Already I’ve offended someone. Sorry, truly, I am sorry. It has never been my goal to shock or to offend, even though I say and do offensive things sometimes. Mostly because I don’t know how to say what I want to say without offending.
But I’ve stumbled over this passage for hours - well, days actually - and am still wishing I had assigned it to Chris this weekend. Just sayin’. Not because it is hard, necessarily. I can understand it. And I’m sure when you read it you will too. There is just something unsettling about it. Something, dare I say it, offensive here.
Wait, isn’t this the bible? What would be offensive? At least to us, anyway. We’ve accepted the authority of these words, we’ve allowed this book to guide our lives, to shape our experience, to govern out understanding, how could it be offensive to us?
Well, of course it isn’t. And it is. Sort of. Kind of. Depends on how you look at it. Maybe. ... Equivocating much? Take a look and see for yourself. If you dare!
John 10:11-18 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away-- and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father."
I can hear your confusion from here. What is difficult about this?, you are pondering. What could possibly be considered offensive here?, let the head scratching commence.
OK, let’s look at the easy stuff. This is a continuation of the previous passage. Last week Jesus said “I Am the gate for the sheep.” Now he says “I Am the good shepherd.” So, which is it? Well, are you an offspring or a parent? Are you a sibling or a neighbor? We’ve all got multiple roles to play. Jesus is searching for images that will make sense to us, that will connect with us. We need access and acceptance. Jesus is the door, the entrance, the way in to an experience of love and transformation. We need guidance. Jesus is the one who leads us.
And there it is. I know it seems innocuous to us. A no brainer to most of us. But we live in an “I got this” culture. “We don’t need no stinking leaders” is the mind-set. I once heard a commentator sneering at the passage in Matthew where it says that Jesus had compassion on the crowd “because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Mt 9:36) Paternalistic, was the cry. That’s the problem with religion, they would cry, it is a crutch, something to keep us down. We are meant to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. Our heroes are the ones who made it on their own, the self made men and women who take what is a raw deal and turn it into gold. Those who push themselves, who claw their way up, who ...
Whoa, slow down there, Sparky. OK, sure there are those “dog eat dog” types out there, but surely none of them are reading this bible study. We know better. We are ready to follow the Shepherd. So, no controversy here.
I know that. Just making a point. Just engaging in some literary banter. I know that we always turn to the shepherd when it comes to making decisions about how we will live our lives. I know that we will follow wherever He leads us, and do whatever He tells us to do. That we are ready and eager to live the life of faith that we are called to live, when we get a moment. In our spare time, Sunday mornings for sure, most of the time anyway, when we can squeeze it in. It is a busy life we lead, and we don’t always have room for everything that we would like to be able to do. Some days we are just getting by with the necessary stuff and are worn out before the extras. Like faith. Like life, abundant life.
Hmm. OK, maybe we all struggle with the idea of a shepherd. Of needing one, instead of being one, I mean. Maybe we too are more likely to say we can do it on our own than we need a savior. Maybe we are part and parcel of our culture more than we really want to admit.
I like the band fun. That’s how you have to write their name by the way: fun. Apparently there is a Scandinavian death metal band called Fun, so the pop group fun. had to change its name. Lover case f with a period at the end. fun. Anyway, I got their latest cd and just love it, (yeah, I’m an old guy, I still look for cd’s) but was caught out by one song. It is titled “One Foot,” and the refrain repeats the phrase “I'll put one foot in front of the other one.” Catchy, has this “just keep swimming” feel to it (Finding Nemo - keep up here). But when I listened closer, I was disturbed.
The second verse goes like this: “Happiness stumbled upon a chapel last night / And I can't help but back up when I think of what happens inside / I've got friends locked in boxes, that's no way to live / What you calling a sin, isn't up to them / Afterall, afterall I thought we were all your children / But I will die for my own sins, thanks a lot / We'll rise up ourselves, thanks for nothing at all / So up off the ground, our forefathers are nothing but dust now.” Then the refrain: “I'll put one foot in front of the other one / I don't need a new love, or a new life / Just a better place to die.”
Another slam against the church, and maybe we deserve it. We’ve spent more time calling out sins than we have claiming all as God’s children. But along with throwing off the authority of the church, comes the decision that we don’t need a savior “I’ll die for my own sins, thanks a lot.” OK, I get that, again, we probably need to take some of the blame for that kind of attitude. If we don’t live as though we are following a savior, but instead are relying on our own righteousness, then what else can we expect from our children?
But what really got me was what we are left with when we stand on our own: “I'll put one foot in front of the other one / I don't need a new love, or a new life / Just a better place to die.” The One who came that we might have life, weeps when his children only have aspirations for a better place to die. These are the ones for whom He was willing to lay down his life. These are the ones He wanted to gather in. These, and so many others who are wandering around out there harassed and helpless are in need of shepherd.
Which I guess means that maybe we should worry less about offending and work more on following, and welcoming, and loving, and laying down ... our tendency to be offended by those who don’t act like we do.
