The Voice of Promise

John 10:22-30

The disciples are getting impatient here. Jesus is going around healing people and prophesying and depending upon who hears and sees these things, people believe he is either a demon or the messiah. The disciples finally ask him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? Translated this means something like- When will you take away our lives? Jesus has been saying that judgment will come to those who do not follow Jesus so here they kind of confront Jesus and say okay if you are the messiah then when is this judgment going to happen? He says he has already tried to explain this to them and they still don’t understand.

This analogy of the good shepherd seems to be a partial explanation for what’s going on- My sheep hear my voice- they know me, they understand. It doesn’t tell us what makes them Jesus’ sheep. Why them? It also seems to be more complicated- the disciples time and time again don’t understand Jesus- to hear his voice- does this make them not his sheep? If the disciples aren’t Jesus’ sheep, who is? And then in true John fashion- there is a confusing explanation about sheep. It says, “Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, ²⁶ but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all^[c]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one”.

The disciples are missing the point- much like we do. I don’t think this is a “who is in and who is out” question like we tend to make it. Jesus isn’t saying that you will be cast out because you cant listen but rather showing frustration that unlike sheep we are not following his voice- frustration that we can’t seem to hear his voice.-  The father has you all in his hands. This isn’t about eternal life in the way you imagine- this is about those who can hear my voice like sheep to their shepherd and about what life can look like for them. This eternal life Jesus speaks of is not a life to come- but a life possible now. A life full of promise now.

Let’s take a step back and look at what it means to be a shepherd- maybe we can gain some insight from this role. A shepherd is known as the keeper of sheep- One account says the duties of a shepherd in an unenclosed country like Palestine go like this: “In the early morning he led forth the flock from the fold, marching at its head to the spot where they were to be pastured. Here he watched them all day, taking care that none of the sheep strayed and if any for a time eluded his watch and wandered away from the rest, seeking diligently till he found and brought it back. In those lands, sheep require to be supplied regularly with water, and the shepherd for this purpose has to guide them either to some running stream or to wells dug in the wilderness and furnished with troughs. At night he brought the flock home to the fold, counting them as they passed under the rod at the door to assure himself that none were missing. Nor did his labors always end with sunset. Often he had to guard the fold through the dark hours from the attack of wild beasts, or the wily attempts of the prowling thief.

Another account says, “The modern shepherd . . . has a wonderful memory, which retains the name of every sheep. The flocks sometimes contain several hundred, and yet each one has a name and the shepherd knows it, and calls every sheep by its proper name. . . . [One observer] tells of watching shepherds with flocks upon the slopes of Mount Hermon: ‘Each shepherd . . . trains his sheep to come at his call, to go in order, in twos or fours, in squares and circles; one from the outer circle in a flock of a thousand will come when its name is called.’ It is the voice of the shepherd that the sheep recognizes.

“A stranger once declared to a Syrian shepherd that the sheep knew the dress and not the voice of their master. The shepherd said it was the voice they knew. To prove this, he exchanged dresses with the stranger, who went among the sheep in the shepherd’s dress, calling the sheep in imitation of the shepherd’s voice, and tried to lead them. They knew not his voice, but when the shepherd called them, though he was disguised, the sheep ran at once at his call.”​—Orientalisms in Bible Lands, by E. W. Rice, pp. 159-161.

When we look at the shepherd it says a lot more about the relationship the shepherd has with his sheep than it does about the relationship the sheep have with their shepherd. These accounts say a lot more about how these sheep are claimed by the shepherd whether they listen to the shepherd or not. This is the analogy- we are not sheep but we should be like sheep- it would be easier- we would be closer to encountering God’s promises if we were.

What does the shepherd’s voice sound like to you? How do you recognize it? What promises does it speak to you? There are a lot of voices in our lives- demanding voices, persuasive voices, harsh voices, all wanting us to follow their voice.  This voice, the one of the good shepherd, this is a voice of promise

People hear this same voice and have 2 different reactions- 1 he is a demon- 2- he is the messiah. Same voice- how are there 2 entirely different understandings? How do you know it is a voice of promise rather than a voice of demise?

How do we discern the voice of the shepherd- the voice of promise?

Maybe we are reading this the wrong way- it’s not some of us are sheep and some of us aren’t- it’s that there is “sheep” in all of us.

The part of John which contains our text revolves around the multifaceted image and symbol of the sheep. It’s political, and it’s psychological and spiritual. John Petty says,

Psychologically, “sheep” refers to that aspect of a person that instinctively is able to hear the shepherd’s voice, and separate the truth from falsehood.  The early church father, Origen, said that sheep represent our irrational and instinctual nature.  This aspect of our psyche needs guidance but also has the ability to separate the “true shepherd” from the false one.

The “sheep” is the part of us that can tell the difference. The deception is deep nowadays. True claims and false claims that sometimes feel indistinguishable. People learn to become professional deceptors- trained at being able to lie and trick someone into believing something false. Have you ever explored the “sheep” part of you? That part of you that instinctively knows the difference between right and wrong, when you are being deceived?

