John
10:1-10
April
26, 2026
1‘Very truly, I tell you, anyone who
does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a
thief and a bandit. 2The one who enters by the gate is the
shepherd of the sheep. 3The gatekeeper opens the gate for him,
and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them
out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of
them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5They
will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know
the voice of strangers.’ 6Jesus used this figure of speech with
them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7So again Jesus said to them, ‘Very
truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who came
before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I
am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out
and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and
destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
*******************************
Any kind of agricultural work has
its rhythms. There is “a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is
planted;” [Ecclesiastes 3:2]. In
Genesis [8:22], God promised Noah that
“As
long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,
summer and
winter, day and night,
shall
not cease.”
Similar
rhythms apply to herding. There are
seasons when the animals go out to graze and seasons when they stick closer to
shelter. There are seasons when kids or
calves or lambs are born, and seasons for shearing wool, and seasons when animals
travel off to market. Within that, every
day is going to have its rhythms of feeding or milking or gathering the flock
or herd together for the night.
There are going to be variations, of
course, but in the grand scheme of things, a prosperous ranch or a healthy farm
is going to be one that recognizes these kinds of cycles and that works with
them, not against them. A good shepherd
(another term Jesus applies to himself in this part of John’s gospel) is one
where there is trust between the animals who have only a short-term view of
what happens, and the human who has the long-term good of the whole operation
in sight. Jesus describes a close
connection that grows between a shepherd and a flock that others may try to
mimic for nefarious purposes but cannot quite reproduce.
“He
calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out
all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know
his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him
because they do not know the voice of strangers.” [John 10:3-5]
In other
parts of the gospel, Jesus expands upon how he, as the Good Shepherd,
even risks his own life when just one of those sheep runs off and gets into a
seriously bad spot or into a dangerous place without even realizing it. Never forget that part of it.
But today I simply want to point out
for us non-agricultural people what it means for our lives (because it doesn’t
take much imagination to see that he isn’t just talking about sheep here) that
the Good Shepherd helps the sheep to flourish by maintaining the healthy
rhythms that are part of life as God’s people.
Specifically, Jesus said,
“Whoever
enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.” [John 10:9]
There are
times that the sheep need to be in the sheepfold but they cannot stay there
forever. They need to come and go, at
the shepherd’s direction and at the shepherd’s discretion.
We are never outside Jesus’ care and
oversight, but for our own good – and the good of the world around us – we need
to be guided through the rhythms that are part of a healthy spiritual life that
bring growth and fruitfulness, where we “come in and go out and find pasture”.
On a daily basis, there should be
some set time of quiet, one-on-one time with God. Within that, he speaks to different people in
different ways and adjusts to what we, his people, will best respond to. Silent prayer is good. So is spoken prayer. Maybe listening to music or singing a hymn is
the best way to connect. For some
people, keeping a journal is an effective way of examining whatever is in their
heart; for other people it always turns into a to-do list. But every day there should be some moment
consciously set aside to touch base.
That is part of what it means to be at home with the Lord.
On a weekly basis, there should be
time set aside to be with God’s people.
We, no less than cattle or lions or Canadian geese, do not survive long
on our own. Anthony of Egypt, considered
the father of Christian monasticism, discovered out there in the desert that
even hermits dedicated to solitary prayer needed to worship together at least
once a week. Part of it was just
practical – if someone didn’t show up, somebody else would know to check on
them to see if they were sick or had broken a leg or whatever. Part of it was to encourage one another in
faith. Part of it recognizes that even
extreme introverts have to get out of their own thoughts sometimes for their
own mental health.
On an annual basis, the church year
provides for seasons that are more inward-directed than others. Advent is supposed to be one of those,
although the world does everything it can to take away the thoughtful,
reflective side of the season and turn it into a consumerist binge. Lent is the most obvious, however, with a
forty-day emphasis on introspection and review. Then there are times of
celebration: Christmas and Easter, when we center on what the Lord has done for
us and respond with thanks and joy.
Those are followed, though, by times
of being led out into the world every day and every season to share the good
news and to serve others. Just like
every day has prayer-time, every day has work time. Sunday gives way to Monday,
and we go out to live as God’s people in the world. That is when we discover the presence and
power of the Holy Spirit in places of opportunity and need alike. It’s when we discover, in serving others and
in simply being with and among all kinds of people, the vast resources that the
Lord provides, not just for our own benefit but (through us) for the benefit of
the world.
I wonder, too, if there isn’t also a
rhythm that only appears to God when he looks on entire lifetimes and sees more
than we ever have the chance to see when we are busy living our lives. Childhood is (or should be) a protected
time. Teenage years involve a lot of steps
and missteps beyond the safe and familiar patterns. Eventually, adult life involves a lot of work
to balance being in the world without becoming overwhelmed by its side-paths to
nowhere and its confused messages.
“Even
though I walk through the darkest valley,
I
fear no evil;
for
you are with me;
your
rod and your staff – they comfort me.” [Psalm 23:4]
Then after
that, by God’s grace, there comes a time when the Good Shepherd’s voice starts
to grow clearer, even as life’s details grow a lot murkier. It’s a point when people begin to appreciate
just how much help they’ve already had and still have.
“You
prepare a table before me
in
the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my
cup overflows.” [Psalm
23:5]
It’s a
season where people have lived by faith long enough to feel safe relying on the
Source of All for the rest of the journey.
“Surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me
all
the days of my life,
and
I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my
whole life long.” [Psalm
23:6]
(That’s
the most recent translation. I’m still
going to say, “forever.”) Amen.
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