Year B: Fourth Sunday of Easter
The Good Shepherd
John 10: 11-18
I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father.”
Discussion Questions:
- How does intimacy with Christ the Good Shepherd empower you to replicate his loving self-surrender for “his own”?
- Do you think living Jesus’s idea of loving others always involves some form of self-sacrifice? Why or why not?
- When/how do you recognize and hear the voice of the shepherd?
- As a follower of Jesus, how are you becoming more like the shepherd who leads you? What attributes of Jesus are becoming part of your personhood?
- In your life, who have been good shepherds leading you into a deeper connection with the father? Are you a shepherd to others? Explain
Biblical Context
John 10:11-18
Mary M. McGlone CSJ
Jesus described himself as the good or model shepherd immediately after an altercation with authorities who criticized him for healing a blind man on the Sabbath. At the end of John 9, the Pharisees protested at being called blind. In reply, Jesus asserted that if they were truly blind, they would have no sin, but since they claimed to see correctly, they were guilty of rejecting the truth. Thus, although the discourse about being a good shepherd may seem like an abrupt change of subject, it actually functioned as a commentary on the quality of the leaders or shepherds of Israel in Jesus’ day and has become one of Jesus most memorable and most beloved self-descriptions.
When Jesus talks about the shepherd and sheep, he’s obviously going far beyond the interactions between the simple souls whose job was one of the lowliest in society and some of the dumbest animals on the ranch. (Pigs, horses and even cows score far better than sheep who are known to blindly follow one another into oncoming traffic or even off a cliff.) Jesus’ imagery refers to traditions like that found in Ezekiel 34 where the prophet critiqued the leaders of Israel for being shepherds so unworthy that God had decided to come in person to replace them. From that tradition, we get the image of the good shepherd as the ideal leader.
The first part of Jesus’ contrast between shepherds and hired hands focuses on their motivations. After saying that a good shepherd is willing to give his life for his sheep, Jesus denounces the mercenaries for some very basic reasons. First, he points out that the wage earners are neither shepherds nor owners of the flock; they have neither the expertise nor the vested interest necessary to tend the creatures under their care. As a result, they value their own safety over that of the flock — they may put on a good show in public, but when danger comes, they are the first out the door or up the tree, as the case may be.
After saying that, Jesus reminds people that while the mercenaries simply don’t care, the wolf’s goal is to harm the sheep. After setting uncommitted pastors to flight, the wolf catches some of the sheep and scatters the rest. The image of being caught by the wolf was all too familiar to John’s community at the end of the first century — they knew exactly who their martyrs had been and were well aware that the wolf was not far from the door for many among them. The wolf’s work of scattering has also been obvious in every situation of persecution the church has known. Those opposed to Christ’s cause have always been adept at using threats to disperse less than wholly committed communities. Of course, the statement about scattering the sheep also calls to mind John 16:32 in which Jesus told his table companions that they would all run, leaving him without human companionship when his hour came.
The crux of Jesus’ message is twofold: As the shepherd whose sole desire is to care for the sheep, he shares the essence of his life with them and is willing to give all on their behalf. By tying his role as shepherd to his relationship with the Father, Jesus indicated that his mission as the good shepherd was not simply to care for the sheep, but to make them like himself by bringing them into his relationship with the Father.
Trusting Followers
Reflection
Sr. Barbara E. Reid OP
“I know mine and mine know me”. “I hate this gospel,” said a friend of mine from New Zealand, as she broke open the Word for the assembly on Good Shepherd Sunday some years ago. Coming from a country that at that time had sixty million sheep and three million people, she knew sheep. One image that the gospel conjures up is that of a flock of dumb animals who mindlessly follow after whoever herds them. It was this notion of disciples as dumb sheep to which my friend objected, and rightly so. The metaphor falters when we notice that the gospel emphasizes the intimate knowledge the sheep have of the shepherd and vice versa (10:14).
In biblical parlance, “to know” another oftentimes refers to sexual intimacy. Moreover, the intimacy between Jesus and “his own” replicates the relationship he has with the Father (10:15). It is an intimacy that is expressed ultimately in loving self-surrender, even unto death.
There is a kind of domino effect in the Fourth Gospel. First, God pours out the divine self in love through the gift of the Word made flesh (1:14; 3:16), a self-surrender that is replicated in Jesus’ gift of self for his own (10:15). This same action is what is asked of his followers, most especially those in leadership (15:13). The image of the shepherd is used a number of times in the Scriptures for a leader of the people. God is the Shepherd of Israel (Gen 49:24; Pss 23:1; 78:52-53). Moses and David were both shepherds before being called to lead Israel.
When Israel’s leaders were not tending to the needs of the people, they were denounced for being absent and stupid shepherds, who scattered the flock (1 Kgs 22:17; Jer 10:21; 23:1-2; Ezek 34:5-6). By contrast, Jesus is the “model” (kalos, “good,” “beautiful” “exemplary”) shepherd, who gathers all together into one, giving his very life for his own. We replicate this kind of shepherding not by actively seeking suffering but by putting love at the center: God’s love is visible in Jesus, and Jesus’ love manifests in us. It is a love that is freely chosen by an empowered self, with a willingness to go to calamities’ depths if necessary. This requires not blind following but intimate knowledge of the model Shepherd and the free choice to continue his work of gathering all the disparate into one.
Reflection from: Abiding Word: Sunday Reflections for Year B Barbara E. Reid
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