The Good Shepherd
Preaching
Preaching the Parables
Series III, Cycle B
Object:
1. Text
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away -- and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason 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 of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.
2. What's Happening?
First Point Of Action
In the first of four sections of this "I am," Jesus uses the image of the good shepherd.
Second Point Of Action
He defines the good shepherd as willing to lay down his life for his sheep.
Third Point Of Action
In the second section, Jesus presents the opposite, the hired hand who is not the shepherd and who does not own the sheep.
Fourth Point Of Action
The hired hand sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and runs away.
Fifth Point Of Action
The wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them.
Sixth Point Of Action
Jesus says again that the hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.
Seventh Point Of Action
Jesus returns to himself in the third section, saying again that he is the good shepherd.
Eighth Point Of Action
He knows his own and they know him, just as the Father knows Jesus and Jesus knows God.
Ninth Point Of Action
Jesus says he lays down his life for his sheep.
Tenth Point Of Action
He has other sheep who do not belong to this fold whom he must bring into the fold.
Eleventh Point Of Action
These other sheep, also, will listen to his voice.
Twelfth Point Of Action
So, he says, there will be one flock and one shepherd.
Thirteenth Point Of Action
In the fourth section, Jesus returns to speaking directly about himself. He says God loves him because he lays down his life in order to take it up again.
Fourteenth Point Of Action
He emphasizes that no one takes his life from him. He lays it down of his own accord.
Fifteenth Point Of Action
He says he has the power both to lay it down and to take it up again.
Sixteenth Point Of Action
Jesus says he has received the command to do so from his Father.
3. Spadework
Devoted
While the word "devoted" is not part of the present text, the essence of the shepherd metaphor is about devotion. Therefore it merits consideration here. This author has come to understand the process of devotion through observation of the growing devotion of a dog guide. Rather than an automatic response, devotion is an outgrowth of a bonding that itself emerges as the result of mutual trust. Dog guide education teaches the dog guide the mechanics of obedience, command vocabulary, and proper function. However, no one can teach devotion. There is a sense of the holy in the dog guide's giving itself over to a devotion that brings willingness in the creature to give up its life if necessary to shepherd its partner from danger.
Similarly, no one can instill the dedication of a person devoted to the land or to animal husbandry. Such devotion has an internal source. As today's cow/calf rancher tends to the grounds, bottle feeds the orphan calves, breaks the ice on winter water at regular intervals, the growing calves learn to anticipate, and trust the rancher to provide for them. They recognize the rancher's intent as well as the voice. They thrive. A satisfying element of mutual respect, albeit ever-cautious and prudent on the part of the caregiver, emerges. If, however, the rancher is late by hours, misses a feeding, or otherwise mistreats them, not only does that rancher damage trust but the young calves also may not be as healthy in either attitude or capacity to thrive.
Biblically, to be devoted is to be set aside for God. What has been devoted cannot be used in ordinary life. It may be a thing, such as a field, an animal, a building, or an object. It may be a person. Once consecrated, it is no longer common, but holy. It has been set apart for a specific purpose or use.
Consider the consecrated elements of Holy Communion, the pastor's robe and stole, the church worker at licensing, the minister at ordination, and the church building. After the author's church building burned and the land was cleaned, the congregation held a healing ceremony of de-consecration to honor the place and release the land. When the new sanctuary was completed on the same ground, the congregation consecrated that building and that land.
Hebrew Scripture speaks of that which is "devoted to the Lord for destruction." As a bargaining with God before battle, leaders promised all the spoils to God. When Joshua took the city of Jericho, he ordered that "[t]he city and all that is in it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction" (Joshua 6:17). Further, he ordered the people to "keep away from the things devoted to destruction, so as not to covet and take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel an object for destruction, bringing trouble upon it" (Joshua 6:18). When the Israelites looted the devoted things anyway, they brought on trouble for themselves. (See Joshua 7.)
"Nothing that a person owns that has been devoted to destruction for the Lord, be it human or animal, or inherited landholding, may be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the Lord" (Leviticus 27:28). Nevertheless, such temptation was great to "let anything devoted to destruction stick to your hand" (Deuteronomy 13:17). "But from the spoil the people took sheep and cattle, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal" (1 Samuel 15:21). See also 1 Chronicles 2:7ff; Judges 1:17ff; 1 Kings 20:42; and Joshua 6:11ff.
All firstborn of a cow, of a sheep, and of a goat -- even the goat separated from the sheep -- were considered holy. These creatures were to be reserved for religious sacrifice. (See Numbers 18:17.)
Levitican Law states that if a person consecrates a field when that "field is released in the [fiftieth year, called] jubilee, it shall be holy to the Lord as a devoted field; it becomes the priest's holding" (Leviticus 27:21). Because the tribe of Levi who was set aside to serve God as priests was not to support themselves, the levitical priests "shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs" (Ezekiel 44:29). "They may eat the sacrifices that are the Lord's portion" (Deuteronomy 18:1). See also Joshua 13:14, 33.
"No human beings who have been devoted to destruction can be ransomed; they shall be put to death" (Leviticus 27:29). Consider the Christ-dimensions of this text. In the battle for eternal life, Christ could not be ransomed, but Christ paid the ransom for humankind. No ransom could release Christ from God's plan, yet Christ could pay ransom for our freedom. By analogy, the Good Shepherd was the devoted one willing to give up his life for each of us. For a good shepherd, each sheep was a devoted creature in that it was holy enough to be sought after when lost, as are we.
As a sign of their devotion, pilgrims reaching the top of Japan's mountain, Tateyama, present a grain offering to the Shinto priest who lives there in a tiny shelter. Devoted pastors, workers, parents, teachers, and students also give themselves to their calling. Having found the shepherd within themselves, they choose to set aside, even sacrifice, other goals for the sake of their sheep. Cannot this calling of our work, whatever that work is, also be holy to God, that is, devoted?
What in our work or lives contains this element of the holy to which we can give ourselves over to and that would make a difference in the quality of our work? All -- excellence in workmanship, the artisan nature, craftsmanship, and scholarship -- necessitate the relinquishing of some things in order to focus on some higher good, losing our life symbolically in order to gain it in greater fullness.
What are the parameters of the holy? Some churches share their building with Alcoholics Anonymous and other support groups. It does not occur to other churches to open the doors of its holy space to anyone except Sunday worshipers. Each church portrays a different image of what it holds to be holy.
Expanding the concept of the holy, let us consider the line between what has been set aside as holy and what has not. Native American heritage teaches us that everything is holy. Good ecological practices, good stewardship of what we cherish, and viewing the human body as a holy vessel all contain a dimension of the holy. The perspective of devotion focuses on the highest level of care.
Good Shepherd
Both of the two occurrences of the phrase "good shepherd" come in the present passage. In each instance, Christ offers a definition. In his introduction, he states the metaphor, "I am the good shepherd" (John 10:11). Unlike the hired hand who does not carry the same commitment and sense of responsibility toward sheep that someone else owns (John 10:12), good shepherds will give up their lives if necessary to protect their sheep.
Jesus repeats, "I am the good shepherd" (John 10:14). Adding further definition to the phrase, he says that good shepherds recognize their own sheep and their sheep know them. Of the 57 references to shepherd, forty appear in the Hebrew Scripture with a dozen in the gospel writings. The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews calls Christ "the great shepherd of the sheep" (John 13:20) while the writer of 1 Peter refers to him as "the chief shepherd" (John 5:4).
The familiar shepherd passage from Isaiah, "He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep" (Isaiah 40:11), defines the model guide. A shepherd guards, herds, and tends sheep. By simile, one who cares for and guides a group of people is like a shepherd. Shepherds show the way, lead, and mentor.
Hebrew Scripture. As early as Jacob's blessing of Joseph in Genesis, shepherd has been a metaphor for God: "He [Israel, that is, Jacob] blessed Joseph, and said, 'The God before whom my ancestors Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all harm, bless the boys; and in them let my name be perpetuated, and the name of my ancestors Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude on the earth' " (Genesis 48:15-16).