Are you in touch with your sheep side? Do you trust yourself to know the difference between truth and falsehood? Whose voice we choose to follow will direct our whole lives. This is no small matter for us. From a young age- many voices vie for our attention and commitment to follow.

If this is a voice of promise- what is the promise? That might help us to know how to distinguish the voice of promise from that of falsehood.  We see that the promise is eternal life but like I touched on earlier maybe this doesn’t mean what we think it does. N.T Write says, “ In other words, Jesus has inaugurated, ushered in, the “age to come.” But there is no sense that this “age to come” is “eternal” in the sense of being outside space, time, and matter. Far from it. The ancient Jews were creational monotheists. For them, God’s great future purpose was not to rescue people out of the world but to rescue the world itself, people included, from its present state of corruption and decay. “ The promise is to rescue the whole world- not to take us from it and live forever in some other place but to have this place be the place where all the gifts of God are to be realized.

The two main takeaways here is that the voice of the shepherd is one of promise- promise of eternal life but that is not something to come- it is something that has already been ushered in and here for the taking- if you have the eyes to see and the ears to hear. The second takeaway is that we are all sheep- we are all claimed by God and this eternal life is offered to all of us- the question becomes- will you be able to hear the shepherd’s voice? Will you be able to distinguish it from all the other voices? When someone tries to “dress up” like the shepherd- will you be able to tell by the words what it is- a falsehood?

Today is Mother’s Day- a day that is to honor of all the mothers. It attempts to elevate 1 voice but instead diminishes so many- the thousands of women who feel pain and loss from not being able to have children or from losing them. The thousands of women who are made to feel like their decision to not have children is less than. It takes one day to acknowledge mothers and then spend the next 364 blaming them for how their kids turn out and putting unnecessary burdens and guilt on moms and all that they do. I’m sure the holiday means well and for some maybe it does- but for so many, it misses the mark- or doesn’t accomplish its intended goal- to show appreciation. In many ways, the celebration of Mother’s Day is society’s voice not because God doesn’t want to honor mothers but because this way is too exclusive, too small, and inconsiderate to do it justice. We also have heard in the news this past week the leaked court decision on row vs. wade and wherever you stand on that issue it is clear that only some voices are being heard, that some are louder and become the ones to follow. What I see in scripture is that the shepherd’s voice is one of fierce compassion and empathy. Today as we wrestle with the complexity of what the holiday of mothers day may mean for some and the complexity around the issue of what it means for women to have rights to their own bodies, I pray we can discern where the voice of the shepherd is and that as the sheep we will be led toward it. Can you find the voice of promise in these things?

“Let’s try this again”

Sermon John 21: 1-19

You know the phrase, “If at first, you don’t succeed, try try again?”. Well, when we told our family that I was pregnant my sister-in-law got us each a mom/dad coffee mug, and the one for dad says “if at first, you don’t succeed, call dad”. Hey, at least it doesn’t say call Jesus.  This has been my motto- if something goes wrong with my taxes or my insurance or my car. Etc. I don’t normally try again- I call my dad. The thing is sometimes he knows the answers but a lot of times, he just gives me the encouragement to take the steps to try again. I guess at the age where he also doesn’t have to pretend to have all the answers anymore. I wonder if trying again and calling dad aren’t so different.  Many times we try again not from our own will or motivation but from that of a loved one. There are many times we probably would have given up if someone else wasn’t counting on us or hoping for us. When I was in high school and I would leave my headlights on and my car battery would die- frequently. I would call my dad and ask what to do although after a few times I already knew what to do or how to troubleshoot if at first it wasn’t working but there was something about calling my dad that I needed. There is something about someone directing you, leading you that helps motivate you. Like when you find someone to go running with you because you know if someone isn’t expecting you to show up, you’d never get off the couch although you could.

In our text today, Jesus again reveals himself- and again not by sight but through action. The disciples know it is Jesus by what he does. They were out fishing all night because that is how they make a living- the disciples are back to their daily lives and routines because life must go on. They fish all night and it says they caught nothing- just as the dawn is breaking through a man on the beach says “cast your net again” and they do and lo and behold their net becomes filled with more fish than they know what to do with. Then they realize this man on the beach is Jesus.

 “Let’s try this again” Jesus suggests to them “let’s try this again”

When I think about the idea of trying again, I think about physical feats- a person learning to walk again after a leg amputation- an athlete yearning to get back to their pre-injured abilities. Success when it comes to physical situations like this comes after thousands and thousands of “trying agains”. You have to do it over and over and over and fail over and over and over- that is the only way for the possibility of progress. And then one time as you try again- you get the intended result. But only after countless times of not getting that result. This is the process of rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is the act of restoring something to its former self or ability. Trying again is the action of rehabilitation.

