Our Vision

 

…Rejoice with me,

I have found

                 my lost sheep. - Luke 15:6

“Rejoice with me, I have found my lost sheep.” Luke 15.6

Theological underpinning

The story of the lost sheep is one of three stories in Luke chapter 15 about the lost - the lost sheep, one of 100; the lost coin, one of ten; and the lost son, one of two (although both sons are lost in their own ways). One of the emphases of the story of the lost sheep could be interpreted as God's generous attention to each individual, which flies in the face of numerical and economic common sense. This was chosen as a theme by Milton School to emphasize that everyone in the school community matters. Any one of us might be the lost sheep. Sometimes we might all be the shepherd to one another; sometimes we might be one of the 99. The roles aren't fixed - children, staff, governors etc. - we are all interchangeable in this story. This is not the only story about sheep or shepherds in the Bible. In Psalm 23, we read that the Lord is my shepherd, a familiar and reassuring passage. In John chapter 10, Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me." The metaphor of shepherd was one which represented the spiritual leaders of the people. Jesus was contrasting his own generous, caring and ultimately sacrificial pastoral role with that of the religious leaders of the day who were not fulfilling their task of looking after the people. The image of the lost sheep conveys our desire that every member of Milton School might know that they are loved and cared for by God and by one another - in this we too may rejoice.

 

Revd Canon Peter Greenwood for the governing body of Milton School September 2021