Title: Third Sunday of Easter, May 8
Contents
for the sheep
John 10:1-11, Ezekiel 34:11-16
Even now, there are nomads called 'Badwins' in the wilderness of 'Syria' in the Middle East. They keep their distance from civilization and live without electricity, wandering the wilderness with tents and a few necessities. The purpose of their wandering is not for themselves, but for the sheep. One day, a visitor from another country asked a nomadic elder about living with sheep in a tent. “How can sheep and humans live together?” Then his answer. “When the sheep are full, we are happy, and when the sheep are hungry, we do not eat.” There is another group of companions in the wilderness wanderings of the Badwins. They are hiding. Wolf. Wolves accompany them along the path they travel. Again the elder says: “We know that wolves are always with us and are watching us. The wolf roams around the tent waiting for us to fall asleep.” the visitor asks. “Then someone must be awake?” The elder answers briefly. “A dog guards at night.”
In the middle of a desert with no people, Badwin prays first thing every morning when he wakes up. For them, breakfast is 'another God-given blessing'. After praying, I always lead the flock to a place where there is grass and water.
With Badwin's story alone, we can read and see the words of John 10 as a single picture. ‘Truly, truly, I say to you. A thief and a robber who does not enter the sheepfold through the door but crosses over. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the door to the shepherd, and the sheep hear the shepherd's voice. The shepherd calls his sheep by name one by one and leads them out. After all his sheep are laid out, the shepherd goes ahead, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. The sheep do not follow the stranger because they do not know the voice of the stranger.’
Here, the Lord calls Himself “the one who entered through the door.” The shepherd finds the sheep in the pen and enters the door. Then he calls his sheep one by one and leads them outside. ‘We’ are good ‘hideouts’ for sheep, but not all. What does a shepherd do? They lead the sheep to where they are supposed to be. There are also strangers who prey on sheep. A shepherd sacrifices his life to protect his sheep. The sheep are not afraid because there is a shepherd. Because there the shepherd and the sheep are one. The shepherd knows where the sheep are supposed to be. The sheep must always be provided with fresh grass and water, the source of life.
These are the words of the Lord to us who are living the week of the Resurrection. The Lord referred to Himself as the “Good Shepherd” and “The Gate of the Sheep.” This declaration is special to all of us who have “witnessed the events of the Resurrection.” The Resurrection is the event that led us from the ‘us’ of the ‘Law’ to the ‘Garden of life’ of the ‘Gospel’ (Psalm 23). It is an event that a being who thought that the shadows reflected in the cave were everything, finally saw a world full of light. ‘I have come so that they may have ‘life’ and have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his ‘life’ for the sheep’ (John 10:10-11).
The word ‘life’ in verse 10 in Greek means ‘zoe’ ‘holy life’ and ‘eternal life’. The word ‘life’ in verse 11 refers to ‘suke’ ‘a person’s life’. The Lord testified of ‘the cross and the resurrection’ with two different words. By killing the life of the flesh (Suke), the Lord has given us the holy life of God, eternal life (Joe). This is the precious grace we received through the resurrection.