First Lutheran Church
May 3, 2020 + Good Shepherd Sunday
John 10:1-16, 22-27
(Jesus said) 1“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 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. 13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 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.
22 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.
“The Voice of the Good Shepherd”
In this week’s Gospel Jesus proclaims, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” I trust and believe that this is true, however, to be honest, it’s not always that easy to hear the voice of God. I hear a lot of voices inside my head, and some of them, I know, do not belong to the Good Shepherd. Some are just weird and belong to nothing and make no claim on anything. But then there’s these “other voices” that are harder to discern, still small voices, that sound a lot like me, yet voices that just might belong to Christ the Good Shepherd. But then again, maybe they belong to someone else, or something else? I hear voices, lots of them, and it’s not always easy to discern where they might be coming from!
And I suspect that’s true for all of us! Every day, and perhaps every waking moment, there is a conversation going on in our heads, voices speaking up, shouting and whispering, making noise. Sometimes it’s a very serious conversation and sometimes it’s just everyday insignificant things, like, “Hmm, what should I do this afternoon?” Not really Good Shepherd material! And then there’s those things we say (in our heads) that aren’t so nice, like, “Ugh, I have a meeting today with you know who, I really can’t stand him.” And everyone once in a while there’s that embarrassing moment when you have to add, “Oops, did I say that out loud?” Once again, decidedly not Good Shepherd material!
But other voices and conversations are not so easy to discern? Sometimes we hear a voice that gives us clear answers, that justifies our actions, our desires, our motives. Is that the Good Shepherd? Maybe or maybe not? Sometimes there’s a voice that expresses doubt and fear, confusion and frustration. Is that the Good Shepherd? Maybe not or maybe? What does the voice of the Good Shepherd sound like, what kinds of things does it say, what are the marks, what is the evidence, how do we know if it is God speaking to us and not just our egos, our insecurities, or our shadows?
Let’s get back to our gospel reading for today because there is something there that Jesus says, something that the Good Shepherd says, that I believe can be very helpful to us as we try to discern the voices that we hear in our heads. John 10:24, “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.’"
Have you ever noticed how Jesus very seldom answers any questions directly and / or simply in the gospel stories? Jesus is always keeping people in suspense, wondering, thinking, anticipating, and always questioning. And it’s frustrating for them, so they urge him, please “tell us plainly!”
Jesus has a few ways of doing this, ways of keeping people “in wondering,” he has some proven techniques that he likes to use. One thing he really likes to do is to answer a question a question. The Pharisees were the ones that most often received this response. Remember the time he was asked about his practice of healing on the Sabbath to which he replied, “Who of you wouldn’t save your oxen if it fell into a pit on the Sabbath? It’s an answer, but it’s also a question! Perhaps he’s best known for answering questions with stories, with parables, that were often hard to understand. “The kingdom of God is like …,” “There once was a man who had two sons,” “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers.,” And even when he was fairly direct with an answer it often had a kind of “riddle” quality to it. “Unless you are born again,” “I am the truth, the way,” once when asked who was the greatest disciple he replied, “unless you become like a child you cannot receive the kingdom of God.” Once again answers, - but not simple and direct answers. In the Gospel stories Jesus does give his questioners some kind of answer, a response; but they usually resulted in more questions, more wondering, and more suspense. Once Simon Peter asked him what he wanted for breakfast, to which Jesus replied, “Simon, have ye no faith, which came first, the chicken or the egg?”
Today I would like to suggest to you that the voice of the Good Shepherd, the voice Christ wants us to recognize and follow, more often than not, comes to us either in the form of a question, or causes us to ask a question; most likely one of those ultimate existential questions about meaning and purpose. Once again not an easy answer, but a good question, maybe even a hard question.
Jesus does not give us easy answers because he wants us to engage the big questions of life, he wants us to wonder, to imagine, to be part of “the way,” to be on a faith journey, to be in a dynamic relationship, and not simply someone who has arrived at a final destination with answers for each and every situation. Faith is not about memorizing answers and rules; but being in an ever-evolving relationship with God, each other, and the world. The promise of the gospel is not answers that work in the context of a black and white world that does not really exist, but a loving presence that walks beside us, and helps us navigate and live purposefully in a world that is often many shades of grey, and, like it or not, a world that is ever changing. The voice of the Good Shepherd does not give us words to memorize and carve into stone but rather words that engage our critical thinking skills, our imaginations, and cause us to creatively engage the advent of God’s kingdom into our world.
I’ve always maintained that faith is not about answers; ultimately faith is about asking questions, the right questions, the really good and often complicated questions of life.
So it is that the voice of the Good Shepherd is not the voice that offers up those easy answers but rather the voice that prompts or asks all those hard questions of faith that we ponder every day. Jesus asks questions that hold us in suspense, questions that cause us to wonder, even the questions that seem to cause us to doubt. For it is in those questions; the questioning combined with the faithful work of prayer, reflection, worship, holy conversations with others, holy conversations with “the other;” and exhaustively seeking after the truth; that we hear the Word of God that informs our identity, shapes our values, and guides our steps in this life.
So, don’t let questions, the good hard questions of faith, freak you out. Engage them, speak them aloud, discuss them, and seek after the truth; and in doing so let the Good Shepherd lead you into life abundant.
However also remember this, and this is really important, the good questions of faith, never, never, never, question God’s love for you, God’s love for your neighbor, God’s love for the world. Any voice that you hear in your head, any voice that you hear spoken aloud, any voice that claims you, and I, or the totally “other,” are not loved, is not the voice of God. That voice is not one to which we should listen! The questioning of love, of God’s unconditional love for you, is forever off limits, forever answered in the love of God made flesh in Christ.
You are loved, so be free to ask the good and hard questions of faith, to explore healthy doubt; and in the process find out who you are, who God is, and what you might do with each and every day in your one great and precious life. May you be blessed to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, and may that voice lead you deeply and eternally into the Kingdom of God.
Let those who have ears, hear. Amen.