“The Shepherd”
John 10:1-10
I am sorry, but I am going to have to
inflict upon you another Utah/snowboarding rookie experience. This past
week, it was Spring Break for Lydia and Eric, and Rich and Linda Roberts
offered the use of their condo in Park City, so the Heins' decided to
take a few days away from it all. Eric and I went snowboarding. At one
point later in the day, Eric wanted to take a little break and I wanted
to keep going, so we decided that I would go on a run and I would pick
him up when I got to the bottom. Just a quick run. Well, as I was headed
up on the lift I was beginning to feel my oats a little bit. Instead
of going to the right as we had done every time to this point, I glanced
at the map and confidently decided to go to the left. Big
Mistake.
Somewhere along the line, I departed
from the path that I had intended on taking and found myself seemingly
all alone. The snow was coming down quite hard. There were lots of trees,
and not a soul in sight. The wide run had become a narrow path deep
with snow, and I found myself not snowboarding
down the mountain exactly, but falling/tumbling/rolling
down the mountain. A picture of grace I was not. There I found myself,
on my back, half buried with snow, a little sore, not sure where I was,
not sure how I got there. I looked to see if anyone had witnessed my
masterful descent, half expecting to see someone laughing or at least
giggling, but there was no-one. I recalled that moment, and how I felt
when I read these words from Jesus.
As I prepared for this morning and tried
to get a hold of this text, I had to scratch my head for a long while.
It abounds with questions. In these verses, there are a number of metaphors
that Jesus uses, each with different layers of meaning. How do we interpret
Jesus as the gate, the gate keeper, & the shepherd, all at the same
time? Are there others whom Jesus is talking about as shepherds? Who
exactly are the thieves and bandits that Jesus is referring to? The
text, in the middle, says that Jesus' hearers did not understand what
he was saying to them. Well, I know how they feel. I don't have all
the answers that this text raises, but as I reflected on these words,
one aspect stood out to me.
What struck me is the confidence that
Jesus throws out these words: the gatekeeper opens the gate for [the
shepherd], and the sheep hear his voice.
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.” Jesus here seems
to think that for believers (i.e. the sheep), there is no problem hearing,
recognizing, and following the voice of the shepherd. Jesus just seems
to assume that this is the case.
But if the sheep are so sure about the
voice of the shepherd, then why does the church throughout history fight
so much about different issues. If we sheep know God's voice so clearly
then why do Presbyterians have to have so many committees and boards
to discern it? If we all recognize the voice of the thief and the bandit
so easily, then why, instead of fleeing from them do we tend (more often
than not) to run as fast as we can toward
them?
The problem here is that there are so
many times that I have encountered, as a pastor, persons whose very
issue is not knowing what God's voice is saying in a particular situation.
In apparent contradiction to Jesus' confidence, they don't know which
voice to follow, not sure which direction to go. The problem here is
that the church as a whole, and as individual communities, struggles
to discern God's voice. The problem is that there are so many times
when I have felt this way in my own walk.
Instead of confidently following the
voice of our divine shepherd, we find ourselves on our backs, half buried
with snow, sore from falling/rolling/tumbling down the path, not knowing
exactly where we are, or how we got there. We wish we could be as confident
as Jesus is in this passage about recognizing the voice of our shepherd,
but there is no voice to be heard,
no helpful whisper in our ear. It seems as if we are alone. What is
the right thing to do? Where do I go? What do I say? Shepherd? Are you
there?
Have you been, or perhaps are you, in
such a place?
I am always just a little bit suspicious
about those who sound as if they always have a direct line to the divine
voice; as if they have a push to talk cell phone and God is always there
to speak with them as clear as a bell. Many times, I find that the ones
who always seem to know not only what God wants for them, but what God
wants for everyone else, the church, this nation, and the local school
board, etc, etc, etc. these
are ones who can be very dangerous.
But the question remains. I don't think
that there is any hard and fast way, or any sure fire method, but Scripture
sure does give us help. I believe that there are ways, practices, attitudes
to help us discern God's will or what is right for us in a particular
situation.
First of all, we really have to be interested in what God wants. Sometimes, we use God, and “what God told us” as a cover for what we want. When we are driving in a parking lot, and a parking spot opens up right next to the door of the place we are going, we say, “Oh praise
God, God just opened that up for me!” Is that right? Carrie and I would laugh about affluent people in a church that we attended for a bit who would speak about God telling them as clear as day whether they should buy a Porsche or a Cadillac. “I was searching the scriptures and
God led me to 2 Kings 4:24. “She ordered
her servant, 'Take the lead--and go as fast as you can!' Praise the
Lord, the Porsche is the way to go! I will be faithful and get the turbo!”
(See what I mean by dangerous?)
I don't mean to be facetious. I do it to. Instead of seeking what God wants, there are too many times when what I am really looking for is for God to confirm what I want. It happens more than we would like to admit. When we are trying to discern God's will in the really important things, I believe we need to follow Jesus' model in the garden of Gethsemane: falling on the ground and praying from the depths of our hearts, “Not my will, o Lord, but
thine.” Be interested in what God
wants.
What God wants is often surprising.
