, according to Jesus, are the ones who responded to their neighbors in need by welcoming, feeding, giving water to drink, visiting them when they were in prison. Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”  

I’ve seen a lot of debate over an op-ed published recently under the headline “Would Jesus wear a mask?” To me, that’s not the right question. None of us is Jesus. You and I were not born in a manger nor are we going to die on a cross for the sins of the world. Instead, ask yourself, “Would you wear a mask for Jesus?” If Jesus were standing in front of you in the form of an immunocompromised person, would you wear a mask to protect his life?

Because, guess what, he is.

No, this pejorative sense of “sheep” is unbiblical and a relatively recent innovation in the American lexicon. According to Merriam-Webster, the first recorded use of “sheeple” was in 1945. I find that fascinating because 1945 would have been right after we accomplished two of the greatest collective efforts in the history of the nation: the economic recovery following the Great Depression and defeating the Axis Powers in World War II. Those two efforts did not take heroic, romanticized individuals, but are perhaps best personified by Rosie the Riveter, the picture of an everyday woman doing her part. Please be clear: no one thought Rosie the Riveter would stand much of a chance by herself in front of a German Panzer. But a nation full of people like Rosie the Riveter, all pulling together, each with a part to play? That was powerful. Shepherds like Roosevelt, Eisenhower, MacArthur, and Patton all played critical roles, but it was the American people, the sheep, who won peace and prosperity.

And that brings me to my final point: don’t sleep on sheep! Maybe it’s because unlike in biblical times most of us raise mutts and not mutton, but most of our stereotypes about sheep are simply folks pulling the wool over our eyes. According to the BBC,

Reality: Sheep are actually surprisingly intelligent, with impressive memory and recognition skills. They build friendships, stick up for one another in fights, and feel sad when their friends are sent to slaughter. They are also one of the most destructive creatures on the planet.

These days, it seems like the only way humans are like sheep is the last point. But I hope that we can learn other sheep values.

Sheep understand one important insight: they are herd animals. You may not like to hear this, but humans are, too. We need each other, or most of us do at least. If you can grow all your food and assure your own survival, you may be an exception, but in that case, you also do not need to come into town without a mask on. For the vast majority of us who have to buy food, deposit checks at the bank, take the kids to school, go to church[4], and so on, we rely on each other to get by day-to-day.

There is nothing wrong with this interdependence: God made us that way! In the words of the hymn by William Kethe[5],

            Know that the Lord is God indeed;

            without our aid he did us make.

            We are his folk, he doth us feed.

            and for his sheep he doth us take.  

Please wear a mask. If not for yourself, then for your neighbor. If not for your neighbor, then out of shear gratitude to the great Shepherd of the flock.

James E. Smith is a pastor serving at Trinity Episcopal and St. John’s Lutheran Churches. For comments, questions, or rebuttals, fire off an e-mail at [email protected]. Prosit!


[1] You knew the puns were coming, so keep an eye out!

[2] And I could make a list of many others!

[3] I’ve always struggled with this parable because goats are pretty amazing creatures themselves.

[4] I mean, where else are you going to get accurate information about sheep!?

[5] “All People That on Earth Do Dwell,” a hymn sometimes referred to as “Old Hundredth” because it paraphrases Psalm 100.


Any views or opinions expressed in “Gutenberg” are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Watershed Voice staff or its board of directors.