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First
Reading
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Psalm |
Epistle |
Gospel |
Acts 4:5-12 |
Psalm 23 |
1 John 3:16–24 |
John 10:11–18
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Shepherding was a major part of the local economy in Jesus’ time. Israel traced its origins back to twelve tribes of migrant herders rather than settled farmers. However, unlike our popular image of cowboys on horses corralling cattle, sheep herding in Palestine was not done by circling around and driving sheep where you wanted them to go. The curved shepherd’s staff was not usually used to restrain the herd going in the wrong direction. Rather sheep were somehow taught to look for the shepherds and always center around them. The curve of the shepherd’s crook indicated the direction the shepherd was going. Hence sheep were said to be led by the shepherds, not driven.
This is the time of year when final papers are written, exams are given, and students and teachers alike feel driven and pressed. Perhaps this Sunday, known as good shepherd Sunday comes at a good time, for it reminds us that while the metaphor of Jesus as a good shepherd is an ancient one, it doesn’t mean that Jesus drives us to where we are supposed to go. Discipleship is not a response to God constantly driving us. Jesus invites and welcomes, and searches for the lost, but doesn’t beat or force us into submission.
How much of our society today is driven, instead of led? Most of the forces, which influence our lives, are those which attempt in varying degrees of subtlety, to drive us. The world puts terrible pressure on those it calls as its leaders to provide and conform to what it wants. A good leader by the world’s standards is in effect driven to give people what they demand and whine for, the more one can give to the most people, and the better a leader one is. Perhaps that is why we burn out many talented people, and why we become so disillusioned with others. So many people today all want to wield sturdy sticks in their hands. There is a contagious tendency to act like the wild-eyed French revolutionary who is said to have come running up to a frightened citizen demanding, “Where is the mob, for I am its leader.”
Unlike the prevailing climate in the world, Jesus doesn’t drive us, but offers to lead us. The risen Lord is the one who prepares our way, who calls us out of despair, who invites us to come closer, who transforms changing circumstances into new opportunities. Jesus calls followers to serve as examples of a different way, not of power brokers, not as czars of the spiritual realm, but to model a new type of leadership in the world.
These Sundays after Easter, many of the Gospel lessons report the appearance of Jesus to close followers, soon after the discovery of the resurrection. Most of the appearances have several things in common. They didn’t happen on what we would call Holy Ground; they were not in places set apart for divine revelation of spiritual enlightenment. They did not occur while the followers were in the temple, or within the local synagogue, and on retreat at a local shrine. Jesus appeared on roads where people routinely traveled, in rooms where people ate and performed the ordinary chores of daily living, and along lakeshores where people fished and made their living. Moreover, the disciples did not recognize Jesus at first as a divine figure complete with halo. Like us, I suspect, the early disciples did not expect Jesus to show up in the midst of such ordinary circumstances. Secondly, Jesus didn’t appear and immediately take over, overpowering the airwaves as it were, with the glory of the resurrection. Jesus let people come to recognize him rather than demanding or driving them to recognition.
The question for Easter people is what type of leadership is Christian discipleship? Where do the examples of Jesus on the lakeshore, on the road to Emmaus, or in the upper room take us? If we exchange our sturdy stick for a curved shepherd’s crook, what does that mean? The appearances of Jesus seem to suggest that the assumptions that God only is revealed on holy ground and time or will overwhelm us with the divine presence need to be reconsidered.
Perhaps as we celebrate the accomplishments of this academic year, especially with those who will be awarded a formal degree, graduating and leaving our community, we might remember those mentors and teachers who have brought out the best in us and served as inspiration for us to do our best in our future years. Yes, some were undoubtedly demanding and strict, but I suspect most did not so much as drive us as lead us. In one sense, perhaps they served as an example of what a good shepherd is all about.
And I offer this to you in the name of the Living God, Amen.
