I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD.

Jesus says, I am the Good Shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. John 19:11.

St. John, Chapter 10 abounds with imagery of the shepherd, the sheep and the sheep fold. What exquisite imagery this is and how comforting to those fortunate enough to hear it and to listen, really listen, to it.

I grew up, for a time at least, in sheep farming country in Northern England in the home country of the famous Lakeland Collie. These dogs are a feature of the countryside in that part of the world and my grandfather, who loved being out in the country would often take me to watch the shepherds and their collies working the sheep.

I also spent a lot of time on the farm my other grandfather had on the Isle of Skye. It was for me a magical thing to watch him controlling three collies as they brought the sheep together and down the mountainside. Grandpa would whistle and each dog knew if the whistle was for them and exactly what it meant.

The Palestinian shepherd in Jesus’ time did not work like that. He led his sheep to and from the pasture and they followed him obediently and with complete trust. That is the kind of shepherd to which Jesus draws our attention and He Himself is the supreme example.

Christ, the Good Shepherd was foretold through the prophet Isaiah, He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom and shall gently lead those that are with young. Is. 40:11.

In that, Isaiah was also foreshadowing the great promise of the Resurrection. Jesus is alive and full of the genuine shepherd’s love for His sheep. He lay down His life for His sheep and rose to vanquish death and care for them.

His care is an extraordinary thing. He cares for us as a flock. But He also cares for each of us as an individual. Every sheep in the flock is important to Him, I know my sheep, He says, and that word, know, is pregnant with meaning.

We may say, “I know my wife”, or my son or daughter. But that is a terribly shallow knowledge compared to what Jesus means when He says, I know my sheep.

He knows our every need.

He knows our inmost thoughts.

He knows our happiness and sorrow.

He knows our faith.

He knows our trials and tribulations.

He knows our mistakes and our fears.

He knows when the wolf is closing in on us and we need that extra bit of protection.

We cannot begin to comprehend the depth of this knowledge He has of us until we read His words, I know my sheep, in conjunction with the statement, As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father.

That is an expression of the perfect intimacy which exists in the three persons of the triune God. The Holy Trinity is undivided and the intimacy between Father, Son and Holy Ghost is undivided. What the Father knows, the Son knows and the Holy Ghost knows.

Jesus is telling us, you, me each and every one of us, that He knows us, the Blessed Trinity knows us, with that same, intimate depth of knowledge intrinsic to the Trinity itself. A knowledge with no boundaries, or barriers, internal or external.

But more than that, we are loved to exactly the same degree and Jesus proved that on the Cross on Good Friday. I lay down my life for the sheep, Jesus says and on another occasion, Greater Love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13.

He did lay down His life, and we are His friends. Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring. The fold to which Jesus refers is the Jews. The other fold, of course, is the Gentiles, which includes us. Salvation through the Cross is for all.

And there shall be one flock, and one shepherd. Division and divisiveness are not part of God’s plan. There is one flock, one body of Christ, in which we are all members,

We are united through the Cross and through the Resurrection of our Lord. And we are united by His command, There shall be one flock and one shepherd.

Right there, in the Cross, the Resurrection and the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, there is everything that unites us as Christians. What divides us is of man’s making, or worse, and we have no basis for accepting or asserting the validity of anything which contravenes the Law of God, contradicts His expressed requirements or confounds His plans.

What unites us as Christians is infinitely greater than what we may suppose divides us. What should drive us is a sufficient love for our Lord to be fully compliant with His wishes.

Jesus says, I am the Good Shepherd and the sheep shall hear my voice; and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The word is shall, not should, so this is a command, not a suggestion. When our Lord issues a command it is for our benefit, not His and the benefit is easy to ascertain, because it is spelled out by Jesus.

The wolf catcheth them and scattereth the sheep. Scattered the sheep are vulnerable. Together, united in the flock, they are safe, safe in the care of the Good Shepherd, who laid down His life to keep them that way. And now, our Risen Lord is here to lead us to the invulnerable security of His great sheep fold. Listen for His voice, the voice of the Good Shepherd, calling us to Him, calling us constantly, insistently.

It is the voice of love and when we hear it, we are His and He is ours.

Alleluia! Christ is Risen, Alleluia!

Peter Jardine+

Easter II, 2006