The Good Shepherd
Reading: Psalm 111
Song: Lead us heavenly father lead us
Reading: Ezekiel 34: 7-15
Song: There were ninety and nine that safely lay
Reading: 1 Peter 5: 1-11
Song: May the mind of Christ my saviour
Reading: John 10: 7-18
Song: The Lord’s my shepherd
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
Now,after Good Friday and Easter, we know the truth of the remark about dying for the sheep. We also know the truth of verse 17 “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again.” The cross and the resurrection are firmly established in our consciousness at this time of year. And if they are not, they ought to be!
I’d like to start with some questions:
What of shepherds?
What does the image of the shepherd have to say to us?
What does the image of the shepherd have to say to the rest of the world?
How do we communicate this to the rest of the world?
The image of the shepherd was not a new one. It is used in a number of places in theold testament, today’s reading being one of them. When Jesus was speaking, the previous chapter tells us that there were some Pharisees in his audience. They were educated men who would have known the references to shepherds. In our reading from Ezekiel, God says that he is the shepherd of the flock, Israel. Jesus, in claiming to be the shepherd, is claiming to be God, he is also directly comparing himself to the Pharisees. The religious leaders are referred to as shepherds of the people in several places. Jesus says that these leaders have been negligent in their pastoral duties, and that he is a better shepherd than they. It is not surprising that Jesus upset the Pharisees. They would not have liked his claim to be God, nor would they have liked him claiming to be better than they were at the duties. The Pharisees were very proud of the way they performed their duties.
Jesus tells us that there were two sorts of shepherd. There was the shepherd who cared about the sheep because he or his family owned them, and there was the hired hand who simply did the job for money. It is said that the hired hand would place his own life and safety before that of the sheep, whereas the good shepherd would, if necessary, die for his charges.
David, who was to kill Goliath, recounts that when he was looking after his father’s sheep, he would, on occasion, have to defend them against a lion or a bear. He might then have to defend himself against the predator. This takes courage. It means putting his own safety second. However, mere courage is not enough. It is necessary to have the right equipment. He must be armed. He must also be concerned enough about the sheep to know that one is missing, or vulnerable. At night, the sheep were collected into a secure area, and the shepherd had to lie down in the gateway to keep any attacker out.
So we know that Jesus was saying that he had the necessary courage and equipment to do what was right. That he has the strength to seek the lost in order to return them to the fold of believers, that he will protect his people from evil.
Many people would know at least the opening of the 23rd psalm, but how many know what it is about?
The trouble is that many people have a rather rustic view of what a shepherd is. A somewhat slow living, rather quaint person doing a job which really has not caught up with the 21st century. This is not really the image of the dynamic leader that people would want to follow! A further problem is that if the Lord is the shepherd, then we are the sheep, and sheep are not animals that bear flattering comparison. Sheep are not generally thought of as intelligent, or individual thinking animals.
For many people, the image of a shepherd is not especially helpful. Perhaps we can look at the language, after all, modern translations of the bible have been aids to understanding in some cases. Would a new title help?
When I was at college in the 1970 the use of new descriptions was at its height. You know the sort of thing, a person was no longer a dustbinman, now he was a cleansing operative. This is not new, when my mother was a school a girl in her told people her father was a municipal engineer. It turned out that he was a tram cleaner!
At the time, a group of us were rather disenchanted with this jargon, and a new version of the 23rd psalm was produced. It started, “The Lord is my chief pastoral supervisory operative, I am in a low priority need category.” The title “Chief pastoral supervisory operative” does have a certain ring to it. It also contains something of how we think of our relationship with the Lord, but it is clumsy, and I suspect unappealing to many.
Perhaps then it is not the language, but the image which needs updating. A latter day parable which will mean more to the listener, one where the listener will more readily identify with the characters.
Frederick Forsyth wrote a story called “The Shepherd” which tells the story of an RAF Vampire pilot, lost and low on fuel, being led, or shepherded, back to a base by a Mosquito aircraft. The mystery of the story being that the Mosquito was no longer an operational aircraft at the time, and it appeared that his guide (or shepherd) was a pilot who had been lost on operations a long time previously.
Perhaps our latter day listeners would rather identify with a lost and frightened pilot, than with an apparently unintelligent animal.
It is always worth thinking about what images our language conjures up when we speak to people. As with many images in Jesus’ parables, our parents and grandparents would have no trouble with the idea, but society has moved a long way very quickly. My grandmother saw the first motor car, and the first powered flight, and also lived to see men land on the moon. Although it never happened (as far as we know) It would have been possible for Orville Wright to meet Neil Armstrong. Times have changed, and our images of God must keep up with the times. If our children and other listeners are to understand and identify with what is being said when we tell the stories.
Peter says that we have to become shepherds of the earthly flock. We have to have the same qualities that Jesus said were necessary. We are told to be alert, to be firm in faith to resist evil. To work for a desire to serve.
We need courage to do what is right, we need to the right equipment to do the job, we need the care and concern for others to know what job is necessary and where and when it is needed.
We must be firm in our faith, sure in our ways, we must show an example that people want to follow. We need to know what we are doing, and where we are going, as well as why!
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
Alert, selfless, courageous, equipped, concerned, and bang up to date.
Song: This little light of mine
Prayer:
God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd of the sheep., by the blood of the eternal covenant: make us perfect in every good work to do your will, and work in us that which is well-pleasing in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Song: Guide me o thou great Jehovah
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