The Good Shepherd & the Wolves

“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.”                                 John 10:11-18 NRSVue 

 I have noted that lots of United Church congregations have moved away from using the Ecumenical Lectionary, the three-year cycle of scripture passages for Sunday worship. Since it's half a century since the UCC adopted the lectionary it's understandable that some worship leaders are choosing other themes for the Christian Year. The Lectionary is not carved in stone. 

Just the same, I noticed that this past Sunday was Good Shepherd Sunday, with lectionary readings including the 23rd Psalm and the passage from John's Gospel in which Jesus tells his listeners that he is the gate to the sheepfold. Chapter 10 immediately goes on to "I am the good shepherd" repeated for emphasis, and perhaps the latter portion would have been more current because Jesus goes on to offer a warning about the wolf who scatters the sheep because the hired hand doesn't protect them. 

There seem to be lots of wolves running the world these days rather than trustworthy shepherds who are willing to lay down their lives for their people. Autocrats and dictators hold sway even in countries that consider themselves democracies. 

What I find chilling is that many religious leaders, supposedly Jesus' hired hands to care for their flocks, have aligned themselves with the wolves and ignore the gospel message of compassion and sacrificial love. I am stunned that many of them have all but abandoned scripture except to quote obscure passages to justify war and hatred. They are the proverbial "wolves in sheep's clothing" and there seem to be millions with the herd mentality to follow them. 

Jesus is the Gate to the sheepfold. Jesus is the Good Shepherd of the flock. We need to hear this more than ever. 

                                                   Good Shepherd mosaic -- Ravenna 425-450 AD