The Introduction
The slogan “Think Different,” reminds me that as Christians, we are called to “see different”. We’re invited to look at the world which seems to have gotten so much out of hand and believe Jesus still has his sheep in hand. We watch our loved ones die and still believe that only mortal life is passing away. We view the misery and poverty of people on the streets and refuse to be paralysed into inaction. We’re aware that the violence in our society, and the violence we harbor in our hearts, is definitely related. We perceive that all the world’s children are our children. Others may tell us that people get what they deserve, and not to waste our pity on the disadvantaged or marginalised ones. But we, who deserve condemnation and get mercy instead, can’t be so smug. We’re in the hands of the good Shepherd who speaks gentle words of life and hope. Promised an imperishable future, can we see those perishing all around us and NOT see how the world can and must be different?
Make a short list of the world’s problems. Create two columns of response: one for what conventional wisdom suggests we do, and the other for the response demanded by the gospels. What motives underlie each response?
Laugh often. Give someone a reason to smile. Greet strangers warmly. Play and have fun. Don’t worry how it looks to anyone else.
The Scripture (John 10:27-28)
Jesus went on, “You don’t believe because you’re not my sheep. My sheep recognise my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them real and eternal life … No one can steal them from out of my hand”.
The Story – Riding Like the Wind
I recently started taking horseback-riding lessons. On the first day, my teacher Karen said, “You’ll ride Echo. She’s very sensitive”. Oh, great, I thought. I had only ever ridden old nags before. But Echo is a young thoroughbred – and what a difference. She responds to the slightest suggestion from me with 1,200 pounds of fast-twitch muscle. In fact, because she’s sensitive, Echo hates to be over-commanded. Even more intimidating, Karen doesn’t bridle her horses with a bit.
I’ve learned it’s a delicate dance of trust and confidence, communication and concentration, control and submission, on both our parts. To move as one, by mutual agreement and effort, with a massive animal is a powerful experience – and one of the most physically demanding things I’ve done.
“However much you put into a horse is exactly how much you’ll get back,” Karen said. Of course, that’s true of humans too, but with animals it seems like a simpler equation. Maybe that’s why Jesus compared us to sheep, to help us understand that our bond with him isn’t complicated. A horse metaphor could have worked too – being taken in hand by Jesus is as thrilling as riding like the wind.
The Reflection
Few of us have the brilliance or the daring to break away from the flock. If we’re destined to behave like sheep, which shepherd are we following? Do we even raise our heads far enough to answer that question or do we just imitate the behaviour of those around us, imagining that someone, somewhere, must know what they’re doing?
Easter reminds us that we follow Jesus, and it reminds us why. Unlike our friends and neighbours, relatives and co-workers, civic and cultural leaders, Jesus really does know the way. Our job is to learn to recognise his voice, and to follow it when we do – even if it takes us away from the flock.
The Commissioning
Follow the Good Shepherd into ways of truth and justice. Listen to the Good Shepherd for wise words that can be trusted. Believe in the Good Shepherd for a faith that cannot be shaken. Be challenged by the Good Shepherd to change your friends and your community with love.
Amen.
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