Called By Name

Here are some thoughts on Sunday's gospel. I'd love your input. This was sent to the people of St.Timothy Lutheran Church. 

Gospel: John 10:1-10

 [Jesus said:] ¹“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. ²The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
  ⁷So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

 

I love sheep. They are so cute and fluffy! On the other hand, they really smell! When we lived as a family in Fairport, NY, the kids were in high school and we lived near a sheep farm. All the kids had a nickname for it, the “stinky farm.” Getting up close and personal to these cute creatures means you get a good whiff of them.

What especially struck me in reading this passage this morning, however, is the shepherd calling the sheep by name. Jesus doesn’t mind getting up close and personal with us. Here Jesus describes himself as the “gate,” but in the following verses, he’s the shepherd. Can you imagine? Jesus knows our names! He knows us. Have you ever felt that if someone really knew you, knew what you were like deep inside, they would run? Jesus knows us better than anyone else and still, he wants a relationship with us. Our inner life is no surprise to him. He loves us just as we are.

“the sheep follow him because they know his voice” (v. 5). I have seen this in action in Bethlehem when I lived there in the ‘80s. You would see large flocks of sheep filling the street and a teenage boy leading them. None of them wandered off. They just followed.

In Christ the gate and shepherd, we find someone to lead us through the difficult days we are living in and the unknown days ahead. What does Jesus want for us? Abundant life. Jesus wants what’s good for us.

Loving Shepherd, these are tough times we are living in. From one day to the next we don’t know what to expect. Help us to hear your voice and to follow you today and every day. Amen.

picture