John 10:11-18The readings today are ripe with the imagery of poor and needy sheep, unscrupulouswolves lurking in their midst, and callous and detached hired hands. However, in the midst of these metaphoricalcharacters, the focus of today’s Gospel remains the depiction of Our Lord andSavior Jesus Christ as the loving, wise, compassionate, and committed shepherd. Although today is officially the “FourthSunday of Easter, “ based on today’s readings, it makes sense that my friendtook a little liturgical license, and referred to today as “Good ShepherdSunday.”
Jesus is theGood Shepherd. For many of us who havecome from a variety of faith backgrounds, the metaphor Jesus uses might stir updifferent images in our minds, which may come with an even greater variety ofmeanings. If we are figuratively thesheep of his flock and Jesus is our symbolic shepherd, we should re-examinesome of the old images of sheepherding we learned about in Sunday school, inorder to get to the heart of the message Jesus was trying to convey when hesaid, “I am the Good Shepherd.” I amgoing to give you a little homework assignment. If you go home after the serviceand search for “Good Shepherd” on Google images, you will find a plethora of 20thcentury artist’s renditions of Jesus’ metaphor. In some pictures, you will find Jesus surrounded by a small flock ofsheep over whom, he is lovingly watching, protecting, and loving. In other pictures, you may see Jesus holdinga single small lamb over his shoulders and in the picture; there are no othersheep to be found.
There seems to be two competing images for the Good Shepherd in somemodern art; one in which Jesus is overseeing the flock (the assembled group ofsheep), and in the other, he is watching over merely a solitary lamb. We need to wrestle with whether when Jesus calledhimself the Good Shepherd, was he talking about him shepherding us asindividual sheep, or is he talking about shepherding us as a gathered flock ofindividuals, or is he possibly speaking about both. We know obviously that sheep are found as apart of a whole, so I imagine that being a part of Jesus’ flock is notsomething that can be done in isolation. For the flock to thrive, for the flock to be fed, for the flock to beabout her mission in the world, she must do this faith thing of believing andbeing as an assembly.
To get a better handle of this symbol Jesus used to explain Christiancommunity, let’s explore this whole notion of sheep and shepherd for a moment,especially in the context of sheepherding in first century Palestine. In a recent article I read, "TheImagery of Shepherding in the Bible," Thomas Golding wrote,
Sheep are utterly dependenton someone outside themselves for their survival. In fact, sheep would not survive long withouta shepherd. Sheep are not only dependent creatures; they are also singularlyunintelligent, prone to wandering, and unable to find their way to a sheepfoldeven when it is within sight. (p. 165)1
Beforewe sheep are offended by the word “unintelligent,” let me point out that theauthor is not saying we are a bunch of dumb animals. More to the point, Golding is referring tohow sheep alone as individuals are unable to understand, use good judgment, or beguided by their own intellect. I think the point Golding is making is that sheep as dependent creatures,need each other and they need someone to care for them. Sheep do not have the capacity on their own,to care for themselves, because they do not have the ability to understandwhere to find food and water, where the dangers lurk, nor how to grow the sizeof the group to insure that the flock thrives well into the future. Theyneed a loving, caring, Good Shepherd to feed them, to protect them, and toinsure that the flock grows and thrives. When it comes to our spiritual journey as theBody of Christ, I think Our Lord was “spot on” when he called us his sheep andhe reminded us of whom we are totally dependent.
Wemust surrender our sense of independence and put our trust, our hope, ourvision, and the accomplishment of the mission of this part of the Body ofChrist, in the very hands of the Good Shepherd. Ifwe think we can be faithful followers of Christ by relying on our ownintelligence, on our own heroic efforts, on our own well laid out programs, on ourown ideas of church, then my friends, we are fooling ourselves. We will thrive only when we recognize that weare total dependent on the Good Shepherd. We must begin to discern the Spirit’s movementin the life of this community, and listen for where, how, and to what we arebeing called. One of the unique aspectsof shepherding was that “the sheep listen(ed)to the shepherd's voice . . . Near-Eastern shepherds have been known to stand . . . and sound out their own peculiar calls, theirown sheep respond(ed) and gather(ed) around their shepherd.” (p. 172)1 When we recognize thatwe cannot traverse this pathway of discipleship alone as wandering individualsbut together as a flock under the leadership of Jesus Christ, we will hear thevoice of the one who is calling us to follow.
The Good Shepherd gives the Christian community itsvision and mission. He restores oursouls and leads us along the paths of right relationships with him and witheach other. The Good Shepherd gives theChristian community the resources and gifts we need to do our mission. He makes us lie down in green pastures andleads us beside the still waters. TheGood Shepherd protects the flock from the dangers and diversions that woulddeter us from that to which, we are called. He is with us even when we fear the uncertainties, distractions, and theshadow of death in all its forms. The Good Shepherd welcomes and invites to theflock straying wanderers who may not right now be a part of this flock. The Master said, “I have other sheep that arenot of this sheep pen. I must bring themalso. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and oneshepherd.” (John 10:16 NIV) His table of grace, mercy, love, and peace, whichis set before us will provide the provisions for the flock to thrive, evenbeyond we who are gathered today.
Listen closely to this popularparaphrase of scripture and hear the Good News:
God, my shepherd! I don't need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows; you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch mybreath and send me in the rightdirection. Even when the way goesthrough Death Valley, I'm not afraidwhen you walk at my side. Your trustyshepherd's crook makes me feel secure. You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. You revive my drooping head; my cup brimswith blessing. Your beauty and lovechase after me every day of my life. I'mback home in the house of God for the rest of my life.
The Good Shepherd lays down his lifefor the flock because his desire is that the flock to flourish. If we but listen and respond to his voice,whispered through the Spirit’s presence among us, we will thrive as a communityof abundant and lasting grace, of restoring reconciliation, and of love thatlives beyond our divisions, our strife, and even beyond the fear of death.
1Golding, Thomas A. "The Imagery of Shepherding In the Bible. Part 2."Bibliotheca Sacra 163.650 (2006): 158-175. ATLASerials, Religion Collection.Web. 28 Apr. 2012.
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