The Fourth Sunday of Easter
April 29, 2007 Year C

Today, the fourth Sunday of Easter, is traditionally known as “Good Shepherd Sunday.” This Sunday has come to be known this way because the Gospel for this Sunday always comes from the 10th chapter of the Gospel of John in which Jesus repeatedly uses the image of being a shepherd, a good shepherd, who cares for his followers, those who accept his teachings, his sheep.

The image of Jesus as the shepherd is one I’m sure we’re all very familiar with—we’ve probably all seen pictures of Jesus—perhaps even a stained glass window—with a lamb draped over his shoulders, or one cuddled in his arms. The chapel at my seminary—the Chapel of the Good Shepherd—features a beautiful marble statue of Jesus in just such a pose, lamb cradled in one arm, shepherd’s crook held in the other—on the reredos behind the altar. It’s an image of Jesus that we can all take comfort in—a loving, caring Jesus, meek and mild, who tenderly cares for his flock.

Yes, it’s a loving pastoral image; it’s a comforting image; it’s also an image that might have been interpreted differently by the people of the 1st century Mediterranean world for whom the rich and layered connotations of “shepherd” would have spoken volumes. In our 21st century world, however, where shepherds are not commonplace, where those rich connotations are no longer obvious, there is a danger of seeing the “Good Shepherd” in a sort of one-dimensional way, as some one meek and mild and loving and nothing more. For us, I think, it takes a bit more work for us to appreciate fully just what it means for us for Jesus to be the “Good Shepherd.”

Shepherds had long been a common part of life in the world Jesus and his followers inhabited. The keeping of sheep was an important part of the economy of the times, and the economic value of a flock stood in direct proportion to the kind of care it received. Shepherds, whether they owned the flock or not, were charged with protecting the sheep from predators, leading them to fields with sufficient food and water, caring for the sheep that were injured, keeping track of the flock so that none of its members were lost or taken into other flocks. The work often took the shepherds far from home; it was work that could be boring, that could be lonely, that could even be dangerous. It called for living out in the elements—the heat, the cold, the rain, the wind—often with minimal shelter. It called for long hours of diligence, alert for the lions, wolves, and bears that preyed on the sheep, and the thieves who would steal from the flock.

Shepherds employed a variety of tools as they cared for their flocks—the familiar crook of course, but also clubs or slings to fight off predators. Shepherds also used their voices. Because sheep are gregarious creatures and prone to wander off, it was important that they recognize the voice of their own shepherd so that they could be called back into the fold.

When Jesus referred to himself as a shepherd, then, the image evoked for his audience would not have been one of a simple pastoral figure, but rather one of a rugged, weather worn caretaker, one of someone who was watchful and responsive to the needs of the flock even in the worst of conditions.

The connotations evoked by Jesus’ referring to himself as a shepherd would’ve gone even deeper than those based on everyday life, though. For the faithful Jews of the time, steeped in Hebrew scripture, the image of the shepherd would have resonated deeply. Shepherds are common figures through out Hebrew scriptures, and include some of the most revered figures in the faith—Abraham was a shepherd; God came to Moses as he tended his sheep; David learned what it meant to protect a people as he protected his flock from predators and God called David to be a shepherd of the people of Israel. In times of trouble, the prophets cry out for a shepherd to care for the people and God promises to send a shepherd to tend the flock.

And shepherd imagery is applied to God as well. Perhaps the most familiar of these passages is the opening verse of the 23rd psalm, “The Lord is my shepherd” but there are others: Isaiah (40:10-11) says, “See, the Lord comes with might…he will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms and carry them in his bosom…”; and in Ezekiel (34:15) we hear, “ I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God.”

For Jesus’ audience then, and for the early audience of John’s gospel, Jesus’ references to himself as a shepherd, as the “Good Shepherd” would’ve been heavy with meaning, rich with implications both pragmatic and theological. Jesus as the good shepherd conveyed the image of a caring, loving provider to be sure, but also the image of a leader, a guardian and protector, the image of one who would be there for us in times of danger and trouble. If we can grasp all this, we get a much more nuanced and multi-dimensional understanding of what it means to see Jesus as our Good Shepherd.

The imagery of Jesus as Good Shepherd is important for another reason as well. Embodying all of the cultural and scriptural connotations of “shepherd” in the person of Jesus takes our understanding of Jesus one step further. It does this by integrating the human dimension of Jesus’ identity with the messianic and divine dimensions into one coherent whole. As the Good Shepherd, Jesus is at once human, a pastor and caregiver, messiah, the one sent by God, and divine, one sharing the nature of the God who sent him.

Of course, for us 21st century Christians steeped in the doctrine of the Trinity and the Nicene Creed this is not a totally new idea. But framed in the context of the Good Shepherd, perhaps we can gain a more complete understanding of what this all means. In our relationship with Jesus, our Good Shepherd, we are promised that his never ending tender love, his vigilant care and protection are available for us in good times and in bad. And we are assured that what Jesus promises us is in complete unity with the will of God, the heart of God, the purposes of God revealed in scripture through out time.

God is our shepherd and we shall not be in want. God revives our souls and guides us along right pathways. Surely God’s goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives, and we shall dwell in the house of God forever.

AMEN