Easter 4

Acts 4.5-12, Ps 23, 1Jn 3.16-24, Jn 10.11-18

         Imagine if today, instead of "Happy Easter!" I had greeted you "Good Morning Sheeple!"

         Has anyone heard that term before - sheeple? It combines sheep and people. It's not exactly ideal - it means a group of folks who are docile, easily led, followers - folks who are unable to think for themselves.

         Hmm. Not ideal. Yet this is how we come to think of sheep. Cute, fluffy critters, not the most intelligent beings in God's creation, ones who will unquestioningly follow their shepherd. So with today known as "Good Shepherd" Sunday, that might have ...interesting... if not negative, connotations. Think about it - the scriptures all reference shepherds and sheep - and they invite us to BE sheep.

         BUT - with a little bit of thinking, we recognise that we are not being invited to be sheeple. Quite the opposite, in fact. We are being invited to be thinking, discerning, careful sheep who will follow the Good Shepherd.

         Jesus - the Good Shepherd - wants us to be intentional and analytical in our actions, and our reactions to society, and in our faith.

         John's description is quite clear here. Now John's Gospel was written some 90 years after the crucifixion. Scholars believe that the community needing to hear this message was the group that was still interacting with the Pharisees, particularly the ones who had scrambled away to save their own skins after the uprising in about year 70 (when the Temple was destroyed). They were then trying to come back and infiltrate and influence society, some 20 years later - and John writes down Jesus' instructions against Sheeple.

         Jesus declares: "I am the Good Shepherd" - so there's no way to misinterpret or misunderstand his perspective. Jesus is not just a shepherd, one of many. He's not a mediocre or substandard shepherd, who may (knowingly or unknowingly) lead people astray. Jesus is THE GOOD shepherd.

         And what does that mean? It means someone who would practice self-sacrifice for the betterment of the community. The Gospel reads "the good shepherd will lay down his life for the sheep" - and knowing of the journey to death that Jesus was willing to take for us, there's no denial there.

         As though that wasn't clear enough, Jesus then does a nice little compare-and-contrast. Good Shepherd compared to Hired Hand. Now the hired hand we know is less invested in the sheep - maybe he has a few favourites here and there, but he doesn't really know the sheep, he may not even count the sheep, he might not notice if one or two wandered off. He's there for the paycheque. If something better came along, he might just take it.

         So when danger comes, a wolf pack, even a lone wolf - we know that the hired hand is off and running, and the sheep are going to be left alone.

         Interesting to note: when the hired hand takes off, the sheep don't follow him. They scatter, unprotected, and even run away from one another, as they have not had anything that brings them together other than circumstance. At the first sign of distress, they are entirely unprotected and unaccompanied.

         BUT. Jesus is the good shepherd. He knows his own. His own know him. There's an ongoing and intentional relationship that is fostered and supported.

         That is the basis of relationship that sustains: it's one of communication, it's one of trust, it's one of willingly and carefully choosing to follow the leadership that journeys towards God.

         It's a relationship that is so comfortable and so healthy and so God-focused that it will withstand whatever may come. To be the flock of Jesus followers means that we are never alone: it means that we are never without the Divine presence to guide and lead us: it means that there are more people who are part of God's family that we just haven't met yet - but we are encouraged to embrace when we do come together.

         The Gospel is good news indeed - but it doesn't suggest that the journey is going to be easy. The reading from Acts suggests that while the power of Jesus is profound, there are some who will oppose it, because they're more comfortable with how things used to be. Some in the community refuse change, even when it is the good news of resurrection.

         The letter from John seems to be addressing a community that has taken for granted that they are being divinely cared for, and that as result they are called to care for one another - regardless of personal preference. Following Jesus means loving everyone Jesus loves.

         And of course, the psalm. This beloved, often-cited, well-known 23rd psalm. The sentimentalists among us like the happy ending of the psalm, the comfort and peace it assures. Yet it also reminds us, when we think about it, that the sheep are not naive enough to think life is always still waters and green pastures: that is but a portion of the journey. And that journey will lead through encounters with evil, and through the darkest journey. However, the true comfort of this psalm is the assurance that the Good Shepherd brings us through those times of trouble and distress, along the paths of righteousness, to the House of the Lord. The shepherd protects us so long as we follow him.

         And so we are called to do that: to follow the Lord. To carefully and prayerfully be in the best possible relationship we can be, with God and with one another, in order that we will know the voice of the Lord calling us along the right paths. These paths may not seem to be the easy route or the popular way, but as we listen to Jesus' voice calling us onward, we are brought through the times of trouble to moments of repose and eternal abundance in God's dwelling of goodness and mercy.

         I pray that the grace of God will help all of us to focus on the voice of The One who knows us and calls us, who protects us and leads us, who directs us to right paths because he loves us, he knows us, he welcomes us, and never leaves us. May we be shepherded on our journey by our saviour: not as sheeple but as the one flock that is so beloved of the Good Shepherd.