During Holy Week we had a Diocesan service via Zoom and Bishop David was preaching. He referred to a passage where Jesus describes the crowd being like 'sheep without a shepherd', then he said wryly that at the moment he felt more like 'a shepherd without sheep'. I think many clergy will know what he means. As David and I pray every day in church it is very sad to look out on the rows and rows of empty chairs. It's like being a shepherd without sheep, without a flock. But not really, because I still have a strong connection to you all through phone calls and email messages.
Some churches call their minister 'the pastor' which is the Latin word for 'shepherd. As Chaplain of St Ursula's, I may have the official 'role' of the shepherd, but of course I am also simply one of the sheep. Jesus is the true shepherd of us all.
In our gospel reading Jesus tells a parable about the shepherd and the sheep. The shepherd, unlike the thieves and bandits and other strangers, knows his sheep and they listen to his voice and follow him. The image of the shepherd and the sheep is used frequently in Scripture; in the OT, God is often described as a 'shepherd': 'The Lord is my shepherd' the Psalmist says in Psalm 23. In the book of Ezekiel, God denounces the false shepherds of his people, and says that he himself will shepherd them: '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....' His love and care is not just a general love for an anonymous group of people, but specific to people in their different needs.
Jesus takes up the role of the shepherd for himself. 'I am the good shepherd' he says in the verse following the passage we heard read this morning. Jesus embodies God's tender care for his people and he too cares for his sheep in their particular situations.
I am aware, from various phone conversations that people may be reacting to this lockdown experience very differently; some of us may indeed feel we are like sheep that are 'lost' or 'weak'; others may feel like sheep that are 'lonely' or 'trapped' or 'stressed' We may need to know God's care in different ways. Indeed the parable Jesus tells emphasises that the good shepherd knows each individual sheep and calls each one 'by name.'
We can see examples of this in Jesus' ministry. The gospels are full of striking encounters between Jesus and different individuals; he recognises the thoughts and attitudes, the joys and needs, indeed the inner self, of each one; he knows the right question to ask, the right word to say to comfort or to challenge, and he offers the touch that will heal. I think of Bartimaeus, Zaccheus, the Samaritan woman by the well, Mary, Martha. He knows each one by name. We were reminded of that very powerfully in our gospel reading on Easter Day, when Mary Magdalene finally recognises the Risen Jesus when he calls her by name, 'Mary'.
At the moment, if we listen regularly to the news, we can be bombarded by statistics. Every day there are figures given for the number of people who have died from the Covid 19 virus in different countries. But of course each number represents a unique person with a particular life and personality, a history, and a network of family and friends. God is not interested in mass statistics, but in each and every particular person. Think of the parable of the lost sheep. The shepherd could have said, 'well I've got 99 safe and sound, why bother about 1 that is lost.' But no, he goes after the one that is lost because every one of his sheep matters.
Jesus is the one who knows his sheep, each one, and calls us by name. The challenge to us is to recognise his voice and to follow him, for 'he leads us into life' as one of the Taize choruses puts it.
Indeed, Jesus does not only lead us into life; he is the entrance into life. It's interesting that in this passage, Jesus doesn't only describe himself as the shepherd who knows and calls his sheep. Jesus also says 'I am the gate for the sheep'.whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture...I have come that they might have life, and have it abundantly.'
Jesus, as the good shepherd is also the gateway to life. One commentator makes the fascinating point that some shepherds lie across the entrance to the sheepfold so actually becoming themselves the gate. Jesus is the point through which the sheep enter into the security of the sheepfold, and through which they go out to the freedom and nourishment of the pasture. He is the gateway to both security and freedom.
Most of us may be feeling painfully the lack of both security and freedom during this time of confinement. We are not free to go out and do the things we usually do; we may be shut up in our houses, but we still know that we are not fully secure from the threat of the virus. Life certainly may not feel very full or abundant for any of us at the moment.
But perhaps this time is a good opportunity for us to examine what we usually mean by 'security' and 'freedom' and 'abundant life'. We may tend to see security as our control over our lives, and freedom as the ability to do what we want to do; but that kind of security and freedom are really illusory. We can never have total control over our lives, and the so called freedom to do what we want to do can sometimes lead to us being enslaved by our own desires and addictions, or trapped by failures of the past. Yet, we do need security and freedom as human beings. The security and freedom we most need is to know we are completely known, loved and forgiven by God. This security and freedom does not come from ourselves but is given to us by God, and noone can take it away from us. Just as the sheep enter into the security of the sheepfold and the freedom of the pasture by going through the gate, so we 'enter in' to true security and freedom through Christ who is the gate, the way, to fullness of life.
I hope that we can find some space during this time, whether we experience it as primarily a boring and lonely time, or a stressful and anxious time, to listen to Jesus' call on our lives, to receive his love and know something of the abundant life he offers. As David encouraged us last Sunday, we might want to read the scriptures and discover that through them we encounter the Risen Christ and allow him to speak to us and feed us. We may also find we become more aware of the security, freedom and fulness of life Jesus offers us through prayer and silence. Certainly when I feel trapped by stress or anxiety, or my own failings, entering into the space of prayer and silence brings me a fresh sense of both the security and the freedom we find in God.
Jesus, the good shepherd, comes that we might have life and have it abundantly. However, this is not just life, security and freedom for me as an individual sheep. Although each one of us matters, and Jesus knows each of us by name, he is not a shepherd leading lots of isolated, individual sheep. Instead, he wants to bring all his sheep together. Later on he talks of 'one flock and one shepherd.' Jesus came to establish a new community. Being part of the flock, together with other sheep, is not an optional extra but an essential part of our faith.
We have a glimspe of the life of the new community that arises out of Jesus' resurrection in our reading from Acts. This is not just a group of individuals who all believed the same thing. This is a community that seeks to live out together the abundant life the Risen Christ offers in concrete ways; through worship and prayer, breaking bread together in one another's homes, practical sharing of resources and care for those in need. Just as the life and love of God is embodied in Jesus, so his life and love is also embodied (even if imperfectly) in the new community of his followers. People see this life and love lived out and are attracted by it; 'day by day the Lord added to their number.' we're told.
I began by saying that I felt somewhat like a 'shepherd without a flock'; we may all feel at the moment somewhat like a 'sheep without a flock', since we cannot gather for worship and fellowship. Nevertheless, we know we are all part of the flock. I hope we will be reminded during this time of isolation, both of God's love for each one of us as a unique individual and of the significance of the life of the church and I pray that our communal life in Christ will be deepened and strengthened when we are able to meet again. May the Good Shepherd guide each one of us in our different needs and lead us forward in our life together.
Revd Helen Marshall