Year B

John 10:11-18

The Rev. Denise Vaughn

24 Hour Shepherd

On many Sunday’s throughout the year, we might be hard pressed to find a theme that seems to run through the readings for the day but not today. For today, we can definitely say something is going on with sheep and shepherds and indeed it is. This Fourth Sunday in Easter, has traditionally been observed by the Church as Good Shepherd Sunday. In our Gospel for today, John portrays Jesus describing himself as the good shepherd or, perhaps more accurately, as the real shepherd of God’s people. Throughout the pages of the Hebrew Scriptures or Old Testament, God is described as the shepherd of Israel and the chosen people are described as God’s flock. We make that language our own today as we said the twenty-third psalm. “The Lord is my shepherd”.

The Easter message is that Jesus, the sacrificial lamb that lays down his life for us, has risen and returns to us, and will never let us go. This assurance is based not on what we do or do not do, but on what Jesus does in his role as the good shepherd. But how many of us in America really understand that role because for the most part sheep and shepherds do not figure into our daily life. Now, in England, or Scotland, or Ireland, that may be a different story. I remember seeing and hearing lots of sheep during my visit to England years ago. However, for many of us, our thinking about Jesus the good shepherd has been formed by stained-glass windows, sermons or pictures of Jesus in long, flowing robes unstained by sweat or sheep manure.

In one hand he carries a willowy shepherd’s crook that would hardly discourage the most timid wolf or mountain lion. While in the other hand or on his shoulder he cradles a sleeping lamp with wool as pure and white as snow. Giving the appearance that sheep are very innocent and docile and shepherding one of the cushiest jobs around. But the life of a shepherd was in Christ’s day and is today anything but cushy. It can be dangerous and risky, with shepherds spending their life in fields rather than in warm and dry homes. Take for instance the shepherds in Antelope, Montana. Not many people flock to Antelope, MT, but if you’re an unemployed shepherd it may be just the place for you.

Antelope tops the list in internet searches Shepherding Jobs in the United States. The duties listed of a shepherd haven’t changed much since Jesus’ day. Shepherds herd, graze, feed, and protect, day in and day out. No need worrying about how you’ll spend your free time, either. The job listing notes it’s essentially a 24 hour a day, seven day a week job and believe it or not, there are plenty of people who want to be shepherds. Yet, not all who apply are good shepherds. There are plenty who seek to scatter the flock and while Jesus mentions the thieves and bandits in the text, he does not give them the same weight as the description he provides of himself as the Good Shepherd, the 24 hour shepherd. But bad shepherds need not apply. Instead Jesus offers us an image of just what makes a shepherd good and John’s Gospel as a whole offers a brilliant sketch of just what is involved in leading God’s people toward safe pastures.

It is the “good shepherd” that leads. The word “Good” implies that which is sound, noble, ideal, true, faithful and competent. Yet, it was also a very risky statement for a rabbi to make. It would not have been taken lightly by the religious elite and educated of his day because shepherds were seen as disreputable mainly because they had to break Sabbath Law. They did not have the luxury of a day off to attend temple worship. For Jesus to liken himself to ones who broke the Sabbath, it would be as if Jesus said today, “I am the good migrant worker” or “I am the illegal alien.”  Yet, time and time again God proves to us that his ways are not our ways. Our Lord identifies himself with the scandalized, the poor, the outcast, to teach us something very significant about his mission, about God’s love and about our mission.

The people for whom Jesus lays down his life are not just the chosen few. His life is laid down for everyone because God’s love is for everyone. Yet, we humans tend to set boundaries, people are in or out. In North America, for example, the divisions between Christians seem to be more categorical than about denominations. Are we conservative, moderate, or liberal, pro-life or pro choice; law-bound or grace-centered-all this makes us wary of one another and sometimes unable to hear what Jesus is saying to us. Yet, Jesus tells us that listening is the key because there are so many voices vying for our attention. We sometimes go astray, just like the sheep and follow other voices, yet even when we do Jesus promises he will never let us go. His voice will bring us back because we belong to him. As we walk this path of faith by saying yes to some voices and no to others, we are comforted to know Jesus is there, going before us and leading us.

He is the one who calls the sheep and gathers those who belong, along with those who do not belong. He lays down his life for the one flock providing a place where all are welcome. With this metaphor in mind, we can see the role of Christ much more clearly; to lead all people toward God, to guide and inspire, protect and save. The sheep feel secure just to hear the voice of the shepherd but for Christ to be the Good Shepherd to us, we have to accept being his sheep. How risky is that because our image of sheep is one who is thought to be dumb and mindless. Priest and author, Barbara Brown Taylor, in her sermon “The Voice of the Shepherd” tells the story of a person she knew who had actually grown up on a sheep ranch and could dispel the myth that sheep are dump. She says; it was actually the cattle ranchers who started that rumor, because sheep do not behave like cows.

Cows are herded from the rear with shouts and prods from the cowboys. The sheep if you stand behind them making noises, they will just run around behind you. They prefer to be led. Cows can be pushed; sheep must be lead. Sheep will not go anywhere that someone else other than their trusted shepherd does not go first to show them everything is all right. This relationship between the sheep and the shepherd is all about who the shepherd is and what the shepherd does. For this reason the Father loves him because he laid down his life for his flock to show us God’s love and to show us our mission, our calling; to reach out to the lost and hurting in our world.

All very risky, risky for Jesus and risky for us but fellow sheep this is what we are called to do. To make God’s love known to others, so they may hear his voice calling them as his voice calls us. Therefore, “Little children, little sheep, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.”  Our actions show our hearts, God’s actions in Jesus showed God’s heart and all who obey abide in him and he abides in them. The “Good Shepherd” glances over his shoulder calling us to follow, leading the way, protecting, guiding, and calling his flock into action. There can be no greater calling then to be a sheep for the Lamb of God.