The Gospel isn’t meant to be gulped down on Sunday morning, but gnawed on through the week so it really becomes a part of us. You’ve got to work at it, like a dog with a good bone! Here’s the Gospel for this coming Sunday — the Fourth Sunday of Easter — with food for thought on laying down our lives. Gnaw away!
John 10:11-18
Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd would die for the sheep. The hired hand, who is neither shepherd nor owner of the sheep, catches sight of the wolf coming and runs away, leaving the sheep to be scattered or snatched by the wolf. That’s because the hired hand works only for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
“I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me, in the same way Abba God knows me and I know God – and for these sheep I will lay down my life. I have other sheep that don’t belong to this fold – I must lead them too, and they will hear my voice. And then there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why Abba God loves me – because I lay down my life, only to take it up again. No one takes my life from me. I lay it down freely. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it up again. This command I received from my Abba.”
The Backstory – What’s Going On Here?
We jump to the middle of John’s Gospel … toward the end of the second section of the Gospel whose theme is Jesus being rejected by Israel. Jesus is in Jerusalem, and the Temple leadership are continually challenging him and plotting against him. It is a section of the Gospel that is full of contrasts. Jesus restores the sight of one blind from birth, who is able to see not only physically but that Jesus is God’s Beloved … while the religious leaders, who claim to have all knowledge, do not see. This passage is part of a larger section in Chapter 10 where Jesus uses the imagery of sheep and shepherd. Jesus starts out (10:7-10) by saying that he is the “door of the sheep.” But then the metaphor shifts and Jesus contrasts those who are “thieves and robbers” who “come only to steal and kill and destroy” with him, saying that “I came that they might have life and have it abundantly.” It is then that Jesus introduces the image of him as the Good Shepherd that plays throughout this passage. And what is the result of Jesus’ preaching?
The people become further divided among themselves. This conflict reaches its apex in Chapter 11 when Jesus reveals his identity in the fullest way yet by raising Lazarus … and the religious leadership resolves to kill him.
A few things to chew on:
*Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.” Jesus distinguishes between a shepherd and a hireling. The translation here about the hireling is “who is not the owner of the sheep,” but perhaps a better translation is the RSV’s “whose own the sheep are not.” This is not about ownership but about familial love and responsibility. The difference is that we … the sheep … are not only not “someone else’s” (in the case of the hireling) but are also not just disposable and replaceable property (which would be the case in the first translation). Jesus’ literally has skin in the game. Jesus’ relationship with us, the sheep, is one of kinship. And Jesus cares for us and calls us by
name as a shepherd who not only owns the sheep, but is one of the sheep. It is not just an image of protection, but a powerful metaphor of the incarnation.
*”I have other sheep that don’t belong to this fold. I must lead them, too.” One of the temptations of any faith is for its adherents to think they have cornered the market on salvation and wisdom. It’s a consequence of the fall to try to exalt ourselves, and in great irony we even try to use God to do it! But Jesus’ words here are a corrective to that. He doesn’t identify who those other sheep are … he merely states that they exist. They could be anyone. They could be everyone. And because of that, we are reminded that no one can be dismissed. Every person we meet from the highest to the lowest is someone whom Jesus calls lovingly by name … and we are called to do the same.
Try This:
Jesus is the Good Shepherd who calls each of us by name. Names are
important. They aren’t just labels. They reveal our truest identity.
Remember Jacob wrestling with the angel … when the angel renamed him he
didn’t just give him something new to be called, he told him who he really
was — Israel.
Jesus calling us by name means Jesus knows us fully … and knowing us that
fully will lay down his life willingly for us. Such is the depth of his
love. This week, take a few minutes at the beginning and the end of each
day and in silence open yourself up fully to Christ. Search for the places
that you hide not only from others but are tempted to hide from yourself.
Present them to him saying “here I am. This is me.” … knowing that he
already knows. And then know that this person, with all your triumphs,
tragedies, gifts and faults … is known and loved by Christ without
measure. Let that be the truth that defines your day. Let that be the truth
that sends you to sleep at night.
Laying down our lives
Gordon Cosby is best known for starting an amazingly vibrant and missionary
church in Washington, D.C., called Church of the Savior. But the roots of
that community came from his stint as an Air Force chaplain in World War II
For Gordon, his unit was his truest experience of life in Christ. And he
remembered them when he began to start his church.
He remembered how that love they had for each other and their deep belief
in their cause meant they could face fears that before they couldn’t even
have imagined. How even when they were at their weariest, because they were
together and because they believed, it was like they were being fueled by
another source.
He remembered how they were willing to lay down their lives for each other.
Not that they wanted to die … but at the same time absolutely willing to
give those lives of their own free will … that’s how much they believed
in their cause, that’s how much they believed in one another.
It is the model of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who says “I lay down my life
in order to take it up again. no one takes it from me, but I lay it down of
my own accord.”
Our faith … and communities of faith … tend to run off the rails when
we view following Jesus as about obligation or reward. When we view the
practice of discipleship as fulfilling what is being demanded harshly of us
or in order to earn points toward heaven, as if it were some Starwoods
resort!
It is in this framing that the tithe becomes a tax and service feels more
like purgatory than heaven.
We are bid to take up the cross together and follow Jesus. We are bid. It
is not placed on us, and we do not have to do it to earn anything. We are
bid to be like Christ in together bearing the cross willingly. To lay down
our lives for one another not because of conscription but because, like
those airmen, conscription or no, they were freely willing to die for
friends and a cause they loved so dearly.
It is an amazing image for the Church. If people could be willing to lay
down their lives for each other in war, why not for Christ and why not for
the world. If together, people could find the strength in each other and a
dream for a greater good to stop the Third Reich, imagine what we people of
the Good Shepherd could do and become right here, right now.
Will we be Good Shepherds or mere hirelings? The choice is ours.
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Check out the rest of Sunday’s readings
The Lectionary Page has all of the readings for this Sunday and every
Sunday – [1] just click here[2].
Collect for Sunday
Pray this throughout the week as you gnaw on this Gospel.
O God, whose Beloved Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when
we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow
where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Want to read more?
[3]“The Text This Week” is an excellent online resource for anyone who
wants to dive more deeply into the scriptures for the week.
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References
1. http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearB_RCL/Easter/BEaster4_RCL.html
2. http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearABC_RCL/Christmas/HolyName_RCL.html
3. http://www.textweek.com/
