Acts 4: 5-12; Psalm
23; I
John 3: 16-24; John
10: 11-16
A
homily by Fr. Gene Tucker. given
at St. John’s Church, Huntingdon,
Pennsylvania on Sunday, April 26, 2015.
“YOUR
ROD AND YOUR STAFF”
(Homily texts:
Psalm 23 & John 10: 1-16)
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not be in want….” Perhaps nearly all of
us could quote the beginning of the Twenty Third Psalm….and, it is quite likely
that many, if not most of us, could quote in the Authorized (King James)
Version, which reads a little differently: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want….”
The designers of our lectionary
readings for this Sunday have done a remarkably good job of coordinating the
Collect of the Day with the Psalm and the Gospel readings. All point to the theme that Jesus is the Good
Shepherd of His people. So this Sunday
is generally known by the title “Good Shepherd Sunday”.
Common perceptions about sheep and
shepherds are often shaped by paintings of idyllic scenes in pleasant pastures,
which depict sheep peacefully grazing while the shepherd looks on. There is also a very popular painting which
depicts Jesus carrying a lamb on His shoulders.
But there is much more to the
relationship between sheep and shepherds than these very common images convey.
In the Old Testament, there are
several references which point to the kings as the shepherds of the people of
God, and to God Himself as the chief shepherd. If we choose just two passages that are found in the Psalms, we can see
God portrayed as provider and comforter for the sheep, and as protector of the
flock:
We’ve already noted the beginning of
Psalm 23, which says that the “Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in
want. He makes me lie down in green
pastures, and leads me beside still waters”. Here we have the image of God as provider and comforter, the image which
is quite often captured in paintings.
But Psalm 80: 1 portrays God as
protector: “Hear, O Shepherd of Israel,
leading Joseph like a flock; shine forth, you that are enthroned upon the
cherubim. In the presence of Ephraim,
Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up your strength and come to help us.”
Keeping these two aspects of the
shepherds’ calling in mind, let’s look a bit more closely to see what more we
might learn about sheep and the shepherds who lead, comfort and protect them.
We should begin by looking at the
social status of shepherds in biblical times.
Shepherds were looked upon as being near the bottom of the social
ladder. To aspire to be nothing more
than a shepherd is to harbor very few hopes for advancement, socially. Perhaps this regard for shepherds is due to
the fact that a shepherd’s social skills are likely to benefit very little from
interchanges with sheep. The level of
conversation with a flock of sheep is unlikely to provoke deep thoughts about
the nature of life. Perhaps the use of
the image of a shepherd denotes a level of servanthood, for the shepherd’s role
is to serve (and to lead) the sheep.
The next thing we might remark on is
the interdependent relationship between the sheep and the shepherd. Neither party in this activity has a purpose
without the other….Sheep need a shepherd, for sheep are likely to get into
trouble without one. And, a shepherd has
no purpose if there is no flock to lead, protect and care for. The purpose and the destiny of both sheep and
shepherd are tied to one another.
The familiar phrase, “Your rod and
your staff, they comfort me,” is worthy of deeper examination. A shepherd uses two very necessary
tools: The rod and the staff. The rod is a short piece of hard wood, often
with a knobby end, which can be used to drive off predators. So the rod’s purpose was to provide
protection. The staff often had a crook at one end, and a pointed end at the
other, which could be used to rescue a sheep which had gotten caught in a ditch
or elsewhere (remember that sheep are not very smart!), or else the pointed end
could be used to prod sheep when they needed direction. The staff’s purpose was to lead and guide. Our bishops carry a stylized version of the
shepherd’s staff….it is called a crozier, and if the crozier is designed well,
it will incorporate both the crook and the pointed end.
Jesus picks up the image of the
shepherd in today’s gospel passage, saying “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the
sheep….”
The Lord uses a commonly understood
image to describe His role as shepherd for the flock of people who will be
gathered into the fold….a shepherd would gather the sheep into a protected
enclosure at night, in order to protect the flock from predators. Then, the shepherd would position himself at
the entrance, essentially putting himself between the flock and any harm that
might come to the sheep.
The Lord goes on to say that He lays
down His life for the sheep. The point
of this statement seems to be the truth that the sheep’s welfare is higher than
that of the shepherd.
But here the common image the Lord
uses must be understood in terms of the Lord’s resurrection. If the Lord is the good shepherd, the one who
lays down his life for the sheep, and if the wolf comes and destroys the
shepherd, the sheep are at risk themselves. But the Lord continues in the verses that immediately following today’s
gospel reading to say that He “has the power to lay down his life, and power to
take up his life again.” (I am
paraphrasing verses 17 and 18.) Of course,
the reference here is to the resurrection.
The clear implication is that, though the Lord allowed Himself to be
subjected to death, that death is not the end of the story, for the Lord rose
again, and through that power is able to continue to lead, comfort and protect
the flock He has called into being.
Today’s gospel passage has a
forward-looking aspect to it, as much of Holy Scripture has. It points forward into the time which will
follow Jesus’ earthly ministry into the creation of the early Church. Surely, John’s believing community would have
applied Jesus’ comment that “I have other sheep who are not of this fold” to
them, for many of them had come from the Gentile community.
Jesus’ comment also applies to every
believer who has become part of the community of faith known as the Church,
passing through the waters of baptism to take up a new life in Christ (as St.
Paul puts it in Romans, chapter six), for each new member of the Church sets
aside whatever identity he or she had prior to coming to faith in Christ to
become a part of the one flock, with one shepherd.
So the Lord continues to comfort His
flock with His continuing presence.
The Lord continues to provide for
His flock, guiding them and rescuing them when the wander into trouble.
The Lord continues to prod His
people when they are in need of it.
The Lord continues to protect His
people from everlasting separation from the Father, by virtue of His
resurrection from the dead. The powers
of evil and death have done their worst, but have lost the battle for all
eternity. In baptism, we become
inheritors of this power, which we have as a down payment for the time when we
shall enter into eternity and into God’s presence for ever more.
Thanks be to God.
AMEN.
