WE, LIKE SHEEP

According to Answers.com, sheep are:

1. timid, fearful, easily panicked
2. dumb, stupid, gullible
3. very vulnerable to fear, frustration, pests, hunger
4. easily influenced by a leader, by the shepherd
5. stampede easily, vulnerable to mob psychology
6. little of no means of self-defense; can only run
7. easily killed by enemies
8. the shepherd is most effective, calming influence
9. jealous, competitive for dominance
10. constantly need fresh water, fresh pasture
11. have very little discernment in choosing food or water
12. best water source is early morning dew
13. perverse, stubborn - will insist on their own way, even eating poisonous plants or drinking dirty water
14. easily "cast" - flipped over on their back, unable to right themselves and will die of starvation if not turned over by the shepherd; helpless
15. frequently look for easy places to rest
16. don't like to be sheared, cleaned
17. too much wool can cause sheep to be easily 'cast'
18. creatures of habit; get into "ruts"
19. need the most care of all livestock
20. need to be "on the move"; need a pre-destined plan, pattern of grazing
21. totally dependent of shepherd for every need
22. need "rod and staff" for guidance

"We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to his own way;

and the Lord has laid on Him

the iniquity of us all."

— Isaiah 53:6

MARTIN LUTHER

"I labored diligently and anxiously as to how to understand Paul's word in Romans 1:17, where he says that the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel. I took it to mean that righteousness whereby God punishes the unrighteous, and I had no confidence that my merit would assuage him.

Then I grasped that the righteousness of God is that righteousness which through grace and sheer mercy God gives us by faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise. The whole of Scripture took on a new meaning, and whereas before the "justice of God" had filled me with hate, now it became to me inexpressibly sweet in greater love. This passage of Paul became to me a gate to heaven... When I saw the difference, that law is one thing and gospel is another, I broke through..."

— Martin Luther (on his conversion)

THE SECRET TO QUALITY

"All the texting and friending may expand the number of people in one's life, but the links do not enrich the quality of the arrangements . . . It takes an evolving awareness of the differences that naturally develop between two individuals, and a commitment to allow those differences to take root, so that common connections grow into singular bonds. The open secret to this process is time."

— Artist Paul Chan suggests the antidote to the alienation of contemporary life in the face of social, political, and environmental collapse, in the context of the collaborative, community-oriented process involved in his restaging of Samuel Beckett's play Waiting For Godot (1848-49) on the streets of New Orleans shortly after Hurricane Katrina. His work (and many others) is on view in MoMA's reinstallation of its Contemporary Galleries until Summer 2011.