I am the Good shepherd. John 10:11-18
I’ve grown very partial to sheep. From time to time I worship with them on the hillside. But they can be awkward creatures.
One day we found a young lamb in our garden. We tried to round her up but she was quick and she crossed the stream and headed for the road. I ran round and saw her scampering up the middle of the A624: a bendy 50mph road. I followed as closely as I could, arms outstretched, attempting to stop the traffic. The cars behind me stopped but the cars ahead, coming around the bend didn’t and she very narrowly missed going under the wheels of an articulated lorry. By fluke, she made a sudden dash to the right and scrambled between the wire in the fencing. The people in the cars cheered. The lamb had no knowledge of the danger of the situation and we couldn’t trust it not to try for the road again since it was small enough to get through the wire. I phoned for the farmer. It took the 3 of us and a dog to capture her and return her to the green pasture and still waters where she belonged. I sometimes think of that feisty lamb and understand why we are so often likened to sheep. No real understanding of danger and costly deeds to keep us safe
The motif of the good shepherd which is attributed to Jesus is a common one in Jewish literature. Part of today’s readings is Psalm 23: a psalm of trust that regardless of all difficulties we can be assured of the active presence of the Lord of Love.
In this passage there is an acknowledgement that not all shepherds are genuine. They are described as merely doing a job and prone to run away at any sign of danger. I wondered what a false shepherd would look like today. Someone who runs away from the difficult questions perhaps?
Maybe they are certain that they know what the Bible says about LGBTQ matters and apply it to others without understanding the nuances of gender assignment and cultural norms.
Or maybe they don’t face up to the predictions of climate and biodiversity catastrophe, leaving their congregations unprepared for lies ahead, expecting God to step in and do it, when we have been given the mandate to be God’s agents.
Or perhaps they run a mile at difficult issues of doctrine, abandoning those whose intellectual integrity doesn’t allow them to simply park their questions. With no one to engage with them and guide them, they end up leaving the church and sometimes faith too, when there is really no need for that to be the only option.
Or maybe, from what we have learned from the Post Office enquiry, they protect corporate financial concerns resulting in innocent individuals to be sent to prison.
Nevertheless, Jesus is the ultimate example of a good shepherd who never abandons us no matter what situation we are in; who never gives a quick and easy answer; who never puts money and reputation first; who never leaves us unprepared.
Jesus, closely in tune with the heart of God, knows that to shepherd well, means to identify with the flock and to instinctively give sacrificially, to lay down his life, to protect and guide.
He then talks about other sheep who are not of this fold.
These are the ones who listen for his voice.
Jews were very territorial in their understanding of God’s relationship with them. For Jews, belonging was gifted by being born a Jew. Non Jews, Gentiles, were allowed to worship the God of the Jews, but at a distance, at one removed. They could go so far but no further. In the Temple there was the court of the Gentiles, but beyond that, inaccessible to them, was the court of the Jews. It was a closed door policy.
Jesus blew that wide open. In his actions and teachings he constantly challenged the notion that God was exclusive. He got into a lot of trouble for welcoming, even preferring, outsiders.
After Jesus life on earth was finished the message escaped and the good news of Jesus was proclaimed to the Gentiles. Eventually Gentiles outnumbered Jews and the Christian church became separate from Judaism.
So this passage has been read by many as meaning that the others in the fold are us Christians. We have been admitted, we are the flock of Jesus. True, we are. But are we in danger of replicating the closed door policy of Judaism? Do we feel that the flock of Jesus only consists of those that claim a relationship with Jesus? Do we reject from the flock, the kingdom, those who by their speech do not recognise Jesus as Lord?
In the letter of John, which was also part of today’s lectionary portion, we read, I John 3 18 Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. 24All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. 23And this is his commandment, that we love one another.
Can you think of people who appear to have heeded the voice of Jesus without knowing that it is the call of the Good Shepherd they are responding to? I do. Without referring to the people I know personally, let me tell you about a man I heard about this week on the radio.
