Fear or Wonder
Can everyone come together as one?
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. - John 10:14-16
One of the most thought-provoking lines in today's Gospel reading is the statement by Jesus that there are other sheep not of this fold who will be brought together.
Who can they be?
He could be talking about the Gentiles who will be baptized by Paul or maybe others as well.
We tend to interpret the talk of the sheep fold as if it is heaven, and when we do that, we get all wrapped up in discussion about who will be be accepted in and who will not.
But what if Jesus is not talking about heaven at all? What if he is focused on hearing the Word of God and living in it with security and protection from harm?
All who come may be all who hear his voice and know what he says is true.
What today's reading causes us to ponder lies at the heart of our faith. Do we believe in Jesus because of his promise of eternal life, or do we accept the promise because we believe in Jesus?
In other words, if he didn't tell us that we could experience life after death would we choose to live this life by the golden rule? Or would we live by a different example?
When we choose to help one another, because we truly love one another, we feel differently, about ourselves as well as about others. We become one with our neighbors.
That is life within the flock.
For most of us, death is a once in a lifetime experience. Some face it more than once and come back to tell about it, but most of us can only imagine what it will be like.
We have a choice. We can imagine it with fear or we can imagine it with wonder.
Jesus offers a life of wonder now. Let us imagine a world changed by His presence, and by ours.
And all will come together as one, enjoying the security of the words made flesh.
Each day we choose how we will approach the world. Let us make this day a good one.
More to come...