Shalom,
Derek
But I’ve stumbled over this passage for hours - well, days actually - and am still wishing I had assigned it to Chris this weekend. Just sayin’. Not because it is hard, necessarily. I can understand it. And I’m sure when you read it you will too. There is just something unsettling about it. Something, dare I say it, offensive here.
Wait, isn’t this the bible? What would be offensive? At least to us, anyway. We’ve accepted the authority of these words, we’ve allowed this book to guide our lives, to shape our experience, to govern out understanding, how could it be offensive to us?
Well, of course it isn’t. And it is. Sort of. Kind of. Depends on how you look at it. Maybe. ... Equivocating much? Take a look and see for yourself. If you dare!
John 10:11-18 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away-- and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father."
I can hear your confusion from here. What is difficult about this?, you are pondering. What could possibly be considered offensive here?, let the head scratching commence.
OK, let’s look at the easy stuff. This is a continuation of the previous passage. Last week Jesus said “I Am the gate for the sheep.” Now he says “I Am the good shepherd.” So, which is it? Well, are you an offspring or a parent? Are you a sibling or a neighbor? We’ve all got multiple roles to play. Jesus is searching for images that will make sense to us, that will connect with us. We need access and acceptance. Jesus is the door, the entrance, the way in to an experience of love and transformation. We need guidance. Jesus is the one who leads us.
And there it is. I know it seems innocuous to us. A no brainer to most of us. But we live in an “I got this” culture. “We don’t need no stinking leaders” is the mind-set. I once heard a commentator sneering at the passage in Matthew where it says that Jesus had compassion on the crowd “because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Mt 9:36) Paternalistic, was the cry. That’s the problem with religion, they would cry, it is a crutch, something to keep us down. We are meant to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. Our heroes are the ones who made it on their own, the self made men and women who take what is a raw deal and turn it into gold. Those who push themselves, who claw their way up, who ...
Whoa, slow down there, Sparky. OK, sure there are those “dog eat dog” types out there, but surely none of them are reading this bible study. We know better. We are ready to follow the Shepherd. So, no controversy here.
I know that. Just making a point. Just engaging in some literary banter. I know that we always turn to the shepherd when it comes to making decisions about how we will live our lives. I know that we will follow wherever He leads us, and do whatever He tells us to do. That we are ready and eager to live the life of faith that we are called to live, when we get a moment. In our spare time, Sunday mornings for sure, most of the time anyway, when we can squeeze it in. It is a busy life we lead, and we don’t always have room for everything that we would like to be able to do. Some days we are just getting by with the necessary stuff and are worn out before the extras. Like faith. Like life, abundant life.
Hmm. OK, maybe we all struggle with the idea of a shepherd. Of needing one, instead of being one, I mean. Maybe we too are more likely to say we can do it on our own than we need a savior. Maybe we are part and parcel of our culture more than we really want to admit.
I like the band fun. That’s how you have to write their name by the way: fun. Apparently there is a Scandinavian death metal band called Fun, so the pop group fun. had to change its name. Lover case f with a period at the end. fun. Anyway, I got their latest cd and just love it, (yeah, I’m an old guy, I still look for cd’s) but was caught out by one song. It is titled “One Foot,” and the refrain repeats the phrase “I'll put one foot in front of the other one.” Catchy, has this “just keep swimming” feel to it (Finding Nemo - keep up here). But when I listened closer, I was disturbed.
The second verse goes like this: “Happiness stumbled upon a chapel last night / And I can't help but back up when I think of what happens inside / I've got friends locked in boxes, that's no way to live / What you calling a sin, isn't up to them / Afterall, afterall I thought we were all your children / But I will die for my own sins, thanks a lot / We'll rise up ourselves, thanks for nothing at all / So up off the ground, our forefathers are nothing but dust now.” Then the refrain: “I'll put one foot in front of the other one / I don't need a new love, or a new life / Just a better place to die.”
Another slam against the church, and maybe we deserve it. We’ve spent more time calling out sins than we have claiming all as God’s children. But along with throwing off the authority of the church, comes the decision that we don’t need a savior “I’ll die for my own sins, thanks a lot.” OK, I get that, again, we probably need to take some of the blame for that kind of attitude. If we don’t live as though we are following a savior, but instead are relying on our own righteousness, then what else can we expect from our children?
But what really got me was what we are left with when we stand on our own: “I'll put one foot in front of the other one / I don't need a new love, or a new life / Just a better place to die.” The One who came that we might have life, weeps when his children only have aspirations for a better place to die. These are the ones for whom He was willing to lay down his life. These are the ones He wanted to gather in. These, and so many others who are wandering around out there harassed and helpless are in need of shepherd.
Which I guess means that maybe we should worry less about offending and work more on following, and welcoming, and loving, and laying down ... our tendency to be offended by those who don’t act like we do.
Shalom,
Derek
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