After I came home and spit this post out I actually practiced a bit of restraint before clicking the publish button. One of the people I asked for advice was my brother. He has the unfortunate distinction of being a seminary student ;) and therefore I bug him about a lot of things. His take on the silly song is what follws. I have to say, that image of the fierce shephard beats the hell out of what I took away from the song.

My son goes to a church preschool. It is very small, and very sweet, and a bit pricey. However, I am more than willing to pay for the experience. Unfortunately, this evening I witnessed something I am just not cool with. The preschoolers get to put on the Valentine’s program. It is short and sweet and oh so cute. But this one song, this one religious song, just made me want to stand up and shout, WTF?

Here it is.

I Just Wanna Be a Sheep

I just wanna be a sheep

Baa, baa, baa, baa

I just wanna be a sheep

Baa, baa, baa, baa

I pray the Lord my soul to keep

I just wanna be a sheep

Baa, baa, baa, baa

Don’t wanna be a hypocrite

They’re not hip to it

Don’t wanna be a hypocrite

Chorus

Don’t wanna be a Pharisee

They're’ not fair you see

Don’t wanna be a Pharisee

Chorus

Don’t wanna be a Sadducee

Don’t WAnna be a Sadducee

“Cause they’re so sad you see

Don’t wanna be a Sadducee

Chorus

Just wanna be a child of God

Walkin’ the same path He trod

Just wanna be a child of God

Never, in my hopes for my children, my aspirations for their future, did I ever ever consider for them that being a sheep was part of my hopes for them. BAA? BAA? Seriously?

I want them to be themselves, their unique selves, their own person. A freaking sheep?

Yes, son. Please, I want you to follow the crowd, baa in unison, be the same damned cog in the wheel as every dumb ass on the street. You go for it dude. Strive for the stars...er same.

Yeah, that’s how I raise my kids.

*note*

A friend has told me this refers to the parable of the lost sheep, but I'm still having issue with it. It is still just something that makes me feel ick deep down inside.

Marty Pike's Viewpoint

t’s basically an issue of a beautiful meaning being lost in translation. It’s fun to say that the Sadducees are all “sad, you see,” but it isn’t a good description of one of the more powerful religious groups of that time period (especially since the English language which makes the pun of their name possible was yet to be developed).

“I just wanna be a sheep,” is a theological point that is watered down to make a fun children’s rhyme. As a 5-year-old, it would be fun to sing “baa, baa, baa.” However, there is a deeper meaning that, if left unpacked, just makes it sound a little silly.

The desire to be a sheep should not be a yearning for uniformity and blissful stupidity. The desire to be a sheep is for a shepherd; THE Shepherd. In the bible Jesus is portrayed The Shepherd: an ancient shepherd, not a fairy-tale’ not some rouge-faced boy that likes to hug sheep all day and sniff buttercups, but the ancient equivalent of a cowboy roughing the elements to safeguard his flock from the ravenous creatures that see his livelihood (and him) as food.

This metaphor for Christ goes further and describe his dealings with the flock by showing that he knows their names. If he has taken the time to name his sheep (which I’m sure there were some bored shepherds back in the day that would have had the time to do this) then he has taken time to get to know what makes each sheep an individual enough to warrant a name that differentiates it from the flock.

But it’s really hard to make “I-wanna-be-a-sheep-that-is-individually-known-and-loved-and-under-the-watchful-eye-of-the-Son-of-the-living-God, the-Creator-of-the-Universe-and-all-that-is-within-it, so-Baa-Baa-Baa, or-whatever-noise-that-animal-would-make” fit into a neat little verse that doesn’t require some further explanation. Nor would “I-don’t-want-to-be-a-Sadducee-because-they-didn’t-believe-in-a-resurrection-and-they-were-a-bourgeois-faction-that-ruled-the-tabernacle-to-suit-their-own-needs,” be much fun either.

Thus the dangers of shoehorning the depth of God into a simple song: the simple song is a good reminder of a broader truth, but it isn’t the best teacher of that truth.