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In all three years of the cycle the Revised Common Lectionary has us read a piece from John 10 where Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd on the 4th Sunday of Easter. The Psalm suggested for those Sundays is also Psalm 23 "The Lord is my shepherd...". For this reason the 4th Sunday of the Easter Season is commonly known as Good Shepherd Sunday.
This Sunday we will hear these Scripture Readings:
- 1 John 3:16-24
- John 10:11-18
The Sermon title is Shepherd Love
Early Thoughts: What does it mean to say we follow the shepherd? What does it mean to say that the shepherd loves us?
To read the whole of Scripture you could honestly come to believe that God has a fondness for herders of flocks. Abel is a herdsman and his offering is, Genesis tells us, more pleasing to God than the offering of the plant tender Cain. Jacob grows wealthy as a tender of the flocks. Moses is out tending the flocks of his father-in-law when he encounters the burning bush. David is a shepherd boy anointed to be king. The birth of Christ is announced to shepherds out in the fields. Jesus uses the image of the shepherd searching for the one lost sheep as a metaphor for the Kingdom of God. And then Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd.
Probably as a result of this imagery in Scripture, certainly because of John 10, images of Jesus as a shepherd abound in Western art history. The traditional Bishop's staff strongly resembles a Shepherd's Crook. The title Pastor for Christian clergy is related to pasture, to tending herds. Shepherds and sheep are a clear piece of the Christian story.
The Scripture stories about Shepherds remind us that being a shepherd can be a risky business. David claims he is able to fight Goliath because his skills have been honed fighting off predators who come to take the sheep. In this week's piece from John 10 Jesus talks about the shepherd sticking around and being willing to put health and life on the line for the sheep.
The shepherd, Jesus says, loves the sheep and they love the shepherd. The shepherd loves the sheep so much they are willing to take harm in protection of the sheep. The writer of 1 John (probably not the same person as the Gospel writer, and also probably not the same person who wrote Revelation -- there are a lot of John's in our story) calls us to love in truth and action. This may in fact mean putting ourselves in the line of fire, risking harm to reputation, physical health, or mental health.
But if Christ is our model, can we make a different choice but to love fully, in word and in deed?
--Gord
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