Lectionary Reflections  |  Indigenous Peoples

The Voice of the Shepherd
 By Carol Hampton
Friday, April 8, 2005
 

Lectionary Reflections for the Fourth Sunday of Easter (A)

Readings for Easter 4, Year A, Apr. 17, 2005

  • Acts 2:42-47
  • Psalm 23
  • 1 Peter 2:19-25
  • John 10:1-10

We are flooded with images on Good Shepherd Sunday -- the sheep gate, the shepherd, the shepherd's voice, sheep and the gatekeeper. Where do we see ourselves? Are we the sheep? Most people think of sheep as stupid, so obviously prefer not to be cast in that likeness. Clergy might think of themselves as shepherds, and one priest I know thinks of herself as a sheep dog. If we see ourselves as the shepherd, standing in, as it were, for Christ, do we provide protection for those inside the sheepfold? Do we call our flock by name in a gospel voice familiar to them?

Perhaps we see ourselves as the gatekeeper. In doing so, do we open the gate freely for all who ask for entrance? Or do we bar the gate and keep it tightly shut to keep others out? A gate is made to open and shut. It is neither a wall, nor is it a barrier. When Jesus says that he is the gate, he opens to admit all and closes to protect them. Jesus is the gate through which his own enter into his protection and move out when he calls them by name, as in baptism, into abundant life.

This gospel reading carries a certain exclusivity. The very nature of any revelation that claims to bring salvation excludes those who have not or choose not to hear the message. Yet, the gate opens to admit those who follow a different voice for the protection of all. The offer is open to all. When morning comes, the sheep follow the voice that they recognize as their shepherd. We follow Jesus because his is the voice that we know will lead us out to the lane that brings us to the heavenly city.

Jesus calls us to help keep the gate, to open the gate by opening Jesus' word, preaching Jesus' good news to those who have not yet heard it. Jesus calls us to shepherd his flock, to speak in a voice his own can recognize as coming from him. Do we speak with his familiar voice? Can others hear his voice in ours?

This gospel reading carries a certain exclusivity. The very nature of any revelation that claims to bring salvation excludes those who have not or choose not to hear the message. Yet, the gate opens to admit those who follow a different voice for the protection of all. The offer is open to all.
Sheep can tell the difference between their shepherd's voice and that of another. Sheep know who their shepherd is.

A few years ago, a friend and I were driving across the Navajo Nation to visit Steven Plummer, Episcopal bishop of Navajoland, when we came upon a flock of sheep grazing near the road. My friend asked me to stop and take a photograph of her with the sheep. As soon as she got out of the car, the sheep moved away, and, as she walked toward them, they again moved farther from the road. They would not let her get anywhere close enough for my camera to get both her and the sheep in the same frame. They did not know her or her voice and stayed safely far away.

Bishop Plummer, however, practiced his sermons by preaching to his sheep when he was first ordained. They listened to his voice, which they recognized. They stayed near to him knowing that they were safe there.

In our time, in our pluralistic society, there are many voices competing for our attention. We may lose the voice of our shepherd and go astray from time to time and fall into danger, perhaps following a voice that sounds strong and smart and seductive, but different. We may follow it down a path that leads us away from Christ. We may believe that we are including all people by denying who we are, and whose voice has called us. Whose voice do we follow and with what voice do we speak? What gate do we enter? What gate do we lead others to enter?

In this context, we should take heed of those voices that offer a prophetic gospel of God's justice, such as this publication, The Witness. It is a voice recognized and followed by its many readers. It is a gate that offers entrance out from our safe havens into a world that needs to hear the prophetic voice of Jesus granting us the gift of salvation. The Witness leads us to a gate that opens to admit all people who accept Jesus' gift of abundant life.


Ed. Note: The Rt. Rev. Steven Plummer, first Navajo bishop in the Episcopal Church, died on April 2, 2005, a few days before this article was published. A tribute to Bishop Plummer's life and ministry will be offered soon on The Witness, and archived in our "In Memoriam" section of the website.


The Rev. Canon Carol Hampton is curate at St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral in Oklahoma City, Okla. From 1986-98 she served on the national staff of the Episcopal Church, supporting Native American ministries and multicultural ministries. Carol's extensive work on Native issues in the church has included serving on the advisory board for the Indigenous Theological Training Institute. She may be reached by email at champton@stpaulscathedralokc.org.