Fourth Sunday of Easter /
Psalm 23; I Peter 2:19-25,
John 10:1-10
Rev. Gayle M. Highness
The
Pasture Is Nice, But Who Wants to Be a Sheep?
A famous actor was once the guest of
honor at a social gathering where he received many requests to recite favorite excerpts
from various literary works. An old preacher who happened to be there
asked the actor to recite the twenty-third Psalm. The actor agreed, on
the condition that the preacher would also recite it.
The actor's recitation was
beautifully intoned with great dramatic emphasis. He received lengthy
applause. The preacher's voice, on the other hand, was rough and broken
from many years of preaching, and his diction was anything but polished.
But when he finished there was not a dry eye in the room. When someone
asked the actor what made the difference, he replied, "I know the psalm,
but he knows the Shepherd."
The 23rd Psalm might be
the best known Scripture in the whole Bible. There is something about those
words that stirs the heart. You don’t necessarily have to know the shepherd to
be moved by this psalm. It touches us initially, not because we know the
shepherd, but because we can relate to the needs of the sheep.
When we hear, “there is nothing I shall want,” we are stirred because we know
what is to want things and never being satisfied. The absence of want sounds good.
Green pastures, still waters,
revival of the soul, guidance along the right paths, safety and protection from
evil that lurks in dark valleys, security from enemies, goodness, mercy and a
place to call home forever … all these things sound so good to us because, even
if we don’t know the shepherd, we know deep down we need the things the
shepherd can provide. We yearn for them.
But the truth is, what we really
yearn for is the shepherd. As
We know we need the things a
shepherd can provide, and in our hearts we yearn to know the shepherd. So why
is it that we don’t always have the peace and contentment described in the 23rd
psalm? It’s because we don’t necessarily
like the idea of being sheep. We don’t always like being part of a flock and we
don’t like having to follow a shepherd to get our needs met.
In the verse immediately following
our gospel reading today, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.” But in the
portion I read today, we heard Jesus say he is the gate for the sheep and that,
“Whoever enters by me will come in and go
out and find pasture.” Later in John’s
gospel, Jesus puts this another way when he says, “I am the way and the truth and the life –
no one comes to the Father but through me.”
And we are tempted to think, “Surely there’s another way.”
It is commonly said that sheep are
dumb, but I read where someone said sheep aren’t necessarily dumb, they’re just
willing to be led. We want the things a
shepherd can provide, but we want them on our own terms. We want what we want when we want it. It has been so ever since Adam and Eve ate
the apple because they liked the idea of being like God.
This desire for independence makes
us resist following the shepherd and resist staying with the flock. But out in
the pastures of this world, we are especially vulnerable. Voices call out to us
from all directions and their message is appealing: take care of yourself;
don’t inconvenience yourself for anyone else; seek your own comforts; protect
your own interests.
Jesus said his sheep will run from a
stranger. They will not listen to strangers because they know the voice of the
good shepherd who calls them by name. If that’s true, why do so many people who
claim to know the shepherd … including all of us … seem to get lost and taken
in by the other voices that call to us? I think it’s because we forget that we’re
sheep. We think we don’t need the shepherd.
There’s a scene in the movie, Babe –
which is about a talking pig who becomes a sheep pig – where some thieves have
broken in to Farmer Hogget’s pasture and are stealing his sheep. The scene is
panic and pandemonium until Farmer Hogget arrives and the thieves run
away. In another scene, some wild dogs
come and attack the sheep and, again, it’s pandemonium
and even death, until Farmer Hogget’s helper, Babe, comes to the rescue.
Like sheep, we can’t protect ourselves
from the predators of sin, death and the devil any more than Farmer Hogget’s
sheep could protect themselves against wild dogs and rustlers. We need the shepherd. We are helpless without
the shepherd. That’s what we need to realize if we are to know the 23rd
psalm from both sides – from the side of need and the side of abundance.
Jesus said the thieves and bandits
come to steal and kill and destroy – he has come that we might have abundant
life. And yet we resist.
There’s another reason we might
resist being sheep. Because not only is Jesus the shepherd and the sheep gate,
Jesus also showed us what it means to be a sheep in God’s fold. He is the Lamb of God who followed and obeyed
his Father all the way to the cross. He
asked for the cup to be taken from him, but he prayed, “Not my will but yours
be done.” He completely humbled himself and submitted himself to the Father’s
will, leaving the outcome in God’s hands.
This is what Peter was talking about
in the second reading we heard today. When Jesus was abused and when he
suffered, he entrusted himself to God. “He
himself bore our sins in his body on the cross so that, free from sins, we
might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were
going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian
of your souls.”
As sheep who
follow the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, we may be led to places and called to
work that we would rather not do. BUT,
when we submit ourselves to God’s will, and when we trust in the Lord and leave
the outcome in God’s hands, we will discover what abundant life is really all
about.
We have a good shepherd who leads us
and feeds us and protects us from the real danger to our souls – who lays down
his life for the sheep. You know the shepherd. He is Jesus our Savior. Do you
trust him? Will you follow him? Open your ears! He is calling your name. He has
opened the gate for you. He promises abundant life and peace that the world
cannot give. All he wants is your
heart.
May the peace of God which passes
all understanding KEEP your heart in Christ Jesus, our shepherd and our Lord. Amen.