4th Sunday of Easter

The gospel passage for today’s homily is John 10:11-18.

Over the last fifty years or so Israel has invested in large-scale irrigation schemes that have helped to make parts of the desert into farmland. However, the greater bulk of the country is still very harsh and unforgiving. It’s in these semi-desert areas that you can often come across a young shepherd with a small flock of sheep. There are no fields rich in grasses here. An untrained eye may occasionally spot a small stream that disappears within a few feet of its tiny source. In this forbidding environment the shepherd and his sheep eke out their existence.

After a while you notice another difference from our own country’s landscape. There are no sheepdogs. The shepherd doesn’t have a vast flock to steer from place to place. He has only a small flock that he leads from one grazing ground to the next. The shepherd will strike off in the direction of food and simply call his sheep. Because the sheep trust in him for their very lives, they follow him and find nourishment and safety.

In the time of Jesus things weren’t all that different from things in Israel today. The sheep depended utterly upon the shepherd for their protection and for food. The shepherd and his whole family were, in turn, dependent upon the sheep for their economic security and the supply of the basic essentials of life. They couldn’t afford to let someone who does not care for the sheep, or for them, look after the flock—the sheep and the shepherd were bound together for survival.

In today’s gospel, Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees and the religious leaders of Israel. In the description of the good shepherd and the hired hand, he is describing the flaws in their understanding of leadership. The Pharisees and the scribes behave as though they are temporary shepherds hired from an agency—they’ll fulfil their duties but they won’t have any lasting commitment to the people in their care. When the duties become too onerous or dangerous, they will abandon their post and their flock. They’re very keen to ensure the people in their charge are educated in the ways of the law and religious duty, but they’re not so keen to bandage the wounded or carry the weary.

In contrast with the Pharisees, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is faithful and will offer up his own life for the sake of the sheep. Those who hear his voice know that he is trustworthy and that he will lead them to safety and nourishment. Just as God has been the shepherd of Israel from generation to generation, Jesus now assumes this role for the new Israel. This is a costly road for Jesus; he will lead his flock to Calvary and through death to the glory of resurrection. We’re now part of this flock and we’ll also travel the same road—through death to the glory of the resurrection.

Good Shepherd Sunday is often portrayed in rather fluffy terms. The image of Jesus holding a lamb tenderly in his arms is the dominant picture. Yet, in light of the fact that today is also Vocation Sunday, it may be more appropriate to rename today: “Are you a good shepherd Sunday?” For myself, and all who are preachers, teachers and leaders in the church, today’s readings challenge us deeply. They force us to reflect on our motives and behaviour. Am I, are we, truly serving those to whom God has called us, or have we fallen into the trap of selfishness and self-importance that the Pharisees succumbed to? It is my prayer that I will be a good shepherd among you: one who encourages rather than chides; one who bandages rather than hurts; one who is faithful in serving rather than looking for my own advantage.

But this day is not simply a challenge for me and others commissioned to lead in the church. It is also for each one of us to look into our hearts and judge the generosity of our service to the people around us. Each one of us is called to lead. Like the shepherds of Israel today, we don’t do this by herding or forcing them along. We live lives of such self-evident joy and spirituality that others can trust that we are leading them in the path of eternal life.