John 10:1-10 with
Psalm 23
This morning is what is sometimes
referred to as “Shepherd Sunday”. On the
fourth Sunday of the Easter season, the lectionary always turns to Psalm 23 and
pairs that reading with various “sheep themed” readings from throughout our
scriptures. This is a Sunday that we
love to return to, as the 23rd Psalm is a favorite of many. We love those green pastures and still
waters.
For many of us, the familiar words of
the 23rd Psalm provide a great comfort and peace. When we are in difficult places in our lives,
these are the words that we turn to. It
is no surprise to find that this is one of the few pieces of scripture that
many un-churched folks are familiar with, as well as the most popular reading
at funerals.
One
of the reasons we love the 23rd Psalm so much is because the whole
of our lives is found within its simple phrases. The good is there of course in the images of
green pastures and still waters. The bad
is there in the valley of shadows and death and in the enemies that surround
us. Even God’s nudging in our lives is
there, when we consider the work of the rod and staff in correcting the path of
a wayward sheep.
The
words of the 23rd Psalm give us comfort in days like these as for
many of us this is a troubling time in our world. We see things around us that make us wonder
just what direction our world is headed in.
This surely isn’t a time of green pastures and still waters. In fact for many, this feels like a valley of
darkness. We are thankful to have the
shepherd to lead us through this frightening time, and we are hopeful to enter
that sheepfold, and to be kept safe from predators.
Of
course, predators are everywhere. That
is the message of Jesus in the gospel of John.
As always, context is important here, and Jesus does not simply offer
this soliloquy out of the blue. Jesus is
responding to conflict within the church community. This speech is given following the long drawn
out story of the man born blind. You may
remember that we looked at this story briefly in March. Jesus healed a blind man which started an
argument between him and the Pharisees.
The Pharisees claim that Jesus is a sinner and therefore unable to
heal. The blind man claims that he has
been healed and the fact is indisputable.
In the end the blind man worships Jesus, and the Pharisees are left
wondering whether or not they are the ones who are actually blind.
From
here, Jesus launches into a discourse on the role of the shepherd. In typical Johannine fashion, Jesus spins
language in many directions. Is he the
shepherd, or is he the gatekeeper, or is he the actual gate itself? It is no wonder that “they did not understand
what he was saying to them.”
Shepherding
imagery is common in the Hebrew tradition.
Not only is the 23rd Psalm which features the image of God as
a shepherd significant, there are also the prophets’ calls for a shepherd who
will come and rule like none other, plus the love the tradition holds for
David, the shepherd boy who becomes king.
Jesus is building on all of this imagery when he talks about the
sheepfold, the gate, and those who come in and go out in his name.
The
point Jesus is making to the Pharisees is that he is the chosen one. They are merely gatekeepers, but he is the
gate itself. They are merely substitute
shepherds, but he is the one who all the sheep recognize. The writer of the gospel of John is carefully
painting Jesus with the brush of Old Testament imagery that will mark him as
the chosen one of Israel, the greatest shepherd of all time.
That’s
all well and good, and clearly the historical context of this text, but really
it doesn’t have a whole lot to offer us.
As the products of over 2000 years of Christianity, finding out that
Jesus is the good shepherd is hardly a life altering event. We can just swallow that up, along with the
comforting imagery of the 23rd Psalm and go home feeling good about
ourselves today. If that is what you are
in the mood for today then please stop listening now.
For
everyone else, I need to give you something to actually think about this
week. So as I was looking at these 10
verses in John in comparison with the 23rd Psalm, I came upon
another thought. Take a look at verse 3,
the shepherd calls the sheep, and “leads
them out”.
Here
we are a frightened and disturbed people.
Like sheep who have been through a thunderstorm, we are happy to just
hide out in the sheep pen. We are happy
to lie down in green pastures and sip from still waters and simply let the
world pass us by. But, that is not what
the shepherd in John 10 is offering. No,
that shepherd, Jesus the Christ, is leading us out of the sheepfold and into the big scary world.
I
think sometimes we forget that the gate of that sheep pen swings both
ways. Sure, we can follow the shepherd
in and find rest, but eventually we must follow the shepherd back out
again. In fact, Jesus implies that the
ones willing to follow him out into
the world are his true followers. It’s
easy to get into the sheep pen, but it takes a lot more courage to leave. “When he has brought out all his own, he goes
ahead of them, and the sheep follow because they know his voice.” Not all sheep leave the pen, but those who do
are Jesus’ own. Those who truly belong
to the Lord, follow out the gate and follow him out into the world.
In
our modern lives, so many of us are so scared.
We literally worry about everything.
From the new neighbors moving in next door, to the ever present threat
of war and violence, to the new ways of harsh discourse that mark our lives, we
have really worked ourselves into a tizzy.
For many, the response to this discomfort is to hide away. We want to enter the sheepfold and bury our
heads in the sand. But that is not the
response of the true sheep. The true
sheep follow the shepherd back out the gate again, into the scary world, into
the valley of the shadow of death where enemies surround our every side.
You
might be asking why. “Why do we need to
follow Jesus out of places of safety?”
And Jesus tells us why. “So that
all may have life, and have it abundantly.”
That is why the shepherd came and that is why the shepherd leads us out;
so that all may have life, abundant life.
As
followers of Jesus the Christ, Jesus the shepherd, we are called to go out into
the world in his name and preach life.
This means standing up to the negative forces in our world. This means pointing out racism and sexism
where we find it. This means working for
the causes of social justice including the right to healthcare. This means volunteering at the Food Center
and at Shiloh to insure that all have a meal to eat tonight. This means supporting the cause of education
for all of our children. This means
saying something when you see something.
This means standing up for the little guy, and taking responsibility for
the lives of our neighbors. We are
called to follow the shepherd out of the gate into the dark places of the
world, and we are to do that so that all may have life, and have it
abundantly. If we don’t answer this
call, if we stay in the fold, then perhaps we are not his sheep after all. “He calls his own sheep by name, and he leads
them out.”
Just
like you, I long to stay in the nice spots of Psalm 23. I long to lounge in safety in green pastures
and still waters. But I know that God
requires more of me. I hear the shepherd
calling my name, and I am willing to go out into the world, following my
shepherd, and lifting up the causes of justice so that all may have life. How else will goodness and mercy follow me
all the days of my life? That certainly
won’t happen if I stay within the safety of the sheepfold. If want to leave a trail of goodness and
mercy behind me, then I need to follow the shepherd out into the world.
The
hope of this message this morning is that we are never alone. Yes, it is scary to go out into the world to
fight for justice, but the promise of the shepherd is to be always with
us. The Good Shepherd calls us out,
leads us, goes with us and protects us.
Even though we walk through dark valleys, we are comforted by the rod
and staff which keep us safe. Abundant
life for us, and abundant life for others, means leaving the safety of the
sheepfold.
This
week, as you once again consider the image of the Good Shepherd, I encourage
you to listen to the voice of the shepherd in your life this day. How is Jesus calling your name? Is now the time that you are being called out
of the sheepfold, to follow the shepherd out into the world? If Jesus has come that all may have abundant
life, what does that mean for you, and your role as one of his followers? These are all good things to consider, as we
continue to make our way through the dark valleys of these modern times. Amen.
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