"The Good Shepherd and the Good Sheep" – John 10:11-18

 John 10:11-18 (NRSV)

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 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. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have 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. For this reason the Father loves me, because 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. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”

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My wife and I are privileged to own two vehicles. One is our good car – the one we bought when our first child was born. It safely and comfortably transports the kids around town and is our only option for long road trips.

And then there’s the other car. We try not to ask it to do much more than get me the 11/2 miles to and from church every day. It leaks oil; it has barely an inch of exterior that isn't’ dented, cracked, or missing paint; it has more pieces than I care to admit joined together with plastic zip ties; and seven years ago I put a CD into the car stereo system and to this day it has refused to eject it.

Sometimes life kind of works out like that – you have at least two options, but you only deem one of the options as “good.”

If I say, “Coke or Pepsi,” you know which one you think is good. Same thing if I say, “Democrat or Republican” or “IU or Purdue.” Anyone who grew up with brothers or sisters has probably thought that only one of you was the “good” sibling (or at least felt like one was treated by your parents as the “good” sibling).

In today’s scripture Jesus announces that he is good. Of all the voices pleading for us to follow them, it is Jesus’ voice alone is “good.” As the good shepherd, Jesus promises he will stick around when trouble comes, unite divided groups, die to protect us from the forces of darkness, and guide us in a voice we would recognize.

I believe this is true. I believe that of all the voices vying for my attention, Jesus alone is the good shepherd. I believe that Jesus sticks around when trouble comes. I believe Jesus will united what is divided. I believe Jesus died to protect me from the forces of darkness.

Where I struggle, however, is with Jesus’ promise that the flock will know and follow Jesus’ voice.

How many of us can say with absolute certainty that we hear (and follow) Jesus’ will in our lives? How many of us are confident that when we encounter the next big decision – the next fork in the road – Jesus’ voice will guide us to make the correct decision?

I hope I’m not the only one struggles with this daily!

How do we, as people who desire to be led by Christ, know if we are following the good shepherd as opposed to simply following our own desires, demons, or indigestion?

Reading and wrestling with scripture is certainly one way to hear the voice of Jesus. Another is by worshiping with and committing yourself to a faith community. Also, you can spend time in prayer and meditation, as I know many of you do.

But what about the times when scripture fails to speak to us, when faith communities fail to love and accept us, or when we can’t bring ourselves to pray because we we’re not sure anyone or anything is actually listening? Is there another way to hear the voice of the good shepherd?

Yes!

Another way to hear the voice of the good shepherd is by following the sheep that are already going the right way (to be clear, that’s metaphorical sheep!).

Often I have encounters with people and am struck by the feeling that these are people I ought to follow because they’re on the right path; they are people I could learn from, and they just “get it.” These are people who manage to embody the voice of the good shepherd through their faith, selfless actions, and peaceful presence.

Here’s an example: You remember my car situation – how I have one good car and one bad car? Well, last Friday I learned that one of my brake pads had fallen off the bad car. The mechanic assured me brake pads are very important for a vehicle and told me to leave the car there, although he was unsure if he could get to it that day or the next. I was solo parenting that entire weekend – the good car safely and dependably transporting my wife to Nashville, Tennessee – and I needed my car to transport the kids to/from school and ball games.

I drove back to the church and was weighing my options when a colleague I had just met a couple days earlier arrived for our scheduled lunch meeting. I told him about my predicament. He responded with a gentle chuckle, shook his head and said, “Believe it or not, we just bought a new car this morning. Why don’t you take my van until your car gets repaired?” He then said, “People have been very generous to us and I’d like to help out by helping pay for the car repair.”

It was clear this was no power-play or pity party on his part; and I accepted his generous offer. Later I called my wife with an update on the car and said, “The car’s broke again and in the shop, but don’t worry, I’m borrowing a minivan from someone I just met.”

We ended up spending the afternoon accompanying one another on errands and having holy conversation – an experience made possible because of his selfless generosity and grace.

I tell you that story to testify that the voice of the good shepherd can be heard all around us, often in unexpected places and people. I heard the voice of the good shepherd in one family’s unexpected, abundant, and selfless generosity – generosity made possible because others had been generous to them. I found sheep who were already following the voice of the good shepherd, and I made an effort to follow close behind.

When you look around at the sea of humanity, it’s tempting to think that we’re all just a bunch of stupid sheep who can’t get our act together. However, there is something faithful about seeking out the sheep who are being guided in the right direction and following closely behind.

This is the gift Christians are called and blessed to be in the world: we are called and blessed to bear the presence of Jesus for all people.

I have been privileged to have been led by faithful sheep my whole life. Honestly, it’s the primary reason why I chose to stay in the church and it is why I still believe that there is a good shepherd to follow.

Even when the words of scripture fail to comfort us, when the actions of a community hurt us, when we doubt that prayer is worth the effort, may we be open to the idea that there are people whom God will put in our lives who can teach us, inspire us, and lead us along the path. Only then can we hope to guide others toward the voice of the good shepherd.

