Sunday, September 8, 2024

Today's Scripture
John 10:19–30

Again the Jews were divided because of these words. Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is out of his mind. Why listen to him?” Others were saying, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.” (NRSV)

Reflection

Theologian and pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, imprisoned in Nazi Germany, posed the question from his cell: Who is Christ for us today? The identity of Jesus is both sure and enigmatic such that each generation attempts to answer in its own way. Depending upon the person, Jesus has been heralded as a messianic figure or a righteous prophet. But he has also been castigated as a criminal, called an irritant or a peasant whose reputation has been overblown. How we refer to Jesus depends not only on our reading of history or experience of faith, but also on our unspoken desires and deep-seated fears that tell us less about Jesus and more about ourselves.

That’s why the question of Jesus’ identity so often turns into a debate or an argument. This was certainly the case in Jesus’ own earthly time. At first glance, this passage and really John’s Gospel as a whole portray Jewish thought about Jesus as singular and negative. This is the bias of a community hearing John’s Gospel a generation into an acrimonious Jewish and Christian religious split.

The truth of Judaism in the time of Jesus was that the religion was a manifold witness and took on many different forms of practice, with various factions responding to Jesus in diverse ways. Even those Judeans and Galileans who followed Jesus argued over the nature of his messianic character and mission.

All this is a way of saying we are probably not going to resolve this debate by the powers of own faculties. There are no statistics, persuasive narratives, or track records of his followers that can definitively answer the question of who Jesus is and whether or not the reign of God he embodies is real. And yet, amid many opinions, the shepherd emerges.

Lying awake in the wee hours of the morning, I detect many sounds. The hum of the air conditioner, the siren song of cicadas in the yard, the pitter patter of the dog roaming the halls for a new place to sleep. But beneath them all, somehow my ears can pick up the faint cry of a child if she needs me. Christ the shepherd comes to us like this.

No matter how distant we might be, the Jesus that Christians come to recognize is the one who hears their cry and comes to visit them in mysterious but unmistakably real ways. Yes, we hear his voice, but he listens and finds us first.

Prayer
Faithful Shepherd, bend your ear and hear our cries. May your presence remind us that amid all the noise and the many opinions, you are still the steward of love for those who need your care. Amen.

Written by Joe Morrow, Associate Pastor for Evangelism and Community Engagement

Reflection and Prayer© Fourth Presbyterian Church

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