In Genesis 49:24-25, shepherd is one of several names of God. Others here include "Mighty One of Jacob, the Rock of Israel," "the God of your father," and "the Almighty." The psalmist calls God the "Shepherd of Israel." (See Psalm 80:1.)
On four other occasions, the psalmist refers to a shepherd. In addition to the affirmation of Psalm 23 is the plea of Psalm 28:9, "O save your people, and bless your heritage; / be their shepherd, and carry them forever." Death is the shepherd of the "foolhardy" who, "like sheep are appointed for Sheol." (See Psalm 49:14.) Calling David "from tending the nursing ewes [God] brought him / to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, / of Israel, his inheritance" (Psalm 78:71).
When God spoke to Moses about leadership, he compared the congregation to sheep led by a shepherd (Numbers 27:17). The tribes of Israel reminded David that God had called him (1 Samuel 16:13) to "be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel" (2 Samuel 5:2). See also 2 Samuel 7:7 and 1 Chronicles 11:2; 17:6.
Jeremiah refers eight times to a shepherd. He speaks of his role as prophet-shepherd: "But I have not run away from being a shepherd in your service, nor have I desired the fatal day" (Jeremiah 17:16). His use of "shepherd" also includes God's challenge through the prophet: "Like a lion coming up from the thickets of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly chase Edom away from it; and I will appoint over it whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who can summon me? Who is the shepherd who can stand before me?" (Jeremiah 49:19; 50:44).
The prophet also uses this metaphor to lift up God's promise: "I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord" (Jeremiah 23:4); and "Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away; say, 'He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd a flock' " (Jeremiah 31:10).
The image of the faulty shepherd appears in the following passages. What might appear at first to be a positive wind that guides "all your shepherds" in Jeremiah's, "The wind shall shepherd all your shepherds" (Jeremiah 22:22), becomes the unruly wind that rules "all your shepherds." Taken within the context of Jeremiah's lambaste on the wayward children of Israel, the completed verse reads "and your lovers shall go into captivity; then you will be ashamed and dismayed because of all your wickedness." Again, "Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord" (Jeremiah 23:2).
The Prophet Ezekiel also contrasts the faulty shepherd metaphor with that of the good shepherd. Without a shepherd, sheep scatter, becoming prey for wild animals. (See Ezekiel 34:5.) Then Ezekiel expands the metaphor. God who rescues the human flock to become its shepherd appoints David to guide Israel: "For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel" (Ezekiel 34:11-14).
The Shepherd-God will become fully and personally active in the lives of humankind: "I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice" (Ezekiel 34:15-16). See also Ezekiel 34:8, 23; 37:24.
The prophet Amos reveals the level of attentiveness of the shepherd: "As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear" (Amos 3:12). See also Micah 7:14. Zechariah, the last of the minor prophets, uses the shepherd image. People who lack a shepherd will wander like sheep (Zechariah 10:2). God shepherds those who are doomed (Zechariah 11:4). Look out when God becomes impatient with the "worthless" shepherd who deserts the flock: "May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! Let his arm be completely withered, his right eye utterly blinded!" (Zechariah 11:17). (See Zechariah 11:7-17; 13:7.)
Gospels. Christ defines the good shepherd in Matthew: "What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?" (Matthew 18:12).
Jesus may have drawn this familiar analogy from the following passages from Hebrew Scripture: "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek out your servant, for I do not forget your commandments" (Psalm 119:176); "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6); and "My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains; from mountain to hill they have gone, they have forgotten their fold" (Jeremiah 50:6).
The common source of Matthew and Mark uses the metaphor to describe the crowds as "like sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36 and Mark 6:34). The writer of Mark emphasizes that Jesus began immediately to remedy this condition by "teach[ing] them many things" (Mark 6:34).
Again according to this source, on the night of Jesus' betrayal, Jesus quotes Zechariah when telling the disciples that all will desert him: "Strike the shepherd, that the sheep may be scattered" (Zechariah 13:7). Compare with Matthew 26:31 and Mark 14:27: "Then Jesus said to [the disciples at the Mount of Olives], 'You will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written, "I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered." ' "
Historians in Hebrew Scripture combine the metaphor of Israel with scatter: "Then Micaiah [a prophet of God] said, 'I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep that have no shepherd; and the Lord said, "These have no master; let each one go home in peace." ' " (See 1 Kings 22:17 and 2 Chronicles 18:16.)
When speaking of the coming of the Son of Man, Jesus tells the disciples, "All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left" (Matthew 25:32-33). The writers of Genesis spoke of culling the speckled, spotted, and black sheep and the speckled and spotted goats (Genesis 30:32-33), but only in Matthew 25 is the familiar phrase "the sheep from the goats." Separating goats from sheep is understandable in that goats are rebellious and have unruly habits. With both providing valuable products, sheep and goats pastured together.
All four Lukan passages (2:8, 15, 18, 20) refer to the shepherds at Christ's birth. When King Herod asked the temple leaders where a Messiah was to be born, they quoted Micah 5:2, "But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days." Matthew writes, "And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel" (Matthew 2:6).
Having identified "anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way" as "a thief and a bandit" (John 10:1), the author of John identifies the shepherd as "the one who enters by the gate" (John 10:2). The other four shepherd references in the Gospel of John appear in the present parable. See the above discussion of John 10:11, 12, and 14.
In verse 16, "I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd," a new layer of understanding appears in the meaning of this metaphor. The guiding and caretaking move beyond one sheep that strays and beyond concern for the initial flock of sheep. Good shepherds are willing to stretch farther to claim other sheep that do not belong to their fold. The goal is to be one flock with one shepherd. There will be unity in this vision of oneness that begins here.
"I Am"
Four parables in Cycle B include "I am" sayings: The Good Shepherd (John 10:11ff, Parable 2); The True Vine (John 15:1ff, Parable 3); The Bread Of Life (John 6:25 and 6:41ff, Parable 6); and The Living Bread (John 6:51ff, Parable 7). Parable 2 in Cycle A addresses The Gate Or The Door (John 10:7ff). The remaining "I am" sayings include The Light Of the World (John 8:12ff); The Resurrection And The Life (John 11:25ff); and The Way, The Truth, And The Life (John 14:6ff).
Each time the writer of John uses the "I am," that "I am" carries an echo of God's "I am" spoken to the reluctant Moses. Each time we hear the "I am," it jolts into awareness our own response to "I am." For further discussion, see Parable 2, Cycle A and Parable 7, Cycle B.
The "I am" sayings belong to John's portrayal of Christ. Throughout, Christ declares his identity, his purpose, and his role. Each declaration is a simple sentence. Straightforward, each offers a single truth. Through John, Christ presents himself in metaphor. Christ relates to us as the active and present "I am" in all of these images -- comforter and protector, guide, the God-Christ-humankind connector, feeder and sustainer, eternal provider, the way, the truth, and the life. Following the "I am" sayings through the teachings of Jesus in the synoptic gospels, we find in these sayings a tidy summation of his lifework.
What is the use of metaphor in the "I am" sayings? In one sense, it is an opener. It engages the part of our being that thinks in symbol and image without the tedium or limitation of words. What if John would have phrased the "I am" sayings, as "I am like a good shepherd" rather than "I am the good shepherd" or "I am like a gate" instead of "I am the door"? Presented as simile rather than in metaphor, Christ's declarations bring less impact.
More than a comparison, metaphor carries us through the realm of imagination to the core of Christ's purpose and his role as Jesus. Chances are, each of us has a favorite "I am" saying of Christ, one to which we connect or that speaks to a present need or circumstance. Like reading a book before viewing the video format, metaphor invites our imaging. We fill in the details of being a good shepherd. We imagine approaching, opening, and walking through the door into new possibility. Immediately, metaphor is interactive. It is fresh. Each time we consider a particular metaphor of Christ, we come to it from a different place in our own living.
