Kathryn Z. Johnston Wholly Sheep John 10:11-18 April 29, 2012 Psalm 23

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1 Kathryn Z. Johnston Wholly Sheep John 10:11-18 April 29, 2012 Psalm 23 John 10:11-18 (Jesus says,) I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father. Psalm 23 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. He leads me in right paths for his name s sake. 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long. The Word of the Lord When I went to college in Florida I quickly found out that growing up in New Jersey is often misunderstood as hanging out by the turnpike exit, inhaling gas refinery fumes while looking for the final resting place of Jimmy Hoffa. I assure you my childhood was nothing like this for one, we all knew Hoffa was buried under the end zone of GIANTS Stadium. Actually where I grew up was a mix of suburban and even rural. New Jersey is called the Garden State for a reason I grew up getting my summer produce after driving up a dirt road to Sickle s 1

2 Farm. Agriculture abounds and there are a variety of farms throughout the area containing horses, cows, sheep, chickens, etc, etc. That said I still know very little about sheep. Potentially a little more helpful are some thoughts from a colleague of mine who grew up on her grandparent s sheep farm: 1. Sheep will eat ALL the greenery in a given area...they have to be moved regularly in order for the grass to continue to grow; otherwise they'll eat it down to the dirt and then look around completely uncomprehending as to why there's no more grass. 2. Sheep smell bad. 3. Sheep are not soft and cuddly, though they look that way. 4. Purposely bringing a whole group of sheep together is impossible. this is why we used dogs to round them up; pushing them from behind (as you do cattle) is even more impossible-- they have to see the leader before they'll go anywhere. 5. Sheep are not mean. They are very sweet unless you are holding food, in which case they will eat your hand to get it. Some of you also grew up around sheep and I m sure have your own knowledge to share. The point is, sheep are not the cute, cuddly animals that children s books and Sunday school traditions make them out to be. The precious painting of Caucasian, blue-eyed, trimmed beard Jesus with the soft and mellow lamb in his arms is forever imprinted in some of our minds others have been nipped one too many times at the petting zoo to buy into that picture but still we tend to err on the side of docile sheep beside the still water sheep lie down in green pastures sheep The folks Jesus was talking to knew sheep. They knew them as the dumb, mud-caked animals that they are and then Jesus compares them and us to those same dumb, mud-caked animals. I don t like being compared with a sheep. It s offensive, to be compared to them. And it seems like every time Jesus turns around, he s doing just that. He saw the crowd and they were like sheep without a shepherd. I was sent to the lost sheep of Israel. I am sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves. Well that s comforting. We are the sheep. Sheep cannot defend themselves. They can run, but not very fast. They are designed to be easy food for the taking. Sheep need to be led. I don t like being compared with a sheep. I like to think of myself as in charge and I m guessing I m not the only one; we like to be in charge at work, or in charge at home, in charge of our socially networked selves. In charge by what we wear, where we live, the titles we hold, the resources we own. 2

