Longing for Relationship
Easter 4C
Psalm 23; John 10:22-30
4/25/10
Lorraine Ljunggren

        “It was the festival of the Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon.” (Jn. 10:22-23)

        Yes, it is still the Easter Season but we're going back today to engage Jesus in a section of John's Gospel which speaks to us of Jesus as a Shepherd and God's people as the sheep whom Jesus serves and loves.

        When we're very young we might liken ourselves to cute little lambs. When we're growing up the image of Jesus with a lamb on his shoulders is very comforting – at least it was to me. I always liked stained glass windows showing Jesus with one or more little lambs at his feet. These images of Jesus as the Good Shepherd conjure up feelings of being safe and being close to God because as children we're taught that Jesus is close to God.

        But my guess is very few of us as adults or teens like to think of ourselves as fully grown sheep. They are, after all, not the brightest of animals on the planet. There is a herd mentality to sheep which chafes against our modern self-concept of hardy individualism, independent-mindedness, and self-sufficiency. But, if we think about it, these latter descriptions of our self-concept can be quite limiting and seek to put ourselves at the center of the universe which can isolate us from healthy relationships with others. We humans get in all kinds of trouble when we begin to think that we can go it alone. But we also get in trouble when we thoughtlessly follow along with a crowd like a herd of sheep. We have only to look at the way social media like Facebook or IM-ing or texting can be misused to bully or spread rumors about people. Blogging, too, can either be divisive, coming between people, or it can build relationships, forming community. The test of our individuality and of our group associations comes when we ask if our attitudes and actions demonstrate love of God and love of neighbor. Does a relationship with God inform and shape who we are in all parts of our lives? This question is important for us as people of faith or people seeking faith.

        The professor I had for Church History writes, “The Bible uses the metaphor of shepherd and sheep over and over to describe the relationship between the faithful and God… The force of these metaphors…is…in the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep. … the essence of the relationship is dependence, love, and trust. 'My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me,' Jesus says.” (The Rev. Dr. Donald Armentrout, Synthesis, 2010)
        When I read this, I immediately wrote this note to myself: “We all long for relationships on which we can truly depend, on love that withstands life's trials, and on trust that is real and unwavering.”

        Those of us living in the post-modern Western Hemisphere struggle with the issue of longing for these things in our lives but knowing all the while we live in an age far removed from the One called the Good Shepherd. What are we to do when we can't actually see the One offering us a relationship of healthy dependence, lasting love, and life-long trust, or at least seeing some sign that leads us to believe. After all, we are not among those who walked with Jesus in the portico of Solomon or who broke bread with him on the shoreline of the Sea of Tiberias after the Resurrection.

         “Our Western mind has been formed by the notion that belief is based on evidence. The scientific method depends on the formulation of an hypothesis, which we then test by experimentation. … [So we get used to thinking that] belief is firmly rooted in observation and evidence collected in support of it. John's [Gospel], however, says that even this will not be enough. After all, those to whom Jesus speaks have been observing him for some time now. Even [Jesus] acknowledges that the testimony of his works is not enough for this group.” (Terry Parsons, Synthesis)

        In John's Gospel Jesus' 'works' are 'signs' of who he is and who we are to be in response. The works are like clues to a mystery or signposts to the way that leads to what John would term 'eternal life.'

        Think back to the signs – the wedding at Cana in Galilee where Jesus participates in an extraordinary act of hospitality – the Samaritan woman at the well where the traditional gulf of separation between Jew and Samaritan, between man and woman are overcome – the healing of the official's son who lay dying of a fever – the healing of a man who had been ill for thirty-eight years, a healing which takes place on the Sabbath showing that helping others is an act of holiness even on the holiest day of a week.

        Then there is the feeding of the five thousand – something one commentator notes is beyond scientific possibility but nonetheless tells us something vital about Jesus. (Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, Conversations with Scripture: The Gospel of John) When a woman is accused of adultery, Jesus shows us that forgiveness is powerful and is central to the ways of God and that all of us are in need of forgiveness. A man born blind is given his sight – a story which can remind us that all of us at some point cannot see that which in our lives is in need of restoration and reconciliation.

        To me these signs point to the enormity of God's love – to the reality that God's love knows no bounds. That if we are willing to open our hearts and minds to this – to what I believe is an eternal truth, then the gift of faith and authentic belief can be ours.

        I know “There are times when [we] want to stop working at faith and just be washed in a blowing wind that tells [us] everything.” (Don DeLillo, quoted in Synthesis) But, “The deep chasm of uncertainty that stands between the known and the possible has no bridge except our own choice to believe.” (T. Parsons)

        Jesus' signs point us to him, yes, but they also demonstrate clearly that the way to life in God is found in our welcoming of the stranger, in our healing and feeding others, in our caring and compassion, in our working for justice, and ultimately in our loving.

        Love of God and of neighbor is a key which can unlock hardened hearts. Love can redeem the hurt of many wrongs. Love can heal divisions. Love can change the systems of society and of religion.

        Some of us live in the sure and certain hope that God in Jesus the Christ is ever present. But for those of us who struggle with belief or struggle to believe in Jesus, in God, in the Holy Spirit, I believe we still share common ground. We all long for relationships on which we can truly depend, on love that withstands life's trials, and on trust that is real and unwavering.

        I believe sincerely and with all my heart we can find them by following the Good Shepherd, by opening our minds and souls to the love of the Good Shepherd and the One Who Sent him. Amen.
©2010 Lorraine Ljunggren