4th Sunday of Easter
Acts 9:36-43; Psalm 23; Revelation 7:9-17; John 10:22-30
John 10:22-30
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. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, in regard to what he has given me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”
When the Lamb Becomes a Shepherd
Grace to you, beloved of God, and peace from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Let us rejoice as one of the lambs, called to be a shepherd, born in the United States of America, is now the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. May God bless Leo XIV, also known as “Da Pope,” and may we ponder his call to become missionaries to the gospel, bearers of the good news of Jesus Christ.
The reason to rejoice about what God is doing is that the God who sees us differently than the world does and wants us to be known by the world as loving disciples may be speaking directly to us. It is almost serendipitous that we welcome a former missionary to the poor and excluded, to those living right here and now the ordeals of a world that is losing empathy and the sight God’s promise of blessings to every nation, tribe, people, and language, north, south, east, and west of our imaginary borders. There is one Lord and Savior, and there is one flock. Every sheep belongs.
The world needs this kind of shepherd because there have been too many prayers for the love of the Christ to prevail among us.
It seems, however, that it goes against the nature of sheep to go out into the world. Sheep have a strong flocking instinct and prefer to stay together instead of wandering off, away from the other sheep. It is part of their evolutionary behavior to avoid predators. Sheep have pupils that are a bit squared, allowing them to have a very wide angle of peripheral vision. It is almost as if they have eyes on their back. In the wilderness by themselves, sheep need sight of at least a few of their flock to feel safe and protected, and will work together to keep those who do not belong at bay to protect their lambs.
There is always profound wisdom to be found in biblical images that portray the kind of relationship God wants to have with us. I don’t need to tell you that most of our faith communities possess this flocking instinct to some extent. We rarely venture into the unknown. We often need the sight of those like us to feel safe, and we tend to work to keep strangers where they came from. If we consider this divine use of metaphors, we may gain some perspective on all the hesitation, if not resistance, when sheep, if not the whole flock, are called to be transformed into shepherds, while remaining sheep. It’s a bit of an identity crisis, and it’s not our comfort zone.
It is, however, what God has always called God’s children to do. Abraham was called to trust God’s promises to become the shepherd of innumerable generations of lambs from many tribes and languages whom he would never meet. God’s sheep Israel was freed from slavery, given, and taught everything they need to become a light to the peoples, peace to the nations, and good news to the poor and the oppressed. Jesus, the Son and Lamb, who became our Good Shepherd and called us to no longer build walls, to no longer separate Jews and Gentiles, Servants and Masters, male and female, and to receive and walk with the stranger in full restoration and newness of life – one Shepherd, one flock.
God, why do I have to sit with those Cardinal fans? Why can I just hang out with my friends? Can I have at least a few of my own at my peripheral vision so I don’t feel so isolated and unprotected?
I also don’t need to tell you how overwhelming that can be for any person or community. To a flock of black sheep, the white would be the odd one out. It can be exhausting; it can be paralyzing; it can be downright terrifying. It is at this moment that the divine voice of the Lamb, who learn to walk among us now sits at the throne and is one with God, comes to us, and asks to follow him.
Fear not. We will be laid in green pastures, we will be sitting beside still waters, our cup will overflow with the abundance of grace and mercy. The divine rod and staff are indeed ours, not to conquer, but to shelter, no longer enemies or walls. The ordeals will be over. No more hunger, no more thirst, no more tears. The Lamb is now the Lord, and the Lord is our Shepherd. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Bridging Faith 