We seem to accept this concept of trying again or rehabilitation with examples like the ones I just mentioned but not so much when it comes to things that have to do with our minds, our emotions. I’m not sure if we have too high expectations for ourselves or we have some arrogance but we have way less patience when it comes to trying again in other areas of our lives. Trying again at a new business venture, trying again to get a job you like, trying again in your marriage, trying again to reach that goal. We seem to accept rehabilitation when something physical happens when something is physically broken but not so much when something is mentally or emotionally broken. When something is physically broken we have learned to accept it because it’s fact- it’s science. But what about when we are mentally/emotionally broken? Even to say that seems intense, dramatic- unnecessary. But why? When we get rejected from a job we spent hours and hours mentally preparing for and getting our hopes up about and hoping that all our hard work has finally paid off and after 3 long interviews you don’t get the job-not that I have had any experience in this particular scenario- it would seem, one would feel broken. That you would need some restoration, some rehabilitation before you do it all over again. You would need to get back to the self you were before that process well, broke you. We wouldn’t tell someone who just ran a marathon to run another one the next weekend- they need some time to get back to where they were.

I wonder if this is still part of our stigmatization of mental health. It’s still hard for us to equate going to a doctor when you are experiencing physical sickness to going to a therapist when you are experiencing mental health problems. We can’t seem to fully break free of this dichotomy that is inaccurate. Maybe if they honestly felt more the same than when we hear the voice in our ear, saying, “Let’s try this again” we would be much more likely to do so.

The first story in our scripture is Jesus encouraging the disciples to try again with something physical- fishing. In the second story in our scripture Jesus asks Peter to try again but this time it is not something physical- but something that requires much mental and emotional work- a relationship.

We might ask what does the second half of this scripture today have to do with the first? Well, the second half of this dialogue Jesus has with Peter is Jesus acting out this idea of trying again. One of the most respectable things to me about Jesus is he isn’t just talk. He backs up his beliefs, teachings and words by acting on them. In the first story, it feels like a teaching- Jesus is imparting some wisdom on us. Keep trying. It’s possible for a different outcome. But now in this second story- Jesus is a main character- not a narrator or a supporting role- Jesus shows us how to try again, how to rehabilitate.

 Earlier before Jesus’ death, Jesus said he would pray for Peter and his faith but Peter insisted he was ready to follow Jesus to the cross but Jesus said to Peter, I tell you before the rooster crows 3 times you will betray me and he did. Peter tried to follow Jesus and he couldn’t – he wasn’t ready. Jesus knew this. But here we see that Jesus is asking Peter to try again because this time he knows he can. The symbolism here is really cool. Jesus asks Peter 3 times if he loves him- so many times that Peter is hurt that Jesus won’t take him at his word but Jesus does this 3 times because that is the amount of times Peter betrayed Jesus. In this exchange, Jesus is rehabilitating Peter. Peter needs to be convinced that he loves Jesus and he won’t betray him again not Jesus. This exchange is not for Jesus it is for peter.

“Let’s try this again”

This story shows us that Jesus believes even the worst-case scenarios are worthy of being rehabilitated. I mean not long ago, Peter literally denounced Jesus, not once, not twice but three times. How can you come back from that? He didn’t mess up a little- he messed up a lot. How is Peter supposed to trust himself again? How is Jesus supposed to trust Peter? How can they have a fruitful relationship again? But Jesus thinks they can and that it’s worth the work to make it happen. So let’s look at what Jesus does. He asks Peter 3 times if he loves him but after each time Jesus also gives a command- if you love me, feed my sheep. If you love me, tend my sheep and then again, if you love me, feed my sheep. Jesus does something interesting here though. The first two times he asks Peter if he loves them he uses the word agape- which means unconditional love and the third time he asks Peter when peter really understands what Jesus is doing and it sets in how painful it was for Jesus when Peter denied him, he uses the word Philio which means a brotherly love. The first two words for love- agape I think refer to Jesus restoring Peters’s role in the ministry- if you love God unconditionally you will serve God. But this third word for love- Philio which was very purposeful is personal- this is Jesus saying I want to restore our relationships as friends- as people who love each other.

Jesus restores the friendship that was broken. Jesus restores Peter’s role in the ministry. He is elevating Peter’s role and relationship to him- it didn’t just go back to the way it was. It became even greater than it was before. By telling Peter to feed and tend his sheep, he is giving Peter new responsibilities, greater responsibility, showing that he trusts him.

It seems that Jesus just decides to give peter another go- he didn’t do anything to deserve it, we don’t even really see Peter do anything to show that he’s changed or a reason to believe it won’t happen again. But Jesus just decides to give him another chance and so he essentially says to Peter, “let’s try this again”.

This time it will work and not only will it work, but it will be greater than you realize it could be. Peter ended up being one of the great leaders of the church. The one who only days before, denounced Jesus out of fear. With God, how bad you messed up doesn’t matter. How bad the timing was or how recent it was., doesn’t matter. How underserving you feel to try again or even if you don’t have any hope left to try again doesn’t matter. Jesus is actively saying to you, “let’s try this again”

What might Jesus be referring to in your life? What in your life needs to be rehabilitated?

This is the resurrected life- life filled with restoration and rehabilitation. Life that is full of second chances and hope that it’s always worth trying again. What do you need to be ready to try again? Is it someone believing in you? Do you need rest? Do you need a doctor? Do you need time?

Jesus is inviting all of us, “Let’s try this again.” May we be courageous enough to do so. Amen.