Know My Own
"Know my own" identifies, claims, and connects. John 10:14 is the only biblical reference to the direct "I know my own." "God's own" appears twice as an affirmation of God's claiming of us: "[T]his is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory" (Ephesians 1:14) and "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).
Most of the ten references to "her own" suggest exclusive and treasured ownership: "[A]nd when [Moses] was abandoned, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son" (Acts 7:21) and "As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children" (1 Thessalonians 2:5-7).
While there is no instance of "Father's own," "his own" occurs 126 times, the first being Genesis 9:6. Here, the "let us make humankind in our image" of Genesis 1:26 becomes "for in his own image God made humankind." "For the Lord hears the needy, / and does not despise his own that are in bonds" (Psalm 69:33) draws attention to our being God's own despite our neediness. The Deuteronomist speaks of God's bringing the Israelites out of Egypt "with his own presence" (Deuteronomy 4:37). Shepherd-God intends to have a close relationship with humankind.
The Pauline letters speak of "his (God's) own Son": "Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son" (Acts 20:28); "For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh" (Romans 8:3); and "He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?" (Romans 8:32). God's intent to relate to humankind again shows itself: When Saul regained his sight, Ananias said, "The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear his own voice" (Acts 22:12-14).
His (Christ's) own occurs on several occasions: Jesus' calling God "his own Father" (John 5:18-19); "[Jesus] came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him" (John 1:11); "Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end" (John 13:1); "Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own" (Philippians 3:12); "Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the city gate in order to sanctify the people by his own blood" (Hebrews 13:12); and "In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures" (James 1:18).
Of the 71 usages of "my own," Jeremiah 3:15 stands out in the present study: "I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding." God does things for God because God is God: "I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both human and animal; they shall be mine. I am the Lord" (Numbers 3:13); and "See, I have refined you, but not like silver; I have tested you in the furnace of adversity. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for why should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another" (Isaiah 48:10-11).
In the Gospel of John, Jesus uses "on my own" to stress that he is not acting apart from God. Christ does not speak on his own (John 12:49; 14:10). He did not come on his own (John 7:28; 8:42). He has come not to do his own will (John 6:38). He does nothing on his own (John 5:30; 8:28). In each passage, we can hear him emphasize the word "not." Not of his doing, it all is from God. In 10:18, he begins with a negative but asserts his remaining truths in positive mode: "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father" (John 10:18).
Lay(s) Down
While "lay down" occurs 24 times biblically, only the writer of the Gospel of John (and 1 John) uses the phrase to mean giving up life. Follow the progression of the three passages in the present parable. In verse 11, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep," Christ acknowledges that he is the good shepherd. Then he distances to the third person, "The good shepherd ... his life."
In the next sequence he repeats, "I am the good shepherd," keeping the closeness of the first person throughout: "I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep" (John 10:14-15). He adds definition to the good shepherd, saying that he knows his own and they know him. Then he moves further into the analogy with "just as the Father knows me and I know the Father." The relationship the Sustainer-Christ shares with the Creator-God is that of a good shepherd with sheep. Jesus is both shepherd and sheep. We are not on our own as we attempt to be good shepherds. God shepherds us throughout. Next comes the important word, "and": "And I lay down my life for the sheep."
Its "why" emerges. There is purpose and design to all of this sacrifice: "I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd" (John 10:16). John presents Jesus here as clear about his calling and his task. By the way he presents the message of the good shepherd, he communicates that he wants all listening to understand that clarity.
Is it for this reason that Christ has always been beloved in the mind of God? God can trust Jesus as fully as Jesus can trust God. God knows that Jesus understands the fullness of what he is supposed to do and why: "For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again" (John 10:17). This last statement about laying down his life tells us that Christ's death itself is not the final goal. There is to be more than Good Friday. The purpose is to lay down his life "in order to take it up again." There is more work for Christ to accomplish, albeit in ways as yet unclear to his followers. God continues to speak.
Anticipating their next question, Jesus adds, "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father" (John 10:18). Could such confidence best be shown and accepted by followers upon the later reflection of some distance from the crucifixion? At any rate, God is the empowerment behind Christ.
In an attempt to understand what was to happen to Jesus, Simon Peter asked him where he was going. "Jesus answered, 'Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow afterward' " (John 13:36). A promise not to be taken lightly, Peter responded, " 'Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.' Jesus answered, 'Will you lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times' " (John 13:37-38). If Peter could not lay down his life for Jesus, could we?
Take this message of love another step: "We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us -- and [therefore] we ought to lay down our lives for one another" (1 John 3:16) and "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:13).
For what will we lay down our lives? Stories abound of parents, neighbors, fire fighters, and other heroes who lay down their lives in an attempt to save another human being. Does a warrior's sense of responsibility and commitment to the values of the country served sustain that soldier until the end? Are these sacrificial acts the intentional result of "I am the good shepherd"? Or do we come to the realization that when the best within us is stirred, we meet the good shepherd within us whom the Good Shepherd shepherds?
Scatter
The wolf snatches and scatters the unprotected sheep. The faulty shepherd gets the blame. "Scatter" or a derivative occurs 113 times in the Bible, prompting the query "when does who scatter what and why?" When does God play the wolf, and when is God the shepherd? God scatters for God's own reasons. Sometimes Hebrew Scripture presents God as scattering people because they were too good, that is, they gained too much power from their cooperation. At other times, God scatters them because they were perverse.
Early on, fearing they would be scattered all over the earth, the families of Noah's sons gathered at what would become known as Babel to build themselves a city. (See Genesis 11:4ff.) God wants to be in charge. When they threatened to become more powerful than God, God confused their language then scattered them all over the earth. (See Genesis 11:8-9.) When Jacob was about to die, he called together his sons and, informing each of his future, separated the angry Simeon and Levi: "I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel" (Genesis 49:7).
The Israelites appeared doomed to be scattered. God would scatter them "throughout Egypt" (Exodus 5:12), "among the nations" (Leviticus 26:33), "among the peoples" (Deuteronomy 4:27), "among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other; and there you shall serve other gods, of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known" (Deuteronomy 28:64). God became so provoked with the "perverse generation, children in whom there is no faithfulness," that God "thought to scatter them and blot out the memory of them from humankind." (See Deuteronomy 32:20-26.) Even the psalmist had words about scattering: "You have made us like sheep for slaughter, and have scattered us among the nations" (Psalm 44:11).
The shepherd metaphor does not always fare well as faulty shepherds contributed to the suffering self-image of the people. It was time for a good shepherd:
"Then Micaiah said, 'I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep that have no shepherd'; and the Lord said, 'These have no master; let each one go home in peace' " (1 Kings 22:17). See also 2 Chronicles 18:16;
"For the shepherds are stupid, and do not inquire of the Lord; therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered" (Jeremiah 10:21);
"Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord" (Jeremiah 23:1-2);
"So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and scattered, they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them" (Ezekiel 34:5-60); and
"Your shepherds are asleep, O king of Assyria; your nobles slumber. Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them" (Nahum 3:18).
The scattering was a time of chaos: "Surely, parents shall eat their children in your midst, and children shall eat their parents; I will execute judgments on you, and any of you who survive; I will scatter to every wind" (Ezekiel 5:10). Hear this telling image of dashed hope in a land that paid attention to water need: "Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets?" (Proverbs 5:16). See also Ezekiel 5:2, 12; 6:8; 12:14-15.
The scattering was dramatic and purposeful. In at least this instance, the enemy was the object of scattering: "And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; / he flashed forth lightnings, and routed them" (Psalm 18:14; 144:6). See also Psalm 68:1; 89:10; 92:9. The imagery of God's wrath is scathing and relentless: "I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known; and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them" (Jeremiah 9:16) and "I will scatter you like chaff driven by the wind from the desert" (Jeremiah 13:24). See also Jeremiah 18:17; 49:5, 32, 36. Does God want to scare us into submission?
