John 10:11-18
Easter 4 / Year B
“O my, Grandma, what big teeth
you have!” Do you remember the next
line? How about this one: “If you don’t
open the door, I’ll huff and I’ll puff…” What comes next? Because we were raised on children’s stories we
remember being taught to beware of wolves.
Never mind most of us grew up in urban or suburban surroundings and
never saw even one wolf, these stories served an important function in our
maturation.
They taught us the world isn’t
always as safe as the sheltered environment our parents created for us. They let us know danger is always present… though
not always seen. They educated us about
the cunning ways evil can feed off innocence and naiveté. And, mercifully, they reinforced we are not
completely alone and helpless in our struggle against these harmful
forces. Little Red Riding Hood is saved
when her grandmother fetches the woodsman.
The three pigs are saved because one invests the time and energy
necessary to construct a safe, sturdy, brick house. These were important stories for us to hear
as we grew up and as adults we remember them because, metaphorically speaking,
wolves come after us throughout our life.
This Fourth Sunday of Easter is
known as Good Shepherd Sunday. The
Collect sets the theme for the day and each of the readings builds on it. The Gospel lesson calls us to reflect on the
difference between the shepherd and the hired hand. Drawing on imagery familiar to people
employed in the herding trade, Jesus makes a simple, but important point: There
is a significant difference between the shepherd who owns the sheep and the
hired hands who are paid to help out.
When the wolf comes the hired hands run away, but the shepherd puts his
life on the line to protect what matters most to him.
Jesus invites us to ponder a
reality and a question. Here is the
reality: In life we will be tested. The
wolf will come at us in different times and in different ways and we will be
tested again and again in these moments.
Since this is our reality, here
is the question: When you see the wolf coming, who or what can you count
on? Who or what will stand with you,
even to the point of laying down life itself?
When sorrow comes, will the friends who want to play with you stay with
you? When weakness comes, will the possessions
you have accumulated strengthen you?
When tomorrow’s failure comes, what of yesterday’s successes will remain
to shelter you? When death comes, who or
what will stay with you to see you through?
Not your education. Not your career. Not your stock portfolio. Not your winning personality and certainly not
your good looks.
Jesus said this to a handful of
men and women: “When the wolf comes the hireling will flee; but I will
not. I am the Good Shepherd. I will be there when you need me.” The one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church
began when this small group of people discovered Jesus keeps his promise.
Scholars say it is no accident the
beloved 23rd Psalm (“The Lord is my Shepherd”) is placed immediately
after the 22nd Psalm (“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). The 22nd Psalm tells us about the
dark, terrible testing in life, while the 23rd Psalm tells us about
the Good Shepherd who leads us through these experiences to still waters and
green pastures.
There will be times when we will
be tested in the laboratory of calamity.
These moments teach us who and what we can and cannot count on. With each testing our trust in the Good
Shepherd grows deeper. And as our trust deepens
we begin to discover a life which pain and suffering cannot defeat, a joy which
sin cannot dim, and a power from God which stands the test of living, as well
as the test of dying. All of this is
possible because when the wolf comes the Good Shepherd does not flee from our
side.
So today we reflect on the
reality of testing and ask who or what will see us through. I think today’s readings encourage also us to
ask one more question: Who can count on you to be a shepherd when the wolf
comes for them? We all have
relationships that are more like pleasant acquaintances. In the moment of their need we may, in fact,
be more like the hireling. But each of
us has a few precious relationships that stand through thick and thin.
When a couple seeks God’s
blessing on their marriage, we ask them to face one another, to join hands, and
to promise to have and to hold for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in
sickness and in health… until parted by death.
The wolf comes to every marriage.
Every couple is tested again and again.
This is why we do not ask them to sign on as a hireling in each other’s
life. We ask them to be shepherds who
will lay down even life itself for the other.
Parents also are called to be shepherds,
not hirelings. A parent will sacrifice
everything for his or her children. Each
will put off personal needs to tend first to the needs of their children. Their love is a bond that cannot be broken by
any trouble. When loving parents see the
wolf coming they do not run away. They do
everything possible for their sheep, their children.
Some friends are shepherds,
others are hirelings. I learned this for
the first time when my father died. My friends and I were still in our teens
and death had never touched closely to any of us. Some of my best friends were not able to
stand by my side when that wolf was present.
They did not know what to say or do or how to make it better, so they
stayed away. Only a few friends stood
with me in that awkward moment, but what friends they were! They did not know what to say to make the
pain more bearable. They did not know
what to do to slow the flow of tears. So
most times they stood by in silence, but their presence said more than any
words of wisdom ever could. We can’t be
that kind of friend to everyone we know, but we all have friends who will know
us to be shepherds in their hour of need.
We need to be realistic about
this shepherding business. There will be
times of personal testing when those who should stand with us will fail us. In our marriage, in our parenting, in our
friendships, and even in our faith community, there will be times when we will
look for a shepherd and find only hirelings.
And there will be times when those we love will need us and we will be
little more than a hired hand who does not show up to do the job.
As we rely on the grace of God
to forgive us our sins, so we offer this grace to those who have sinned against
us. If we are to be shepherds, we will
need to learn how to ask for forgiveness as well. A hireling who screws up will run off and
find another job. But a shepherd who
does not live up to the call will not run away and hide from the flock he or
she loves. A shepherd will return to gather
the scattered, bind up the wounded, sooth the anxious, and begin the process of
tending to the flock anew.
In this life we can be sure we
will be tested. We can be sure the wolf
will come. Jesus tells us he is the Good
Shepherd who will not disappoint us when everything else fails. He asks us to help him watch over the flock
of those who are closely connected to us.
He invites us to love one another as he loves us; to love as a
shepherd. In this love for one another
we receive a glimpse of a kingdom yet to come.
It will be a kingdom of one flock under the love and protection of the
one Great Shepherd. Until that day when
the wolf will be no more, we have a job to do.
