The Good Shepherd and the Bad Theology

John. 10.1-10

Jesus said to the Pharisees, ‘Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 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.’ Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.’

We have the tradition of calling different Sundays by different names. Palm Sunday, Sea Sunday, Bible Sunday. This week I have heard today referred to as ‘Good Shepherd’ Sunday – this is not a difficult one for me to fathom, mainly because from the collect prayer and the Gospel reading it is fairly obvious. The image of the ‘good shepherd’ is one that is Jesus uses for himself to help to explain the nature and purpose of His work on Earth, and His role in salvation.

Just before the action starts in today’s Gospel reading, Jesus has healed the man born blind. The man’s parents are afraid because it says that “The Jews were already agreeing that anyone who confessed Jesus as Christ should be expelled from the synagogue” The Jews have already caught up with the man…. They say “YOU are a disciple of this Jesus; but we are disciples of Moses; But this man, we do not know where he has come from”. Then they turn on Jesus, challenging Him.

Jesus must have been very frustrated – he is speaking their language, he knows the laws and the words of the prophets, and still they can’t see who he is. What is stopping them from following?

Jesus then tells a story, that to all assembled must have seemed a bit strange.

JESUS speaks of sheep and shepherds. He speaks of a SHEEPFOLD, which at the time would have been a fenced or walled enclosure, with space for several flocks of several shepherds, guarded by a gatekeeper. There would have been danger at night, outside the fold; sometimes there could be danger within the fold from anyone not coming through the gate – perhaps a thief or a bandit.

Jesus talks at the beginning of the reading about entering the sheepfold not by the gate….

I can imagine the scene, as Jesus finished speaking they must have looked at each other and wondered what he meant.

Well, this is a complicated allegory…

On Good Shepherd Sunday it’s no good just thinking about the easy pictures!

Well, perhaps the Pharisees are the gatekeepers, who should be welcoming a shepherd such as Jesus to tend, gather and lead his flock. Or perhaps they are the thieves who have climbed into the enclosure; the moment they hear them, the sheep get spooked and run away.

The Pharisees claim they can see! But they do not understand the riddle.

Jesus explains “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep...all who came before me are thieves and bandits”. Jesus is saying that he has replaced them.

In the Gospel according to John, Jesus is never the new improved model;

· He is not just the new guardian of the sacred, he replaces what was sacred;

· He is not just the new priest – he is the temple;

· He is not just the new Moses, carrying the law – he is the law.

· He is not only the gatekeeper – he is the gate itself.

Quite a revelation – all too much for the Pharisees – sometimes a bit too much for us…

This isn’t usual stuff is it? This allegory has just got out of hand

Surely the Pharisees should have known – when Jesus started talking about farming, the penny should have dropped.

In EZEKIEL, God declares his upset about the shepherds of ISRAEL (He’s talking about the leaders of the people) “You shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves, should not shepherds feed the sheep? I shall lead the people out of the nations; I shall feed them with good pasture, I myself shall be the shepherd of my sheep, I shall raise up one shepherd, my servant David; he will pasture them and be their shepherd. You are my sheep, you are the flock of my pasture, and I am your God”.

They would have also known that in Psalm 118 it says “This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

David – shepherd of God’s flock - The gate by which all enter into salvation. Jesus is talking to them – but they cannot understand.

The reading from the ACTS of the APOSTLES (2:42-47) is another of those “difficult to understand” readings. Not because it is written in allegory, not because it is a riddle, but because just like the Pharisees, we struggle to find another explanation.

The first few chapters of the Acts of the Apostles are challenging for all new Christians, with honest and inquisitive conviction – looking for a way to find the right ground to grow their faith.

“Many were baptised and added to the community. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship…All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.”

There is no question that we have missed the gate on this one – if we believe that this is not a call to form Christian communities based on mutual responsibility and a shared purse, and somehow Christianity has evolved past the need to live together, then this still doesn’t answer that the millions who suffer extreme poverty are asking.

There’s no mistake in the lectionary either that this reading about living in community appears with the Gospel according to John 10:10 “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly”.

Throughout my childhood I can remember this being translated as “God will make you wealthy” and “for every pound you put on the plate, God will return it tenfold”. It’s the strongest message that evangelical churches pump out to attract new believers. Unfortunately, however, it’s not true, and just like many things, it’s the complete opposite.

“Fullness of life”, is found when we stop focusing on ourselves, our personal wealth, our personal possessions and our personal security, it’s found when we realize that we are all dependent on each other.

Living in common might not be something we still have the ability to do as humanity, perhaps that has been lost forever, but with the ever shrinking world, people thousands of miles away are still our ‘brothers and sisters’, people we can care for, people we can pray for and people we can support.