The Good Shepherd. St Mary s Church, Hadlow Easter Four: 26 th April 2015.

Transcription

1 St Mary s Church, Hadlow Easter Four: 26 th April The Good Shepherd (John 10:11-18) May I speak in the name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit Amen. I am the good shepherd. 1 I lay down my life for the sheep. 2 Powerful words - even more powerful images. 3 In biblical history healthy flocks of sheep were vital. The Israelites nomadic way of life was precarious at the best of times, and sheep not only provided milk, cheese and meat, but also wool for clothing. Good shepherds, who were prepared to put the safety of their flock above all else were held in high esteem. The good shepherd knew his sheep; he called them and they responded to his voice and his voice alone; they trusted him to lead them on to safe pasture. No small wonder, then, that spiritual leadership resonated with images of the sheepfold. In the Old Testament the children of Israel referred to their earthly leaders as shepherds. Moses led them out of slavery in Egypt; David, the shepherd King, shouldered the burden of leadership 1 John 10:11 2 John 10:15 3 Images of shepherds and their flocks occur throughout the Old Testament (in Genesis, Isaiah, the Psalms, Samuel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel,, Micah, and Zechariah).

2 at a critical time in the nation s history, but God alone was glorified as the shepherd. In the book of Ezekiel, Yahweh identifies himself as the divine shepherd: I will search for my sheep and I will seek them out... I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from their countries and will bring them to their own land, 4 and possibly the best beloved of all the psalms opens with the words: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 5 Now, Jesus declares that He is the good shepherd, and that He has come so that all who believe in Him might have life, and have it abundantly. 6 Not just more life, more money, more gadgets and gizmos, but real, worthwhile, abundant spiritual life. On this fourth Sunday after Easter we move away from the historical narrative of the resurrection to deeper reflections on the Word made flesh. Our reading this morning is taken from St John s Gospel in many ways a gospel set apart from Matthew, Mark and Luke. It begins with the unique identity of Jesus as Messiah: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. 7 John goes on to state that: God 4 Exekiel 34:11, 15 5 Psalm 23:1 6 John 10:10 7 John 1: 1-2

3 so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but have everlasting life. 8 The Word made flesh becomes a recurrent theme in the fourth gospel, with John expanding sevenfold on the image of perfection. On seven separate occasions Jesus uses the words I am to describe himself: I am the bread of life, 9 I am the light of the world, 10 I am the gate, 11 I am the good shepherd, 12 I am the resurrection and the life, 13 I am the way, the truth and the life, 14 I am the true vine. 15 In Jewish lore and custom the number seven represents both physical and spiritual completeness the pure essence of perfection. 16 The Word made flesh is, indeed, that perfection: Jesus is in God and God is in Jesus. In this light I am the good shepherd 17 becomes a confident and commanding declaration of divine authority, steadfast leadership, and voluntary, self-sacrifice a far cry from the soft-focus 8 John 3:16 9 John 6:35 10 John 8:12 11 John 10:9 12 John 10:11 13 John 11:35 14 John 14:6 15 John 15:1 10. References to the completeness of the number seven can be found from the first chapter of Genesis, when God rested on the seventh day, right through to Revelations where we find seven churches, seven angels, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven bursts of thunder and the seven last plagues. Other instances: Genesis 29 (Jacob has to serve seven years for his bride); Genesis 41 (Pharaoh s dreams are interlaced with images of seven); Exodus 25 (seven branches of the menorah in the tabernacle); 1 Kings 6 (it takes seven years for Solomon to build the temple); Ezekiel 40 (seven steps up to God s temple). In addition, there are seven statements from the cross and St John s gospel contains seven signs (miracles) 17 John 10:11

4 image of Jesus in flowing linen robes, gently cradling a Persil-white lamb in his arms. The lengthy parable of the good shepherd takes place on the Sabbath, in the days following the Feast of the Tabernacles. Jesus has been accused by the Pharisees of violating the Sabbath by healing a man, blind from birth, beside the pool of Siloam. 18 The Pharisees, who looked down on the common people as beneath them, were pious Jews intent on rigidly enforcing the letter of the Law. They were also openly hostile and increasingly aggressive towards Jesus and his growing band of followers. As a result of this impasse, complex images of sight and insight, darkness and light, belief and unbelief, good and bad leadership, inclusion and exclusion are intricately woven into the three heated exchanges which follow the Pharisees blinkered accusation that Jesus was violating the Sabbath each conflicted exchange developing the theme of the shepherd, the flock and the sheepfold. I am the good shepherd 19 now becomes a direct challenge to the scribes and the Pharisees, who had set themselves up as the spiritual shepherds of the nation. When the Romans had besieged Jerusalem during the recent Jewish War, many of the Pharisees had fled, leaving their flock unprotected in the face of the brutal Roman army. When 18 John 9:1-14 The healing of the blind man takes place in the waters of the pool of Siloam [Siloam is interpreted as sent highlighting the divine mission of Jesus as the one sent. Michael Mullins The Gospel of John a Commentary. The Columba Press p.234] 19 John 10:11