Sometimes, when we feel cut by the circumstances in our lives, God is
really pruning and preparing us for new growth. Sometimes God doesn't
want what is most economically advantageous for us, or most safe for
us. God sometimes wants us to risk, to give, and sometimes to give up.
Sometimes God wants us to stand up for ourselves, or to stand up for
those on the margin even at cost to ourselves. Sometimes God wants us
to stand up for the creation that God has placed in our care. We proclaim,
based on God's voice in Scripture that we are all
God's beloved children, and this is God's
world. We should treat these as such. As we listen for the voice of
the shepherd in Scripture, we discover that this is what God talks about...a
lot.
Secondly, Scripture encourages us
to make room in our lives for God to speak.
This one is a toughie. We are programmed to be doers, to take action,
to exert control, to be a leader. This can shape our prayer life. Quiet
times with God can become really noisy times when we are thinking and
talking and telling and teaching God, leaving very little time
for God to tell and teach us. Scripture says “Be still, and
know that I am God (Ps 46:10).” We need
times of quiet, often. If we want to hear the voice of the shepherd,
we need to set up habits of quiet listening.
If the voice of the shepherd seems distant,
or blocked, then perhaps it is because we need
to let go of the past. The past can bind us. It can limit our vision.
We can't see new solutions,
different paths down the mountain. “We always do it that way.” All
we see is the path that we have already fallen down. Scripture
says it doesn't have to be this way! Scripture is the story of
God taking individuals and God's people to new and unexpected places.
“Abram, leave your home, your family, we're going to a new
land. (Gen. 12: 1-4)” You want us to accept those
unclean Gentiles into the church as Gentiles? (see Acts 10-11)
Hear the Word of the Lord, “Do not
remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about
to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive
it?! (Is. 43:18-19)”
If we want to hear the voice of the
shepherd, scripture says to look around you for all
kinds of signs. God speaks to us in many ways. For Peter on the
rooftop in Jaffa, it was a vision
(Acts 10). When Elijah ran for his life to the mountain of God, the
voice of the divine was not as
expected in the earthquake, or in the storm, but in the still silence
(1 Kings 19). Perhaps the shepherd will lead us with a pillar
of fire, or a cloud as God led the Hebrews through the
wilderness. (Is the brown cloud that comes on a red air day God's voice
trying to tell us something?) We will hear God's voice better
if we are open to God's voice in different forms.
To hear God's voice, we don't need to
go it alone. That's why we are here, together, right now, every Sunday.
As brothers and sisters, we gather together to listen together, not
only for ourselves, but for each other. Brother, sister, I'm having
a hard time and I don't know what to do. Could you help me listen?
Finally, trust. Trust that God
is leading you to healing. It may not be in the way you expect or want.
But you will be free! You will
be whole! You are a valued child of God and God has a plan
for you.
In Matthew, Jesus says, “Are not two
sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground
apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted.
So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew
10:29-31) Trust.
If we are interested in what God wants,
if we give room for God to speak, if we look for signs and new possibilities,
if we trust in God's love, then we will come to know the shepherd's
voice. It's not easy. It doesn't come all at once. We don't get it and
then never lose it. It is indeed an ongoing process, a journey. (It's
kind of like learning to snowboard.)
I believe that Jesus' words in our gospel
lesson this morning do not assume that the sheep will automatically
and easily pick out the voice of the shepherd from of the cacophony
of the world. I believe that Jesus offers these words more to comfort
us with the good news that the voice of the shepherd will be there.
He offers these words to nurture in us the confidence and faith to listen
for it. Believe it, Jesus seems to say.
I have often talked about my journey
into the pastorate. No way I would ever
be a pastor. In this case God needed more than just her voice. He had
to drag me kicking and screaming. Only after a long time did I recognize
the shepherd's voice and know that this is my calling. But God wasn't
done! New Jersey?! Utah?! The voice of the shepherd surprises us. The
greatest surprise comes when our life on earth is over. Then the shepherd
whispers in our ears the good news of life eternal. Trust in it.
I found a neat website. It is about
a group that started decades ago, but now has grown into a worldwide
movement. Started with someone in the UK who noticed a traffic circle
near his apartment building that was neglected and ugly. So he went
out in the middle of the night and began to plant flowers. His neighbors
woke up one morning, and all of a sudden, instead of a dead piece of
land, they were surprised to find a beautiful garden. Now people around
the world are sneaking around at night. In the darkness they plant flowers
and plants on neglected, dead pieces of public land, turning them into
beautiful gardens. They call themselves guerrilla gardeners.
If you find yourself in a place of darkness,
or if you have a dry dead patch of land in your life, if you have questions
that you are waiting for God to answer, perhaps, as you enter on your
journey of discernment, you will find that God is like a guerilla gardener:
slipping in under the cover of darkness to unexpectedly plant colorful
flowers along your path to direct your way.
God has bright plans for you. It is
life abundant. This abundance is perhaps not as the world defines it
(in things or with material riches), but as God
defines it: abundant in love, peace, meaning, and purpose. “I have
come that you may have life, and have it abundantly (Jn 10:10).
Listen for the voice of the shepherd
trusting in this truth: “For surely I know the plans I have for you,
says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you
a future with hope (Jer. 29:11).
April 13, 2008
Rev. Paul Heins
First Presbyterian Church
Logan, Utah