The scattering was a predictable result of unfaithfulness: "Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples' " (Nehemiah 1:8). See also Psalm 53:5. God had told the people he would scatter them if they did not behave themselves: "Moreover I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries" (Ezekiel 20:23).
God wanted the Egyptians to know who God is and the power of God: "[A]nd I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they shall know that I am the Lord" (Ezekiel 30:26). See also Ezekiel 17:21. Here is further explanation of God's decision to scatter: "I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries; in accordance with their conduct and their deeds I judged them" (Ezekiel 36:19). God dispersed them to "purge your filthiness out of you" (Ezekiel 22:15).
Though the scattering was done "with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known" (Zechariah 7:14), Zechariah speaks of the strength of yearning that will sustain the scattered people. They would return home later of their own volition: "Though I scattered them among the nations, yet in far countries they shall remember me, and they shall rear their children and return" (Zechariah 10:9).
Whether as warning or as actual event, God's acts of scattering have another side. God caused the scattering, but restoration of the people was also in God's plan:
"[T]hen the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you, gathering you again from all the peoples among whom the Lord your God has scattered you" (Deuteronomy 30:3);
" '[B]ut if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place at which I have chosen to establish my name' " (Nehemiah 1:9); and
"Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far away among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a little while in the countries where they have gone. Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel" (Ezekiel 11:16-17). See also Ezekiel 20:34, 41.
Later, Jeremiah and Ezekiel picked up the scattering/restoring mantra: "Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away; say, 'He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd a flock' " (Jeremiah 31:10); "As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness" (Ezekiel 34:12); and "Further, thus says the Lord God: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered" (Ezekiel 29:12-13). See also 1 Kings 14:15 and Isaiah 24:1.
Of the ten times "scatter" occurs in the four gospels, Jesus uses the image of scattering with seed. (See Matthew 25:26, 54; and Mark 4:26.) In three passages, however, Jesus uses scatter without metaphor: "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters" (Matthew 12:30 and Luke 11:23) and "The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me" (John 16:32).
Fulfilling Hebrew prophecy, Jesus told his disciples on the night of his betrayal, "You will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered' " (Matthew 26:31 and Mark 14:27). The prophet said: " 'Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is my associate,' says the Lord of hosts. Strike the shepherd, that the sheep may be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones" (Zechariah 13:7). In the monologue preceding this prophecy, the prophet posed a question with an intriguing answer: "[I]f anyone asks them, 'What are these wounds on your chest?' the answer will be 'The wounds I received in the house of my friends' " (Zechariah 13:5-6).
Despite the problems that the scattering of the Hebrew people and the early Christians caused, a new purpose emerged to transform it: "Now those who were scattered went from place to place, proclaiming the word" (Acts 8:4).
4. Gospel Parallels
No text parallels this parable. However, it is of interest to notice the verbs used with the pronoun, "I," meaning Christ. "I" statements occur twelve times. Twice, he uses the "I am": "I am the good shepherd" (vv. 11, 14). Again twice, he says "I know": "I know my own and my own know me" (v. 14) and "I know the Father" (v. 15). "I must bring them also" (v. 16).
Of the three "I" statements of laying down his life, the first is "for the sheep": "And I lay down my life for the sheep" (v. 15). The second, "For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again" (v. 17), is "in order to take it up again." The third, "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord" (v. 18) is doing so "of [his] my own accord." Each statement moves us into the depth of the metaphor. The immediate purpose of laying down his life is to honor the sheep. Further purpose is the greater goal of serving in a greater way. Finally, the choice is his. Four times he opens with "I have": "I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold" (v. 16), "I have power to lay it down" (v. 18), "I have power to take it up again" (v. 18), and "I have received this command from my Father" (v. 18). The first three express something he owns, that is sheep and power, while the last reflects what he has received.
5. Chat Room
HH: I am the voice of the hired hand who lives within each of us.
GS: I speak for the good shepherd who also dwells within.
AP: Greetings, all. Thanks for agreeing to visit on this Chat Room.
GS: I've been curious about the questions you will ask.
AP: Great. For a starter, what do you mean that both of you live within the same person?
HH: We've just been chatting about that. I was once a self-employed person. I was once the manager of my own work. Many changes have entered my life. I am now a hired hand. If I might say so, in some ways, I take offense at the role of the hired hand in the good shepherd story. The hired hand gets the raw deal because he appears irresponsible. In another sense, I understand him well. I know about fear. What does he care if a wolf gets a few and scatters the rest? They are not his sheep. Certainly sheep are not worthy of risking his life.
GS: I agree that we have a lot in common. I also recognize the element of fear. Nobody likes a wolf. Both the hired hand and the good shepherd know the taste of being afraid. Both have the capacity to focus on the sheep. Only the good shepherd, however, marries that ability with choices of responsibility and commitment. I believe how we respond to the wolves that come our way is what binds together the hired hand and the good shepherd.
AP: Then let us speak about the times the good shepherd recognizes the hired hand within.
GS: I could easily succumb to distractions when bone weary or shivering cold in the night or even lost in thought. Wolves are wise. They have perfected the art of catching both shepherd and flock off guard. It only takes a second, not a minute but a second of mental lapse to change the course of things.
AP: Then how do you avoid such accidents?
GS: Vigilance, watchfulness, dedication to caring, when it would be easier to let a certain laziness slip in. It is like the long-distance trucker with consideration for others on the road. The best truckers avoid pushing themselves beyond safety.
AP: As a hired hand, how do you perceive the good shepherd in yourself?
HH: Keeping in communication these two parts of me -- the conscientious and caring good shepherd and the attitude of a hired hand who is on the job but only puts in hours -- is no easy task. It must be a continual, day and night choice. I would not give up my life for someone else's sheep, if it came to that. The good shepherd within me nudges the hired hand.
For the most part, I distance myself from the good shepherd as someone whose life I aspire to but have not enough spirit to attain. We walk different paths. Actually, we have little in common. I do not have the kind of power the owner shepherd has. Sometimes I am too beaten down by life to do much more than just be there on the job.
AP: Your task is the same whether you are a hired hand or a good shepherd.
GS: I think we have a lot in common. It's about taking ownership. It's about having a sense of responsibility.
HH: I can rationalize if I make a mistake. I can go off in search of another shepherd with another flock to work and begin again. It's about taking home a paycheck. It's about having enough money to give my children the things they want and to see that they can get enough education to support themselves at some kind of work.
GS: It's about finding, within the limitations and possibilities of who I am, that center of meaning and purpose that awakens the fullest sense of life within me.
HH: It's about having someone else as your boss. It's about not caring quite as much because your boss is the one who benefits or loses.
GS: It is the difference between feeling used or demeaned and cultivating a sense of fulfillment whether you are store owner or clerk, rancher or hired hand, school administrator or teacher, CEO, supervisor, or office worker.
There is something else, too. My day gains strength from remembering who I am, whose I am (meaning that I belong to God), whose the sheep ultimately are, and how this all fits together under the umbrella of a sense of purpose. I can tolerate a lot when I keep hold of this perspective.
AP: Not everyone can be an owner. How does the hired hand move into commitment?
GS: It is about respect -- self-respect and respect for your work. It is about adhering to the values you hold of highest importance.
HH: All I have to do is to report to the shepherd. I do not have to die for him.
GS: My sheep are my life. It's about integrity and having decided before the wolf even unsettles the night air, before the shepherd or the hired hand even enters the sheepfold, what I would do if the wolf came. Preserving my own life while another's is lost -- I could not live with that.
HH: It is the rare person with that level of commitment; yet I must admit that whenever I raise my self-expectations even by an inch, my life somehow carries greater nobility.
GS: I start by honoring them. Get to know them. Call them by name so they will trust that you mean well for them. Know the customer and what the customer needs. Care about that customer as if that person's life depended upon you. Know your own "I am." Know the limits of your own willingness to sacrifice. The color of excellence is to excel at focusing your part in assuring the well-being of the sheep.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away -- and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason 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 of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.
