St. James Episcopal Church
Greeneville, TN
Year A - 4 Easter - May 3, 2020
These are indeed strange times. Yesterday should have actually been “Derby Day” (the running of the Kentucky Derby), but that’s been postponed until September 5th… And though Tennessee is starting to open a bit, there are still many infected and there are still too many deaths from the virus. Things are crazy, and things are scary and serious.
Now, I’m not saying this to scare you, but I am using this opportunity to caution you… please, please, please if you can, stay home… If you need to go out in public, wear your mask. Continue to do the things to make sure you, your family, and others are safe. If we do these things, the virus will eventually end, and we will be able to gather again.
This past week, when I was preparing the message for today, I thought about how concerned I am about every one of you and about how I hope that I am doing what I need to do to make sure you are getting what you need… How you stay connected to each other… but most importantly, how you stay connected to God.
When reading the lections for today, I latched onto a couple of words that I would like to unpack. The first one is 'shepherd.' Sometimes, we have a hard time understanding why the Psalmist would call God our Shepherd… But not only call God 'Shepherd' but also elaborate on the fact that with God as our shepherd we don’t have a need anything else. We have all the green pastures and still waters that we need. We have something to calm our spirit when we are scared or distressed.
Now, I’m not saying this to scare you, but I am using this opportunity to caution you… please, please, please if you can, stay home… If you need to go out in public, wear your mask. Continue to do the things to make sure you, your family, and others are safe. If we do these things, the virus will eventually end, and we will be able to gather again.
This past week, when I was preparing the message for today, I thought about how concerned I am about every one of you and about how I hope that I am doing what I need to do to make sure you are getting what you need… How you stay connected to each other… but most importantly, how you stay connected to God.
When reading the lections for today, I latched onto a couple of words that I would like to unpack. The first one is 'shepherd.' Sometimes, we have a hard time understanding why the Psalmist would call God our Shepherd… But not only call God 'Shepherd' but also elaborate on the fact that with God as our shepherd we don’t have a need anything else. We have all the green pastures and still waters that we need. We have something to calm our spirit when we are scared or distressed.
With the peace of God guiding us and keeping us safe, we can get through the most troubling of times. With the love of God surrounding us and God’s goodness and mercy following us. We are indeed in the presence of God.
As I reflected on the use of the word shepherd… I realized that’s what shepherds do for their animals… we then understand that shepherds lookout for those in their charge.
What is interesting is… the church adopted this language. The Latin word for “shepherd” is Pastor. Pastor… the term we use to describe a person who has responsibility for others… Responsibility for guiding them in the right direction… responsibility for making sure that they have a connection to the one that can provide, nourish, and protect…
In our gospel lesson, Jesus seems to be describing himself as a Shepherd, and if we were to read through to include verse 11, we would actually hear Jesus refer to himself as the Good Shepherd. The Good shepherd that that lays down his life for the sheep. But in our reading today, we didn’t hear the word shepherd but once in the gospel reading.
In our reading today, Jesus actually calls himself the “gate.” This is the second word I would like to reflect on. He calls himself “gate” Not once… but twice. He didn’t say he was the gatekeeper… but said he was the gate himself.
The scripture says that the original listeners had a hard time with this imagery and his figure of speech… they didn’t understand what Jesus was telling them. Sheep-herding in ancient Israel is interesting and not uncommon. People would know a bit about keeping animals. They would know that in a sheep-fold, there could be several flocks, so when the shepherd of the flock calls the sheep that are in his charge, he makes a specific sound…
The sheep recognize this sound… of the shepherd calling them by name, and they follow and the shepherd leads them out to safely graze. The shepherd’s function is essential to the raising of sheep. But to understand Jesus’s imagery, we have to understand a bit about how sheep are kept.
I learned several years ago that the way a sheepfold is made… (where they keep the animals to allow the shepherd some rest) is that there is a built-up wall with stones or rocks on all four sides, making like a large pen. On one side of this large pen is an opening… The opening is just large enough for the sheep to enter and exit… The shepherds would lay across the opening to the sheepfold, keeping watch while they were resting so that the shepherd actually became the gate.
