John 10:1-10
Anyone who is actively involved in ministry will have a particular sense of the importance of the passage we heard in our Gospel today. John 10: 1-10 is know as The Good Shepherd, and in it Jesus uses metaphorical imagery to describe what it means for us to be in relationship with him. As is so often the case with John, it is easy to get lost in the beauty of the language, assuming we have a good translation of course, but it is the message at the heart of the passage which has such great significance for us, and particularly for those of us in ministry.
Jesus starts by giving us an image of someone who does not demonstrate the qualities he seeks in his shepherd. Describing a bandit, Jesus is actually making the point that there are those who present as shepherds who are anything but. You have probably heard the age old comment, “priests only work 1 day a week.” Years ago it was a joke, but as society has become more and more secularized it is often seen as a fact. Many people have no idea what I do outside of a Sunday morning and are quite genuinely surprised to hear that I work 6 days a week.
You see, the process of shepherding, the process which Jesus is describing in this passage, is not always something you can capture in a job description or a statement of particulars. Recently the diocese published a description of the person they are seeking to become the next Archbishop. The document is highly detailed and suggests that the diocese seeks someone who is: (and I quote)
a person of deep faith, committed to the Gospel, who will embody and articulate the values identified as important in our expression of Anglicanism in Southern Queensland: a faithful, imaginative, creative, courageous, and authentic leader who will inspire and facilitate the implementation of the Diocesan Vision that we be flourishing faith communities who proclaim and serve; worship and learn.
So is this the language of shepherding? When I read the document I was surprised to find that the word shepherd was not used anywhere in the description of the qualities, skills and experiences they are looking for.
Jesus calls those who lead the church to shepherd, and at a local level bishops share their ministry with priests and deacons.
Listen to this description of shepherding language:
2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.
In his description Jesus clearly points to the fact that God calls people into particular roles, he literally “opens the gate and the sheep hear his voice.” And Jesus tells us that those he calls to shepherd others will lead the sheep and they will follow.
Much of our churches history is built on the idea of formalized ministry; we nurture those who God is calling and help them test their vocation, we affirm the calling formally, train them intensively and then we publicly declare them as called into specific ministries when we ordain them into the sacred priesthood.
As a parish priest, I minister on behalf of a bishop. I share the charge he is called to and I have the cure of the souls of the parish I lead. I am clear about these things and I believe that the church I am called to is part of something much greater, and that is the universal church of Jesus Christ, and he is the great shepherd.
Of course a shepherd needs sheep, and that is where you fit in. In the second part of our passage Jesus tells the people that he is the gate for the sheep. Whoever enters will be saved, and can come and go to find fresh pasture.
I would suggest that we should all consider carefully what our understanding of the idea of a shepherd really is. Because according to Jesus, you can only enter the gate of heaven if you are shepherded. So we are in a relationship. I am called to share the Bishop’s charge to shepherd, and you are called to follow. Following isn’t always easy; let’s face it I get things wrong, I can unwittingly upset people, I may say things which people don’t agree with, or do things which others feel is foolish.
But the relationship we are in, priest and people, is one where there must be a degree of trust and understanding. I will always seek prayerfully to respond to God’s call to me. And that isn’t always easy for me or my loved ones.
So on this Good Shepherd Sunday I would ask that you pray for all involved in ministry. I would ask that you pray for our diocese as we seek a new Shepherd in Chief, and I would ask that you pray for each other and for me, that we may better understand what it means to be a church that is being shepherded.