[ The Forth Sunday of Easter in the Christian
Kalendar ]
The
works that I do in my Father's name testify to me;
but
you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep.
My
sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.
I give
them eternal life, and they will never perish.
No one
will snatch them out of my hand.
What
my Father has given me is greater than all else,
and no
one can snatch it out of the Father's hand.
The
Father and I are one."
- John 10 [The Gospel reading for Easter IV, Year
C, RCL ]
[ The complete Readings for this Sunday can be
found at:
Ultimately, who are “the sheep” who follow Jesus’s voice? Since I
believe that Jesus is an authentic voice of the one Mystery that we call “God”,
the answer to my question has to be “Everyone”. It has nothing to do with
adherence to any particular institution. Jesus is a voice of Compassion, of
Love (as well as of Justice, Kindness, Goodness) … and He is One with that
Divine Voice. Along, I believe, with other such Great Voices in human history.
A friend of mine (whom I have never met in person … ah, the Internet!)
raised the issue of the Boston alleged bombers, and of what can happen when ‘an "idea" is
more important than bodies, their own or those of others’. Dualism … the
separation of “body” and “spirit”. I’m not a great fan of all the various
so-called heresies which have been propounded during the millennia … but I
think that Dualism is a nasty piece of thinking. Not only are we a unity … but
we are One with both God and every other human being at the most fundamental
level.
Here is part of my response to him: “Jesus said, "Love your
enemies" … which statement Joseph Campbell thought the most difficult
three words in the Gospel … Is there a parallel, perhaps, in what these alleged
perpetrators did in pursuit of their "vision" (if there was one) with
what Bush/Cheney did in killing thousands of Iraquis and Afghanistanies, and
torturing hundreds of people for the "American vision"?? I think so.
Loving One Another, or our "enemies" … does not mean we have to like
them or approve/accept their actions … but the Gospel says we are to love
them … why? So that we don't diminish, first, our own humanity - as the Gospel
sees the nature of our humanity - or theirs. It does not mean that murders can't
be punished for vicious anti-social acts … it means we shouldn't do to them
what we would not want done to ourselves.”
Politically, a very hard row to hoe!
I continued: “Jesus saying (in my interpretation) to His
fellow Jews that every human being is to be a "sheep" of His
that can/will hear His voice - the voice of compassion, of love, of
sharing in the nature of the God of Love - and become one with God.
The "World" is the "World" … and we have to live in it,
yes, and it's not easy at times. But many wise people have pointed out that
when we completely deny anyone's humanity, we have demeaned and lost ours. It
seems to me that the World today is in a general state of whatever it is that
leads us to demeaning each other's humanity. The value of persons (despite, in
our case in America, our supposed value of the individual and individualism and
individual freedom, which in America we seem these days to support only for
those with whom we agree) has almost disappeared. Sad … and what Hell we create
for each other. Hitler did it perfectly, in seeking the dominance of the Aryan
race.
Balance (that quintessential Anglican virtue, until recently) is
critical. Extremism very often leads to violence. And extremism has its roots
in the failure to value the thoughts and personhood of others and in the
misconception that we are not related to each other. But the bell tolls for all
when it tolls for one. Jesus found His identity in His oneness with God his
Father … and he clearly (to me) wanted us to find it with God and by definition
with each other.
How long would it take to create understanding and Peace if we
started now? No idea. But I hope we don't go on the way we're going, or the
experiment of the human race may come to a short; brutal and ugly end.
Sometimes I think I'd rather have that than what we have now … after death
there is always resurrection!”
A challenging Easter message.
Goodness! So much to ponder on a quiet Saturday afternoon or Sunday
morning in the high desert of New Mexico! But I think we would do well to do so
as we ponder the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd of the Sheep.
(Pardon this unconscionable length! I’ve always been too verbose!)
Brian+
