Year C

John 10:22-30

The Rev. Denise Vaughn

An Amazing Image of Salvation

Remember the TV program “Candid Camera?” There have been several versions of it on TV since the original program ran from 1948 into the 1970’s. One of the shows took place at an exclusive prep school where all the students were well above average. The “Candid Camera” people posed as career consultants who were going to advise these brilliant young men and women concerning the careers that would be best suited for them on the basis of “tests” and “interviews” that seemed to the students to be quite authentic. One young man eagerly awaited the “counselor’s” decision. Surely the adviser would tell him to be a college president or a bank president, or perhaps even a research scientist. But, no, the “counselor” had other ideas and the look on this boy’s face was priceless when the counselor said: “Son, after evaluating your tests and interview, I’ve decided that the best job for you is a shepherd. The student did not know whether to laugh or cry. Of course the audience thought it was very funny.

That student may not have aspired to be a shepherd but the truths that we associate with the image of the shepherd and the sheep found throughout the bible, are truths that are just as important to us today as ever. The Gospel of John chapter 10, which includes our gospel text today, focuses on the image of sheep, sheepfolds and shepherds. Through these images we better understand who Jesus is and what he wants to do for us, as we learn much more about God. Toward the beginning of chapter 10 we hear Jesus say “I am the Good Shepherd.” The word “good” when translated means “intrinsically good, beautiful, fair.” It describes that which is the ideal, the model that others may safely imitate. Our Lord’s goodness was inherent in his nature. To call him “good” is the same as calling him “God.” All four of our readings today eloquently voice this goodness and the loving care of a God whose concern reaches out to all of us who need someone “good” to rely on.

Take for example the widows in the Acts reading. They were known for their acts of charity, especially Dorcus, one of the pillars. When she died, they reached out to Peter, who like Saul, was another strong witness to the “good” power God let loose in the world in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and in the sending of the Holy Spirit, but the emphasis in this text is not on Peter. It is upon the community that yearned for a hopeful outcome for Dorcas. This congregation of resurrection hope had reason to believe in a God who transcends the categories of birth, life and death. They waited prayerfully and stood together. Today, although healing is a mystery, we are also very aware of the importance of prayer, resurrection hope and the resources of medicine and that like that early Christian community, the community standing together is a powerful resource. God’s spirit still intervenes on behalf of our prayers.

In the vision in Revelation, the great diverse host of people, gathered before the throne to sing in various languages praises to the Lamb, “have come out of the great ordeal.” They have known hunger and thirst, exposure and weeping, but they now experience a deliverance, a shelter, and a way to the “springs of the water of life.” We Christians want to imagine that God’s job is to keep us and our loved ones safe from all harm. This belief causes more lives of faith to crumble than any other belief. This vision in revelation clearly lets us know that pain and suffering will be a part of any Christian life. Suffering has always been a part of the Christian story. However, the good news is…that is only part of the story and never the End. “For the lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them….and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

As we continue through this most festive season in the church year, we remember the victory we celebrate. We know living leads to dying but we also know from the empty tomb and these post resurrection appearances of Christ that death does not have the last word nor can it separate us from God. The Easter story which stands central to our faith means that the Good Shepherd will continue to lead disciples to the water of life as we participate in Jesus’ unfinished story. Yet, even when God promises, we humans can put reason unreasonably in the way. Like the people in John 10 who approach Jesus and ask him to tell them plainly if he is the Messiah expecting him to do or say something that will establish his authority as Messiah and proclaim the power that resides within him.

But Jesus responds by talking about a different sort of power. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me; and I give them eternal life.” Jesus’ authority is known in relationship. “They hear, I know, they follow, I give.” In that back and forth, call and response movement is the revelation to us of who Jesus really is and it is the unity of hearing and doing that binds the sheep of Jesus’ fold to him.  This shepherd’s authority which lies in his connection with the least powerful is a connection that is stronger than death itself. For those who hear and follow this Good Shepherd they will never be snatched out of his hands. What an amazing image of salvation: being in the protective hands of Christ, hands that still carry the wounds of the cross. Just as Easter gives us the proof that Jesus is ultimately in the hands of God, not in the hands of death, so we claim we are in the hands of Jesus, not in the hands of the powers of this world. This claim, allows us to live out of that confidence and trust and so become the hands of Christ in our world.

To further assure us of God’s goodness and care Jesus says “the father and I are one.” The word “one” when translated from the Greek is saying that he and God are united in the work that they do. Jesus and his father are one in their resolve to save their sheep, heal the world, raise the dead, and wash tears away forever. Those who would turn an ear to the shepherd’s voice will discover they can trust him. Perhaps it is not simply by chance that the most popular psalm is the twenty-third psalm, the psalm that shapes our image of the shepherd God. This story of Jesus reveals the character of God and God’s love for each of his sheep. Christ has promised to remain with us as the good shepherd even to the end of time, so that in life and in death we may be confident that we belong not to the powers of evil, sin and death, but to him of whom we can say with confidence and trust: “The Lord is my “good” Shepherd.”