Dear Friends,
We hope this week's devotional will encourage you in your spiritual walk. We give thanks to Rev. Pam Reed, Registrar and Student Support, for writing this for us.
You are welcome to share this and include it in your church newsletters if you wish; we just ask that you please give credit to NTC and the author. Thank you!
John 10:1-10 (NRSV)
10 “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7 So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Devotional: The Good Shepherd and His Sheep
As a child, I didn’t know much about sheep. Growing up in tropical North Queensland, the farms I saw had cattle, sugar cane and tropical fruits, but no sheep – it was too hot and too wet. So biblical images about sheep meant nothing to me. And even for those living in parts of Australia and New Zealand where sheep are plentiful, the realities of how sheep are raised and handled doesn’t match the understanding people in Jesus’ day had about shepherds and their relationships with sheep.
Our Gospel reading this week, and our Psalm (23), both refer to the Good Shepherd – the one who provides food for his sheep and protects them from harm. This is no large-scale grazing operation. This shepherd knows each of his sheep by name, and presumably, by characteristics – temperament, personality, strengths, weaknesses. This shepherd has an intimate relationship with each sheep – the sheep recognise his voice, respond to it, and find safety in being with the shepherd.
Do we as sheep stay close to our shepherd (Jesus)? Do we recognise Jesus’ voice and not confuse it with the voices of others who might lead us astray? Can we imagine what love is shown by our shepherd for each of us as individual sheep? Our God wants us to stay close to him, to accept his discipline, and to grow in connection with others through community.
As we reflect this Easter season, there’s another link to the motif of sheep and shepherd. In John 21:15-17, Jesus calls on Peter to care for his sheep. Peter isn’t asked to become the Good Shepherd (the sheep are still Jesus’ sheep), but he’s asked to tend them as Jesus would. Similarly, our Saviour and Lord asks us to care for those he cares for. We, as mature sheep connected to our Shepherd, need to encourage other sheep to also stay close to and listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd, who knows us each intimately and wants us to grow in his love.
Prayer:
Jesus, our Good and Divine Shepherd, help us always to stay close to you and listen to your voice. Help us to curb our natural desire to do things in our own way and in our strength, and learn to seek your guidance and strength in every situation. Thank you that you accept us despite our imperfections, and ask us, like Peter, to assist you in caring for your sheep. Amen.