2. What's Happening?
First Point Of Action
In the first of four sections of this "I am," Jesus uses the image of the good shepherd.
Second Point Of Action
He defines the good shepherd as willing to lay down his life for his sheep.
Third Point Of Action
In the second section, Jesus presents the opposite, the hired hand who is not the shepherd and who does not own the sheep.
Fourth Point Of Action
The hired hand sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and runs away.
Fifth Point Of Action
The wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them.
Sixth Point Of Action
Jesus says again that the hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.
Seventh Point Of Action
Jesus returns to himself in the third section, saying again that he is the good shepherd.
Eighth Point Of Action
He knows his own and they know him, just as the Father knows Jesus and Jesus knows God.
Ninth Point Of Action
Jesus says he lays down his life for his sheep.
Tenth Point Of Action
He has other sheep who do not belong to this fold whom he must bring into the fold.
Eleventh Point Of Action
These other sheep, also, will listen to his voice.
Twelfth Point Of Action
So, he says, there will be one flock and one shepherd.
Thirteenth Point Of Action
In the fourth section, Jesus returns to speaking directly about himself. He says God loves him because he lays down his life in order to take it up again.
Fourteenth Point Of Action
He emphasizes that no one takes his life from him. He lays it down of his own accord.
Fifteenth Point Of Action
He says he has the power both to lay it down and to take it up again.
Sixteenth Point Of Action
Jesus says he has received the command to do so from his Father.
3. Spadework
Devoted
While the word "devoted" is not part of the present text, the essence of the shepherd metaphor is about devotion. Therefore it merits consideration here. This author has come to understand the process of devotion through observation of the growing devotion of a dog guide. Rather than an automatic response, devotion is an outgrowth of a bonding that itself emerges as the result of mutual trust. Dog guide education teaches the dog guide the mechanics of obedience, command vocabulary, and proper function. However, no one can teach devotion. There is a sense of the holy in the dog guide's giving itself over to a devotion that brings willingness in the creature to give up its life if necessary to shepherd its partner from danger.
Similarly, no one can instill the dedication of a person devoted to the land or to animal husbandry. Such devotion has an internal source. As today's cow/calf rancher tends to the grounds, bottle feeds the orphan calves, breaks the ice on winter water at regular intervals, the growing calves learn to anticipate, and trust the rancher to provide for them. They recognize the rancher's intent as well as the voice. They thrive. A satisfying element of mutual respect, albeit ever-cautious and prudent on the part of the caregiver, emerges. If, however, the rancher is late by hours, misses a feeding, or otherwise mistreats them, not only does that rancher damage trust but the young calves also may not be as healthy in either attitude or capacity to thrive.
Biblically, to be devoted is to be set aside for God. What has been devoted cannot be used in ordinary life. It may be a thing, such as a field, an animal, a building, or an object. It may be a person. Once consecrated, it is no longer common, but holy. It has been set apart for a specific purpose or use.
Consider the consecrated elements of Holy Communion, the pastor's robe and stole, the church worker at licensing, the minister at ordination, and the church building. After the author's church building burned and the land was cleaned, the congregation held a healing ceremony of de-consecration to honor the place and release the land. When the new sanctuary was completed on the same ground, the congregation consecrated that building and that land.
Hebrew Scripture speaks of that which is "devoted to the Lord for destruction." As a bargaining with God before battle, leaders promised all the spoils to God. When Joshua took the city of Jericho, he ordered that "[t]he city and all that is in it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction" (Joshua 6:17). Further, he ordered the people to "keep away from the things devoted to destruction, so as not to covet and take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel an object for destruction, bringing trouble upon it" (Joshua 6:18). When the Israelites looted the devoted things anyway, they brought on trouble for themselves. (See Joshua 7.)
"Nothing that a person owns that has been devoted to destruction for the Lord, be it human or animal, or inherited landholding, may be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the Lord" (Leviticus 27:28). Nevertheless, such temptation was great to "let anything devoted to destruction stick to your hand" (Deuteronomy 13:17). "But from the spoil the people took sheep and cattle, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal" (1 Samuel 15:21). See also 1 Chronicles 2:7ff; Judges 1:17ff; 1 Kings 20:42; and Joshua 6:11ff.
All firstborn of a cow, of a sheep, and of a goat -- even the goat separated from the sheep -- were considered holy. These creatures were to be reserved for religious sacrifice. (See Numbers 18:17.)
Levitican Law states that if a person consecrates a field when that "field is released in the [fiftieth year, called] jubilee, it shall be holy to the Lord as a devoted field; it becomes the priest's holding" (Leviticus 27:21). Because the tribe of Levi who was set aside to serve God as priests was not to support themselves, the levitical priests "shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs" (Ezekiel 44:29). "They may eat the sacrifices that are the Lord's portion" (Deuteronomy 18:1). See also Joshua 13:14, 33.
"No human beings who have been devoted to destruction can be ransomed; they shall be put to death" (Leviticus 27:29). Consider the Christ-dimensions of this text. In the battle for eternal life, Christ could not be ransomed, but Christ paid the ransom for humankind. No ransom could release Christ from God's plan, yet Christ could pay ransom for our freedom. By analogy, the Good Shepherd was the devoted one willing to give up his life for each of us. For a good shepherd, each sheep was a devoted creature in that it was holy enough to be sought after when lost, as are we.
As a sign of their devotion, pilgrims reaching the top of Japan's mountain, Tateyama, present a grain offering to the Shinto priest who lives there in a tiny shelter. Devoted pastors, workers, parents, teachers, and students also give themselves to their calling. Having found the shepherd within themselves, they choose to set aside, even sacrifice, other goals for the sake of their sheep. Cannot this calling of our work, whatever that work is, also be holy to God, that is, devoted?
What in our work or lives contains this element of the holy to which we can give ourselves over to and that would make a difference in the quality of our work? All -- excellence in workmanship, the artisan nature, craftsmanship, and scholarship -- necessitate the relinquishing of some things in order to focus on some higher good, losing our life symbolically in order to gain it in greater fullness.
What are the parameters of the holy? Some churches share their building with Alcoholics Anonymous and other support groups. It does not occur to other churches to open the doors of its holy space to anyone except Sunday worshipers. Each church portrays a different image of what it holds to be holy.
Expanding the concept of the holy, let us consider the line between what has been set aside as holy and what has not. Native American heritage teaches us that everything is holy. Good ecological practices, good stewardship of what we cherish, and viewing the human body as a holy vessel all contain a dimension of the holy. The perspective of devotion focuses on the highest level of care.
Good Shepherd
Both of the two occurrences of the phrase "good shepherd" come in the present passage. In each instance, Christ offers a definition. In his introduction, he states the metaphor, "I am the good shepherd" (John 10:11). Unlike the hired hand who does not carry the same commitment and sense of responsibility toward sheep that someone else owns (John 10:12), good shepherds will give up their lives if necessary to protect their sheep.
Jesus repeats, "I am the good shepherd" (John 10:14). Adding further definition to the phrase, he says that good shepherds recognize their own sheep and their sheep know them. Of the 57 references to shepherd, forty appear in the Hebrew Scripture with a dozen in the gospel writings. The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews calls Christ "the great shepherd of the sheep" (John 13:20) while the writer of 1 Peter refers to him as "the chief shepherd" (John 5:4).
The familiar shepherd passage from Isaiah, "He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep" (Isaiah 40:11), defines the model guide. A shepherd guards, herds, and tends sheep. By simile, one who cares for and guides a group of people is like a shepherd. Shepherds show the way, lead, and mentor.
Hebrew Scripture. As early as Jacob's blessing of Joseph in Genesis, shepherd has been a metaphor for God: "He [Israel, that is, Jacob] blessed Joseph, and said, 'The God before whom my ancestors Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all harm, bless the boys; and in them let my name be perpetuated, and the name of my ancestors Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude on the earth' " (Genesis 48:15-16).
