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I
grew up in Brooklyn, New York in the ‘50s. We lived in a two family house in the
Bay Ridge area. I recall those years as a beautiful, carefree time of life. At this time
while doors and fences marked certain boundaries, it was not always necessary to lock our doors. And
when we did lock them, my father kept a key in the milk box on the porch or
left one with our upstairs neighbor. Our ability to come and go was carefree and
safe. However, in later years when both my parents worked, I, as the oldest of
my 2 siblings, was entrusted with that key. In time concern for safety
appeared to be heightened and more attention was paid to locked doors and
security. I know I was older and more aware of the news of the day but times
were changing. We were a little less carefree and the world was not as safe as
it was before.
Gates and doors provide protection and security as they are the means for going
in and out of a home or place. They also serve as boundaries to permit entry
and exit. In today’s Gospel (John 10:1-10), Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is portrayed as a “gate” and a caretaker. Our frame
of reference for a shepherd may not likely fit with the image of the shepherd
in the time of Jesus. Is there any more powerful artistic depiction of Jesus,
the Good Shepherd in our Christian heritage? For me the famous painting of
Jesus with the lamb draped over his shoulder that was hung on the wall in one
of my grade-school classrooms, and one of our church’s stained glass windows
said it all. Yet, in Jesus time and John wrote his Gospel, shepherds were among
the most disreputable and mistrusted outcasts of society. Shepherds were drifters with no fixed address and
because of their occupation, they were perpetually unclean and, therefore, in
violation of Jewish law. They did not own the sheep they tended; they were “mere”
stewards. These outcasts are the very people John’s gospel is referencing.
But John challenges his listeners to look past assumptions of ownership and that which belongs to God. God’s sheepfold has no boundaries and is not demarcated by any sign or symbol. God’s sheep include any and all of us. They include those who are considered outsiders, who exist on the fringe of the community, who are despised and even a little feared.
When
Jesus proclaims that “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me”
he characterizes his role as a loving protector. We are told that there was no
actual gate in sheep-folds and that the shepherd would stand, sit or lie down
in the opening which allowed entry and exit. In this way the shepherd could
serve as protector of his sheep. He knew his sheep and they knew him. John
purposely contrasts Jesus, the Good Shepherd, with disreputable religious
rulers of his time who exploited their congregations for their own benefit.
Jesus clearly spells out his role as the Good Shepherd and steward when he
says I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can
take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than
all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are
one
