Sermon John 10.1-10

Today, we reach the fourth Sunday of Easter – often referred to as Good Shepherd Sunday – and if you have read the readings that have been given to us, it’s not hard to see why!

Each year, our gospel gives us verses from John Chapter 10 – different verses, but each have a common theme involving sheep and shepherd.

Preparing for this sermon, I came across many interesting facts and characters all to do with shepherds and their sheep.

For example, there was the famous singer song writer who began his career as a shepherd – Ed Shearin. And of course, the favourite singer loved by all sheep – Britney Shears!

I came across stories about sheep from around the world – an unusual breed in Australia, a cross between a sheep and a kangaroo – known locally as a woolly jumper! There are sheep in Mexico that actually sing at Christmas time – apparently you can hear them clearly bleating ‘Fleece Navidad’

I read about baby sheep that drive around in huge sports cars – lamborghinis I think they were called – and a story about a sheep dog who seemed to produce sheep out of thin air.

His master, the shepherd, told him one day to go out and bring in the sheep. When the sheep dog arrived with the flock, the shepherd was astonished. He owned only 37 sheep, but here in front of him there were definitely 40. Of course, the sheep dog had rounded them up!

Now, I don’t know what you made of Jesus’ sheep and sheepfold figures of speech in our gospel this morning. If you were confused by them – don’t worry – just remember that verse six tells us that no one understood back then either. But we are going to have a go this morning at working out what these images mean.

In the first five verses, Jesus talks about a sheepfold and some sheep. It’s seems that the sheep might be God’s people.  The sheepfold could be Israel. The gatekeeper might be John the Baptist, but we’re not quite sure. The robbers and thieves must surely be the Pharisees. 

This story leaves the crowd confused, and Jesus must have seen that because  he tells them about a different sheepfold.  Again we’ve got some sheep – God’s people  and they are under attack from robbers and thieves – the Pharisees and other religious leaders of the day. To keep the sheep safe, God protects them with a sheepfold and there’s only one way in and out of this safe place  – a gate.

Jesus says,

“I am the gate.”

It’s commonly understood that in those days a shepherd would sleep across the gate of his sheepfold to protect the flock. A familiar image to all of us which we can understand and relate to – we are the sheep, Jesus is the shepherd and if we listen to his voice, he will protect us from the thieves and robbers.

But right at the end of our gospel reading we find a rather extravagant promise –

“I have come that you may have life and have it to the full.”

Life in all its fullness.

What does that mean?

When you consider your own life, I wonder if you regard yourself as living life in all its fullness. To put it another way, what is God’s story for your life? 

Not your past story, you understand, I’m wondering what’s your story for today, and for the future? What’s the role that God has given you today. Who is God calling you to be? Searching for the answers to that questions is beginning to walk into life in all its fullness.

So what do we do, if we are not sure what the answers might be?

Well, to begin with, God calls us to keep Jesus at the very centre of our lives.

When it comes down to it, if you want to boil Christianity down to one thing, then forget the buildings, let’s not got bogged down in doctrine either, let’s park our differences about  which type of church music and service we like because, though they can be really important, none of those is the main thing. The main thing is knowing Jesus. He’s the one at the very centre of our faith. It’s all about him.

I am the gate, whoever enters through me will be saved.

The risen Jesus is central to everything.  If you don’t have him, you don’t have anything. You can have all the treasure in the world – the most beautiful house, the most brilliant singing voice, the finest clothes, the best car, but if you don’t have Jesus, you don’t have anything.

You see Jesus is God giving himself to us, to bring us back to himself. Which is extraordinary when you think about it.  God takes on human flesh, comes and lives among us, faces all the temptations and challenges we face, but does it without messing it all up.

And then the respectable, moral, religious people of his day, kill him for it.  And God treats his death as a ransom payment to buy our freedom. Here’s how the Old Testament prophet Isaiah puts it,

We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)

Which given we’re thinking about sheep and sheepfolds today – is rather a handy way of reminding us that Jesus is at the centre of life in all its fullness.

Now of course, you won’t find that sort of thinking in popular psychology. The sort of self-help stuff we get in our magazines and newspapers and on daytime TV tells us that life is all about you, and that you get the best out of life by focusing on the state of your own heart by being mindful and meditating and do breathing exercises, and eating healthily and getting lots of exercise and then sticking it all on Instagram. But whilst some of those things can be helpful, that’s not life to the full.  At best its navel gazing.  At worst its narcissism – self-obsession, the world revolving around you.

Jesus tells us that there are just two things we must do to achieve life in all its fullness. 

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength… and love your neighbour as yourself.” (Mark 12:30-31)

Two commandments, but with three dimensions to them!

Firstly Jesus calls us to focus upwards – towards God.

Then outwards to serving others.

And, as we focus upwards and outwards, God begins to work in the third dimension of our lives. The Inward dimension, our heart. As we focus on him and serve others in community, he works in us by his Holy Spirit. 

Upwards, Outwards, Inwards – a helpful way of think about how our relationship with God works.

So, how’s that upwards dimension of your life?  Do you make time to connect with God in prayer and in the scriptures? 

And how’s the outwards dimension– do you find joy in serving others? 

It’s good to serve others. And as we serve others, it changes us. Rather than diminishing us, it makes us stronger. 

I was going to finish today with a joke about a large group of sheep, but I think you might have herd it before!

And you’ve heard this before too – Life in all its fullness is a life lived for God, serving others. 

Take that seriously because that is what will change you forever.

“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”