Jesus uses the image of “gate” as a metaphor – By saying that he is the gate, he has us stop and think for a minute. We know that the gate's purpose is to provide a way of entry and entry through a barrier like a wall or a fence. The 'gate' is a portal of passage and allows both entry and exit. When Jesus says, “I am the gate,” it is his way of inviting us both in and out. He is telling us that he is THE faithful leader, guardian, protector, healer, and loving guide of his people – to US… his sheep. Jesus is our way to safety, our way of entering a restful place where we know we are loved and protected.
But in the same phrase, he is also telling us that we will need to go back out through that gate into the world. It is his invitation to leave the safety and security of the sheepfold and go back out into a world of challenges... but be assured that we will be safe because he is leading us.
We know that shepherds had to be tough and courageous, a bit rough around the edges, they were often dirty and probably didn’t smell too good. They were ones who were out on the fringes of refined society… they are the “other” folks, who were not always accepted… They were more like the kind of people who are considered the “outcasts of society” – the ones that Jesus makes it a point to be with, to eat with, and to teach.
Jesus says, “I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture.” As followers of Jesus, we are Jesus’ own. We are the sheep of his pasture… We are communal creatures that need to be led by a Good Shepherd. So, sheep know their shepherd, and they will listen to their shepherd’s voice as he calls them by name.
But Jesus also says that some try to climb in another way… he calls them thieves and bandits... I consider these voices vying for the sheep’s attention. Voices that try to endanger the sheep. Just like there are many voices of this world today vying for our attention. Voices that want to lead us astray. You have probably heard some of them – or something like them… voices like self-reliance, self-sufficiency, self-salvation, greed, gluttony, and idolatry. Voices trying to make us think that we don’t need each other that we don’t need a good shepherd… voices of this world trying to break up the harmony of the flock and make us start lashing out at one another.
Being timid animals, sheep are vulnerable and are not able to protect themselves. They need the shepherd’s protection… Shepherds offer the sheep protection by carrying a rod or staff… so the shepherds can ward off wolves and other predators that may do them harm.
But if the sheep follow the shepherd – and are true to the shepherd, and listen to the shepherd and follow where he leads, and the shepherd will look after them. However, often, we’re not good sheep. We are stubborn, and we don’t want to go where the Good Shepherd leads. We like to think that we have it all figured out ourselves, and we like to separate ourselves from the other sheep the sheep that aren’t like us, rather than stay together in one flock, under the guidance of the one Good Shepherd.
Many are out there that try to be the shepherd and lead the sheep where they think they need to go. Leading them to places that aren’t good for the sheep… Places of danger… There are even ministers out there who feel that they are shepherds, after all, the word pastor means shepherd.
As your priest, I’ve told you before, that I am NOT the shepherd, and I will never claim to be a shepherd – I love you and care for you, and try to connect you with each other and I always try to connect you with the Good Shepherd, Jesus. But, I don’t think shepherd is the proper representation. To call me a shepherd is right… it really shouldn’t work like that.
I am more of a sheep just like you…. just a sheep among the sheep of God, always trying to point the way and show the other sheep who the One true “Good Shepherd” is... I must always follow the Good Shepherd, too, following where the Good Shepherd leads.
Someone once told me years ago (and some of you have heard me say this before) that the priest is probably more of a sheepdog, helping the Good Shepherd keep the sheep and protect the sheep against the evils of this world… the wolves of society that seek to devour the sheep. Remembering also that even the sheepdog follows where the “Good Shepherd” leads.
In this passage, Jesus is that only ONE, protecting, guiding, loving, and caring for the sheep that are His - us. Never forsaking us, always faithful to us, nourishing us, giving us hope, and saving us from ourselves.
Jesus isn’t just any ordinary shepherd, he is the one standing watch – the gate. He embodies strength and power, sympathy and kindness, love, and mercy. So, in this day and time, let us seek the Good Shepherd’s guidance and protection. Only His guidance and security as we dare to follow where our Good Shepherd (Jesus) leads.
Only in him will we find our way. Only in him will we have abundant life.
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