[in progress - I'll update it over the course of the next two coffees - was looking for some specific pics I took over the last several years which give us a good illustration of this saying: basically you have a rock wall enclosure, and the shepherd lays down in the opening as the "gate" - vivid image]
All the other readings this Sunday also deal with the theme of shepherding. The reading from 1 Peter and Ps 23 are both obvious, but the reading from Acts 2: 42-47 also deals with shepherding. It might not be obvious what the connection is between the Acts reading and the reading from John's Gospel, but I believe there is one. In this part of John's Gospel, Jesus does not refer to himself as a shepherd; rather he is the the gate and/or the gatekeeper. In this way he is the one by whom true 'shepherd' (as opposed to bandits and thieves) come in and take care of the sheep. So Jesus points also to the other 'shepherds' of the flocks - those whom God has called to serve that ministry for the flock. They are not to 'climb over the wall'. That is, they need to go through the gate/keeper, who is Jesus, in order to have an authentic ministry among the sheep. It is here that the reading from Acts comes in. It gives us a model of what authentic ministry of the shepherds of the flock looked like. Acts gives us a snapshot of early ministry among the 'sheep' of those shepherds who have come in by way of Jesus.
In the sermons I've preached and heard about passages which deal with the whole shepherd/sheep thing, I have found what I think are two errors of approach. The first is the tendency to make the passages more about the character of the sheep than about the character of the shepherd. No doubt there is room for looking at both, but I think we need to look more at the character of the shepherd first, and then look at the character of the sheep. Why start with ourselves, why not start by asking what it is that a
shepherd of the people is supposed to do? Shepherd was a term used of
both religious and politic al leaders in the ancient world. We all see that the image has a long history in the Old Testament. The leaders of Israel
were referred to as shepherds. We have of course the familiar story of
David, the shepherd who was to become King; we have the story of
Moses, who was tending the flocks when he received his calling.
Which brings me to the second thing: what do we think about being called sheep? I got into a conversation a few days ago at a local café about the question – what do you think Jesus means when he refers to his people as sheep? That is, why are we considered sheep? There was the usual “dumb animals” bit, you know, how we are simply in need of shepherds and how we tend to wander. This line of interpretation, while it has some value, also has its deficiencies. There are two better places to start. First is that it is not so much about the character of the sheep, as the character of the shepherd.
Throughout the scriptures we can tend to forget that sheep were valuable animals. A man’s wealth was indicated by the number of flocks he had. Sheep, from the point of view of the shepherd, are valuable. That is why we hear parables in which Jesus tells us that the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep, that he will leave the 99 who are safe and go after the one who is lost. If you are a sheep, you are worth something, you are valued, you are sought after.
10:1 Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
Somewhere I have some pics of this rural village scene. It's on my other computer. I'll post it if I find time tomorrow. Gives you a good physical image. The old stone-walled sheep pen, shepherds (all rather young, by the way)...
While Jesus is referred to as the good shepherd later in this section of John, in this reading he is the gate or the gatekeeper, and it appears that he is able to subcontract shepherding out to others. Well, okay, he calls others to act as shepherds. So this passage speaks of Jesus as the way by which those called come to be among the flock. It is an image of the shared ministry which God has given to Jesus and to his Body, the Church. There will be those who are more than happy to fill in specific names for thieves and bandits, but let's leave that alone for now.
It is interesting to note that the way the "figure of speech" is told in one order here at the start, and then told in reverse order in the explanation (vv 7ff). Here Jesus begins with the negative: there is a history of bandits and thieves who were supposed to shepherd Israel, but didn't. The image here is one of access to the sheep. How does one get in among the sheep? The way to get in is through Jesus. On one level this addresses issues of leadership. If someone in the sheepfold did not get in by the gate (who is Jesus), then that person is up to no good.
Question: "The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." To whom is the pronoun referring? [A] The gatekeeper opens the gate for the shepherd. The sheep hear the voice of the shepherd, and follow it. [B] The gatekeeper opens the gate for the shepherd. The sheep hear the voice of the gatekeeper, and follow it. Only when we get to the verses following this reading (11 ff) do we definitely identify Jesus as the shepherd.
4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers."
6 Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. 7 So again Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."
One of the key words in John's Gospel is "life". Just google it and you will see what a dominant theme this is for Jesus in John's Gospel. I have a sense that only those who have come to encounter the risen Christ will begin to grasp what this abundant life is. Not "what it means", but what it is. There is a difference. And perhaps for some who come to our churches, sing a few songs, echo a few prayers and go away asking themselves "Is this all there is?", we need to point them to this.
What is it to have abundant life? Those who have never read Walter Bruggeman's work on the liturgy of abundance and the myth of scarcity might find it an interesting read.
The language Jesus uses is imagery of overflowing, of excess. We spend our lives crying out “not enough”, while Jesus offers us abundant life. We spend our time – of which there is never enough, making money – of which there is never enough, so that we can live in our house (which is never big enough) and drive our car (which is never new enough) and spend our free time (of which there is never enough) relaxing, only to repeat the cycle, sometimes in the company of a spouse (who is never-fill in the blank- ___ enough, children (who are never well behaved enough), and the constant cry is never enough. We are asked to give to the Church – but we live in such an attitude of “never enough” that we are afraid to take even the simplest risk of faith.
One of the temptations here is to impose our own notion of 'abundance' on the words of Jesus. One form can be the prosperity Gospel (God loves you and wants you to be rich), but I don't think that is what Jesus had in mind.
Recent Comments