Sermon 25th April 2021 – Good Shepherd Sunday Text: John 10:1-8 – Sheepish behaviour’
To be called a sheep is not a
very flattering thing. It is a term usually used when referring to a person who
doesn’t think for themselves but just blindly follows everyone else. Sadly this
is often how people see Christians – as sheep. People who blindly follow a
religion without thinking for themselves. People who have been brainwashed to
blindly accept teachings from a book written thousands of years ago that has no
relevance today. I’m sure you’ve heard
that reference before and maybe have even been called a sheep yourself for
believing in God.
When you see sheep in a paddock
you can understand why they have that image of blindly following. The shepherd
just has to get one or two sheep going a certain way and the rest will follow. You’ll even see that if one sheep jumps an
imaginary fence that the rest will also jump that fence which is not there. But
is that the image of sheep that Jesus wants us to have of ourselves as he calls
himself our Good Shepherd? Is Jesus calling himself our Shepherd because he
expects us to blindly follow him without any thought process? Not at all. That’s not the image that Jesus is wanting to
portray by calling himself our Shepherd and we his sheep.
The relationship of Shepherd and
his sheep is one of trust. Listen to how Jesus interacts with Peter when he
restores him as his Apostle after the resurrection. Jesus said to Simon Peter,
“Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you
know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you
love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take
care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you
love me?” “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said,
“Feed my sheep.
Jesus’ concern for us was not
that we blindly followed him but that we are cared for and nurtured. Shepherds
were often considered to be at the bottom of the rung of success in Jesus’ time
– hence the Shepherds being a part of the humble birth when the angels first
appear to Shepherds to tell of Jesus’ birth and not to royalty like King Herod.
But listen to David when he is begging to be given the opportunity to fight
Goliath. He calls on his credentials as a Shepherd when speaking to King Saul:
David said to Saul, “Your
servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and
carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the
sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it
and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; all to
protect his sheep.
It’s interesting how Peter will
refer to Satan being like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. And
Jesus too talks about us as sheep and his care and concern for us when he is
prepared to walk away from everything to come and find us. Suppose one of you
has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in
the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he
finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his
friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost
sheep.
Does that sound like a God who
just wants us to blindly follow him with no regard at all for us?
Or then we have today’s
explanation by Jesus of what it means to be our Good Shepherd: “I am the good
shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Being sheep is
nothing about us – it is all about Jesus being our shepherd. He lays down HIS
life for us.
That’s what he did on Good
Friday – he laid down his life for us in order that we may be raised to new
life as he was when we die. This relationship of sheep and shepherd is about
the shepherds love and devotion to us and not about any expectation on us to
blindly follow and be subservient to him. And that’s exactly what John said in our 2nd
reading: We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us.
Jesus greatest concern is for
those who do not put their faith and trust in him because no one cares for us
like God who created us. Jesus calls those false shepherds “the hired hands” –
people who have no vested interest in us so they protect only themselves and at
the first sign of trouble they leave us for dead: 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. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not
care for the sheep. He doesn’t care if one or all of them are lost. He only
cares about himself. It’s all about “care”.
And our first reading from Acts
is very clear what that care is all about – it’s about our eternal life. Jesus
came as our Good Shepherd to lead us home to our eternal life in Heaven as he
lays down his life for us – as God made him who had no sin to become our sin so
that we might become his rightousness. There is salvation in no one else, for
there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be
saved."
It reminds me of Peter when
asked if he wanted to leave Jesus when many found his teaching too difficult. Peter
replied – Lord to whom shall we go – YOU have the words of eternal life. And
that is confirmed also by our Psalm today: Surely your goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
for ever.
As we journey through life it is
very easy to be led astray by false
shepherds. We follow the almighty dollar. We follow our careers. We
follow our possessions – believing these will bring us hope and security. What
these do is that they can make us quite selfish – thinking of ourselves – just
like the hired hand. In times of trouble, false shepherds are no help – they
flee at first chance; Our careers, our money, our possessions – these are
useless when we are confronting serious life and death issues. But Jesus laid
down his life for us so we can be assured of eternal life through him.
Being a sheep also means being a
part of a community, a herd. Community is where we find support and security
particularly during those times of concern and insecurity, which we all face. When
Peter sank while walking on the water because of his concerns over the wind and
the waves – Jesus took his hand and placed him back in the boat with the other
disciples. When the Good Shepherd found the lost sheep he carried him home –
back to the flock of sheep.
Sheep know that they need other
sheep, desperately – because their very lives depend on it. That’s why they
follow the shepherd because they know that they are safe in his hands.
Likewise, God places us within communities of faith to strengthen our faith and
also to use us to strengthen one another. As John said in our 2nd reading: We know love
by this, that he laid down his life for us-- and we ought to lay down our lives
for one another.
I have no problem being called a
sheep. Just like I have no problem when people say that my Christian faith is a
crutch. Even though it’s intended as an insult that’s exactly what my faith is.
We use a crutch when we are hurt and need support. Your rod and your staff –
they comfort me.
We don’t blindly follow a
religion as Christians – we follow our Good Shepherd because he has promised to
take us home with him to heaven.
So let us not be ashamed to be called sheep in
following Jesus for there is no other name by which we can be saved.
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