Reverend Ref +

EASTER 4A

This gospel story is one that everyone seems to know: Jesus is the shepherd, we are the sheep of his flock and those who oppose Jesus are the thieves. Or . . . there is the image of Jesus as the gate or door and it is only through him that you can get to heaven.

This story brings up a whole lot of images. Jesus as shepherd, caring for his flock. Protecting them, feeding them and guiding them. Jesus as the door through which we get to heaven. But also Jesus as the door through which God gets to us. And we are the sheep dutifully following the shepherd.

Why did Jesus use the image of sheep and shepherd? For one thing, it was a common image during that era. Shepherds were out pasturing their sheep and people were familiar with it. For another thing, sheep are really, really stupid animals and they need all the help they can get. And if you are wondering about that, notice that that even here, in one of the easier metaphors of John's gospel, the people didn't get it. Hmmmmm . . .

I want to talk about position for a bit. Notice that Jesus isn't behind the sheep driving them or keeping them out of trouble. Being behind is a position with which I am well familiar. As the eldest child in my family, I always felt it was my job to keep the younger siblings out of trouble and, more importantly, keep them from getting lost. This was especially important when we went hiking. I would place myself at the end of the line to keep tabs on everyone.

I still do that. When I was working with youth groups, I liked to be able to see everyone and know where they were. At the mall, I like to have my daughter out in front of me, so I can see if she runs into any trouble.

This is not where Jesus is, however. He is in front, and his flock is behind him. Why? Because Jesus wants to be the first to encounter trouble. If there is some rocky terrain, or a chasm or other difficulties, it is Jesus who gets there first and helps us overcome those difficulties. He will not lead us anywhere that he is not willing to go first.

This image also indicates that we are free to follow. We know his voice and he calls to us, asking us to follow him. And we do, but, in this image, he can't always see where we are. Sometimes we wander off and get lost. Sometimes he gets too far ahead of us and we lose sight of him. But he always comes back, looking for us, calling us to follow. We can choose to follow closely or at a distance, or even not at all. With Jesus in the lead, he doesn't make us go where we don't want to go; he doesn't drive us forward. He simply asks that we stay with him.

There is also the issue of vision. Sheep are only about three feet tall. The shepherd is much taller. This means that the shepherd can see more of the land and has a better view of where we need to go. The sheep, us, have a limited perspective. Sometimes that perspective causes us to think that there might be greener pastures -- greener grass -- somewhere other than where we are being led. So instead of following the shepherd on what we might consider a difficult path, we take the easy route that leads to what we think are better pastures. We end up following the short-term objective of our own desires, rather than the long-term objective of the shepherd.

I said earlier that he won't lead us anywhere he isn't willing to first go himself. And where is our shepherd leading us? Where is Jesus leading us? Why, to the cross, of course. Jesus is leading us straight to death; like a lamb to the slaughter. This is the paradox of Christianity: that the one who calls us to follow him leads us to death; but at the same time, the one who leads us to death also becomes the doorway to life. Or more simply, it is in death that we find life.

If we follow Jesus, we will certainly die; but we will also experience eternal life. If we follow our own desires, we will most certainly find greener pastures and we will live, but only in the short-term. For those greener pastures will soon be eaten up or dry out, and we will end up starving to death. We will miss out on that eternal life with God because we don't have the same perspective as our shepherd, Jesus Christ.

But remember: Jesus doesn't require us to follow him, he asks that we follow him. Who or what do you follow? Do you follow the shepherd who leads us to death and becomes the doorway to life? Or do you follow someone or something else which offers short-term life but becomes ultimate death?