You know HIs voice . . .

           In our Gospel lesson today, we drop right into the middle of a big teaching by Jesus.  Today is normally known informally in the Church as Good Shepherd Sunday.  The reason for that is because we get readings on Jesus being the Good Shepherd.  Unfortunately for us, our lectionary editors cut off about half of the Good Shepherd teaching, as recounted by the apostle John, in our selection for the day.

     To place the reading in context, we need to understand a couple important details.  Jesus has been teaching openly in the Temple for some time.  In fact, just before this teaching, Jesus has healed the paralytic man just outside the Temple on the Sabbath.  That last part is important because the Temple leadership is insistent that nobody is allowed to perform miracles on the Sabbath.  They argue, rather determinedly, that God has forbidden such work, despite the fact that the man was healed after being a cripple for 38 years.

     Jesus, for His part, is having none of their objections.  In their cultural context, they have witnessed something that should be impossible.  I’m not just talking about the miracle, but the location and timing as well.  Gods, it was believed, were super protective of their temples and home cities.  It was believed that they needed the prayers and sacrifices in order to battle other gods and goddesses in the celestial sphere.  So, for a god to allow their temple to be desecrated or destroyed was unthinkable.  If they lost their source of power on earth, they would be defeated in the cosmic battles of the heavens.

     Jesus, of course, has healed a man outside the Temple on the Sabbath.  By religious and cultural accounts, this should not have happened.  Yahweh should have been working to make sure His Temple was not profaned by work on the Sabbath, let alone by a man claiming to be His Son!

     Jesus tries to get the Temple leadership to see the obvious conclusions of what they have witnessed and heard.  The works themselves testify to who He is.  Keep in mind, Jesus has done lots of other miracles by now.  Pick your personal favorite, and it has likely occurred.  Except, of course, the Resurrection.  Were the leaders as concerned with righteousness and the workings of Yahweh as they are about their rules, they would recognize who Jesus is.  It is the same evidence and testimony that causes John the Baptizer to recognize Jesus is who He says He is, when John asks from prison if Jesus is the Messiah.  Were the leaders true students of the Scriptures, they would recognize Jesus by those works that He does, as foretold by the prophets.  But, instead, they challenge Jesus and refuse to consider the evidence before them.

     Jesus, at this point, launches into what we think of as the Good Shepherd teaching as found in John.  You know it as the “I know My sheep, and my sheep know My voice” passage.  Jesus goes on to describe Himself as the Good Shepherd and to describe the Temple leadership as robbers and bandits.  They try to climb over the fence of the sheep pen, rather than going through the gate.  Jesus continues to teach and eventually declares Himself the gate by which one enters the flock of the Good Shepherd.

     We need to stop for a second and remind ourselves that Jesus is speaking on at least a couple levels when He makes this declaration.  On the one hand, there is the theological meaning.  God, throughout the entirety of what you and I call the Old Testament, compares Himself to a shepherd and Israel to His sheep.  It is important that you and I, in a mostly urban environment, do not hear this metaphor teaching us that we are stupid.  How many of us have heard that sheep are stupid?  See, it’s one of those myths that thrive in urban settings, but fail in blessed places like Scotland or New Zealand!

     Sheep are not stupid.  We tend to judge them that way because we do not understand them.  I had the good fortune of having my pastoral theology professor in seminary be a bi-vocational priest and shepherd, early in his career.  We think sheep are stupid because they sometimes swim for Portugal or often do not see predators until it is too late.  They wander into brambles and get stuck by their wool; they fall into deep sinkholes.  The problem for sheep is that they are stubborn and myopic.  By that, I mean sheep only have 20/20 vision about 12-14 inches from their eyes.  That is great for seeing the next bite of food, but it does not help them see a wolf or bear or other predator some distance off.  To our limited perspective, it looks like sheep are stupid not to run, when a predator is coming upon them.  But really, they cannot see the predator until it is too late, assuming the predator is cunning.  That same myopic vision causes them not to see all the other dangers that we generally associate with them.