And all God’s sheep say, "Baaaaa!"

"We Are Not The Gate" – John 10:1-10

Three keys to the effective use of metaphors in language is to keep them simple, not read too much into them, and not layer metaphors on top of one another. Or else you end up with sayings like these:
“He’s not the sharpest bulb in the box”
“She’s a wolf in cheap clothing”
“You could have knocked me over with a fender”
“I can read him like the back of my book”
or my favorite, “These hemorrhoids are a real pain in the neck”

The metaphors found in the Gospel of John are not quite as funny as these, but they are every bit as confusing. In the span of just a few verses an elaborate picture is painted involving sheep, a shepherd, a gatekeeper, a gate, and thieves and bandits. Unfortunately, it’s not immediately clear just what exactly this illustration is trying to convey.

There are some epic metaphorical “I am” statements in John’s gospel, such as:
“I am the bread of life”
“I am the light of the world”
“I am the resurrection and the life”
“I am the way, the truth, and the life”
“I am the true vine”
and, “I am the good shepherd”

Most of us are probably familiar with the metaphor of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. The image of a shepherd was common to that time and its repeated use throughout the Hebrew Scriptures almost always referred to a king. We can wrap our minds around the idea of Jesus as a shepherd – someone who guides us, leads us, battles enemies on our behalf, keeps us from running off (or goes after us when we do run off, picking us up in his strong arms and carrying us back to the flock). A preacher can do a lot with the image of Jesus as a shepherd. Unfortunately, in the verses before us today, Jesus doesn’t identify himself as the shepherd (that comes a few verses later). Instead, we hear of one of Jesus’ lesser known “I am” statements – “I am the gate.”

At first glance, this metaphor is the least impressive of the other options. Surely Jesus would not have chosen to include this moniker on his business cards. Not only is it odd-sounding, but it’s confusing. Jesus identifies as both the shepherd and the gate. So we return to verse 2, which reads as follows, “The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.” So its apparent meaning is, “I enter by myself and I am me.” Or, in the immortal words of Popeye, “I yam who I yam.”

Clear as mud, right?

This metaphor only started making sense to me when I looked at it from a different angle. If Jesus is the gate, that means that we are not the gate. This, I think, is the heart of Jesus’ argument especially in light of the context of the story. His awkward metaphor is directed to the Pharisees, immediately after the episode where Jesus restored the sight of a blind man. Upholding the religious understanding of the time, the Pharisees had argued that the man was blind because of some great sin and that he did not deserve to be healed. If it were up to the Pharisees they would have shut the gate on the blind man. The Pharisees also argued that Jesus had no right to heal the blind man because it was a sabbath day. If it were up to the Pharisees they would have shut the gate on Jesus.

For the Pharisees, seeing a man born blind (which they believed was a punishment for some sin) have his sight restored was inconceivable and against every religious impulse in their body. For the Pharisees, seeing a miraculous event take place on a religiously-mandated day of rest was inconceivable and against every religious impulse in their body. But, as Jesus points out, the reason they thought such miracles inconceivable and against every religious impulse in their body was because they, in fact, were the ones who were blind. Jesus not only accuses them of being blind, but also refers to them as thieves and bandits.

I don’t mean to portray the Pharisees as irrational and unsympathetic villains. Their impulse to shut the gate when they felt threatened is a common impulse we share. If we were to witness an event that went against every religious impulse we had, we would close ranks, become hostile, make sharp distinctions between “us” and “them” and shut the gate in an effort for self-preservation. Unfortunately, this is not a hypothetical situation. In fact, many of you are here today because you experienced this closing of the ranks and gate-shutting in other churches when they felt that their religious or political sensibilities were being threatened. And, truth be told, many of us are the ones who have shut the gates on others.

Into such an environment as this, Jesus boldly declares, “I am the gate.”

We are not the gate. Remember this next time you are tempted to hold someone at arm’s length, next time you are tempted to label someone as unworthy, hopeless, lost, or sinful. We are not the gate. Remember this next time someone holds you at arm’s length, next time someone labels you as unworthy, hopeless, lost, or sinful. We are not the gate.

Is this an excuse to not take a stand on any issue? Are you going to go home and say that your new pastor is advocating for complete tolerance of all behavior, no matter how vile, and that there is never an appropriate time to keep someone or something out? Absolutely not. As the saying goes, “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.”

But the next time your religious or political or emotional sensibilities feel threatened, listen to the voices vying for your attention. The voice telling you to shut the gate will sound remarkably like your own because it will be the sound of your own fear echoing back at you. But if you manage to stay calm and keep listening you will hear a voice remarkably different from your own; a voice cutting through the clatter like a clarion call. It will be the voice of Jesus, a voice you will know because you are his sheep. And the voice of Jesus will invite you to participate in the abundant life Jesus alone can provide.

Amen.