Fourth Sunday of Easter, cycle b

JOHN 10:11-18
WHEN I HEAR JESUS COMPARE HIMSELF TO A GOOD SHEPHERD, MY MIND PULLS UP A PICTURE FROM A CHILDREN'S BOOK I HAD WHEN I WAS VERY LITTLE; JESUS IS WALKING TOWARDS ME, A LAMB DRAPED AROUND HIS NECK, FOLLOWED BY THREE OR FOUR VERY PLACID SHEEP. THERE IS A CRYSTAL CLEAR STREAM, A FEW TREES, AND THE GROUND IS COVERED WITH LUSH GRASS. THE PICTURE WAS GREAT FOR A LITTLE KID; THERE WAS A SENSE OF PEACE, OF PROTECTION, OF REST.
BUT LAST WEEK I SAW A PATIENT WHO WAS IN HER LATE FIFTIES. SHE HAD DIABETES, HAD HAD A HEART OPERATION, HAD BLOOD VESSEL PROBLEMS IN HER LEGS AS WELL. THAT WAS ALL INHERITED. A FEW YEARS AGO SHE HAD BLADDER CANCER, AND WITH THE TREATMENT SHE RECEIVED, HAD A 90% CHANCE OF CURE. I HAD SEEN HER BECAUSE SHE WAS IN THE 10% WHO DEVELOP METASTATIC DISEASE. SHE HAD GONE FOR A VERY MINOR SURGICAL PROCEDURE THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO GIVE HER CHEMOTHERAPY WITHOUT STICKING NEEDLES IN HER ARMS ALL THE TIME, AND SHE HAD SUFFERED FROM A COLLAPSED LUNG, SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS AS FAR AS WE CAN TELL, ONE IN 500 TIMES WHEN THE PROCEDURE IS DONE. SHE WAS AWARE OF GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY COMING UP, AND REMARKED THAT SHE DIDN'T FEEL LIKE SHE HAD A VERY GOOD SHEPHERD.
HUMANS AND SHEEP HAVE BEEN TOGETHER LONGER THAN ANY OTHER DOMESTIC ANIMAL – DOGS, COWS, CATS, CHICKENS – SOME ESTIMATE THAT PEOPLE WERE HERDING SHEEP AS LONG AS 15,000 YEARS BEFORE CHRIST. COWS, DOGS, CATS, AND CHICKENS CAN ACTUALLY GET ALONG IN THE WILD; BUT NOT DOMESTIC SHEEP. YES, THERE ARE MOUNTAIN SHEEP, AND A FEW OTHER SPECIES WHICH ARE RELATED, BUT THEY ARE ACTUALLY DISTANT COUSINS. DOMESTIC SHEEP LITERALLY NEED HUMANS TO LIVE. FOR ONE THING, GIVING BIRTH WITHOUT THE HELP OF A HUMAN BEING IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM; EVEN WITH HELP, IT ISN'T UNCOMMON FOR A MOTHER SHEEP TO DIE DURING LAMBING SEASON.
OLD TIME SHEPHERDS WOULD HAVE A RELATIVELY SMALL FLOCK; A SINGLE SHEPHERD COULD ONLY HANDLE SO MANY SHEEP. AND FOR A SHEPHERD, HIS FLOCK WAS HIS WORK, HIS BANK ACCOUNT, HIS SAVINGS FOR OLD AGE. THOSE SHEEP WERE HIS. THERE WERE RICH MEN WHO HIRED OTHERS TO CARE FOR THEIR SHEEP, BUT THE KIND OF SHEPHERD JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT OWNS THE SHEEP.
AND BEING A SHEEP WAS NOT ALL GREEN MEADOWS AND FRESH WATER. THE SHEPHERD MADE THE SHEEP GO WHERE SOMETIMES THEY DIDN'T WANT TO GO. THERE WERE TIMES WHEN A WELL PLACED BLOW WOULD BE DELIVERED TO A SHEEP GETTING OUT OF LINE. AND WHILE A MEMBER OF THE FLOCK MIGHT LIVE WITH THE SHEPHERD FOR UP TO 20 YEARS, LAMBS THAT WERE BORN WOULD USUALLY BE SOLD FOR SACRIFICE OR SUNDAY DINNER – AND WE KNOW THAT MOTHER SHEEP FEEL THAT SEPARATION. AND WHEN YOU SEE JESUS CARRYING THE LAMB, REMEMBER THAT SOME SHEPHERDS, WHEN A LAMB SHOWED TOO MUCH INDEPENDENCE, WOULD BREAK A FORELEG SO THAT IT COULDN'T WANDER OFF. THE LEG WOULD KNIT IN TWO OR THREE WEEKS, BUT DURING THAT TIME THE LAMB WOULD HAVE TO BE CARRIED, AND THAT CONTACT USUALLY TAMED THE ANIMAL. AND, YOU KNOW, THE SHEEP DON'T HAVE THE FAINTEST IDEA WHY THE SHEPHERD DOES THINGS – WHY SOMETIMES THEY ARE HAPPY AND RESTED AND WELL FED, AND OTHER TIMES THEY ARE IN PANIC BECAUSE OF SOMETHING THE SHEPHERD IS DOING TO THEM. BUT WHAT ALLOWS THE WHOLE SYSTEM TO WORK IS THAT THE SHEEP KNOW THEY BELONG TO THE SHEPHERD, AND THEY PUT THEIR TOTAL TRUST IN HIM.