5 the Romans came back and attacked Israel again, communities were decimated and vast numbers of Israelites were scattered to the four corners of the known world. In stating categorically that He is the good shepherd, 20 (where good equates with honour and integrity) 21 Jesus is condemning the Pharisees, not only for spiritual blindness and moral corruption, but also for physical cowardice. The accusation is spelt out loud and clear: the hired hand sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 22 Actions speak louder than words: the hired hand saves his own skin; the faithful shepherd is prepared to die for his sheep. The Pharisees are no more than selfserving hired hands, deaf to the Word and blind to the true spirit of the Law. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. 23 Here, indeed, is confirmation that the Word was God (and that) He was in the beginning with God. 24 intimate pure, perfect love. Knowledge between Father and Son is That pure, perfect love, that completeness not only existed between shepherd and flock in first 20 John 10:11 21 From the greek kalos 22 John 10:12 23 John 10: John 1: 2

6 century Palestine; it is here, now, and ever will be; as disciples of the Risen Lord each one of us is known and loved. Just as the Holy Trinity is both One and Three, so all who follow Jesus each and every believer is one with God and yet distinct from God. We all have a specific identity, a unique DNA, but at the same time we are all part of the union with God we enter into in Jesus Christ through membership of His flock. This is a pivotal point in St John s gospel. Jesus is moving towards the end of His three year ministry. Soon He will enter Jerusalem in triumph, only to have triumph turn to tragedy. I lay down my life for the sheep 25 - complete obedience to His Father s command. This is also a deliberate, voluntary act. 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. 26 This is the full final sacrifice, which after three seemingly endless dark days will be translated into glory with Christ s resurrection on Easter Day. Here, indeed, as prophesied by John the Baptist is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 27 The lengthy parable of the good shepherd may have been addressed directly to the scribes and the Pharisees, but Jesus also tells us I have 25 John 10:15 26 John 10: John 1:29

7 other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd 28 So, who are these other sheep? Jesus knew that, in time, He would return to His Father; it would fall to others to gather His sheep into the sheepfold. We know that Jesus commands his disciples to spread the gospel to the Gentiles: As the Father has sent me, so I send you. 29 When Peter later seeks reassurance, Jesus tells him: feed my lambs... tend my sheep... feed my sheep, 30 echoing the Great Commission in St Matthew s gospel: All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. 31 But surely Jesus is also reaching out to the Israelites who had fled Roman persecution, and as yet had not heard the good news? We should not ignore God s words to Abraham: in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed, 32 or, indeed, the poignant moment when Simeon held the infant Jesus in his arms: My eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a 28 John 10:16 29 John 20:21 30 John 21: 15, 16, Matthew 28: Genesis 12:5

8 light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel. 33 There is so much we can learn from today s reading: good leadership should be responsible leadership, compassionate leadership, and crucially inclusive, not exclusive, leadership. We need look no further than the Middle East, Sudan, Nigeria and the Yemen to witness cruel, twisted and brutal leadership. Leadership may well call for sacrifice not the full final sacrifice of Christ on the cross, but small sacrifices of time and energy freely given on a daily basis for the common good. Individually we may not aspire to great leadership, but on this Vocation Sunday we are all called to serve: at home with our families; at work with our colleagues; and in retirement with our friends. We are all disciples of the risen Christ. We come together, week by week, to pray, to hear the Word, to reflect on the gospel and to share the bread of life and the cup of salvation. With the strength of the Holy Spirit we can go and spread the good news that Christ is the bread of life and the light of the world, both the gate and the good shepherd, the way, the truth, the life and the true vine and, for each and every one of us, the resurrection and the life the Word made flesh. Amen 33 Luke 2:30-32