Tourist or Pilgrim? Sheep!!

August 16, 2026

The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. ~ John 10:2-4. NRSV

Iona, with a human population of about 177, has more sheep than people. Once it stopped raining and I could go for a walk, I noticed them just about everywhere. They were everywhere; diverse; hairy; and incredibly cute. Like most of my pilgrim companions, it was almost impossible to not take pictures of them. Passages from the Psalms, Isaiah, the Gospels, and numerous songs from Handel’s Messiah played in the background music in my brain.

There were sheep grazing around Iona’s Abbey, along the road and across miles of paths, roaming the 18-hole golf course (a story for another day), and along the treacherous trail to St. Columba’s Bay. The presence of sheep prompted me to repeat Psalm 23 as we carefully walked down and back up the slippery slope to the bay. A church friend from one of the congregations I served in Hawaii said this: “God has a preference for sheep.” These hairy, smelly, baaing creatures graze anywhere and everywhere and deposit their “sculptures” at will. If God can prefer sheep, there is hope for humanity.

I’ve pasted some photos to share a bit of joy for your day! ~ Anne