From the Daily Lectionary for Friday/Saturday September 4-5, Proper 17
John 10:1-18 (The Message by Eugene Peterson)
“Let me set this before you as plainly as I can. If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen instead of going through the gate, you know he’s up to no good—a sheep rustler! The shepherd walks right up to the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice. They won’t follow a stranger’s voice but will scatter because they aren’t used to the sound of it.”
Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. “I’ll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. A hired man is not a real shepherd. The sheep mean nothing to him. He sees a wolf come and runs for it, leaving the sheep to be ravaged and scattered by the wolf. He’s only in it for the money. The sheep don’t matter to him. I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me. In the same way, the Father knows me and I know the Father. I put the sheep before myself, sacrificing myself if necessary. You need to know that I have other sheep in addition to those in this pen. I need to gather and bring them, too. They’ll also recognize my voice. Then it will be one flock, one Shepherd. This is why the Father loves me: because I freely lay down my life. And so I am free to take it up again. No one takes it from me. I lay it down on my own free will. I have the right to lay it down; I also have the right to take it up again. I received this authority personally from my Father.”
Most scholars now doubt that the Gospel of John was written by the disciple John the son of Zebedee. The Fourth Gospel was likely written by multiple authors, and was the product of a group of believers referred to as the Johannine community. This community began as a group of Jews who came to believe that Jesus was the messiah, but because of their beliefs were excluded from their synagogue. This led to strong antagonism with non-Christian Jews. It also led to what is called a high Christology, in which Jesus is explicitly identified as being divine. In John Jesus is the Word of God, the creator of the universe, the equal of God, and the one sent from heaven and soon to return. Jesus himself says this: “I and the Father are one.” (10:30) None of the other gospels makes these claims. Of note, Saint Paul seems to have understood Jesus as divine in his writings about twenty years before the first Gospel of Mark. So, while some of the early Christians thought of Jesus as human, others thought of him as divine, and some evidently thought he was somehow both. It is this final view that became orthodoxy during the time of Constantine and the church councils over two hundred years later, during the fourth century. One other major difference between John and the synoptic gospels is the idea that we can experience eternal life in the Kingdom of God here and now in our present lives. Eternal life is not a future event as it is in the more apocalyptic gospels, in which the Son of Man arrives on the clouds of heaven, ushering in the kingdom. This idea of experiencing the Kingdom in the present is called realized eschatology, and can have major implications for how we live our lives today.
The gospel reading for today is the last discourse of Jesus’ public ministry. Although scholars say that one distinctive feature of the Gospel of John is that it contains no parables, this Good Shepherd discourse sure sounds like a parable to me! This pastoral imagery of the shepherd is seen frequently in the Old Testament including the 34th chapter of Ezekiel, as well as in the parable of the lost sheep in Luke (15: 3-7). The Fourth Gospel has seven “I am” statements by Jesus, and two of them are here in chapter 10: “I am the gate” and “I am the good shepherd.” Jesus is the way to life (the gate) and also leads the way to life (the good shepherd). While these are closely related they are not the same thing. He is the way to life because he is himself life, and he leads the way to life by the example of his own life, by laying it down for us (reference The New Interpreter’s Bible). What does this mean for us as followers of Christ today? I think it is all about relationship between Jesus the shepherd and us the community about which he is speaking. He is expressing his love, his concern for safety (from the “wolves” and the “sheep stealers” and “hired hands”), and his desire that we have “real and eternal life, better life than they ever dreamed of.” But Jesus is asking more of us, specifically that we like him be willing to “put the sheep before myself, sacrificing myself if necessary” (translated “lay down my life for the sheep” in NRSV). No easy task. And this is an all-inclusive group of sheep! There are other sheep besides those in this pen, other folds outside this one but still members of the flock. It is Jesus’ desire that there be “one flock, one Shepherd.” The gift of Jesus is therefore available to the whole world. It is all-inclusive.
What does it mean for us the church to live as Jesus’ sheep? This Good Shepherd discourse seems to be saying that the community is called to mutual compassion and care and love, a self-giving love, and sacrifice is part of the deal. This love of neighbor is living in the Kingdom now, the realized eschatology of the Fourth Gospel. It means “taking up your cross.” It may not be comfortable, and it may be dangerous, but I believe it is what the Gospel is calling us to do.
I’ve always had a hard time understanding what “take up your cross” implies, what it really means. What does it mean for you? I believe our joining in solidarity with our black brothers and sisters by hanging the Black Lives Matter banner across our beautiful red door at All Saints has given me some insight into that question. I think it is about sacrifice as an expression of love. When Jesus stood in solidarity with the outcasts and those disenfranchised by the power structures of his day, he took up his cross all the way to his death on the cross. While we will not likely have to pay the price that Jesus paid, I do think we are taking up our cross by hanging up the banner. It is a firm commitment to live out the Gospel, to show compassion and care and love for one another, and along with it comes resistance, strong opposition, even hatred. We’ve received plenty of that from others in our community opposed to our action. If you haven’t watched Jim’s elegant sermon from last week, please do. He learned a lot during his near hour long conversation with the MAGA-hat-wearing man who so strongly opposed the banner. It was at first a bitter conversation, filled with anger and condescension. Yet, by the end both sides realized that despite their differences there was mutual respect, and Jim ended by referring to this man as his “brother.” Jim will tell you that in reflecting upon that encounter he had an epiphany of sorts. Both of them have been hurt. Both of them needed an outlet for their frustration and anger. While Jim knows—as do I—that his perspective is the right one, he also knows that this man too is a child of God. Perhaps in some way this man will see the gospel of Christ in what Jim and our church is doing, that we are taking up the cross of Christ in our support of those who have suffered so much.
Rev. Bob Donnell
September 4, 2020
Prayer (from The Way of the Cross)
Heavenly Father, whose blessed Son came not to be served but to serve: Bless all who, following in his steps, give themselves to the service of others; that with wisdom, patience, and courage, they may minister in his Name to the suffering, the friendless, and the needy; for the love of him who laid down his life for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. (From Fifth Station) Almighty God, whose blessed Son willingly endured the agony and shame of the cross for our redemption: Give us courage to take up our cross and follow him who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen. (From Second Station)