     Sheep are also incredibly stubborn.  In years past, I have shared the story how Leander’s sheep would sometimes try and swim for Portugal from the coast of New Brunswick.  The sheep knows only that it wants to go somewhere, and it will do anything it can to get there.  They will look for holes in fences and try to go their own way when the dogs and shepherds are not closely watching.  And no matter how many times a shepherd reproaches them, the sheep only knows what it wants.  Sounds more like human beings, doesn’t it?

     Sheep, though, also know voices and music.  Experts tell us that sheep can tell the difference between the music played by their shepherd and the music of someone else, even if they are playing the same tune on the same instrument.  The same is even more true for the voice of the shepherd.  Sometimes, sheep will come to the voice of their shepherd for as long as he or she continues to talk.  They do not have to be clicking their tongues or even saying “come here.”  The sheep, over time, begin to recognize the voice of the one who looks out for them and will usually, not always, but usually, try to stay within the sound of his or her voice, once the animal's trust is earned

     Now, I hope, you see why God uses this description of Himself and us.  He wants what is best for us.  Often we are stubborn and myopic.  We think this way is better or that way is quicker.  We don’t see the danger because our vision just isn’t that good.  We don’t trust God as we should; some of us wonder if He has earned our trust.  The Shepherd, though, knows what is best for us.  So long as we pay attention to His voice, we will be led in the ways we much go.  Even as our psalmist notes today, we can be led through dark and dangerous paths because our Shepherd guides us!

     There is a political dimension, though, to Jesus’ teaching.  Kings in the ANE often compared themselves to shepherds.  The goal, of course, for the kings was to convince those they governed that they were looking out for their best interest.  Now, unsurprising to most of you, their politicians and rulers cared as much about them as our own politicians today care about us.  Oh, for sure, there were occasionally good kings, who ruled justly and for the benefit of those whom they governed.  But most rulers and politicians were in business for themselves.  Much like today.  Even the kings of Israel, who should have known better than anyone else in the world, their responsibilities, were mostly selfish, horrible human beings.  If you ever take the time to read the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, you will be shocked at how far Israel’s kings really fall.  I mean, to be fair, David is a good king, but mostly because he is willing to repent when called out for his sins.  And most of us like to think we know David's story.  Few kings of Israel were concerned for those whom they governed in God’s name.  Now, imagine you are a king where your god or goddess is not instructing you how to govern.  How much more evil do you think you might do?

     When Jesus claimed to be the Good Shepherd, His audience would have heard the political rebuke before they heard the theological claim.  Nobody, but nobody, governed for the welfare of those whom they governed.  Everyone was after wealth or power or fame.  Herod had bribed Caesar to rule and killed powerful dissenters.  He certainly did not give a denarius for the people of Judea.  No one did!  Except the Good Shepherd, who truly wants what is best for His flock, who is truly dedicated to the health and well being of His flock.  Unsurprising to Jesus, of course He will be asked to demonstrate the cost of such love and care for His flock when He is nailed to the Cross.  He will have to will Himself to hang there, understanding both the need of the flock and His commitment to it, His love, to us!

     But that idea of dedication is that second detail I want you to notice.  As John narrates this teaching, time passes.  The part of the teaching that we often forget, that we often ignore or, rather, believe is too fantastical to ponder, is placed in a particular time.  John tells us that this continues during the Festival of Dedication.  Now, nearly everyone here has heard of this feast, but I wonder how many of us know its significance?

     A couple centuries before Jesus walked the earth, the Hebrew people had figured out for themselves that those who ruled were not good shepherds.  In fact, they experienced quite the opposite.  Neither the kings, nor few of the ruling classes, were concerned with obeying God.  The nadir of this understanding, one might argue, was experienced when some “progressives” decided to ally themselves with the Greek speaking world to drag the people of Judea into modernity.  They profaned the Temple.  This caused a group of “traditionalists” to band together to fight.  In this case, they were lead by Judas, not THAT Judas, but the Maccabee named Judas.  Judas lead the violent effort to restore the sanctity of the Temple.  You know the story as Hanukkah, but you likely did not know the background.  In the course of the -re-dedication and battles, it was discovered that only enough consecrated oil for one day was available to burn in the Temple, but that container lasted eight days.  The miracle was said to have occurred because God was pleased at the re-dedication of His people to His worship and His covenant.  It is with this festival in mind that Jesus gives us the next part of His teaching.