In Genesis 49:24-25, shepherd is one of several names of God. Others here include "Mighty One of Jacob, the Rock of Israel," "the God of your father," and "the Almighty." The psalmist calls God the "Shepherd of Israel." (See Psalm 80:1.)
On four other occasions, the psalmist refers to a shepherd. In addition to the affirmation of Psalm 23 is the plea of Psalm 28:9, "O save your people, and bless your heritage; / be their shepherd, and carry them forever." Death is the shepherd of the "foolhardy" who, "like sheep are appointed for Sheol." (See Psalm 49:14.) Calling David "from tending the nursing ewes [God] brought him / to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, / of Israel, his inheritance" (Psalm 78:71).
When God spoke to Moses about leadership, he compared the congregation to sheep led by a shepherd (Numbers 27:17). The tribes of Israel reminded David that God had called him (1 Samuel 16:13) to "be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel" (2 Samuel 5:2). See also 2 Samuel 7:7 and 1 Chronicles 11:2; 17:6.
Jeremiah refers eight times to a shepherd. He speaks of his role as prophet-shepherd: "But I have not run away from being a shepherd in your service, nor have I desired the fatal day" (Jeremiah 17:16). His use of "shepherd" also includes God's challenge through the prophet: "Like a lion coming up from the thickets of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly chase Edom away from it; and I will appoint over it whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who can summon me? Who is the shepherd who can stand before me?" (Jeremiah 49:19; 50:44).
The prophet also uses this metaphor to lift up God's promise: "I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord" (Jeremiah 23:4); and "Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away; say, 'He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd a flock' " (Jeremiah 31:10).
The image of the faulty shepherd appears in the following passages. What might appear at first to be a positive wind that guides "all your shepherds" in Jeremiah's, "The wind shall shepherd all your shepherds" (Jeremiah 22:22), becomes the unruly wind that rules "all your shepherds." Taken within the context of Jeremiah's lambaste on the wayward children of Israel, the completed verse reads "and your lovers shall go into captivity; then you will be ashamed and dismayed because of all your wickedness." Again, "Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord" (Jeremiah 23:2).
The Prophet Ezekiel also contrasts the faulty shepherd metaphor with that of the good shepherd. Without a shepherd, sheep scatter, becoming prey for wild animals. (See Ezekiel 34:5.) Then Ezekiel expands the metaphor. God who rescues the human flock to become its shepherd appoints David to guide Israel: "For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel" (Ezekiel 34:11-14).
The Shepherd-God will become fully and personally active in the lives of humankind: "I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice" (Ezekiel 34:15-16). See also Ezekiel 34:8, 23; 37:24.
The prophet Amos reveals the level of attentiveness of the shepherd: "As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear" (Amos 3:12). See also Micah 7:14. Zechariah, the last of the minor prophets, uses the shepherd image. People who lack a shepherd will wander like sheep (Zechariah 10:2). God shepherds those who are doomed (Zechariah 11:4). Look out when God becomes impatient with the "worthless" shepherd who deserts the flock: "May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! Let his arm be completely withered, his right eye utterly blinded!" (Zechariah 11:17). (See Zechariah 11:7-17; 13:7.)
Gospels. Christ defines the good shepherd in Matthew: "What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?" (Matthew 18:12).
Jesus may have drawn this familiar analogy from the following passages from Hebrew Scripture: "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek out your servant, for I do not forget your commandments" (Psalm 119:176); "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6); and "My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains; from mountain to hill they have gone, they have forgotten their fold" (Jeremiah 50:6).
The common source of Matthew and Mark uses the metaphor to describe the crowds as "like sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36 and Mark 6:34). The writer of Mark emphasizes that Jesus began immediately to remedy this condition by "teach[ing] them many things" (Mark 6:34).
Again according to this source, on the night of Jesus' betrayal, Jesus quotes Zechariah when telling the disciples that all will desert him: "Strike the shepherd, that the sheep may be scattered" (Zechariah 13:7). Compare with Matthew 26:31 and Mark 14:27: "Then Jesus said to [the disciples at the Mount of Olives], 'You will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written, "I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered." ' "
Historians in Hebrew Scripture combine the metaphor of Israel with scatter: "Then Micaiah [a prophet of God] said, 'I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep that have no shepherd; and the Lord said, "These have no master; let each one go home in peace." ' " (See 1 Kings 22:17 and 2 Chronicles 18:16.)
When speaking of the coming of the Son of Man, Jesus tells the disciples, "All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left" (Matthew 25:32-33). The writers of Genesis spoke of culling the speckled, spotted, and black sheep and the speckled and spotted goats (Genesis 30:32-33), but only in Matthew 25 is the familiar phrase "the sheep from the goats." Separating goats from sheep is understandable in that goats are rebellious and have unruly habits. With both providing valuable products, sheep and goats pastured together.
All four Lukan passages (2:8, 15, 18, 20) refer to the shepherds at Christ's birth. When King Herod asked the temple leaders where a Messiah was to be born, they quoted Micah 5:2, "But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days." Matthew writes, "And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel" (Matthew 2:6).
Having identified "anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way" as "a thief and a bandit" (John 10:1), the author of John identifies the shepherd as "the one who enters by the gate" (John 10:2). The other four shepherd references in the Gospel of John appear in the present parable. See the above discussion of John 10:11, 12, and 14.
In verse 16, "I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd," a new layer of understanding appears in the meaning of this metaphor. The guiding and caretaking move beyond one sheep that strays and beyond concern for the initial flock of sheep. Good shepherds are willing to stretch farther to claim other sheep that do not belong to their fold. The goal is to be one flock with one shepherd. There will be unity in this vision of oneness that begins here.
"I Am"
Four parables in Cycle B include "I am" sayings: The Good Shepherd (John 10:11ff, Parable 2); The True Vine (John 15:1ff, Parable 3); The Bread Of Life (John 6:25 and 6:41ff, Parable 6); and The Living Bread (John 6:51ff, Parable 7). Parable 2 in Cycle A addresses The Gate Or The Door (John 10:7ff). The remaining "I am" sayings include The Light Of the World (John 8:12ff); The Resurrection And The Life (John 11:25ff); and The Way, The Truth, And The Life (John 14:6ff).
Each time the writer of John uses the "I am," that "I am" carries an echo of God's "I am" spoken to the reluctant Moses. Each time we hear the "I am," it jolts into awareness our own response to "I am." For further discussion, see Parable 2, Cycle A and Parable 7, Cycle B.
The "I am" sayings belong to John's portrayal of Christ. Throughout, Christ declares his identity, his purpose, and his role. Each declaration is a simple sentence. Straightforward, each offers a single truth. Through John, Christ presents himself in metaphor. Christ relates to us as the active and present "I am" in all of these images -- comforter and protector, guide, the God-Christ-humankind connector, feeder and sustainer, eternal provider, the way, the truth, and the life. Following the "I am" sayings through the teachings of Jesus in the synoptic gospels, we find in these sayings a tidy summation of his lifework.
What is the use of metaphor in the "I am" sayings? In one sense, it is an opener. It engages the part of our being that thinks in symbol and image without the tedium or limitation of words. What if John would have phrased the "I am" sayings, as "I am like a good shepherd" rather than "I am the good shepherd" or "I am like a gate" instead of "I am the door"? Presented as simile rather than in metaphor, Christ's declarations bring less impact.
More than a comparison, metaphor carries us through the realm of imagination to the core of Christ's purpose and his role as Jesus. Chances are, each of us has a favorite "I am" saying of Christ, one to which we connect or that speaks to a present need or circumstance. Like reading a book before viewing the video format, metaphor invites our imaging. We fill in the details of being a good shepherd. We imagine approaching, opening, and walking through the door into new possibility. Immediately, metaphor is interactive. It is fresh. Each time we consider a particular metaphor of Christ, we come to it from a different place in our own living.