3 I don t want to be the sheep, I want to be the shepherd. 1 And while I m busy running things, controlling my own destiny let me just ask, can you really trust a shepherd that lays down his life for a bunch of dumb, mud-caked sheep? Laying your life down is a little extreme. Invest a little money in a wooden or metal gate. Get a guard dog. Take a few precautions. Those are adequate ways to fend off most of the predators, most of the thieves; to save most of the sheep. Those are adequate ways to protect most of the flock without getting yourself in any danger. It s adequate, unless, you are one of the sheep. When you re one of the sheep I m sure you sleep better at night knowing that the person with the shepherd s crook is between you and the lion, between you and the wolf, between you and thief. You must sleep better knowing that this shepherd is willing to put herself between you and the darkness of the night. You must sleep better knowing that the shepherd feels safe enough to sleep here himself. Jesus speaks of the hired hands and the wolves who abandon the sheep or feed off of them. I don t know who they represent for Jesus fold of sheep. In the negative wake of John s gospel, I wouldn t want to try to name them and raise more fear, label other communities, defame other leaders. Maybe there are no hired hands among us. Maybe there are no wolves ready to attack. Maybe we are more sophisticated than your average flock of sheep. But whatever your intellect, whatever your ethical sophistication, whatever your confidence in the world or in yourself it is a rare human being who hasn t had their trust broken: Trust broken in politicians or in the political process; Trust broken in the church or in its pronouncements; Trust broken as a child by an abusive adult; Trust broken by a parent; Trust broken by a stranger; Trust in your body broken by an illness; Trust broken by a friend; Trust broken in a marriage; Trust broken in your dreams. It is a rare human being who hasn t been injured or abandoned by those who are charged to protect. I can t name those hired hands and wolves, but I know they exist even for the most confident of sheep. And once you ve been abandoned by a false shepherd, once you ve had your security damaged by a wolf, it s hard to sleep soundly at night, it s hard to know who you can trust, it s hard to regain that safe space again. Trust is harder the second time around. After the cancer has come, it s harder to trust your body again. After the marriage ends, it s harder to trust that you can give yourself like that again. After death robs you of your joy, leaves you heavy and empty, it s hard to imagine that you would allow yourself to be that vulnerable again. 3

4 Whoever the hired hand, whatever the wolf, trust is harder the second time around. Sometimes it s easier to imagine walling ourselves off from potential threats than trusting again. And yet, when the cancer comes back and the chemo takes its toll, you don t want to be left outside by yourself. When the marriage ends, you don t want to be enclosed in the darkness by yourself. When death leaves you heavy and empty you don t want to be sleeping alone in the night. You sleep better if there is a shepherd who doesn t run when the darkness falls; a shepherd who doesn t leave when the weather turns; a shepherd who doesn t turn away when the threats to your life are real. Every sheep needs a shepherd she can trust. Every sheep needs a shepherd he can trust. The church claims this shepherd is Jesus Christ - the one who doesn t leave the fold when the darkness falls; the one who lays down his life for the sheep; the one who stands for even the most vulnerable of sheep. The church claims this shepherd can be trusted. This Jesus sounds too sentimental for many of us. The Jesus we look to is one of justice. He is the Prince of Peace. Jesus as the good shepherd doesn t sound like our kind of Jesus. But it would be hard to trust a God who wants justice in the world if that God was not also interested in what happens in your life. It would be hard to trust a God who wants peace in the world, if that God did not also want peace for you in your life. It would be hard to trust a God who hears the cries of suffering human beings around the globe if that God did not also hear your own voice, your own pleas, your own cries. Every sheep needs a shepherd they can trust. The church claims this shepherd is Jesus Christ. Jesus claims that he is the shepherd, not just for the church but for the entire flock. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is the shepherd I look for. I look for a shepherd who looks out for the whole flock. I look for a shepherd who can gather everybody in from the cold. I look for a shepherd that doesn t give up on me when the medicine no longer works, when the doctors have done all they can do. I look for a shepherd who I can count on not just when I m up on the mountain but when I m down in the valley below. Not just when the sun is shining and the grass is full, but when the wolves come hungry in the danger of night. I look for a shepherd who keeps his promises even after the campaign is over. Who sticks with his flock even when they don t serve his best interests. Who stands by them even when they don t deserve his protection. That s the Good Shepherd our Lord promises to be for all the sheep. Not just the well-groomed ones, either. Not just the liberal sheep or the conservative sheep. Not just the rich sheep or the poor sheep. Not just the fittest sheep who are guaranteed to survive, but sheep who have already been given up for dead by other Shepherds. 4

5 I look for the Shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep and did not allow it to end there. It is NOT finished. He lives. And because of Him so do we. In the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit Amen. 1 This sermon is greatly influence by the work of Andrew Foster Conners. Year B 4 th Sunday of Easter John 10:11-18 The Well, Montreat, NC