The shepherd imagery is used extensively in the Bible arising as it does out of an agrarian society where the relationship between shepherd and sheep was well understood. But as distant an image it may seem to us today nevertheless you can still observe Bedouin shepherds and their little flocks in the hill country of Judea. In the Biblical scriptures the shepherd image is used for God as in the 23rd psalm; it is used for political leaders like King David, the shepherd king; and it is used for religious leaders as by the prophet Ezekiel. In the Christian scriptures it is used for Christ himself who calls himself the good shepherd. And flowing from that usage we gain the words Pastor and pastoral in relation to Christian ministry. All ministry is pastoral that is based on the shepherding of Christ. So it is that the bishop carries a crozier or pastoral staff or shepherds crook as a sign of that link.

But while this is all important and familiar background to the shepherd imagery of the Bible and the church it is good to look at a familiar text like today's gospel reading and see what it has to say to us. Today's gospel comes from the first part of John Chapter 10, the “Good Shepherd” chapter. The first thing that will strike you is that Jesus does not actually say “I am the good shepherd” in this reading. That comes later. Rather he says something much more mysterious and less obvious and that is “I am the gate”. Now although that is one of the seven famous “I am” statements in John's gospel, it is the least well known or celebrated. For instance although good shepherd windows abound I have never seen one depicting “I am the gate”. I would be interested if you know of one. But returning to the text the shepherd related imagery comes thick and fast. There is talk of thieves and bandits and strangers and of sheep coming in and going out. You sense atmosphere of divisiveness in the text: us and them. What this is reflecting is the context when the gospel was being written of the division between the synagogue and the church. But even more importantly within the text itself the Good Shepherd imagery follows on from the story about the man born blind. It provides a commentary on the previous situation where the Jewish authorities give the man born blind who now sees through Jesus' healing a rough time casting him out of the Temple. In both situations, the initial context and the later context, there would have been little doubt who was whom. Sister Deborah Magdalene gave us a fine commentary on those tensions and divisions two weeks ago.

There are three aspects of today's readings which I wish to highlight.

The first is the relationship between the Good Shepherd and his sheep. “He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.” All of us know the importance of our names; the right use and pronunciation of our names. We do our best to remember each others names. Sometimes that is hard work but we know its importance. There is nothing quite like hearing your name read out as a recognition of something done or achieved or mentioned in an intercession list. But Jesus calls us all by name and we respond to his familiar voice. But he does not only call once; rather he calls and calls and never stops calling us; calling us to follow him. How often we set off with good intentions and then get distracted. But Jesus the loving shepherd does not give up on us. Today we celebrate the calling of twin boys, Jack and Leo, in baptism; all of us have been called by the Good Shepherd; it is that call we celebrate in our baptism. That call and our response establish the pastoral relationship. We are bonded with the Good Shepherd; we know his voice and respond accordingly.

The second aspect of the reading I wish to note is the saying “I am the gate”. We are familiar with the concept of the journey of faith. Last Sunday we heard the Road to Emmaus gospel which is one of well known biblical journeys and a model for the life of faith. But what I like about the saying “I am the gate” is that it is a reminder that before any journey can be made we need to know both that there is a journey to be made and also where to begin it. Jesus calls us to follow him and provides the way into the journey. It is only in and through Jesus that we can indeed follow him who is the Way and the Truth and the Life. Some people find that concept somewhat exclusive. Are there not other ways to discover truth and life? As Christians our Resurrection faith is that this Jesus, Crucified and Risen, is the Way, the Truth and the Life. We are called to follow him; to enter his gate; to walk in his way. That is the good news of the gospel; that is our hope; that is God's promise to us. To affirm that is in no way to abrogate or deny other religious insights or ways of expressing ultimate truth. But we do believe this and proclaim it: that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior and the one through whom we enter into eternal life.

That brings me to the last aspect of the gospel. Jesus said: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” I just love that phrase “abundant life”. It seems to me to summarize what the Christian Gospel is all about. For me Jesus came human in order that we might truly discover our full humanity; that what we had lost through our sin and denial would be restored by Christ's death and resurrection. John uses the imagery of the garden and the new Adam in relation to the Risen Christ as I pointed out on Easter Day to highlight this same theme. Abundant life! What a wonderful term. Not life that is narrow, self centered, unfulfilled, limited or deprived. But life that fulfills it potential; that brings out the best in the person; that opens up possibilities and opportunities. It is this abundant life that lives according to the great insights that this is God's world: that God made it and loves it. That each human being is made in God's sight, in his image and likeness and is therefore precious in his sight. And that all of us are called into the heart of God's love: that we have a future of eternal proportions which is the basis for our hope and confidence. It is all these dimensions that make our life abundant. And it is that abundant life which is celebrated in every baptism, our own and those we baptize today. We rejoice that our loving God who is like a good shepherd; calls us all by name to follow him in his way and provides the access to the journey of faith which leads us to abundant life, life in all its fullness.  Amen

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