A-bun-dance

What did you think first? I was imagining such a myriad of cakes whizzing around having so much fun, more fun that they could imagine!

How does this relate to animals? Well, do you recall those moments on TV where animals have not performed as they should?

They were meant not to perform but live!

There was John Noakes, of Blue Peter fame, and the elephant;

there was John Noakes again and his sheep dog Shep;

and there were those Sheep Dog trials.

This is NOT how to do it!

These sheep are supposed to be taken across a field, well more like guided by fear and guile, by a solitary or pair of dogs. It’s a great spectacle on TV – although I wonder how it may have come across via the radio… [I only mention this after having listened for many hours in the Falkland Islands to Darts on the radio…]

What are the Sheep doing?

Anyway the sheep move as the dogs corral them following the calls and whistles, unintelligible to the rest of us. One whistle, the dogs move swiftly up the hill to the left, the next moment they have changed direction and have the sheep on their right. What is so evident is that the Shepherd ‘controls’ the sheep…but it isn’t mind control or by autocratic following.

Now Jesus is also often known as a Shepherd. This may be down to the use of such a title to past Kings from the Old Testament times rather down to Jesus’ use of whistling with two fingers. Jacob speaks to Joseph speaking of the protection from God, “by the name of the Shepherd” (Genesis 49:24b). David becomes King of all Israel, with God saying that “you shall be shepherd of my people Israel” (2 Samuel 5:2). Some would say that the image of a king as shepherd is older than the Bible and Hebrew tradition itself. It is part and parcel of the metaphors for a king (others include “Father,” “Warrior,” and “Sage”)  throughout the ancient Near East and it attested in Mesopotamian texts from a millennium before the Bible began to be written. The shepherd image is the ancient way that monarchs communicated, “I feel your pain.”

The Three-part Play : did we spot it?

Before we take you to the hillside to meet the sheep, we might need to cast our eyes back to the previous Chapter, as this parable is part of a three act play.

Act 1

In John 9:1-12 we read of a healing of a man born blind.

Act 2

This is from John 9:13-40 where, in verse 22, some or many may have been thrown out of the synagogue for believing in Jesus.

Act 3

Then Jesus in Act 3, John 1:10, reveals to the Pharisees that he is the Shepherd to keep the followers safe, safe from the Pharisees, the thieves.

So in John’s Gospel (John 10:1-10) we read a story, a parable; actually a paroimia, which refers to “hidden, obscure speech” *1. This depiction which describes how this shepherd constrains the sheep in a pen overnight, for their safety. Jesus is now the gatekeeper, protecting the vulnerable, keep corruption out of the ‘church’ : but what of the lost sheep?

The Sheep are released!

The sheep are released in the day time, they are free to roam. Yes, the Shepherd leads, but they know that call, that whistle of their Shepherd but they can move, go where they like…and live.

“That you may have life and have it in abundance. “

John 10:10

The word abundance, in the original Greek, perisson, means “exceedingly, very highly, beyond measure, more, superfluous, a quantity so abundant as to be considerably more than what one would expect or anticipate”, so refers to receiving something beyond our needs. It isn’t just having a lot of cake but having all that we need and more. I’m beginning to feel a bit greedy…but it is a free gift…if we wish it.

It’s also spiritual abundance not material prosperity.

Oh, but today’s advertising speaks of a transcendent understanding gained through the purchase of some trainers, or an iPhone or a lovely handbag, or an airline?

Whenever you get turned off by the adverts, – we’ve become selectively numb – that’s not abundant living. 

The first Christians were not from the affluent classes. Jesus spoke with those who were both rich and poor, but the message from God resonated with those who realised that having possessions is not everything (Matthew 6:25-32) Later Jesus says (John 17:3) that being with God is the key to truly abundant life.

How might you describe ‘life in all its abundance?

Rather than thinking that the Church as a top-down structure, perhaps it is more ‘flat’, perhaps like a rolling hillside? It ebbs and flows according to the context, us. The body of people are different but we are as one: as we would describe a flock. We are all there to support each other and also others outside of the flock – a sheep is sheep at the end of the day. I wonder if sheep recognise their Farmer’s mark?

How do we relate to those outside of our flock? What of those who do not hold to our faith?

The one thing these sheep, this flock, are not ….is constrained, as we are not. Don’t be constrained by what we have done wrong, but released in what God has enabled us to do, and be. Yes we may feel saddened at times, downhearted but on other occasions overjoyed. Abundant life envelopes of all of that, it’s not about ‘me’ but ‘we’.

We are released to have life, listening to God (what we call prayer), and share that abundance with all they we meet. We are released to have life, listening to God (what we call prayer), and share that abundance with all they we meet. That’s different. We may want to celebrate with some cake!

Be Released!

How might you now describe ‘life in all its abundance?

*1 Fowler, Donald. L., The Background to the Good Shepherd Discourse in John 10, (Liberty University, 1991) , https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/58820914.pdf, last accessed 0n 29 April 2020.