Know My Own
"Know my own" identifies, claims, and connects. John 10:14 is the only biblical reference to the direct "I know my own." "God's own" appears twice as an affirmation of God's claiming of us: "[T]his is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory" (Ephesians 1:14) and "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).
Most of the ten references to "her own" suggest exclusive and treasured ownership: "[A]nd when [Moses] was abandoned, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son" (Acts 7:21) and "As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children" (1 Thessalonians 2:5-7).
While there is no instance of "Father's own," "his own" occurs 126 times, the first being Genesis 9:6. Here, the "let us make humankind in our image" of Genesis 1:26 becomes "for in his own image God made humankind." "For the Lord hears the needy, / and does not despise his own that are in bonds" (Psalm 69:33) draws attention to our being God's own despite our neediness. The Deuteronomist speaks of God's bringing the Israelites out of Egypt "with his own presence" (Deuteronomy 4:37). Shepherd-God intends to have a close relationship with humankind.
The Pauline letters speak of "his (God's) own Son": "Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son" (Acts 20:28); "For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh" (Romans 8:3); and "He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?" (Romans 8:32). God's intent to relate to humankind again shows itself: When Saul regained his sight, Ananias said, "The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear his own voice" (Acts 22:12-14).
His (Christ's) own occurs on several occasions: Jesus' calling God "his own Father" (John 5:18-19); "[Jesus] came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him" (John 1:11); "Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end" (John 13:1); "Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own" (Philippians 3:12); "Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the city gate in order to sanctify the people by his own blood" (Hebrews 13:12); and "In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures" (James 1:18).
Of the 71 usages of "my own," Jeremiah 3:15 stands out in the present study: "I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding." God does things for God because God is God: "I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both human and animal; they shall be mine. I am the Lord" (Numbers 3:13); and "See, I have refined you, but not like silver; I have tested you in the furnace of adversity. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for why should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another" (Isaiah 48:10-11).
In the Gospel of John, Jesus uses "on my own" to stress that he is not acting apart from God. Christ does not speak on his own (John 12:49; 14:10). He did not come on his own (John 7:28; 8:42). He has come not to do his own will (John 6:38). He does nothing on his own (John 5:30; 8:28). In each passage, we can hear him emphasize the word "not." Not of his doing, it all is from God. In 10:18, he begins with a negative but asserts his remaining truths in positive mode: "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father" (John 10:18).
Lay(s) Down
While "lay down" occurs 24 times biblically, only the writer of the Gospel of John (and 1 John) uses the phrase to mean giving up life. Follow the progression of the three passages in the present parable. In verse 11, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep," Christ acknowledges that he is the good shepherd. Then he distances to the third person, "The good shepherd ... his life."
In the next sequence he repeats, "I am the good shepherd," keeping the closeness of the first person throughout: "I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep" (John 10:14-15). He adds definition to the good shepherd, saying that he knows his own and they know him. Then he moves further into the analogy with "just as the Father knows me and I know the Father." The relationship the Sustainer-Christ shares with the Creator-God is that of a good shepherd with sheep. Jesus is both shepherd and sheep. We are not on our own as we attempt to be good shepherds. God shepherds us throughout. Next comes the important word, "and": "And I lay down my life for the sheep."
Its "why" emerges. There is purpose and design to all of this sacrifice: "I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd" (John 10:16). John presents Jesus here as clear about his calling and his task. By the way he presents the message of the good shepherd, he communicates that he wants all listening to understand that clarity.
Is it for this reason that Christ has always been beloved in the mind of God? God can trust Jesus as fully as Jesus can trust God. God knows that Jesus understands the fullness of what he is supposed to do and why: "For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again" (John 10:17). This last statement about laying down his life tells us that Christ's death itself is not the final goal. There is to be more than Good Friday. The purpose is to lay down his life "in order to take it up again." There is more work for Christ to accomplish, albeit in ways as yet unclear to his followers. God continues to speak.
Anticipating their next question, Jesus adds, "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father" (John 10:18). Could such confidence best be shown and accepted by followers upon the later reflection of some distance from the crucifixion? At any rate, God is the empowerment behind Christ.
In an attempt to understand what was to happen to Jesus, Simon Peter asked him where he was going. "Jesus answered, 'Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow afterward' " (John 13:36). A promise not to be taken lightly, Peter responded, " 'Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.' Jesus answered, 'Will you lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times' " (John 13:37-38). If Peter could not lay down his life for Jesus, could we?
Take this message of love another step: "We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us -- and [therefore] we ought to lay down our lives for one another" (1 John 3:16) and "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:13).
For what will we lay down our lives? Stories abound of parents, neighbors, fire fighters, and other heroes who lay down their lives in an attempt to save another human being. Does a warrior's sense of responsibility and commitment to the values of the country served sustain that soldier until the end? Are these sacrificial acts the intentional result of "I am the good shepherd"? Or do we come to the realization that when the best within us is stirred, we meet the good shepherd within us whom the Good Shepherd shepherds?
Scatter
The wolf snatches and scatters the unprotected sheep. The faulty shepherd gets the blame. "Scatter" or a derivative occurs 113 times in the Bible, prompting the query "when does who scatter what and why?" When does God play the wolf, and when is God the shepherd? God scatters for God's own reasons. Sometimes Hebrew Scripture presents God as scattering people because they were too good, that is, they gained too much power from their cooperation. At other times, God scatters them because they were perverse.
Early on, fearing they would be scattered all over the earth, the families of Noah's sons gathered at what would become known as Babel to build themselves a city. (See Genesis 11:4ff.) God wants to be in charge. When they threatened to become more powerful than God, God confused their language then scattered them all over the earth. (See Genesis 11:8-9.) When Jacob was about to die, he called together his sons and, informing each of his future, separated the angry Simeon and Levi: "I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel" (Genesis 49:7).
The Israelites appeared doomed to be scattered. God would scatter them "throughout Egypt" (Exodus 5:12), "among the nations" (Leviticus 26:33), "among the peoples" (Deuteronomy 4:27), "among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other; and there you shall serve other gods, of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known" (Deuteronomy 28:64). God became so provoked with the "perverse generation, children in whom there is no faithfulness," that God "thought to scatter them and blot out the memory of them from humankind." (See Deuteronomy 32:20-26.) Even the psalmist had words about scattering: "You have made us like sheep for slaughter, and have scattered us among the nations" (Psalm 44:11).
The shepherd metaphor does not always fare well as faulty shepherds contributed to the suffering self-image of the people. It was time for a good shepherd:
"Then Micaiah said, 'I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep that have no shepherd'; and the Lord said, 'These have no master; let each one go home in peace' " (1 Kings 22:17). See also 2 Chronicles 18:16;
"For the shepherds are stupid, and do not inquire of the Lord; therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered" (Jeremiah 10:21);
"Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord" (Jeremiah 23:1-2);
"So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and scattered, they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them" (Ezekiel 34:5-60); and
"Your shepherds are asleep, O king of Assyria; your nobles slumber. Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them" (Nahum 3:18).
The scattering was a time of chaos: "Surely, parents shall eat their children in your midst, and children shall eat their parents; I will execute judgments on you, and any of you who survive; I will scatter to every wind" (Ezekiel 5:10). Hear this telling image of dashed hope in a land that paid attention to water need: "Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets?" (Proverbs 5:16). See also Ezekiel 5:2, 12; 6:8; 12:14-15.
The scattering was dramatic and purposeful. In at least this instance, the enemy was the object of scattering: "And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; / he flashed forth lightnings, and routed them" (Psalm 18:14; 144:6). See also Psalm 68:1; 89:10; 92:9. The imagery of God's wrath is scathing and relentless: "I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known; and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them" (Jeremiah 9:16) and "I will scatter you like chaff driven by the wind from the desert" (Jeremiah 13:24). See also Jeremiah 18:17; 49:5, 32, 36. Does God want to scare us into submission?
