John 10:1-10
“Herding Sheep”
May 3, 2020
What do you have plenty of right now? Look around your living
room or kitchen or wherever you are in your home, maybe it’s photographs or knickknacks, books or magazines, DVDs or pens, pillows or coffee mugs – and that’s just the stuff you can put your hands on.
For those of us with so much and that would be many of us.
I’ve heard from some of you that you have spent these quarantine days taking an inventory and determining how to thin out everything from yarn to canned goods. There is both a comfort in being surrounded by that which brings us joy as well as the feeling that it is possible to have too much of a good thing.
And then there are those intangibles that we are surrounded abundantly by right now – quiet time, memories of those sweet shared moments of the past when we could move about freely and hug and shake hands with abandon, gratitude for the selfless dedication of health care professionals, first responders and all those folks making it possible to stay safe. Then there’s that phrase that a few months ago we rarely, if ever, heard uttered and now it has become the go-to pronouncement of medical and governmental officials – an abundance of caution.
Jesus here in John’s Gospel is so many things – he’s shepherd, he’s the gate, he’s the gatekeeper and throughout all of this we, his followers, are the sheep. His assurance of “abundant life” (NRSV) or “life and have it to the full”(NIV) or “real and eternal life, more and better life than could be dreamed of”(The Message) – depending on which version you read – is intended to let us know that with Jesus we will have all that is essential to our well-being.
The 23rd Psalm with its comforting imagery of God as shepherd which we turn to in times of grief or pain or loss, speaks of God who is able to ease our suffering because of the knowledge we have of being known and held by that Shepherd God, defended and cared for in the face of enemies. And abundance, an overflowing cup, is what comes from such knowledge.
What Jesus offers us, in this promise of life abundant, is relationship – a chance to know and be known. The grace that is offered is not because of what we do or don’t do but because of who and what God is. To follow Jesus is to take a path he set before us – one of lovingkindness and recognizing that we can put our trust and our hope in the Good Shepherd.
There’s a story about an American tourist who was visiting the Middle East when he met up with a number of different shepherds and their flocks were all mixed together drinking from the same brook.
Soon one of the shepherds called out to the sheep, “Manah. Manah. Manah.” which is “Follow me” in Arabic. Right away his sheep moved away from the other sheep and followed him. Another shepherd uttered the same words “Manah. Manah. Manah” and his sheep followed that shepherd.
The tourist asked if he could borrow the cloak and turban of that shepherd and he called out “Manah. Manah. Manah” and not a single sheep moved. The tourist asked the shepherd, “Will the sheep ever follow someone other than you?” The shepherd said, “Oh yes, sometimes a sheep gets sick, and then it will follow anyone.” (John Braaten, The Greatest Wonder of All: Sermons for Lent and Easter (CSS, 1991), 96.
What we can hold onto is the assurance that the Shepherd we follow has our back and is journeying with us through these times of isolation, upheaval and fear. That is the promise of life abundant, now and forever.
May we be carried through times like this by this prayer from Julie Gvillo (RevGalBlogPals):
Good Shepherd,
we are so grateful for your voice,
quietly,
calmly,
directing us,
leading us.
When sheep rustlers
open the gates and cast us to the wolves,
you are there,
reminding us to whom we belong.
When the flock is scattered
and each sheep is out for itself,
you are there,
reminding us that you will care for us.
When the path we trod is threatening
you are there,
an ever present comfort in the midst of our fear.
If we but trust in you,
you will give us life —
more life …
better life …
abundant life.
Help us to be patient.
Quiet our fears.
Lead us into tomorrow
with new wisdom gleaned from today. Amen.