It’s easy for Christians to fall into a rut: Church is a thing you do, prayer is a box to check, and faith seems far from “the real world.” This fall we let Jesus himself confront our ruts. “Do you believe this?” he asks (Jn. 11:26).
To believe in Jesus is to experience him. It’s more than logic, argument, and doctrine. It is intimate knowledge of God himself. This fall, let Jesus himself speak to you in his seven “I AM” statements in the gospel of John. How is he changing you? What response is he inspiring in you? To believe in him changes everything.
Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Ponder:
Today we ponder the I AM statement: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Ponder the ways that Jesus is a shepherd. Look up descriptions of a shepherd on the internet. Search for videos on You Tube that show a shepherd and sheep. Ponder how Jesus is a “good” as a shepherd, as opposed to a hired hand.
Word
John 10:16
“… So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
Meditation: In Good Company by Megan Roegner
Last Sunday, I listened to my two youngest children enthusiastically sing along to “I Just Wanna Be a Sheep,” and I was struck at just how countercultural those lyrics are.
Who really wants to be a sheep?
In 2017 Merriam-Webster added the word “sheeple” to the dictionary. They define sheeple as “people who are docile, compliant, or easily influenced.” In a country with an ethos that celebrates rugged individualism, who wants to admit to being docile and compliant? We are encouraged to be leaders, not followers; to be unique, not just part of a flock.
Of course, if our leaders weren’t so fallible, so frequently disappointing, perhaps following would be more celebrated.
When Jesus tells those fallible leaders, the Pharisees, that he is the good shepherd, we know, even if they didn’t, that he is a different kind of leader. One whose leadership is service and self-sacrifice. He leads for the wellbeing of his sheep, not his own glory.
With this kind of leadership, following has its own kind of honor. It is based upon trust and love, not compliance and fear. It is based upon faith, and it is nourished by the fellowship of the flock.
One of my favorite songs is “The Valley” by Canadian songwriter Jane Siberry (although I fell in love with it through the Wailin’ Jennys’ cover). “The Valley” is inspired by Psalm 23, but instead of the point of view of a “sheep” speaking about the shepherd, in the song a sheep is encouraging her fellow sheep. The speaker sings of the unpredictability of following:
You walk through the shadows
Uncertain and surely hurting
Deserted by the blackbirds and the staccato of the staff
And though you trust the light towards which you wend your way
Sometimes you feel all that you wanted has been taken away
What happens to the sheep in the back of the flock, where they might not be able to see the shepherd? Maybe when it is hard for us to sense his presence, we can turn toward the rest of the flock. Siberry’s lyrics continue
I love the best of you
You love the best of me
Though it is not always easy
Lovely? Lonely?
We will walk in good company
There is security in unity, in being just one sheep among many, if only to remind us that even if we are lost, our shepherd won’t abandon us. I love how “The Valley” ends with a rapturous exclamation, as the struggling sheep can finally see the shepherd again.
The shepherd upright and flowing
You see!
Jesus never leaves us, but sometimes our vision fails (sheep aren’t known, after all, for their perpetual wisdom). How blessed we are, then, to have the comfort of following with a flock.
Dear Shepherd, thank you for your servant leadership, for always finding us when we are lost. We also thank you for your Church, for the unity and fellowship we have as believers. Help us to support and love one another and to continue to add new sheep to the flock. Amen.
Prayer
Jesus, you said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” There are so many voices that lure me to danger. Tune my ears to hear your voice. Be good to me. Shepherd me away from trouble and toward green pastures. Amen.
Benediction
May the love of Jesus draw us to himself;
May the power of Jesus strengthen us in his service;
May the joy of Jesus fill our souls;
May the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be upon us always. Amen.