John 10:1-10

4th Sunday in Easter, year A.

Questions

1. What are you initial reactions to the Gospel? What do you agree/disagree with? What worries you? What encourages you?

2. What is your image of Jesus as Shepherd? How do you react to that image. Can you think of other characteristics of shepherding which might be more helpful to you?

3. There is evidence that Jesus was experienced in woodworking, and yet the only aphorism the Gospel writers present is the “shard in your brother’s eye, beam in your own”. What characteristics of a woodworker might be helpful in developing your image of Jesus?#

4. Fishing and farming seem to be the primary occupations which Jesus draws on in his parables. How do we share our own faith in ways which might best resonate with those around us?

Good Shepherd Sunday 2023

Sheep play quite a substantial role in the biblical stories – both Old and New Testaments. Abram, Isaac, Jacob, Esau, Laban, Rachel, David were all characterised as shepherds and Gideon used sheep fleeces as a means of testing God. Twice. The night-shift shepherds of Bethlehem were the first to hear the news of Christ’s birth. So sheep and shepherding are common themes throughout scripture.

Perhaps not surprising then that Jesus adopts the meme for himself. How to interpret this? He is the Shepherd who walks at the head of the sheep, and the sheep follow. He walks behind to drive them forward. He guides them towards greener pastures. He has faith in them sufficient to leave them doing their own thing, as he searches for the lost sheep. He is prepared to risk losing all of the other sheep for the sake of the one. He enters through the gate of the sheepfold. He is the gateway to the sheep fold lying across the doorway to prevent anyone entering. He is prepared to give up his life for his sheep.

My own favourite sheep analogy is the account of Abram who “walked at the pace of his sheep”. I imagine that being a bit like walking a dog (which might be a more relatable experience to many of us), stopping here and there for interesting sniffs and investigations , heading over there for something exciting, standing point blank stationary when confronted with something unexpected, tearing around in fear or excitement!

I expect that the most common characteristic of shepherding associated with Jesus is as a sort of leading, guiding hand. But it might be an interesting exercise to consider which particular characteristics of the metaphor resonate most closely with you?

It is also possibly worth pointing out that, whilst there may be many shepherds in the area of Galilee, there is little evidence of Jesus or any of his immediate companions having shepherding as their primary responsibility. And (apart from the nativity shepherds) they do not seem to feature in any of his direct encounters with identified persons.

Perhaps shepherds were not considered important enough to be of note to the Gospel writers. And if that is the case, then what significance is there in Jesus choosing the metaphor for himself?