The Good Shepherd

John 10:1-21 (May 18)

The Imperial Valley has many unique sights that others may find surprising. One such sight is the occasional herd of sheep that you can find trotting down the highway as they are being moved from one field to another. (Or maybe to the slaughterhouse??)

When my kids were younger, it never failed that we would encounter a herd of these noisy furballs when we were running late for school. Traffic would come to a complete halt while these sheep made their way to their next destination.

They were loud. They were smelly. But it was also very interesting to watch the way they huddled together, bleeping and baaing their way down the highway. No matter the pace they were going, they stuck together.

Except for the renegades (and they weren't even black sheep!) There was always a lively critter or two that would escape the confines of the herd and try to sneak off, presumably to have a burrito and a large, iced tea at the Holtville Taco Shop.

The herders would chase those renegade burrito-eating buggers down and corral them back into the pack. Dowen the road they would go, and off to school we would go.

Jesus uses sheep in his conversation with the Pharisees. He explains to them that he is the shepherd. He walks right through the gate as the gatekeeper opens it and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls these sheep by name, gathers them together, then walks ahead of them and they follow because they know his voice. They won't follow a stranger. They will run from an unfamiliar voice.

Once again, everyone is confused by his words. (There sure has been a lot of confusion lately). So, he has to break it down for them in simpler terms.

"I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures." (Those same green pastures we hear of in the Lord's Prayer.)

He goes on, "The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life."

Do you think they understand yet? Are they getting the picture of what he is trying to tell them?

For more clarification, he says, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep." (Can you say crucifixion?) "I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep."

They are watching him and taking in what he is saying. As usual, opinions were divided over his words...some believed, others continued to talk about him being demon possessed.

Several years ago, I was the director of a preschool. I loved to take the kids to the park to play under the shade of the trees. It was a few blocks from the center, so I would walk them over. I had this long, heavy rope with handles all along it. Each child would grab hold of a handle and we would walk together in our little "herd" to the park.

I was the shepherd, and I guarantee you that if a single one of those kiddos had walked away from my herd... I would have gone right after them. No lost sheep on my watch.

We are those sheep. Jesus is our shepherd. He watches over his flock with a dutiful and loving eye. It is by following our shepherd, and listening to his voice, that we pass through those beautiful gates to our eternal home in Heaven.

Moral of the story: follow Jesus.