Following Jesus
John 10:22-30[1]
The church in our
day is known for a lot of things.
Unfortunately, not many of them are positive. At least not in our
culture at large. In our day, the church is known for things like covering up
serious abuses by the clergy. At the same time, it’s known for heaping loads of
guilt on people who don’t seem to “fit in.” The church in our day is known for
manipulating people into giving what amounts to huge sums of money. Almost in
the same breath we could say it’s known for spending extravagant amounts of
money on itself. Or at least it is known for the extravagant amounts of money
its “leaders” spend to create their own versions of the lifestyles of the rich
and famous. I’m not sure that much of what the average person on the street
thinks about church seems very positive.
In our Gospel
lesson for today, Jesus makes some interesting remarks about what characterizes
those who at least claim to follow him. In the first place, he calls them “my
sheep”! While that is a familiar image in the Bible, I’m not sure it’s one that
makes following Jesus attractive in our society. Being a “sheep” means not
having the ability to stand up for oneself. Being a “sheep” means blindly
following someone else, even when that person doesn’t deserve our loyalty.
“Sheep” are meant for “shearing,” and in our world, that means being taken
advantage of by those who are unscrupulous and deceptive. Being a “sheep” isn’t
an image that most people would embrace in our day.
Nevertheless
Jesus calls those of us who would follow him “my sheep.” I think at least a
part of what he is saying is that those who seek to follow Jesus belong to him.
Not only does he give his “sheep” eternal life, but also Jesus says very
pointedly, “No one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28). So part of
following Jesus, part of being one of his “sheep,” is that we belong to him. I
find that aspect of being a “sheep” to be comforting. In a world so full of
uncertainty, injustice, corruption, and even violence, it is a comfort to know
that no one can snatch us away from Jesus.
More than that,
Jesus says that those who follow him are his “sheep” because they listen to
him. He says, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me” (Jn.
10:27). Earlier in this chapter, he
makes a similar statement: “I know my own and my own know me, just as the
Father knows me and I know the Father” (Jn. 10:14-15). Those who belong to
Jesus know him in the same way that Jesus and the Father know each other. They
hear his voice and follow him. That seems to me to be a remarkable way to
describe the church: the fellowship of those who know Jesus, who hear his
voice, and follow him.
Of course, that’s
easier said than done. Talk of hearing voices in a religious or spiritual
context can make people think you’ve lost touch with reality. And the claim
that “God told me” has been used and abused in every conceivable way. Yet, when
it comes down to it, what Jesus says distinguishes those who belong to him is
this: “I know my own and my own know me” and “My sheep hear my voice. I know
them, and they follow me.” It would seem to me that some kind of spiritual
relationship with God is at the heart of what it means to be a follower of
Christ. And that includes an active attempt to know God, to hear God’s voice,
and to put into practice what we hear.
I don’t think
that means that we turn loose all moorings and leave the church at the mercy of
whatever someone claims God told them. For one thing, I think we can assume
that the voice of God in in our day will speak in a way that is consistent with
the Scriptures as the primary witness to the living interaction between God and
the human family over the centuries. So paying attention to the Scriptures can
help us in our effort to listen for the voice of God. Another check on an
“anything goes” approach to spirituality is that we tend to hear God’s voice
better when we do so in community with others than when we are listening alone.
I think a final test for the quality of our attempt to listen for God’s voice
has to be the fruit it bears in our lives. If our discernment of God’s voice
leads us to be more patient, more kind, more merciful, more understanding, more
loving—in short, if it leads us to live in a way that is more like Jesus—then I
think we’re on the right track.
At the end of the
day, however, there has to be some kind of effort on our part to actually seek
God. That is an essentially personal endeavor. You can do it together with
others, but no one can do it for you. In order to do that, you have to finally
give to God that place in your heart that you usually reserve for the things
you cherish most in this life. Somewhere in your being you have to make the
decision that seeking God’s presence is a vital part of your life. Sometime you
have to decide in your heart that aligning your life with God’s will and God’s
way is of central importance. Somehow you have to come to the place in your
soul where you realize it’s essential to at least try to listen for God’s
voice.
When I think
about his, my first thought is a question: Can you imagine the response if the
church came to be known as the people who belong to Christ, and who seek to
listen for his voice? Can you imagine what would happen if the church became
known as the people who know Christ and who truly seek to follow him? I’m not
sure I can. But I’d like to try.[2]
I think we have to begin by making the decision that listening for God and seeking
to follow Christ is something vital to our ability to experience what Jesus
called “eternal life.” When we are living out the mercy and compassion of
Christ, it seems to me that we’re doing a pretty good job of listening for God.
Then maybe we can become the kind of people who are known for knowing Christ
and for seeking to follow him.
[1]
©2019 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 5/12/2019 at
Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.
[2]
Cf. The Book of Order 2017-2019, F-1.0301
(p. 2), where we say that we believe we are called to demonstrate in our life
as a community that “in Christ, God is making a new creation,” which is “a new beginning
for human life and for all things” that has occurred in Jesus Christ.
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