Last week we
would have been exploring Jesus resurrection from the Lukan gospel (freezing
rain – churches did not hold services) & now we move away from the tomb to
explore our relationship with the risen Christ. One of the most familiar images
of relationship with Jesus is the image of the Good Shepherd; the Lord is my
Shepherd. As the New Creed say we are not alone, in life, in death, in life
beyond death, We are not alone. Thanks be to God. The shepherd is with us.
In this text today,
Jesus is still speaking to a mixed audience. The Pharisees were there. Also,
the man born blind, who Jesus healed, was there, along with other believers.
Jesus’ words here were aimed at warning, instructing, and assuring them. He
warns them about false shepherds so that they will not follow them. He
instructs them about Himself as the good shepherd and what He provides for His
flock. The
Shepherd image runs throughout the OT & NT, but no OT text characterize the
shepherd as one who will sacrifice himself for the flock to the point of death.
That being the
case, this text is an image already tested by the death and resurrection of the
Christ. The reality of death has been withstood and conquered by the shepherd.
Compare the Good Shepherd then to the hired hands described in vs 12 and 13 Today
the hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he
sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf
attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and
cares nothing for the sheep. The hired hand runs abandoning the sheep where
there is any sign of danger, but not the good shepherd.
14 “I
am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—15 just as the Father knows
me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Just as Jesus
knows God and God Jesus, the same genuine knowledge of Jesus is found in those
who recognize that basic relationship. To know God is to know Jesus, and that
is the mark of the flock which recognizes the shepherd as their own.
When a friend
calls you, how do you know it isn't just a prank caller, tele-marketer? How do
you know it's not your mother, father, brother, or neighbor? You know because
you know your friend. By spending time with your friend, you know how they
talk—you know the expressions they use, the tone of their voice and the changes
in their pitch when they're doing well and when they are sad. That's the way it
is with God: —so well that you recognize Him/presence and his involvement in
your life. God invites us to know more than just His voice; He invites you to
know him.
One of the most
fascinating realities of this text which is not emphasized, is listening; listening
for the sound of the Shepherd’s voice. (verse 16).
Entrenched in
this statement is a basic fact recognized and studied in the field of speech
communication: listening. Prior to recognizing and responding to a sound, one
must listen. I wonder how many times a teacher asks the class to listen in the course
of a day. How many times does a parent ask their children to listen to what
they are saying not only when they are small but when they are adults too? How many times do spouses say that to each
other “are you even listening to me? “So many things distract us. So many ear
buds & ear phones in people’s ears now a day to that no matter what people
are doing: another person can feel downright silly trying to make conversation
with someone who has no idea you are having a one sided conversation with them.
You could be walking down the street or in the grocery store or the gym. Ear
buds, ear phones wonderful, tiny little devices that are well hidden. There is
the visual distraction of screens in front of our eyes, this has the ability to
prevent our ears from hearing others speaking to us and be out of touch with
what might be going on around us.
Opening our ears
to hear is not so obvious as opening our mouth to speak! But true
listening requires great attention and energy. Ask any counselor, doctor
who has just spent a long time listening to troubled people; it is very focused
and demanding work.
I hope we have
all experienced times when you felt truly heard. To be truly heard by
another person is something rich and all too rare, a great source of comfort of
affirmation, a gift. It requires much of the listener and gives something
real to the person who is heard.
There is nothing
more catching then hearing your name being called.
Jesus does not
call us in some general, abstract, impersonal way: “Hey, you!” “Yo!”
Rather, he knows who we are, what we need, and the person we are coming to be.
The sacredness of
who we are is secure with Jesus because it is a reflection of His own
sacredness. We are made in His image. He knows us, and bids us to know and
accompany Him. To do that it is
necessary that we listen; otherwise the voice of Jesus goes unheard.
So, the skill of
listening is not easy. Yet it is the foundation of discipleship.
Like all true listening, listening to the Shepherd comes at a cost. But
while listening to other people may sometimes drain us–it is our gift to
them–listening to the Shepherd always leads to our enrichment. The
Shepherd has nothing to gain, while we have everything to gain.
Why is it so hard
to listen to the Shepherd’s voice? Because we haven’t listened enough to
be able to identify His voice. Real listening leaves us accessible to be
touched and changed by the truth of what we hear. That’s risky
business! So often the truth, if we hear it, overturns our prejudices,
challenges our self-image, shakes up our view of the world. Most of us
are at least a little uneasy about having our boat rocked.
Listening is also
hard because much of our society is arranged to keep us from hearing deep
truths. Many people are paid to make noise so that we do not hear the
true music the true voice. Maybe we have become so accustomed to noise,
we no longer know there is true music to hear.
Listening takes
practice. But the saving grace is the Shepherd never ceases to call
us. There is no shortage of messages that come from Him, and each one we
are to hear is addressed to us by name. There is no situation where he
does not speak.
What we do in
Christian worship is to listen to the Shepherd’s voice. We hear that
voice, or at least have opportunity to hear it, through scripture and sermon
and sacrament, in peaceful moments through the music, through the prayers &
through the caring of one another.
We hear that
voice, or at least can hear it, when we worship together, but something more is
involved: we are here to be
equipped to hear and recognize the Shepherd’s voice when He speaks
during the other hours of the week, and in situations where we may be surprised
to find him.
In John 11 we
have the Passion story, and before Jesus is crucified we have Caiaphas the high
priest saying to those around him that it’s expedient for one man to die for
the people. [John 11:48-50
Then the
chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
‘What are we
accomplishing?’ they asked. ‘Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If
we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans
will come and take away both our temple and our nation.’
49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high
priest that year, spoke up, ‘You know nothing at all! 50 You do
not realise that it is better for you that one man dies for the people than
that the whole nation perish.’
What he intends
is a callous political calculation. He prefers to see Jesus nailed to a
cross than have the upsetting career of this one man bring down the wrath of
the Romans on the entire nation.
Yet there is a
larger sense in which what Caiaphas says is the truth of the Gospel.
It is beneficial for one
man to die for the people, because God so loved the world that he gave
His only-begotten Son–that whoever
believes in him may not perish, but have eternal life. [John 3:16.] So,
in the suspicion of Caiaphas we hear another message, one he never
intended. Through his words we recognize a second and opposite voice, the
voice of the Shepherd calling us to life.
The same process can happen to us this week. We find ourselves in some situation of
sorrow or loss or crime or despair, and the air itself appears tainted and dark
by the words people say. But through it all the Shepherd speaks, inviting
us and those with us out of death and into life. We act upon the words of the
Shepherd. We can trust the Shepherd to speak. But we must be good
listeners.
The Shepherd
speaks in bright moments as well. He speaks some word of blessing in
these transient joys and successes; he wants to whet our appetite for the true
blessings, the ones that never grow old.
Discipleship requires
that we listen, and we follow him because we trust Him.
Thanks be to God
our Good Shepherd risen from the dead, the tomb is empty, and the Good Shepherd
is calling us to abide with Him. Thanks be to God. Amen. John 10:11-18 The Good Shepherd Sermon Writer Copyright 2014, James D. Kegel.
Susan Hedal – Working preacher – John10:11-18
(Working Preacher – Meda Stamper ) – John
10:11-18
Listening for God's
Voice - God doesn't
always shout to get your attention.
Margaret Feinberg - Christianity Today
Lesson 56: Why Follow Jesus? (John 10:11-21)O
Bible.Org - Steven J. Cole,
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