This Sunday - April 26th. 4th Sunday of Easter — Good Shepherd Sunday

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

Read online

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is also known as Good Shepherd Sunday because on this Sunday, every year, we read Psalm 23 and part of the 10th chapter of the Gospel of John, where Jesus says “I am the Good Shepherd”.  He also says, “I am the Gate”, but “Gate Sunday” doesn’t have the same ring to it.  

When we talk about Jesus as the Good Shepherd, our minds are filled with bucolic paintings in soft tones where Jesus lovingly and tenderly takes care of the sheep.  They’re comforting images, but what we may miss in the sentimentality is that the Good Shepherd presents Jesus’ leadership style. The Good Shepherd is one who protects and leads the sheep through self-sacrifice and love.  Going as far as to tell his flock to even love their enemies.   

This past week, our nation has been all a buzz about an image that our President posted that most have interpreted as him, portrayed as Jesus, healing a man.  Most of the conversation about the image has been about whether it is appropriate for a president to depict themselves as a deity.  I’m not going to wade into the debate about whether it was intentional or not, or if it was the president who made it or someone else.  (Luther’s explanation of the Eighth Commandment tells us to look at everyone in the best light possible and not jump to conclusions.)  Regardless of intentionality, the image is done in a style that is highly suggestive of a religious painting, and that is the way both supporters and detractors have interpreted it. 

Acknowledging that, I would like to point out the leadership style portrayed in the picture.  While the main figure appears compassionate, he is surrounded by war planes flying overhead and some sort of celestial soldiers descending from the sky.  This is paired with additional patriotic symbols such as the flag and a couple bald eagles.  It’s pretty clear that we’re not talking about the Good Shepherd here who gently leads and cares for their sheep.  And I say that, because while it is wrong to depict humans as gods, it’s also wrong to depict God in terms of human expectations.  Jesus provides substantially more peaceful metaphors for himself than he does violent ones.  It is clear from the Biblical account that Jesus was a non-violent leader who’s self-proclaimed image was the Good Shepherd.  When unchallenged violent imagery and metaphors are used to describe God, our understanding of God’s nature and how God functions becomes skewed.  

Maybe this is the reason why we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday every single year—maybe we need to celebrate even more often so that we remember that we follow a Good Shepherd first.

After reading the scriptures for this day, discuss the following questions with someone else:

1. What is your favorite image/metaphor for Jesus?  What does that say about how you think Jesus leads?

2. What is an image/metaphor that others use for Jesus that you do not like? why do you think they like it? 

3. Do you think there is a place for violence in imagery associated with Jesus?