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John 10:11-18

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So, when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

Jesus is continuing a dialogue with the Pharisees. He has been using parables to speak about himself, using the language of shepherding sheep to try to teach them about who he is and the mission that God the Father has given to him. The Pharisees continue to not understand him because he claims to be uniquely the Good Shepherd, the Son of God, the one way to the Father. This is the sticking point with the Pharisees: how could one born of a woman be the Son of God?

In this morning’s Gospel, Jesus continues to speak of himself as the Good Shepherd, a pastoral image that would have been entirely familiar to his listeners that were intently listening to his dialogue with the Pharisees. The setting for this parable is that Israel is a conquered territory, a people subject to foreign rulers and a constant supply of false messiahs, each of whom claimed to be the one who would liberate the people of Israel from foreign domination. There were others claiming to be the messiah at the same time that Jesus is claiming to be the Son of God. The Pharisees were busy trying to discern who among this crowd of pretenders might be the hoped-for messiah. They have been particularly intent on their dialogues and disputes with Jesus because Jesus, unlike all the others claiming the title, was actually doing wonders and miracles, even raising the dead. No one could make the same claim, not since the time of the ancient prophets. The Pharisees, even though they have all the evidence in front of them, are having a hard time believing.

The truth is, no one can talk you into faith. Belief, yes, even intense belief. But faith is something entirely different from belief. The Pharisees believed that his miracles were true, but they could not make the leap into the realm of faith. And Jesus exhausts himself out of his great love with for them, and for us, trying to help them make that impossible transition from belief to faith, I say impossible because we are not able to make that transition on our own. It is only made possible by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus does all that he can do to lead us to the Father to lead us to a place where the Holy Spirit has room and time to speak to our hearts so that we might be transformed.

Now, Jesus says that those who are being transformed by the Holy Spirit will recognize that he is the good shepherd. He says that he is the good shepherd who dies for his sheep, something that none of the other potential messiahs will do. Jesus says that all of these other messiahs do not care enough to save the sheep from the “wolf”. Jesus rightly points out that all of these false messiahs are thieves and bandits, in it only for themselves. He alone will lay down his life for the sheep, something that they will only see after his crucifixion. Here, Jesus echoes the Old Testament prophets who spoke of leaders of Israel in the same terms, so Jesus probably speaks of them here – shepherds who are not worthy of the name. Many do listen to these other messiahs, only to be abandoned. We do the same today. We listen to so many voices promising us freedom, liberty, safety. Like the would-be political saviors of his day, our political leaders are thieves and bandits, and offer false freedom, false liberty, and false safety for our allegiance. How is it that we still listen to them and believe them?! How can we not see that not only are false saviors thieves, but they are also murderous…willing to destroy anyone and anything to gain power over others, to seduce people into turning to them for entrance into paradise?

But Jesus is the true shepherd, the only one who can offer salvation, the only one who can lead us to the Father. Only in Jesus may we find true life. Only in Jesus can we hope for salvation. Only Jesus offers us true sustenance, giving us his most precious Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist.

We are no different from the people of Israel at the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry. We are seeking saviors, both in the realms of politics and religion. America is not the only country facing intense political and cultural division. The promises of false saviors can be heard in every nation, and we can see the devastation caused by them in many nations. Why are we so susceptible to false shepherds? Why do we believe politicians who claim to be able to save us? I wish I knew the answer.

But I do have the answer about who is the one true Good Shepherd, who is the only one who will lead us to the Father. Only Jesus, the one who laid down his life for us and was raised again from the dead, is our savior. Only Jesus, among all the competing would be leaders and saviors from the beginning of the world to our present political and religious context, only he laid down his life for us and was raised to life again to sit at the right hand of the Father. Only Jesus can save us. Only Jesus can bring us into the pasture of God. Only in him can paradise be found.

My friends, Jesus is calling to us to follow him. Many others are also calling to us to follow them. Jesus said that his sheep will know his voice and follow him, and will flee from those who are false. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will find welcoming hearts in each of us, that we might be transformed by the renewing of our minds, the renewing of our hearts, and be given the grace to run to Jesus and to flee from the false promises of worldly saviors.

O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.