Today we come to that very familiar gospel reading, Jesus as the good Shepherd. I’ve always felt that it’s a reassuring, comfortable reading, a reminder that we have a carer and a guide, to me it feels like a security blanket, as long as I don’t do anything too wrong, I can skip through life like a new born lamb, and Jesus will always be there to fall back on. 

But actually, from very early on it becomes clear that there are certain expectations of us as disciples, to ensure that we can live that abundant life, guided and led by the good Shepherd.

In verse 3 we hear – ‘He calls his own sheep by name’. ‘His own’ shows us the personal nature of the relationship between shepherd and sheep. Shepherding is not just a job for this shepherd, the sheep are more than an asset, the shepherd would know them individually – and I’ve seen this on farms today, only via programmes such as Countryfile – but I’ve seen farmers point to one huge woolly lump amongst many, and tell a story about that one individual sheep, probably about its birth or the way it behaves – when to me every sheep looks identical! This certainly shows that the shepherd has a close relationship with each of them, so much so, that when, in Jesus’ day, the many flocks became mixed up at a watering hole, each sheep would separate out and make their way back to their own shepherd as each made their distinctive call, a call the sheep had learnt to identify, we could say, a voice they recognised. 

If we think back to our Easter readings from just a couple of weeks ago, Mary Magdalene only recognizes the risen Christ when he calls her by name, until that point she hasn’t recognised him – can we think of a time when, on hearing a familiar voice, we’ve swung round, or pushed through a group to be greeted by a friendly face – the comfort in a familiar voice, whether we can see the speaker or not, can be enormous.

This should also reassure us that despite the fact we can’t see God, God speaks to each and every one of us, his children. His distinctive call brings great comfort. But are we able to recognise the voice of the good Shepherd over the other voices promising an abundance of things?

Setting time aside to listen and discern God’s voice is time well spent. But how do we recognise that voice? I was a Christian for 30 plus years before I learnt how to listen and hear God. I was diligent in prayer and good deeds – but thankfully by joining in, very reluctantly I have to say, with a course the church offered, my relationship with God changed and has been growing ever since. Listening isn’t easy, and how do we know what we hear is of God? I think with time we get to recognise that persistent ear worm that just won’t go away until, with obedience, we do what God has put on our mind.

We then hear that the shepherd ‘leads them out’, out of the sheepfold and out of the safety of the walls that surrounded them, out into the dangers of the world – but at their side they have their shepherd for protection! The shepherd goes before them, checking the way is clear, safe from danger, again they follow for they know his voice! Do we rely on our Shepherd for protection? Are there times when our trust in God is so complete that we feel that we could jump from a plane without a parachute and be caught up in the arms of our Lord? Amongst the crushing blows of life I really hope that all of us have, at some point, allowed God to carry our burdens and lessen our load, carry us and hold us in safety, that ultimate trust in the one at the centre of our faith – because I believe that the more we trust, the closer we grow in relationship, which ultimately allows us more of God’s abundance.

In the gospel reading there is a sudden change when Jesus the Shepherd becomes the gate keeper, using that well remembered phrase ‘I am’.

Much of Judea would have been poor, rocky soil, better suited for grazing than cultivation, shepherding was a common occupation, so sheepfolds would have covered the rocky landscape. A simple sheepfold in Jesus’ time, would have been a rough circular wall with a gap, to allow the sheep in and out. The shepherd would have slept in the gap, blocking the opening with their body to protect the sheep inside, literally risking their life to protect the sheep. The shepherd would be the door to the sheepfold.

Jesus said ‘I am the gate for the sheep’ – there is only one door, not many. If we want a relationship with God then there is only one way to do that, and we must follow that way. We must declare that Jesus is the door, the way, the truth, the life – the one true God that speaks to us and holds our life together. We enter into the sheepfold of God to be cared for, loved, richly blessed and saved.

But God allows us to go in and out – to find ripe pasture to share the good news that we know and live by. Let us not be the thieves and bandits that are mentioned, by keeping God to ourselves and pretending he doesn’t exist – Jesus trusts us, as his feet on the ground today, with his word and sacrament and we must embrace and live up to that expectation, sharing the abundance that God has given us.

What an amazing life we have been offered – and all for free!

Well not exactly free, walking with Jesus gives so much, but in reality, costs so much as we look honestly at ourselves and see where the cracks and blemishes are when we don’t model ourselves on Jesus. Have we listened for that still small voice to see what God is asking of us, now, in this era of our lives? Do we ask, or read scripture to recall how Jesus lived out his life, to enable us to live ours in the same way? Do we seek out his will for us to ensure we aren’t drawn into temptation, like the thieves and the bandits?

We are promised abundance – abundance doesn’t take away the valleys of life, it carries us through them – who wouldn’t want their heart filled with the abundance of God? And don’t we have a duty to share that?

I pray that in this coming week that each of us can find quality time to spend in the presence of our good Shepherd, to listen, to act, but most importantly to let our hearts be filled with that abundance so that, refreshed and replenished, we can shine Jesus out of us and share the amazing news that a life lived with God is the only way to live our lives. 

Amen.

Service: Reverend Rebecca Yates –30th April 2023

Referenced Scripture: Acts 2:42-end, Psalm 23, 1 Peter 2:19-end, John 10:1-10