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Good evening, little lambs. Tonight's story is called The Shiny Cup and the Sour Milk, inspired by the Gospel of Matthew twenty three twenty three twenty six. Tonight, Jesus wants the inside of you to match the outside. He wants the big things first, being fair, being kind, and trusting him, not only the little things that look fancy. First wash the inside of the cup. In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter twenty three, verses twenty three through twenty six. That is what he says. And so tonight we're back on Shepherd's Hill, where the evening milk is cold, and the lunch cups still sit in a sticky row. The sun was going down, orange as a ripe peach. The air smelled like warm dust and crushed mint. A clay jug of milk sat in the shade. Biscuits golden tuft stood straight up. She loved a job you could see. Thisle is new, she said. His cup has to look the nicest. Thisle, the wiry lamb with wool, the color of dry grass, had climbed the hill yesterday after Hazel found him at the creek and said come and see. He sat by the jug now, polite and thirsty. The wooden cups from lunch stood on the low stone. Their outsides were dull. Inside each one a thin white film of old milk had gone sour in the heat. It smelled like a pail left in the sun. Biskit grabbed a soft cloth. She rubbed the outside of the first cup until it shone like a wet stone. She rubbed Thisle's cup longest of all. Clover's blue scarf was neat, the green sprig behind her left ear tipped. Biscuit, she said, the insides. I know, I know, Biskit said, still rubbing. But look how they gleam. Jesus will see them from across the grass. She set Thisle's cup down, shiny side out. Jesus was already sitting in the grass, close enough to touch. He looked at each of them as if that lamb were the only lamb in the meadow. He watched biscuit pour. The milk made a white ribbon. It looked beautiful in a shiny cup. Thisle said thank you. He took a sip. His ears went sideways. He swallowed because he was polite. Then he set the cup down very carefully. It tastes old, he said. He did not sound mean. He sounded honest, the way he always did. Biscuits tuft drooped. She sniffed her own cup. The outside was bright. The inside smelled sour. Jesus did not frown. He held out his hand for Thistle's cup. He tipped it. The sour film showed, white and thick at the bottom. Biscuit, he said, you made the outside shine. Anyone walking by would think this cup was ready. But we drink from the inside. Biscuit looked at her hooves. First wash the inside of the cup, Jesus said. Then the outside will be clean too. He walked with her to the basin by the well. The water was cold. Together they washed Thisle's cup on the inside, around and around, until the sour film was gone, and the wood smelled like clean river. Then they rinsed the outside. Then they washed the others. Biscuit poured for Thistle first. Thisle drank, his eyes shut. The milk was cold and sweet. That is good, he said. Jesus smiled. Some people fuss over tiny leaves of mint, he said, and forget the big things, being fair, being kind, trusting me. The little things are not bad. Do them too, but do the big things first. A shiny cup with a sour inside is like picking a tiny bug out of your water, and then swallowing something as big as a camel. You got the little thing right, and the big thing all wrong. Biscuit's tuft lifted a little. I wanted it to look good, she said. I wanted thisle to think we were wonderful. I know, Jesus said. Looking nice is a little thing. Being kind when no one is clapping, that is the big thing. Old Wooly's silver grey fleece shone in the last light. His voice felt like sitting next to a fire. A pretty cup, he said, is for drinking, not for showing. Clover's sprig stood bright. Hazel sat close to thisle. Quiet, dark fleeced Matt had washed his own cup without saying a word. The milk was cold, the fold grew quiet, and so tonight we learned that Jesus cares most about what is inside us. A shiny outside is not enough if the inside is sour. First let him help us be fair and kind and trusting, and then our kind faces will be true. What is one little thing you like to get just right? And what is one big kind thing you could do tonight, even if nobody sees? Let's close our eyes now, safe on the green hill, held by the shepherd who washes the inside first. Jesus, wash the inside of my heart. Help me be fair and kind and trusting even when nobody is watching. Amen. Good night, little lamb. God loves you so much. Sweet dreams.