     Were Jesus’ teaching to end with the assertion that He is the Good Shepherd, it would be counter cultural enough for most of us.  But Jesus is not finished.  In this discussion of knowing voices and Shepherd and flock, there is even more amazing teaching.  The teaching of Jesus ends in this section with a incredible discussion of intimacy.  Part of the Temple elites’ pushback against Jesus is His claim that He is the Son.  In fact, they believe Jesus is blaspheming God to claim He is God’s Son.  Jesus, for His part, doubles down on that identity in this teaching.  But rather than focus on power or specialness, Jesus focuses on His intimacy with the Father.  “I and the Father are one.”

     Jesus reminds them yet again of the works that He has done, that the works themselves testify to His identity.  But the next claim is unmistakable.  Only God’s sheep hear Jesus’ voice, because Jesus and God are one!  It is a statement of both comfort and judgment.  To those who recognize Jesus’ words and works, they are incredible comfort.  God, Himself, is tending to His sheep.  He is aware of the dangers, the predators, and the hired hands.  But Jesus is promising that no one can snatch the sheep from His hand because He and the Father are one!  And He is offering an intimate relationship with the Father!  To know Jesus is to know the Father; to know Jesus is to be known and loved by the Father who sent Him.

     Similarly, those who reject Jesus’ words or works are declaring themselves to be outside the sheepfold.  Like those who wish to do things their own way, who stubbornly reject the teaching and discipline of God, they wander off into dangerous lands, where food and safety cannot be found.  To reject Jesus is to reject the Father; to reject Jesus is to remain at enmity with the Father.  Those consequences are ultimately disastrous.

     At Hosea Bible study today, Larry led participants through a discussion of gilgals.  Gilgals were stacks of stones placed by Israel to remember God’s faithfulness and deliverance.  The expectation was that children would ask their parents “Why this stack of rock?” The parents would the instruct the children of subsequent generations why the monument had been crafted by their ancestors.  Each, as you might imagine, reminded Israel of God's deliverance, faithfulness, power, and goodness toward His people.

     On this day that we discuss dedication and sheep and the Good Shepherd, it is providential that we speak of remembrances, of gilgals.  Each time you and I gather for this meal, we participate in similar remembrances and re-dedications.  We are in the Easter season where we focus on the Ressurection of our Lord.  But just as in every season during this Sacrament, we remember His death; we proclaim His Resurrection, and we await His coming in glory.  Brothers and sisters, each time we celebrate this Eucharist in thanksgiving for what God has done for us, I hope and I pray that you hear His voice.  In the grand scheme of things, this meal is about the cosmic plan of salvation.  But, contained within that cosmic celebration which is attended by the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven is God’s deliverance of each one of us.  To put it more bluntly, within the clarion call to worship and to thank God as a community is the reminder that each one of us has been delivered by God.  Each of us has been known and delivered by the Good Shepherd, who knew precisely what we needed and when, even if our stubbornness or myopic vision convinced us we knew better.  And when we were not trusting, when we were not faithful, still . . . . the Good Shepherd was amazingly faithful to us.  And perhaps, having been reminded of His work in our own lives, on this day, we pledge to re-dedicate our lives to Him, trust that in this meal, in all His teachings, He is the Good Shepherd.  He alone has demonstrated a care for us that the world cannot and will not give.  And, trusting in His care and following His voice, we can venture into dark valleys or dangerous plains confident that nothing can snatch us from His hand, not even the death of these mortal shells.

 

In Christ’s Peace,

Brian+