In the church calendar, the fourth Sunday after Easter is known as “Good Shepherd Sunday.” This is the day when we remember one of the most common and unique ways that God’s nature is identified in the Bible is as a Shepherd. To help us have a fuller appreciation of the image of God as a shepherd in the Bible, I invite us to consider some of the biblical characters who define our biblical faith through their backgrounds as shepherds.
The first person identified as a shepherd in the Bible is Abel, the son of Adam and Eve, who is described in Genesis 4:2 as a “keeper of sheep.” The story of Abel and his brother, Cain, sets the stage for the sacrificial system that defined Israel’s worship of God when God accepted Abel’s sacrifice of the firstborn of Abel’s flock rather than Cain’s offering of the first fruits of his crops. As you will recall, the result of God’s acceptance of the firstborn of Abel’s flock results in Cain’s murder of his brother as well as the story of God’s care defines the biblical story of God’s mercy for all of humanity as stated in in the Old Testament book of the prophet Isaiah:
All of us, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned everyone to our own way, But the Lord has caused the wrongdoing of us all to fall on Him.
Isaiah 53:5
Three of the transformational leaders of the Old Testament were Abraham the Father of faith, Moses, the Deliverer of the Exodus, and David, the King of Israel whose heart was after God’s heart. The one thing they all had in common was that they had been shepherds before God called them to new journeys of faith.
The 12th chapter of Genesis tells of how God called Abram and his wife Sarai, to become the parents of biblical faith after they had raised their flocks in the land of Canaan. It is interesting to note how Genesis 48:15 defines this blessing of faith as Jacob, their grandson, states how he has experienced the love of God as a shepherd tending to his sheep:
“The God before whom my ancestors Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day.”
Moses spent 40 years a shepherd prior to being called by God to lead the Israelite slaves out of Egypt to a land that had been promised to Abraham generations earlier. In fact, it was while Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law that Moses heard the God of Israel calling his name from a bush that burned but was not consumed. Moses’ experience and patience that he learned as a shepherd provided a solid foundation as he led people who were defined as stubborn and stiff-necked.
David was a transformational leader who did not have the experience that Abraham and Moses had when God called him to be the king of Israel. The youngest of seven sons, he was tending his father’s flock of sheep when Samuel the prophet called at his father’s house to identify and anoint the next king of Israel. Biblical tradition credits David with being the author of the 23rd Psalm which we read earlier in our worship as an affirmation of God being the shepherd of David’s life even when David wandered away from God’s calling.
In the New Testament, Jesus is affirmed in John 10:11 as the Good Shepherd who is willing to lay down his life for the sheep., but just as God’s calling of Abraham, Moses, and David was a transformational calling, so also was God’s calling of Jesus that would be demonstrated by the sacrificial love of God that guided Jesus throughout his ministry. Jesus’ identity as the Good Shepherd would be revealed as he was crucified not only for the sheep of Israel but also for the sheep of the world who were not part of the religious tradition of Abraham, Moses, and David. These are the sheep whom Jesus identified in John 10:16-18;
“I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
It is in Jesus’ identity as the Good Shepherd that the transformation of Jesus as the Lamb of God is recognized on the fourth Sunday in Easter. It is in this transformation that Jesus the Good Shepherd is revealed as Jesus, the Lamb of God, crucified for the sin of the whole world.
So, what difference does it make for Jesus to be both the Good Shepherd and the Lamb of God? It makes all the difference for redemption when we like sheep go astray. It makes all the difference as Jesus searches for the lost sheep. It makes all the difference when Jesus finds the lost sheep as he calls out to us so our lives may become part of the biblical story of redemption and transformation. It makes all the difference when we hear Jesus calling our name even though we are from outside the flock of Abel, Abraham, Moses, and David. It makes all the difference when we hear Jesus calling our name because he laid down his life for us. It makes all the difference as our lives are transformed as we follow Jesus the Good Shepherd.
Father Mike Renninger shares this story about the difference that Jesus makes as he calls our name as both the Good Shepherd and the Lamb of God.
It happened in April, 6 years ago. Pope Francis went to visit a small church in Rome, adjacent to one of the largest public housing projects in Italy. Since I myself am a Catholic priest, I tend to pay attention to where the pope goes, and what he says when he preaches! As part of his visit to this church, five children were selected to ask the Pope a question. The first little boy was named Emanuele. He was about five years old. The pope was sitting on a little platform.
Emanuele approached the microphone near the steps. That’s where he would ask his question. When he got to the microphone, he froze. He just kept looking at the pope. You could hear the other little children encouraging him. And then, Emanuele started to cry. An adult in the crowd tried to assure him, but he just stood there and cried. Then, Pope Francis said, “Emanuele, come and whisper your question in my ear.” So the little boy went up the steps. Pope Francis opened his arms and embraced the boy with absolute love. Emanuele put his face right against the Pope’s face. For a while, Emanuele just cried, and the pope just kept embracing him. Then, the little boy started to whisper in the Pope’s ear. And the pope whispered into the boy’s ear. This went on for about 2 minutes. Finally, Emanuele smiled, and said goodbye to the pope. He returned to his little seat.
Then, Pope Francis said that he had asked Emanuele if he could tell everyone what the boy’s question was. Emanuele had given the pope permission. Emaneule had told the pope that, very recently, his father had died. He said that his dad was a good man. Emanuele’s dad was not a believer, but he had brought all four of his children to be baptized in the church. Now, his dad was dead. That’s part of the reason why he was crying. But he was also crying because he had a hard question. The question was this: “Could his dad, a non-believer, go to heaven?” Pope Francis answered by saying that it was wonderful to hear a son say that his dad was a ‘good man.’ And the pope agreed that Emanuele’s dad had done a very good thing by having all four of his children baptized, even though dad himself did not believe. Then the pope looked at all of the children and adults who were sitting in front of him, and he said, “We have to remember that only God decides who goes to heaven. And we have to remember that God has the heart of a daddy, a papa.”
Then the pope asked all the children, “Do you think that God was happy when Emanuele’s dad had his children baptized? Wasn’t that a good thing?” All the children shouted ‘yes!’ And the pope asked, “Do you think that God is pleased with us when we do good things?” They all shouted “yes.” Then the Pope said, “Do you think that God, who had a papa’s heart, would be able to leave Emanuele’s dad far from himself?” A few children shouted, “No!” The pope asked, “Say it louder, with conviction. Would God be able to leave Emanuele’s dad far away from himself?” The children shouted, “No!” The pope smiled at Emanuele and said, “You see! There is your answer.” God who loves us with a pap’s heart, a daddy’s heart could not leave your dad far away from himself. Emanuele smiled.
Today is Good Shepherd Sunday. Today we hear Jesus calling our name and we smile.
Jesus, the Good Shepherd
by Pastor Marc Brown
April 21, 2024
Accompanying Scriptures: John 10:11-18
Fort Hill United Methodist Church
Order of Worship for April 21, 2024
Scripture Lesson John 10:11-18
The Good News “Jesus, the Good Shepherd”
Music “He Leadeth Me” Hymn #128
Prayer
Blessing
Closing Music “Brother James’ Air” by Penny Rodriguez
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