Bible Text: John 10:1-10 and Acts 2: 42-47 | Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes
Sheep are often thought to be rather dim-witted creatures. For a long time it was believed that without a shepherd they would not be able to find food or water and would easily get lost and not be able to find their way to safety. That actually seems to still be true but I have recently discovered that sheep are not as stupid as we might think for two very important reasons. First, they can recognize the voice of their master and second, they remember people. These two observations go hand in hand, in that they remember who it is that gives them food, water, shelter and protection and they know that person’s voice. Equally they remember if someone has caused them harm and will not come when that person calls them. I recently read an article posted by a lamb sanctuary which said that sheep carry emotional baggage. If a sheep has been mistreated it can take years to help them heal. Within that same thought, because sheep have memory, it also appears that sheep grieve, I’m not making this up, the research shows that, “when sheep lose someone close, it can completely shake their world and leave them feeling lost and unsettled for months. Sheep have been known to cry out for their lost friends and family in a desperate attempt to understand why they are no longer with them”. All of these statements lead me to believe that sheep are a lot smarter than we give them credit for and it kind of makes me want to become a vegetarian. The image of us as sheep and Christ as the shepherd is likely not a foreign one to you, but this morning’s Gospel passage is slightly different from other images. In fact, it seems to uphold the scientific research- especially the part about sheep recognizing the master’s voice!
There are, however, mixed metaphors in this passage and that can cause confusion. To be perfectly honest, I like mixed metaphors- I may even use them in sermons! But this time Jesus is really mixing things up. First Jesus uses’ familiar language regarding the Shepherd. He compares himself to someone he is not, someone who climbs into the pen by a different way; rather Jesus enters via the gate and calls out to his sheep. He then calls them out by name and they follow the shepherd. It actually seems pretty self-explanatory, Jesus calls us by name and we follow, but the text says that Jesus shared this comparison with his disciples but they did not understand what he was saying to them. The narrator does this clever comparison of his own. Here Jesus is talking about how when he calls his own sheep by name they recognize his voice and follow, but then the narrator says, but those who were listening to this figure of speech did not understand. This is irony at its best in that Jesus is saying that only his followers understand him, but the ones who are listening to Jesus at this very moment don’t understand what Jesus is saying- they can’t hear their own names being called! The voice recognition is not working. They do not recognize the message in Jesus’ speech. The sheep might have heard and followed his voice, but the disciples don’t. I hear hope in this statement, however, because it means that even when we get things wrong, Jesus is persistent and continues to call to us.
In this story Jesus does the one thing that Jesus does best; instead of dumbing it down for those listening he makes it more complicated! He says that he is the gate. The function of the gate on any sheep pen is to keep the sheep together during the night- presumably to keep them safe from predators or thieves. In some ways this is a mixed metaphor that doesn’t make a lot of sense. On one hand Jesus says he is the shepherd that leads the sheep out and on the other hand Jesus says he is the gate that keeps the sheep in. But both the shepherd and the gate have similar functions to support the well-being of the sheep. And by Jesus being both shepherd and gate, this is a holistic approach to our well-being. As a matter of fact it will require Jesus’ whole being to assure the safety of his sheep. While it was not read as part of our reading Jesus goes on to say in verse 11 that he is the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. Now there is a metaphor that we understand.
Just briefly I also want to point out that the metaphor of Jesus as the gate is not one that should be used to exclude. This does not give us permission to create an “us and them” dichotomy. The purpose of Christ as the gate is not to keep people out but rather to provide for one’s well-being. And there is a freedom in the gate because Jesus says that those who enter are welcome to come and go as they please. But also note that it is not us who saves, but the gate or the shepherd or both.
The salvific qualities of Jesus are not ones that the modern Presbyterian Church uses very often. You don’t hear me shouting from the pulpit, “Jesus Saves!” and this is in part because many traditions have used such a slogan to exclude rather than include others. But if Jesus truly saves holistically, which is what I am getting at, than this is not just a saving within eternal life but rather here and now. Elisabeth Johnson, author of “Covenant Communities” says, “John’s Gospel is not just about life after death. It is life that begins here and now; it is knowing the one true God and Jesus Christ whom God has sent. It is knowing the voice of the good shepherd who truly cares for us. It is a life in community, finding security and nourishment as part of his flock. It is life that abounds in meaning and value and endures even beyond death.”
It may not appear that our Acts passage and John’s passage have much in common and yet Jesus’ comments seem to map out what Acts describes. Jesus says that he came so that they may have life and have it abundantly. Acts then describes how this abundant life is achieved. The Book of Acts is unique in that it is the only book which records the actions of the early church. With Paul’s letters we can piece together what the church was up to as it spread around the known world, but Acts is the only firsthand account (that we know of) of the first days of the church. What Luke, as the author of the book of Acts, writes about are the rituals, like baptism and breaking bread, the communal living including the sharing and redistribution of wealth and property, and most importantly the worship and growth among the early church. While Luke wrote his books for his friend Theophilus to help Theophilus understand who Jesus was, the book of Acts is not so much about theology as it is ecclesiology- a description of what it means to be the church. It is a description of how the sheep behave as members of the same flock. It is as Elisabeth Johnson put it, “life in community.”
A life that is whole is one that is lived in community, walking in and out of the gate, and most importantly it is about following the one who calls us by name and remembering that master. Because sheep are also known for their flock behaviour. This is in part because there is safety in numbers but because sheep are social animals. Sheep always maintain visual contact with other sheep and they will only display normal flocking behaviour when there are five or more sheep around. You see, we need the church for our own whole well-being. Sometimes we get bogged down by the politics, the trivial decisions, the financial discussions but in reality even those things serve a purpose- to maintain the flock and to follow the one who calls us. Do you hear it? Jesus is calling our names and like smart sheep we should follow. Amen