Who Cares Best for Us?

“Who Cares Best for Us?”
John 10:1-10
Sunday May 15, 2011

New testament Professor Sarah Henrich tells the story of a preacher who spent quite some time in Africa where he was able to hear John’s gospel story in a very down to earth context.

He told how the people of the village knew each other’s sheep the way we might know one another’s children.

As he sat with a group in the village, a person would stop by and ask: “Have you seen my sheep so-and-so,” identifying his own sheep by name.

Throughout the dark night he heard villagers calling out names.

“They are calling their sheep,” one of the villagers told the preacher.
“They will find each other.”

This concept of village life in a place small enough and close enough where folks know which sheep are theirs and which belong to someone else; where sheep themselves know to whom they belong…This was as familiar to Jesus as it is unfamiliar to us.

In John’s gospel Jesus tries to describe the connection between himself and his followers using images that don’t touch our hearts and minds as vividly as they would have touched his original hearers.

The pastoral images of Psalm 23 are familiar to us, but I wonder how well we actually relate to those images in any meaningful way.

Luke’s story from Acts describes a community of believers where everyone is cared for, everyone is included, and everyone shares in God’s abundant life.

The Lectionary readings today offer us a wonderful opportunity to try to reclaim the rich images understood by the ancients and bring them into a context we can better appreciate.

Let us pray…

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

O Lord, we find comfort and quiet in you…We ask you now to quiet our souls and lead us to the still waters of your Word.

In Jesus’ name we pray…Amen

Today’s text really has two parts…

In verses 1-5 Jesus identifies himself as the true shepherd…

But, it appears that his listeners don’t understand the image so he tries again…

In verses 7-10 Jesus describes himself as the gate into the sheepfold…

This echoes “The Way” image from John 14:6 and reminds us of belief in Jesus taught in John 3:16 as the only way to salvation…

Like the villagers in our African missionary story, the people in Jesus’ time placed a high value on their sheep and knew them well.

The shepherds lived with the flock and probably didn’t need brands to identify the animals they watched day and night.

The first century shepherd could never imagine the industrial agriculture of our time that makes Jesus’ imagery seem odd to us.

So what do we make of the two images Jesus presents?

First we hear about the true shepherd…

Then he talks about being the gateway into the sheepfold…

Not being familiar with first century sheep farming makes it hard for me
to relate to these images.

Maybe we can find ways to visualize this in terms more relevant to us.

If we think about the task of herding sheep or cattle or any other group of animals,
we can understand that the task is really two-fold…

First, you need to gather the group together and get them headed in the right direction, then you need to get out in front of the group and show them the way to where it is you want them to go.

Teachers might be familiar with the task of getting a classroom full of kids into line and then leading them down the hall to the lunch room and the playground.

I think this is the image that Jesus presents about himself…

His first task was to gather God’s people together…bring them into the sheepfold

We’ve talked about this before…

Jesus proclaimed reconciliation to God, not a whole new movement…

His intent was to bring God’s people back into relationship with God; it was their resistance that resulted in the followers of Christ becoming a separate group.

And so Jesus called his people by name to gather them together.

His next task was to go ahead of the flock and lead them…

What’s interesting here is that this flock is not as dumb as the sheep we have encountered in previous stories…

This flock will not follow a stranger; they hear the master’s voice and recognize it; they are smart enough to know who they are supposed to follow…

In this story the sheep have a choice and they understand the choice…

Maybe this is why some of the people listening to Jesus had a hard time understanding the story…They couldn’t visualize sheep with free will…

Another challenge was to follow the path that Jesus was leading them along…

This was a path of difficulty, persecution, and certain death…

When Jesus realizes that some people aren’t getting what he’s talking about he turns to a different sort of image…

In some ways this image is also difficult for us to understand…

Jesus as “The Gate” – What is he talking about?

Aren’t gates meant to keep some people in and other people out?

Isn’t a gate kind of an exclusionary image? I thought Jesus was about including everyone.

Maybe some of you can relate to a different kind of understanding of “gate” if we put it into more contemporary terms…

If you own a computer and use it for email or to access the Internet or to even share files within your workplace, that computer is connected to some sort of GATE…

Technically, this piece of equipment is called a GATEWAY…

The gateway serves two very important functions…

First, it protects your computer from unwanted intruders who may try to hack their way into your computer and steal your stuff…

Secondly, it opens up a world of possibilities and opportunities that are only available when your computer connects to the information superhighway.

As the Gate, Jesus offers us protection and guidance, but he also introduces us to a whole world of wonderful possibilities and opportunities for abundant living.

This gate is not a harbinger of exclusivity; it is an invitation to inclusiveness and adventure…

Jesus says that we can use him as the gateway and be assured of salvation;
the implication is that other gateways are not so safe or certain.

Techno-nerds might call this the Name Brand vs. the “knock-off”.

If you have spent any time on a computer, surfing the web or fielding unwanted emails, you know there are plenty of dangers lurking out there…

No matter how up-to-date your anti-virus software may be, you can still get hit with some pretty nasty stuff out there in cyber-space.

Successfully navigating all this cyber-junk depends on how you deal with the threats you encounter and how good your equipment is at warning you of danger.

As we read Scripture we learn very quickly that Jesus does not promise us an easy road with no obstacles, potholes, or viruses…

We also learn that we are constantly presented with choices and we often choose badly…

What Jesus does promise is that he will stand with us in the midst of whatever mess we get ourselves into and he will help us figure out what to do about it.

I think the point that Jesus is trying to make today is this…

There are lots of people and many false gods who will pretend to care for us…

There are a whole range of experiences out there that compete for our affection…

Jesus wants us to be cautious and ask this very important question:
“Who cares best for us?”

Is it the temporary idol of the latest thing that makes us feel good, OR
is it the eternal God who created us?

Who really cares best for us?

I think the answer is clear…

Jesus who stands with us in our mess; who runs a periodic virus scan on us; who gathers us in and then leads us out; the One who gave his very life for us…He is the One who cares best for us and He is the One we should follow.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…Amen