Thoughts going in, April 17th, Easter +4

At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; 26 but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.” (John 10:22-30)

            The fourth Sunday of Easter is always designated as "Good Shepherd Sunday." The Gospel readings are always taken from John chapter 10, the Good Shepherd discourse, and while the specific verses and emphasis varies depending on the lectionary cycle, the common denominator is always to present Christ as the Good Shepherd of the Sheep.

            In year C of the cycle (our current year), it's somewhat interesting in that the term good shepherd does not appear in the reading itself... it appears earlier in the chapter and hence in the selected Gospels for year A and B. I sort of like this, as it seems to be in keeping with some of the quirks of year C, such as the Easter Sunday Gospel reading that didn't actually feature the resurrected Christ, but only the empty tomb and folded grave clothes. For what it's worth, the 2nd reading for the Sunday is taken from Revelation and does come close to mentioning the term: for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. (Rev 7:17).  Regardless, there is plenty enough talk of sheep (and specifically his sheep) so as to make this chunk of John chapter 10 suitable for the year C Gospel reading for "Good Shepherd Sunday."

            Before I move off of liturgical matters, another point needs to be made. One of the things being observed on this day is the fact that the pre-resurrection teachings of Jesus still hold sway. Nothing has changed. Often times secular accounts of the crucifixion are spun in such a way so as to imply that this was a horrible catastrophe; unplanned; un-prepared for, etc. etc. John's Gospel especially puts this notion to rest. No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again, (Jn 10:18). In other words, the 'big picture' of Good Shepherd Sunday isn't that Jesus used to be the good shepherd until that unfortunate incident on a Roman cross... He has been, is, and will be the Good Shepherd of the sheep. This was always and has always been the plan, and in the immortal words of Hannibal from TV's The A Team, I love it when a plan comes together.

            As to the text itself, there's a lot of back story going on... mostly concerning Jesus and the ongoing jousting match with the Jewish religious authorities in the Temple precincts. John even subtly remarks that the whole conversation in this portion of the reading is taking place during the "Festival of the Dedication," (vs 22), by which he means Hanukkah--the Jewish commemoration of the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, and is also known as the Festival of Lights. The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a unique candelabrum, the nine-branched menorah, one additional light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. This is the sort of stuff that gives extra relevance to statements of Jesus such as, I am the true light, etc. It's not that Jesus had an antagonistic attitude about the Temple, it's that he felt that the Temple's true purpose was to point TO HIM.

            From the text... in keeping with the liturgical theme of Good Shepherd, the key verse(s) are: My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand, (27-29).  From these, we learn that the baptized life consists of:

            -- The sheeply activity of hearing and following (vs 27a). I was very interested to note from linguistic tools that this concept of 'following' isn't a sort of mindless activity, as in, just putting one foot in front of the other. It's a compound word that means to walk along with on the same path. It also has a decided 'political' flavor to it; it can mean to be of the same party. The baptized life also includes:

            -- The reality of being known, (vs 27a). As I ponder this thought it strikes me that this being known is a no holds barred intense knowing... of both our ultimate potential and capacity for good, as well as all of those things that we're most ashamed of. For the Good Shepherd, both sides of our coin are known and accepted. Finally, the baptized life inludes:

            -- Assurance of a 'higher power,' (vss 28-29) And, no, I'm not slamming AA and other 12-step type groups. I'm a firm believer in the veracity of truth, even if it's incomplete truth. The reason higher power thinking works for recovery programs is because there is a higher power. But within the baptized life of faith, higher power thinking reaches its greatest conclusion. Ultimately, our ability to attain salvation isn't a matter of being big enough, good enough, strong enough, smart enough, theologically correct enough, ... or even faithful enough. Ultimately, our salvation rests in the "good hands" of Jesus and his Heavenly Father.

Cheers,

T.M.