Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] April 30, 2023 “Are They Actually Looking Out for You?” John 10: 1-10 – The Message “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.” 6-10 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 rustlers, 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. You may recall a story we heard during Lent about a man who was born blind. Jesus mixed some dirt and spit together to create a mud paste and wiped it on the man’s eyes and when the man went to wash his face, he could see. When he came back with sight, people didn’t believe it was the same man. He had to keep saying, “No it’s me.” They took the man to his parents. “Is this your son? Why can he see?” They said, “Ask him. He can talk.” But they had heard his answers and didn’t like them so the Pharisees objected that this happened on the Sabbath – can’t be from God. Round and round and finally Jesus said, “I came so that those who cannot see now will, and those who can see, or who think they can see, may now become blind.” The Pharisees were indignant. “Surely you’re not calling us blind. Only sinners are blind.” Jesus responded, “If you were blind you wouldn’t have any sin. But because you say you can see, your sin remains.” How dare he. But the insults to their egos just continue, rolling right into today’s reading. Jesus said, 1-5 “Let me set this before you as plainly as I can.” He set before them the image of a sheep pen. [IMAGE 1] A sheep pen is an enclosure for sheep at night – walls, perhaps stones piled up, with one gate to limit access. Someone must watch the pen all night long to ensure no one climbs over the wall to steal the sheep or so a wolf doesn’t squeeze past the gate to devour the sheep. [OFF] It’s an unfamiliar image to us but everyone listening could fully understand. Jesus may have even said, “see that sheep pen over there?” Some villages might only have one sheep pen in common with many families. Again, Jesus said, 1-5 “Let me set this before you as plainly as I can.” And then he said, “If someone climbs over the fence instead of going through the gate, you know he’s up to no good—it’s a sheep rustler! A true shepherd walks right to the gate and the gatekeeper opens the gate to him. And when he calls out, his own sheep will recognize his voice and follow him out of the pen and go out to pasture. (So clearly, this is a pen with the sheep of more than one family.) Only his own sheep will follow the sound of his voice because it is familiar.” Jesus explained, “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 as the text says, the Pharisees “had no idea what he was talking about.” So, he tried again. “Let me be explicit. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good and the sheep know it. Sheep won’t listen to a voice they don’t know. And again, he said, 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 often find John’s gospel frustratingly unclear and its stories often so circular in motion I get lost. But with patience, this one will start to make sense. The Bible also has so many stories about sheep and shepherds, they can sort of all run together. That’s because this was the life of the people. I told the Lunch and Lectionary group that if Jesus had lived in Pittsburgh 100 years ago, he would have used a lot of images of steel mills and furnaces as hot as hell and the people living in run down tenant homes while greedy industrialists lived in mansions towering on the hillsides. Jesus spoke in ways that real people could clearly understand as relating to their own lives. Or if Jesus traveled through mining towns during the gold rush, he would have used lots of images of searching for gold and sifting through dirt and climbing into dark and dangerous tunnels that can cave in at any moment. Make sure your life is right every time you go in. Or if Jesus was in Cupertino today, he would have told as many stories about apples as he would have about sheep. He’d say, “I’m the Good Apple.” Instead, as Jesus goes on, 11-13 “I am the Good Shepherd.” And what does that mean? He explained, “the Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself to keep them safe if necessary. In contrast, 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.” We get that. Someone who’s only in it for themselves. Here’s a modern reference. I’m constantly getting phone calls, voice mails, and texts from people trying to get me to sign up for their Medicare Advantage plan. Jesus would say, “I am your Good Medicare Plan Representative.” All the others are “wolves in sheeps clothing.” Only in it for the money. The sheep don’t actually matter to them. Rather, Jesus said, 14-18 “I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me. In the same way, God knows me and I know God. I put the sheep before myself, sacrificing myself if necessary.” That’s what the Good Teacher does too. They put themselves in front of their students to shield them every time another mass shooter walks into a school. Of course, they wouldn’t have to if it weren’t for the hired hands of the gun lobby. What was it that Jesus said? Only in it for the money. The sheep/the children don’t matter to them. They are the price they are willing to have someone else pay. But then Jesus added a curious line: “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.” The text continues, 19-21 ”This kind of talk caused another split in the religious ranks. A lot of them were saying, “He’s crazy, a maniac— completely out of his head. Why bother listening to him?” He’s demonic. But others weren’t so sure: “These aren’t the words of a crazy man. Can a ‘maniac’ open blind eyes?” Ah! And we’re back to the beginning where this all started. Full circle. “Surely you’re not calling us blind!” The story then jumps to Jesus walking around the Temple and a crowd of his opponents encircle him and growl, “How long are you going to test our patience?” Perhaps mumbling something about decorum too. Jesus went right back to talking about sheep and how no one is going to snatch them away on his watch. To which the opposition actually picked up stones and threatened him – not for hurting their egos but for “insulting God!” After that, Jesus left town and went back to where John had baptized him. It’s reassuring to know that when Jesus knew he needed to take a break, he took a break. That’s the example of a very good shepherd indeed. Protecting sheep is exhausting work! If you only look at the lines provided by the lectionary, this story lacks the drama and the tension that surrounds it. And without understanding the agricultural lives of these people, it’s all an abstraction. We might simply think of a nice pastoral image of Jesus holding a cute little lamb and saying, “I am the Good Shepherd,” with an adoring smile as he gazes lovingly. Rather, he is engaging the forces of those who steal, kill, and destroy while he tries to protect those whom he loves so much, he is willing to lay down his life to protect them. That’s the line I skipped over in the middle of all this. Jesus said, “I freely lay down my life. No one takes it from me. I lay it down of my own free will. I have the right to lay it down; I also have the right to take it up again.” Yes. This is what a Good Shepherd does. And how about all those other hired hands and sheep rustlers? What are they in it for? Sacrifice has nothing to do with it.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who sacrificed his life for you, but not only you. And anyone who tries to convince you that you are the center of the universe is only trying to steal, kill, and destroy. For themselves. How can we know the difference? Ask:
Only a false shepherd would say your interests are more important than the interest of the whole. I mean, you matter, you count, you belong to the almighty God of the entire cosmos who knows you by name – can you believe it! But it all means nothing without everyone else whom God also knows and loves just as much. There is only one flock called humankind. And if you hear a shepherd say that kind of thing, you can trust they are good.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorI love being a Archives
March 2024
|