Word to the Wise
Sunday, May 3, 2020 - 4th Sunday of Easter - A
[Acts 2:14a, 36-41; 1 Pet 2:20b-25; John 10:1-10]"I came that they may have life and have it more abundantly." [John]
The gospels according to Mark, Matthew and Luke record many examples of Jesus' teaching through the use of parables - a mixture of allegory, metaphor, analogy, etc; scholars debate which category to put them in. They are images drawn from the daily life of the first century Palestinian farmer/shepherd/housewife. The Gospel According to John has very few: the shepherd/sheep (John 10:1-18, 26-30), the grain of wheat (12:24) and the vine/branches (John 15:1-10). The fourth Sunday of Easter is known as "Good Shepherd Sunday" because the gospel scripture for the day is traditionally taken from the extended image of the relationship between shepherd and sheep that Jesus uses. The image is divided into three parts by the lectionary because of the A,B,C Sunday cycle, which means we don't get the whole section. For this reason, I recommend to the Beloved Congregation that you read the first 30 verses of chapter 10 to get the full benefit of the image.
The last line of today's portion, verse 10, is very well-known: "I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly." One sees it in framed cross-stitching or printed or inscribed in many ways. In this part of the image, Jesus contrasts his purpose as a shepherd with that of a thief! Jesus does not come to "slaughter and destroy."
What is most important in the whole image today is the "voice" of the shepherd. The sheep of a village would be kept in a common corral. Each shepherd would have a distinctive sound that would alert his flock to follow. Faith in Jesus would mean a recognition of his "voice" or call and a rejection of the voice of a stranger. There is a kind of "inter-dependence" here because the shepherd and sheep need each other! But the relationship is not an equal one. Without the care of the shepherd, the flock will be lost. The responsibility of a bishop or pastor comes forth clearly and echoes the prophecy of Ezekiel 34.
All of this very rich image can be experienced right now in this time of pandemic, in which pastor/shepherds are challenged to find ways to counter the terrifying illness that blocks our usual ways of shepherd/flock living. I will witness today a kind of "drive by communion" after a "livestream Eucharist!" Jesus is finding a way in a hard time to give abundant life! AMEN
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