This Sunday is the fourth Sunday of Easter, a season of fifty days. As stated earlier in this blog, every Sunday is a "little Easter."
In some Christian churches, it is also celebrated as "Good Shepherd Sunday." The lectionary text is John 10. The heart of Jesus' teaching is drawn from the relationship of a shepherd with his sheep.
Jesus' use of the image constituted a shift in the 1st century understanding of shepherds. Shepherding was a despised vocation to most. But Jesus rescued the image for His use and returned to the more cherished understanding employed in speaking of God and the Israelite kings of earlier times.
Therefore, today's lesson and worship rightly celebrates the shepherd as good. What joy to sing "Savior, like a Shepherd, lead us."
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