The image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd is one of the most famous images of Jesus. For many, it’s a comforting image, but, what if the idea of Jesus as a shepherd is actually meant to challenge us?
Jesus starts by explaining why the shepherd is necessary.
Unlike a hired-hand, Jesus knows his sheep, and he’s willing to lay down his life for his sheep.
We’re all comfortable with this idea. Who doesn’t like the idea that God is looking after us?
But, Jesus goes on to state that the shepherd is a good image because a shepherd calls out to gather his flock.
But here’s where it gets challenging.
Jesus says he isn’t just calling this fold, but that he has “other sheep,” ones from another fold.
In context, Jesus is talking about the Gentiles becoming Christians along with the Judeans. To a first-century audience, this was quite shocking.
But, it’s also shocking for us if we think about it.
In our context, Jesus is saying that he’s not just here to call people like us. He’s calling out to all sorts of people, some of whom make us uncomfortable because it may mean we have to change.
It may mean separating Orthodoxy from ethnic ties so that we can welcome non- Greek, Russians, Serbians, Romanians, etc.
For those who hold to ethnic identities, the idea that Jesus brings people from all around the world into the church produces anxiety.
But, the good news is that Jesus is still calling us. And, in so doing, he’s giving us a new identity, one that’s not tied to ethnicity.
He’s calling us as one of his own: a Christian.
Being called and named by Christ is the most important thing, because to be a part of his flock, means we a part of the Kingdom, the Age to come.
It also means we are free to loosen our grip on our other identities and become one with all those to whom Jesus is calling.
The Reading
I am the gate; if anyone enters in through me he will be saved, and he will go in and will go out and will find pasture. The thief does not come except so that he may steal and slaughter and destroy; I came that they might have life and might have it in abundance. I am the good shepherd. The shepherd, the one who is good, lays down his soul for the sake of the sheep. He who is the hireling and not the shepherd, to whom the sheep do not belong, sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and flees—and the wolf seizes and scatters them— Because he is a hireling and the sheep are no concern of his. I am the shepherd who is good, and I know my own and my own know me, Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my soul for the sake of the sheep. And I have other sheep, which are not from this fold; it is necessary for me to lead those also, and they will hearken to my voice, and there will come to be one flock, one shepherd. (John 10:9-16)
I think of my own when you talk about sheep.