Lectionary blog for May 7
Fourth Sunday of Easter
Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 23;
1 Peter 2:19-25; John 10:1-10
I once saw a TV program about blind slalom skiers. Yes, blind slalom skiers. Here’s how it works. The blind skiers are matched up with sighted skiers. Then, on a flat surface the blind skiers are taught how to make left and right turns. Afterward, they go up on the slopes with their sighted partner. They ski down together, the sighted partner yelling “Right!” or “Left!” to signal which way they are to go. The blind skiers must know their partners’ voices; they must believe what is said; they must do as they are told.
“He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice” (John 10:3b-4).
This image of the sheep knowing and obeying the voice of the shepherd is not just some random and homely illustration that Jesus came up with on the spur of the moment. This image is used quite pointedly and is used in such a way that no Jewish listener would be able to miss the point. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the people of Israel are often referred to as the “flock of God.” The kings and priests and prophets of Israel were given the responsibility of taking care of God’s flock. And, as the historical parts of the Hebrew Scriptures tell us, they often failed at this task; there were many bad kings, lousy priests and false prophets.
When Jesus compares himself to a shepherd, it’s not really a farm image; it’s more a religious and political one. The important truth he is proclaiming here is that whereas the previous leaders had been poor or incomplete or unfaithful leaders, or, to use the language of the text, “strangers” and “thieves and bandits,” Jesus lays claim to being the “shepherd of the sheep,” “the gatekeeper” and “the gate.” Here’s what Jesus is saying: In the past, God gave the responsibility for the people of God over to the kings of the country and the priests of the temple, and the prophets of Israel, but now God has given over that responsibility to me, Jesus of Nazareth.
There are two important implications for us as we think about this text today: The first is that membership in the “God community” is a matter of hearing and responding to the voice and call of God in the world. In verses 3-5, Jesus says something like this: The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.
We are Christians, the people of God, because God’s voice has gotten through the static of our hectic, noisy, modern lives. We are Christians because the “still, small voice” of God has slipped in underneath the busyness of our existence and tugged at the apron strings of our hearts, getting our attention and moving our souls. Christianity is not so much a matter of believing certain things as it is of hearing the voice of God in the life of Christ and trusting your life to that voice. Jesus calls to us in the Scriptures. “Come to me all who are heavy laden and I will give you rest,” he says. “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly,” he promises. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me,” he pleads with us.
All preachers have had the experience of people speaking kind words to them about their preaching. There is nothing wrong with such sincere praise, but it is important that we all, preachers and listeners alike, remember that the voice we hear in preaching is not the preacher’s voice; it is the voice of the shepherd speaking through the preacher’s efforts and sometimes, in spite of them. It’s the same voice that speaks through the Scriptures and through the liturgy and through the hymnody and through the choir anthems. It is the voice of Christ’s spirit seeking out our spirits, calling us to come into the presence of the lover of our souls.
I said there were two important implications. That Jesus’ voice calls to us is one. The second is that life in Christ is a good, rich and “abundant” life. I do not mean by this what is sometimes called the “prosperity gospel,” which asserts that God wants you to be rich, wants you to be overwhelmed by God’s generosity in providing you with material blessings. The “prosperity gospel” interprets “abundant life” in terms of houses and cars and jobs and bank accounts. This is most assuredly not what Jesus meant by an “abundant life.”
Jesus meant a life that is full of the will and way of God. Jesus meant a life that is directed toward loving deeds and peaceful goodness to our neighbors. Jesus meant a life in which our cup is running over with an awareness of the goodness of God so much so that it naturally spills out and spills over and intersects with every aspect of our lives. Jesus meant a life full of random acts of kindness toward those around us. Jesus, quite simply, meant a life full of God, which means a life full of love!
Today, the voice of the true shepherd calls out to us across the years, turning us right and left, showing us the way through life. Today, the gatekeeper comes and opens the way to the green pastures of God’s love. Today, the gate itself swings wide and beckons us to enter into the community of God’s faithful ones. Today, Jesus speaks to us in the language of the heart, and spreading wide his arms he says, “I love you. Follow me!”
Amen and amen.
