April 16, 2008

John 10:1–10

Wednesday in the Week of the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year A

Trinity Church, Valparaiso, Indiana

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

If your childhood was anything like mine, somewhere in a Sunday School classroom hung a large picture of Jesus the Good Shepherd. At the front of our parish hall hung a large reproduced rendition of Jesus, walking through gently rolling hills, cradling a single lamb in his arms, surrounded by other sheep. There was even a single black sheep, barely noticeable on the periphery of Jesus’ little flock. Were I an artist, I could paint from memory the Good Shepherd imprinted upon my brain, Sunday
after Sunday.

Many have memorized the 23^rd Psalm. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul…Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they
comfort me.”

My Sunday School Good Shepherd, however, is nothing like the Good Shepherd Jesus comes to be in your life and mine. Our Good Shepherds are meek and mild, passive and pretty. The Good Shepherd Jesus comes to be in our lives is protective and passionate, strong and literally “up front.” Many years ago, I had the occasion to visit the Holy Land. Near Bethlehem, I came across a modern-day shepherd, abiding his flocks in the field. Well, actually, the shepherd I saw was standing near a garbage dumpster. The shepherd I saw was tired and weathered from living with his sheep in the heat of the day and the bitter cold of night. The face of the shepherd I saw was lined with worry from having constantly to be on guard against any beast that would threaten the safety of his flock. The shepherd I saw looked as though he had not bathed in weeks as he bore the grime of living with his sheep, day after day.

Jesus said, “The sheep hear [the shepherd’s] 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.”

As our Good Shepherd, Jesus does not coddle his sheep. The shepherd with whom Jesus compares himself walks in front of his sheep, leading the way, ready to fight any evil threat, willing to risk his own life to protect his sheep from harm and danger. As our Good Shepherd, Jesus is not walking behind us, gently poking us, here and there, so that we might eventually go in the right direction. Fresh from his empty tomb, fresh from his victory over all that is evil, fresh from his victory over death itself, Jesus leads us from death to life. Jesus came that we might have life, and have it abundantly. The hard part is in following where our crucified and risen Lord leads us. In this Holy Communion, our risen Good Shepherd not only promises to walk with us “through the darkest valley,” but our risen Good Shepherd promises in this Holy Meal to strengthen us to follow where he would have us go.

Amen.

John Joseph Santoro +