HUMAN EXPERIENCE TODAY IS LIKE IT'S ALWAYS BEEN. WE HAVE MOMENTS WHEN EVERYTHING IS WONDERFUL, WHEN WE ARE SO HAPPY AND FULFILLED THAT WE CAN'T IMAGINE ANYTHING BETTER. MOST OF THE TIME, THOUGH, WE RECOGNIZE THAT THINGS COULD BE BETTER; SOMETIMES A LITTLE BIT, AND SOMETIMES A WHOLE LOT. AND HOVERING OVER ALL OUR MOMENTS IS THE KNOWLEDGE THAT WE WILL DIE. HUMAN BEINGS HAVE ALWAYS TRIED TO MAKE SENSE OUT OF WHY WE CAN IMAGINE HOW THINGS SHOULD BE, AND YET THINGS AREN'T THAT WAY.
THE QUESTION THAT TROUBLES US AND NEVER WILL BE FULLY ANSWERED IN THIS LIFE, IS, IF THERE IS A GOOD GOD WHO IS ALL POWERFUL AND WHO LOVES HIS CREATURES, WHY IS THERE SUFFERING, WHY IS THE WORLD WE IMAGINE SO DIFFERENT FROM THE ONE WE LIVE IN? THE BUDDHISTS AND HINDUS SAY THAT THIS WORLD IS JUST AN ILLUSION, A DREAM, FROM WHICH WE WILL SOME DAY WAKE UP. THE HUMANISTS SAY THAT THIS IS THE ONLY WORLD, AND WE HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO LIVE IN IT AND MAKE OUR TIME ON EARTH AS PLEASANT AS POSSIBLE. SOME CHRISTIANS INSIST THAT WE LIVE IN A FALLEN WORLD, A WORLD THAT HAS BEEN SHAPED BY SIN, THE SIN OF MEN, THE SIN THAT WE INHERIT FROM OUR FIRST PARENTS. ALL THE EVIL IN THE WORLD IS OUR FAULT.
JESUS' ANSWER IS PERSONAL AND SATISFYING. HE IS THE SHEPHERD; WE ARE THE SHEEP. SHEEP HAVE NO IDEA WHY THE SHEPHERD DOES WHAT HE DOES. BUT THEY TRUST, AND THEY FOLLOW. JESUS PROMISES THAT HE CARES FOR US, HE LEADS US, HE PROTECTS US, EVEN TO THE POINT OF LAYING DOWN HIS LIFE. AND HE PROMISES THAT JUST AS HE CAN RAISE HIMSELF FROM DEATH, HE CAN RAISE US UP AS WELL.
AND THIS ANSWER TO MAN'S AGE OLD PROBLEM, WHY IS THERE EVIL IN THE WORLD IF GOD IS GOOD, IF GOD IS ALL POWERFUL, IS PERHAPS THE BEST ANSWER. BECAUSE IT RECOGNIZES THAT EVIL IS REAL; IT RECOGNIZES THAT THE WORLD CAN BE BETTER. WHAT GOD MADE IS BASICALLY GOOD, AND GOODNESS WILL EMERGE AND TRIUMPH. AND IT RECOGNIZES THAT YOU AND I WLL BE THERE WHEN THIS ALL HAPPENS, WHEN THE KINGDOM OF GOD BREAKS THROUGH INTO OUR LIVES ONCE AND FOR ALL.
DOWN THROUGH THE AGES PEOPLE HAVE BEEN COMFORTED BY THE IMAGE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD. BUT THE SHEPHERD DOES NOT JUST PROVIDE REST AND GREEN PASTURES. THE SHEPHERD ACTIVELY SHAPES US AND MOVES US, SOMETIMES WITH A SHARP BLOW, SOMETIMES WITH A BROKEN BONE, SOMETIMES WITH SEPARATION FROM LOVED ONES, SOMETIMES WITH GENTLENESS AND LOVE; BUT WE CAN BE ASSURED THAT IF WE LET HIM LEAD, IF WE LISTEN FOR HIS VOICE, IF WE FOLLOW, WE WILL BECOME WHAT HE WANTS US TO BECOME. AND THERE IS NOTHING ELSE THAT REALLY MATTERS.