Easter 4C: Good Shepherd and Good Sheep

1. One of many images that portray Jesus is that of the Good Shepherd. Today’s gospel reading continues from Jesus’ depiction of himself as the Good Shepherd. Robin brilliantly put up this picture of Jesus on the bulletin. John 10 is full of this image. Jesus makes clear that he IS the Good Shepherd. Without talking about what this Good Shepherd does, we cannot really understand today’s gospel reading. So, what makes the Good Shepherd good? What’s so good about this particular shepherd? Moreover, this might be a bit of trivial, silly question to ask, but what does the word “good” mean?

The dictionary definition is “having desirable or positive qualities required for a particular role” or “to be desired or approved of.” It means something fits well. Jesus has standard qualities required for a shepherd. If this shepherd fits well in those categories, he or she is a good one. So here are some qualifications for a good shepherd:

• A shepherd remembers all the names of the sheep he or she takes care of and calls each by name so that the sheep know the voice. S/he knows them.
• A shepherd guards the gate for the sheep to the point where he or she becomes the gate itself.
• Lastly, a shepherd lays down his/her life for the sheep from any kind of danger.

These qualifications are very rigorous and high-standard. They show us that in order for one to be a good shepherd, one really has to sacrifice one’s life for the sheep. I cannot really think of anything that makes one self-giving, but love towards the sheep. Love is the only reason for that sacrifice.

2. It is clear that the local Jewish people are not so satisfied with this whole good shepherd thing. They accuse Jesus for being out of mind and being demon-possessed. Their rage and disappointment with Jesus is just like the winter weather two weeks ago. St John reports that it was winter during the feast of Dedication, that is Hanukkah, commemorating the rededication of the holy temple in Jerusalem. Jesus’ message is not received by them. Jesus talks about the Good Shepherd when the locals want the Messiah. What they want Jesus to be is explicitly clear. They want the Messiah who can grant them political, economic, and supernatural/religious power. It can be Israel’s independence and liberation from the Roman Empire. It is interweaved with religious, political, and economic freedom. What they demand from Jesus looks more realistic. And Jesus seems to talk about this nonsensical discussion of the Good Shepherd. Nobody wants the Messiah who is so personal and loving that she knows all the names of the sheep, that she becomes the gate itself to protect the sheep, and that she lays down her own life for the sheep.
​
The locals want the Messiah who doesn’t be so loving as long as he is powerful. If he is powerful, why bother to protect the sheep, have a gate, or sacrifice his life? It’s a very simple logic. Power will do everything better than the Good Shepherd. We need the muscular, rich, strong, and powerful Messiah who can take away all our misfortunes, troubles, and suffering. The one who makes things just smooth, care-free, and easy! (Doesn’t this one remind you someone?)

3. I think Buddha is right about life. He says, “Life is suffering.” We’re afraid and anxious of our own suffering as well as our loved ones’ suffering. There’s nothing wrong to desire the Messiah who can take away all our sufferings. As a hospital chaplain, I see all kinds of suffering on a daily basis. I meet Mr. T whose son has been in the ICU for more than three weeks. I encounter Ms. K whose husband also is going through cancer treatments. I sit with Mr. M who suffers from watching his husband suffer. One doesn’t have to be a chaplain to see all these suffering. You all encounter directly or indirectly suffering in many different ways. In this sense, life is suffering.

We all know that we do NOT know why life is full of suffering. We deal with it without knowing how. And without recognizing this very reality of our life, our Easter proclamation, “Alleluia, Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia” doesn’t mean a thing. It may be our unsuccessful attempt to sugarcoat the very reality of our life.

4. We as Christians proclaim that Christ is risen, because we believe he suffered, was crucified, and murdered on the cross. Even though we know nothing about why there’s so much suffering in life, we believe Christ himself has entered into that very suffering of the world through the way of the cross. Even if he cries out to God, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” he still believes what he says to us today, “The Father and I are one!” That oneness between the Father and the Son can never ever be broken. That love never dies. And in that love, we are united with God in Christ through the Holy Spirit. Because of this divine, unending love, life is NOT just suffering, but also full of joy and hope! The Good Shepherd’s sacrifice for the sheep is God’s entrance to our human suffering.

Let me put it more radically. The Good Shepherd’s sacrificial death is the death of God who loves all of us even in our own death. Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury says, “There is place for God now in all suffering, at the heart of suffering and even of death, because we have seen the glory of God abiding in the squalor and humiliation of Jesus’ execution.” (A Ray of Darkness, p. 59)

5. We are gathered together on Sunday because of Jesus the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd tells us today that he has faith in his sheep. His sheep would know his voice. His sheep would recognize his voice. His sheep would hear his voice. They follow him. Do we belong to this Good Shepherd? Do we know his voice? Do we recognize him? Do we hear his voice? Do we follow him? And lastly, are we the sheep good just as our shepherd is good?

There is no how-to-be good in Christianity. What we can do is keep following the way of Jesus the Good Shepherd, being guided by the Holy Spirit. I imagine that it’s like participating in the divine dance of love between the Father and the Son. Realizing that we are part of one flock of the Good Shepherd, we join that divine dance of love. In that movement, we will experience eternal life anytime, anywhere. So if you want to dance with the Good Shepherd, you better be good enough to follow his footsteps! And it’s okay to step on his toes because he’s that forgiving and loving! In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.