St. Paul’s United Church Sunday August 19, 2007

I Am the Good Shepherd – Rev. Cathy Russell

What’s really striking about this window is the look on Jesus’ face- because; frankly it’s not the kind of look we might expect when we think of the Good Shepherd. It’s not a happy warm smile; it’s not a look of gentleness, tenderness, or tranquility. What words would you use to describe the expression he’s making?

The look is undoubtedly serious, entirely determined, it even seems to convey something of a warning to the viewer. The look suggests that Jesus, holding that big, thick, wooden crook firmly in his right hand, is not to be trifled with in his current frame of mind. So what’s that all about, what or who is causing Jesus to physically declare such determination and seriousness, even as he says with his mouth “I am the Good Shepherd.”?

Well, for a shepherd to truly be called “good” it seems clear that he or she must demonstrate a solid devotion to the sheep with which they have been entrusted. Here in this case, we can sense how devoted this shepherd is to the little lamb he holds in his arm. The lamb he has folded protectively in his robe, and whom he has pressed right over his own heart. Yes, Jesus loves this lamb, tenderly, and warmly, but also passionately and protectively. The look on Jesus’ face is appropriate for someone who is serious about protecting the beloved from threat. It’s as if Jesus is saying- “If you’re going to come after one of my own, if you want this lamb, you are going to have to come through me to get it. If you want this lamb of mine, it’ll be over my dead body.” Any of us who have had children, or been committed to caring for a child will know something of what that feeling is like.

Looking at the sweet little lamb in the window, you can understand why the Shepherd feels so protective towards it-it’s snowy white, small, helpless and cute. But who does the lamb represent- who is this sheep that Jesus the Good Shepherd knows and has come to call and claim for God’s flock?

If we go a little further back in the gospel of John, we’ll find that just before this teaching by Jesus, comes his healing of the man born blind. Like a sheep with foot and mouth disease, this man’s condition meant that he had to be separated from the rest of the flock. Birth defects like blindness were commonly understood by ancient peoples to be the direct result of sin- someone must have done something wrong along the way to have “earned” such an affliction. And so, the rest of the righteous community, decides that the healthy flock, must be protected from this one sheep who carries the contamination of sin. The offensive one must be shut out, cut off, shunned and excluded for the sake of the many who are pure. Even after he’s been healed by Jesus, the religious authorities are in no hurry to allow him back into polite society, accusing him of being an imposter, of faking his original condition, and abusing him for his belief in Jesus.

Unlike the Pharisees we’re not likely to judge a person born blind as spiritually offensive. But we each of us have our own list of those we have judged and feel really ought to be kept out of the flock if it’s to remain healthy and pure. People whose morals, lifestyle, politics, we find deeply objectionable. People in the grip of addictions and compulsions and other behaviors that cause pain and destruction in the lives of others. Whatever the catalyst, the desire to judge others, and separate ourselves from them is a trait that crosses all human boundaries of time and culture.

And just in case we think we’ve totally evolved beyond the point of isolating those on the basis of a physical condition, we might remind ourselves of the whole SARS scenario a few years ago. Not only did the World Health Organization advise travelers to avoid Canada, but Canadians avoided Toronto, and Torontonians avoided people of Asian origin. I have a friend who said she had the humiliating experience of people moving away from her when she got on the subway or rode the bus. It’s amazing- but Two thousand years later, and that impulse to judge and self-separate- for our own good, our own protection of course (!), is as strong as it was in Jesus’ time. Two thousand years later and we are just as likely to leave the offensive, lambs out in the cold.

By overruling and overriding our own impulse to judge, separate and exclude, by choosing rather to welcome and include on behalf of God, that is what makes Jesus the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd who when confronted with a man born blind is not concerned with determining human fault but revealing God’s grace. The Good Shepherd who not only ministers to the physical wounds of this suffering sheep, but calls him into the fold, and claims for him a place in God’s flock- a place that human judgment can neither give nor take away. The Good Shepherd who reveals that his God-given mission is one of inclusion not exclusion.

Jesus says to the disciples, I am the Good Shepherd, not you. Jesus says to the Pharisees, I know my sheep, not you. Jesus says to us, I am the one who claims the sheep of God’s flock not you.

The man born blind, the one whom we have found offensive and excluded from our midst, the one who must not contaminate those who are good and the pure, those who are healthy and the whole, this is the lamb Jesus is carrying- this is the one he has claimed for God’s flock. This is the lamb he holds pressed to his own heart, that’s the one of whom his face says “If you want him (or her) you’ll have to come through me first. If you want him, it’ll be over my dead body.” That’s the one for whom he is in fact, willing to die.

By claiming these outcast sheep, The Good Shepherd reveals the height and depth and breadth of God’s love. A love that includes all those by whom we are most offended, and of whom we are most afraid- criminals, religious fanatics, addicts, the mentally ill, even at times our own very selves. By claiming these offensive sheep, by claiming even us, the Good Shepherd reveals a love that is stronger than even our own impulses and prejudice against others, stronger than our own self-loathing, stronger even than death.

As we take a last look at the Good Shepherd and the sheep he has claimed, I want to challenge all of us this week to pray for someone we find truly offensive- someone whom we cannot help but feel should be expelled from the flock. And I don’t mean pray that God cause them to suffer or be punished for whatever offence they might have committed- that doesn’t count! If nothing else, let us simply ask the Holy Spirit to help us acknowledge even this offensive one as a sheep precious to God, as a lamb for whom, like you, like me, the Good Shepherd faced the wolf and the thief, and won. In so doing may we, with Christ’s help take one small step away from our desire to separate and exclude, and take one small step towards flocking together. Thanks be to God, AMEN.