“A question of motives”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Sunday, April 21, 2024 John 10:11-18 (Forward, p. 83) CEV p. 1115
Today’s passage contrasting the hired workers (hirelings, in older translations) and the true shepherd is quite revealing and quite appropriate given what many commentators say about the modern workplace. While workers of a previous generation were committed to their job or company and had a loyalty to their coworkers and their ‘boss’, these commentators say that these days this often not the case. The job is expendable and they’re ‘in it’ simply for the wages or the experience. When the time is ‘right’ they are quite willing and able to move on and may actually be looking for the chance.
This certainly applies to today’s passage. The hired workers or hirelings were simply ‘in it’ for the money and did not really care about the welfare of the sheep. When trouble erupted, danger arose, they were quite happy to cut their loses, save their own skins, and flee for their lives. The sheep, sad to say, were left in the dust, left to fend for themselves, expendable.
The true shepherd, the good shepherd, was in no way like this. Jesus says that this kind of shepherd actually ‘lays down his life for the sheep.’ And, in practice, this was literally true. The sheepfold did not have a door as such. It simply had an opening across which the shepherd would lay down at night. Any thief or predator wishing access to the sheep had to go through him first. He was literally ‘laying down his life for the sheep.’ And why is that? It was because the sheep were his, they belonged to him and were precious to him, and he cared for them. His motivation was entirely for the sheep, unlike that of the hired workers, the hirelings.
And that is exactly how it is with Jesus and us: He is not looking out for Himself, not at all. His motivation is entirely for us. He loves us and values us dearly. That is why, in an entirely different sense, He was willing to lay down His life for us. Thanks be to God for such a love and care as this. Amen.
Forward notes: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep” (verses 14-15).
“For shepherds, shearing is an essential task, important for the animals’ health, hygiene, and overall well-being. Growing up in sheep country, I observed this mesmerizing job many times. The shearer holds a sheep and begins working the legs, then the underside, with the animal continuously struggling against the clippers. The wool comes off in thick strips, exposing the sheep’s tender skin. When all the wool is shorn, the animal is released, free of its heavy coat. The sheep may be wobbly and disoriented before regaining balance and heading for the pasture.
“Jesus, as a good shepherd, takes care of his sheep, including in times of difficulty. We sometimes struggle against God’s spirit. We may become wobbly and disoriented and need help regaining balance. We may expose tender vulnerability. But, like shearing, Jesus’s work doesn’t end there. Jesus gave his life for the sheep. He gave his life so he could take it up again. And so we could take it up again. And again.”
Moving Forward: “What is your vision of Jesus as the good shepherd?”