The 'Good' Shepherd

John 10:10-18 New International Version (NIV)

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

According to the lectionary, today is Good Shepherd Sunday.  It is a good reminder each year that Jesus is there, watching over and protecting us.  Psalm 23 was part of our invocation and also serves as a good reminder of the comfort found in God’s presence.  In our chosen scripture for this morning, Jesus repeatedly calls himself “the ‘good’ shepherd.” And of course, he is good.  He is great. He is truly amazing. But what does this mean for us? When it comes to Jesus, understanding what makes a good shepherd seems easy enough.... The trouble that I have is applying “good” to my everyday life.  When used as an adjective, the definition of ‘good’ is: to be desired or approved of; having the qualities required for a particular role.  And when used as a noun, the definition of ‘good’ is: that which is morally right, righteousness; benefit or advantage to someone or something.  My struggle with the ‘good’ shepherd is that it is completely ambiguous, blurry, and dependent on your particular understanding of what is good.  One person’s ‘good’ is not necessarily mine. In today’s society, we are more aware of this than any society before us. The blurred definition of ‘good’ is debated daily through various forms.  I honestly wish Jesus would have used a different adjective to describe what kind of shepherd he was. Excellent, outstanding, amazing seem to be a few options that could have been easier and simpler to define and understand.  ‘Good’ is just too open to interpretation. People leave churches, people start new churches and folks have even started new denominations based on their differing views of what is ‘good.’  What is ‘good’ music for worship? What are ‘good’ facilities for a church? What is a ‘good’ way to take communion? And so on.... Anymore, it seems that ‘good’ is not good enough for some.  

Maybe this debate of ‘good’ was the point....? We are definitely tempted to define our own version of good.  We use the scriptures that fit our particular definition and ignore the ones that don’t. We cling most closely to those whose definition is most similar to ours and use that as one of the parameters that define our particular church family.  To help us better understand the good shepherd, let’s look at how Jesus defines it through our scripture this morning. First, Jesus says, “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”  He compares the good shepherd to the hired hand.  The good shepherd stays in front of the sheep when danger is lurking.  The good shepherd does not leave the flock like the hired hand does. The good shepherd is there and always present.  And second, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”  The good shepherd knows their sheep on a personal level.  The good shepherd takes the time to get to know every sheep in their flock.  This is not some empty and only surface level knowledge of who they are. It goes much deeper than that for the good shepherd.  The good shepherd knows and understands what makes them tick, what drives them, what scares them. And they know how to help them heal, how to bring them comfort, and how to make them laugh.  The good shepherd knows how to do this because of how well they know them.

The kicker to all of this.... Is that Jesus’ calling is our calling.  You have heard me preach on being Christ-like, acting like Christ did.  I want to take a moment to expand this meaning. Being Christ-like means acknowledging that our calling is just like that of Christ’s.  We are called to make disciples of all nations. We are called to be good shepherds. Being Christ-like doesn’t necessarily mean being and acting exactly like Christ.  It means that we share a calling and a purpose. When viewed like that, perhaps it is a good thing Jesus is a good shepherd. This is what I mean, if Jesus were the “awesome” shepherd, the “out of this world shepherd” and we acknowledged that our calling was also Jesus’ calling, how could we follow those footsteps?  If we had to follow in “extraordinary” footsteps, we would find every excuse possible, every explanation imaginable, to decline Jesus’ command. We would repeatedly deny our identity, deny our discipleship, just like Peter did. This brings to light a very common misconception. By a show of hands, how many of you identified as the sheep in our scripture for this morning?  For that matter, when Jesus speaks of sheep in any scripture, how many of you identify as the sheep? We have a tendency to view ourselves in that way. Jesus is the shepherd we are the sheep. If that were true, then, how can we share a calling with Jesus. If he was the shepherd and us the sheep, that seems like two totally different callings, right? We identify with the sheep because it is easier, less responsibility, less obligation to one another.  You are not the sheep anymore.  You are now the shepherd.  At the moment we find our relationship with God, we transition from being a part of the flock, to leading it.  At that moment we go from sheep to shepherd. But wait a minute, I didn’t really sign up for that.... I know, it is so much easier to stay a part of the flock rather than picking up that cross and leading.  Maybe you’re sitting there thinking, “Woah, maybe pastors or other religious leaders are shepherds but not me.” I hate to open this can of worms onto your lap but you are a shepherd. We’ve been so focused on ourselves as sheep, following the voice of the shepherd, being found by the shepherd, knowing pasture and being protected by the shepherd, that we have neglected our discipleship as shepherd.  And in doing so, we have neglected our calling.

In John 21:17-19, Jesus is speaking to Peter, “Feed my sheep.  Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished.  But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.  Peter, follow me.” You see, “follow me” was never only about being sheep. All along, Jesus had in mind asking Peter and asking us to tend to the flock, to lead the flock, to be a shepherd.  It is time for us to be a good shepherd. There is comfort in being a part of the flock but what imagine the chaos and disarray if there were only sheep and no shepherds. Perhaps that is what is to blame for the ailments of our society today... very few are willing to put themselves out there as shepherds.  Those that do, are the ones who define what is good. If you do not like the current definition of the ‘good’ that surrounds you, maybe that is an indicator that you need to be the shepherd rather than simply following the flock. “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” and the good shepherd knows their sheep and the sheep know them.  We don’t walk behind Jesus as part of the flock. We walk alongside him, leading the flock.  Despite what you may think, you were given the tools to lead in some way and today I encourage you to do exactly that.  Why step out of the comfort of the flock? Jesus said, “I came so that they could have life-indeed, so that they could live life to the fullest.”  That is why we too should step out of the comfort of the flock and become good shepherds so that we can lead others to finding life, so that they can live life to the fullest.     Amen.