The Good Shepherd

Fourth Sunday of Easter – Earth Day

Today's Reading: John 10:11-18

Grace and peace to you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today is what we traditionally call ‘Good Shepherd Sunday’ because of our readings from John and typically the use of Psalm 23. When you think of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, I wonder what image comes to mind. For me it is that traditional photo of Jesus standing in a pasture with a lamb draped around his neck. This is a gentle Jesus of comfort and compassion. It is indeed comforting to hear how intimately Jesus knows us and wants us to know him. It is comforting to know that when all others run away, putting their lives first, Jesus’ love runs so deep that he is willing to stay and to give up his life for ours.

This is a beautiful picture AND a beautiful truth. But I fear there is also a lot of truth that we leave out of the picture/out of the story, because it’s not so beautiful. We live in Iowa; even if we don’t farm, we know at least a thing or two about

farm life and how it’s not always pretty.. so this morning I’d like us to exercise our imaginations to recreate a more authentic picture in our minds of Jesus as the Good Shepherd.

First of all, Jesus was from Israel, so let’s recast him as the Middle Eastern man that he was.. and this was thousands of years ago, so let’s make sure he’s wearing the proper attire. Now let’s set the scene, we know Jesus loved to go to the desolate places, to the outskirts, to the outsiders, so he is likely out of town on a small farm with land that is as much dirt and sand as it is grass and rocky hills. There he is tending his sheep. This is not a glamorous job. His hands and feet are chapped and covered in dirt.. Neither he nor the sheep are blinding white, but really quite dirty.. and the smell – we all know the smell and the flies and gnats and such that fill the air. As the shepherd, Jesus does not just scan the perimeter and ward off predators, but does the very real, dirty, and non-glamorous chores of one who cares for livestock.

I am grateful for fellow minister Candace Simpson, who reminds us that shepherds must be wise.. they must be willing to take on the burdens of those they serve and emotionally invest in their care.. Shepherds understand that part of their job description is to fight off wolves and to quell the fights among the flock. Did you know sheep fight for dominance? Rams will throw themselves at one another and can get up to speeds of 20 miles per hour! Sheep can be sweet but they can also be feisty.. Jesus is there for ALL of it. Jesus also mentions that there are other flocks that will be brought in. Shepherds seek to add to their flocks to strengthen the potential for solidarity and cooperative living. And shepherds are not the center of the story; they are stewards of living, breathing ecosystems that already exist.

Friends, we are the sheep; we know the shepherd’s voice and he knows us and cares for us intimately – so much so that he has given up his life for our sake. This is our comfort, our assurance, our peace – God’s yoke which is indeed easy and light. Friends, we are the sheep; we are messy and often fights swell up amongst us. Sometimes we stray, we get lost, we forget who our master is and how important our living, breathing ecosystem is to our survival and wellbeing. Yet Jesus is here for it all.. still giving his life up for ours.

Despite the dirt and the mess, I find the real, authentic picture much more beautiful than the traditional clean and simple Jesus with a lamb around his neck... in the same way the real, authentic YOU is much more beautiful then your carefully curated social media posts.. or the polished persona you’ve perfected as the only parts of you that you share with the world. We can actually only work together, build solidarity, and strengthen cooperative living when we show up as our full selves – not our ideal self, but our unpolished, perfectly imperfect selves. Only when we can live into what is real and show up as our whole selves can we begin to live together, building one another up, and transform the culture around us.

This requires vulnerability and the willingness to be uncomfortable. This requires us to trust completely in Christ, our shepherd, and learn from him new ways of life; learn from him how to carry one another’s burdens and lay down one’s life for one’s neighbor. Now don’t get me wrong, this is not the kind of vulnerability that is self-deprecating; this is not the way of saying my life means nothing, but yours means everything. This is the kind of vulnerability that says my life means everything AND your life means JUST AS MUCH and together we will put everything on the line to make sure we ALL have life to the fullest!

If Jesus is our good shepherd, we are both comforted and challenged. God is among us and knows us by name. Christ has laid down his life for yours and asks us to share in his new life. This new life where we all show up as our whole selves, messy and imperfect as we are, and put in the hard work that comes with living in a flock and loving our neighbors as ourselves – as if their life is worth as much as mine and I’ll go to the grave fighting for it. Ohh my friends, this is hard work. This is hard, counter-cultural work. This work requires that we fight the urge to run away when the going gets tough, but rather to lean in, get our hands dirty, and commit to a love that is much more than a passive noun, but is an active and living verb.

By the power of the Holy Spirit may we rise to the challenge. May we stand firm on the foundation of our salvation in Christ and lean into the new way of life he has unfolded before us. May we accept our place in the ecosystem of all things and steward our lives as a flock rather than individuals. May we see the world through the Creator’s eyes and call all things good – especially ourselves and our neighbor. May we carry the burdens of the earth and one another. May we praise God and pursue paths of life rather than destruction. May it be so. Amen.

(Check out minister Candace Simpson's work at: https://www.fishsandwichheaven.com/)