The scattering was a predictable result of unfaithfulness: "Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples' " (Nehemiah 1:8). See also Psalm 53:5. God had told the people he would scatter them if they did not behave themselves: "Moreover I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries" (Ezekiel 20:23).
God wanted the Egyptians to know who God is and the power of God: "[A]nd I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they shall know that I am the Lord" (Ezekiel 30:26). See also Ezekiel 17:21. Here is further explanation of God's decision to scatter: "I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries; in accordance with their conduct and their deeds I judged them" (Ezekiel 36:19). God dispersed them to "purge your filthiness out of you" (Ezekiel 22:15).
Though the scattering was done "with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known" (Zechariah 7:14), Zechariah speaks of the strength of yearning that will sustain the scattered people. They would return home later of their own volition: "Though I scattered them among the nations, yet in far countries they shall remember me, and they shall rear their children and return" (Zechariah 10:9).
Whether as warning or as actual event, God's acts of scattering have another side. God caused the scattering, but restoration of the people was also in God's plan:
"[T]hen the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you, gathering you again from all the peoples among whom the Lord your God has scattered you" (Deuteronomy 30:3);
" '[B]ut if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place at which I have chosen to establish my name' " (Nehemiah 1:9); and
"Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far away among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a little while in the countries where they have gone. Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel" (Ezekiel 11:16-17). See also Ezekiel 20:34, 41.
Later, Jeremiah and Ezekiel picked up the scattering/restoring mantra: "Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away; say, 'He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd a flock' " (Jeremiah 31:10); "As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness" (Ezekiel 34:12); and "Further, thus says the Lord God: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered" (Ezekiel 29:12-13). See also 1 Kings 14:15 and Isaiah 24:1.
Of the ten times "scatter" occurs in the four gospels, Jesus uses the image of scattering with seed. (See Matthew 25:26, 54; and Mark 4:26.) In three passages, however, Jesus uses scatter without metaphor: "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters" (Matthew 12:30 and Luke 11:23) and "The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me" (John 16:32).
Fulfilling Hebrew prophecy, Jesus told his disciples on the night of his betrayal, "You will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered' " (Matthew 26:31 and Mark 14:27). The prophet said: " 'Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is my associate,' says the Lord of hosts. Strike the shepherd, that the sheep may be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones" (Zechariah 13:7). In the monologue preceding this prophecy, the prophet posed a question with an intriguing answer: "[I]f anyone asks them, 'What are these wounds on your chest?' the answer will be 'The wounds I received in the house of my friends' " (Zechariah 13:5-6).
Despite the problems that the scattering of the Hebrew people and the early Christians caused, a new purpose emerged to transform it: "Now those who were scattered went from place to place, proclaiming the word" (Acts 8:4).
4. Gospel Parallels
No text parallels this parable. However, it is of interest to notice the verbs used with the pronoun, "I," meaning Christ. "I" statements occur twelve times. Twice, he uses the "I am": "I am the good shepherd" (vv. 11, 14). Again twice, he says "I know": "I know my own and my own know me" (v. 14) and "I know the Father" (v. 15). "I must bring them also" (v. 16).
Of the three "I" statements of laying down his life, the first is "for the sheep": "And I lay down my life for the sheep" (v. 15). The second, "For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again" (v. 17), is "in order to take it up again." The third, "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord" (v. 18) is doing so "of [his] my own accord." Each statement moves us into the depth of the metaphor. The immediate purpose of laying down his life is to honor the sheep. Further purpose is the greater goal of serving in a greater way. Finally, the choice is his. Four times he opens with "I have": "I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold" (v. 16), "I have power to lay it down" (v. 18), "I have power to take it up again" (v. 18), and "I have received this command from my Father" (v. 18). The first three express something he owns, that is sheep and power, while the last reflects what he has received.
5. Chat Room
HH: I am the voice of the hired hand who lives within each of us.
GS: I speak for the good shepherd who also dwells within.
AP: Greetings, all. Thanks for agreeing to visit on this Chat Room.
GS: I've been curious about the questions you will ask.
AP: Great. For a starter, what do you mean that both of you live within the same person?
HH: We've just been chatting about that. I was once a self-employed person. I was once the manager of my own work. Many changes have entered my life. I am now a hired hand. If I might say so, in some ways, I take offense at the role of the hired hand in the good shepherd story. The hired hand gets the raw deal because he appears irresponsible. In another sense, I understand him well. I know about fear. What does he care if a wolf gets a few and scatters the rest? They are not his sheep. Certainly sheep are not worthy of risking his life.
GS: I agree that we have a lot in common. I also recognize the element of fear. Nobody likes a wolf. Both the hired hand and the good shepherd know the taste of being afraid. Both have the capacity to focus on the sheep. Only the good shepherd, however, marries that ability with choices of responsibility and commitment. I believe how we respond to the wolves that come our way is what binds together the hired hand and the good shepherd.
AP: Then let us speak about the times the good shepherd recognizes the hired hand within.
GS: I could easily succumb to distractions when bone weary or shivering cold in the night or even lost in thought. Wolves are wise. They have perfected the art of catching both shepherd and flock off guard. It only takes a second, not a minute but a second of mental lapse to change the course of things.
AP: Then how do you avoid such accidents?
GS: Vigilance, watchfulness, dedication to caring, when it would be easier to let a certain laziness slip in. It is like the long-distance trucker with consideration for others on the road. The best truckers avoid pushing themselves beyond safety.
AP: As a hired hand, how do you perceive the good shepherd in yourself?
HH: Keeping in communication these two parts of me -- the conscientious and caring good shepherd and the attitude of a hired hand who is on the job but only puts in hours -- is no easy task. It must be a continual, day and night choice. I would not give up my life for someone else's sheep, if it came to that. The good shepherd within me nudges the hired hand.
For the most part, I distance myself from the good shepherd as someone whose life I aspire to but have not enough spirit to attain. We walk different paths. Actually, we have little in common. I do not have the kind of power the owner shepherd has. Sometimes I am too beaten down by life to do much more than just be there on the job.
AP: Your task is the same whether you are a hired hand or a good shepherd.
GS: I think we have a lot in common. It's about taking ownership. It's about having a sense of responsibility.
HH: I can rationalize if I make a mistake. I can go off in search of another shepherd with another flock to work and begin again. It's about taking home a paycheck. It's about having enough money to give my children the things they want and to see that they can get enough education to support themselves at some kind of work.
GS: It's about finding, within the limitations and possibilities of who I am, that center of meaning and purpose that awakens the fullest sense of life within me.
HH: It's about having someone else as your boss. It's about not caring quite as much because your boss is the one who benefits or loses.
GS: It is the difference between feeling used or demeaned and cultivating a sense of fulfillment whether you are store owner or clerk, rancher or hired hand, school administrator or teacher, CEO, supervisor, or office worker.
There is something else, too. My day gains strength from remembering who I am, whose I am (meaning that I belong to God), whose the sheep ultimately are, and how this all fits together under the umbrella of a sense of purpose. I can tolerate a lot when I keep hold of this perspective.
AP: Not everyone can be an owner. How does the hired hand move into commitment?
GS: It is about respect -- self-respect and respect for your work. It is about adhering to the values you hold of highest importance.
HH: All I have to do is to report to the shepherd. I do not have to die for him.
GS: My sheep are my life. It's about integrity and having decided before the wolf even unsettles the night air, before the shepherd or the hired hand even enters the sheepfold, what I would do if the wolf came. Preserving my own life while another's is lost -- I could not live with that.
HH: It is the rare person with that level of commitment; yet I must admit that whenever I raise my self-expectations even by an inch, my life somehow carries greater nobility.
GS: I start by honoring them. Get to know them. Call them by name so they will trust that you mean well for them. Know the customer and what the customer needs. Care about that customer as if that person's life depended upon you. Know your own "I am." Know the limits of your own willingness to sacrifice. The color of excellence is to excel at focusing your part in assuring the well-being of the sheep.