When Kevin’s mum died he began questioning the way the world works and he could only see things negatively. One morning he was awake at 3 thinking about how he was constantly complaining about the state of the world. He then had what he called a light bulb moment. He says “then it dawned on me. I want to see kinder world where people help each other. I want to see people thrive . Then I thought who am I waiting for? Who is going to wave a magic wand and say there’s a cleaner street , there’s a kinder person there’s a better community. Unless I become kinder, I’m not going to see the change”.
So he put this on FB “Lying in bed here and I reckon I’ve thought of a good idea. All of us are good at something or qualified. I’m a painter and decorator by trade.I would be willing to give 3-4 hours a week up to work for the poor/elderly in this city and improve their living conditions for free. Imagine if everyone with a trade etc done this to help the needy. I’m talking about people who are really struggling. We’ve all got busy lives but I reckon now is the time we all backed each other up and worked for each other. Forget money, it’s only paper”.
It mushroomed very quickly as other people offered their time. Kev says “seeing someone doing something kind and nice triggers people to want to do something too”
He now runs the charity called “An Hour for Others” whose primary motivation is to respond to need by acts of kindness.
https://www.anhourforothers.co.uk/pages/43-the-idea-and-reasons-why
This is definitely the Kingdom, definitely the voice of Jesus. Recognised in the fact that it is also the 3rd mark of mission of the Anglican church. There was no indiction in the interview that Kevin had a Christian faith, but I would say by his actions that he is living the quality of eternal life, that he is shepherding others to do so as well and that he is brought into the flock of Jesus even if he doesn’t know it or acknowledge it.
Why should the flock just be only those who are able to acknowledge Jesus? Jesus says I know my own and my own know me. For some, the ability to acknowledge Jesus is just not possibly within their cultural framework. But does that mean that they don’t know him? Jesus knows his own and response to that is something deep which some will use a different language to express.
What about those who never hear, either because they live in a time and place where they had no opportunity to hear, or because the Jesus that they hear about comes with too much unnecessary baggage that clouds the message?
I am convinced that The Good Shepherd calls, has been calling and will continue to call to everyone across all time. If it were not so, then God is too small, too parochial and too tribal. God is never exclusive, always inclusive. You don’t have to understand the image of a Good shepherd in order to be in the flock.
For example, the ingenious Venetie people of Alaska have a different version. The have an ho’oda’in which was a person who guided them on a hunt. He would go up a hill and instruct the people which way to go. They had to trust his vision, wisdom and insight even when it seemed counter to what they expected. This image was transferred to a spiritual leader and was their equivalent to the Good Shepherd, the voice of Jesus.
There will be so many examples lost in the aeons of time, which we will never know about. How was Jesus calling to his flock the neolithic people who inhabited Skara Brae in Orkney for 700 years until about 2500 years before Jesus. From the extensive archeological evidence there, it is obvious that they had faith rituals. Would they be left without the voice of love calling to them?
There is one flock, one shepherd. Jesus is the voice calling us to love beyond boundaries.
Just as Jesus was both the Shepherd and the Lamb, so we also are of the flock and shepherds to the flock. How do we fulfil that role? For a start we can recognise that all who obey his commandments abide in him. We can see where the sheep of the flock are doing the work of love and unity and join in. It doesn’t have to be branded as Christian. We can use whatever voice or influence we have to guide others in the path of love. What is your role? What is the role of this church?
Let me just focus on one way. There are others.
Tomorrow is Earth Day: a movement which began in 1970 to bring about transformational change in our time of environmental crisis. This church has a fast growing role in providing leadership and guidance to other churches in their eco journey, and in helping others to understand the Christian’s role in for the uncertain future we face. There are opportunities here to shepherd a transition to the kinder more co-operative and joined up world that we will need to get us through.
We all have a part to play wherever our skills and interests lie. Every Sunday we face the back of church, looking at the door we are going out through and Michael says “go out into the world to love and serve the Lord” and we reply “With the help of God we will”. We are the body of Christ; the flock and the shepherds. Christ has no hands and feet but ours.
Good Shepherd, may we experience your presence with us every hour of this day.
May your love be the passion in our hearts.
May your joy be our strength when times are hard.
May your presence be the peace that overflows in our lives. AMEN