If your house was on fire, and you had time to save only ONE possession before the flames engulfed it, what would you choose?
So, what would you save from that proverbial burning building? If you knew you could get in and out safely, (and all the humans and pets were safe) I would take my guitar. Now, let’s up the ante. What if you knew you would singe all the hair off your head and eyebrows, what would you go for? What if you knew you’d receive 1st and 2nd degree burns over any exposed skin? What if you knew you’d receive 3rd degree burns, and damage to your lungs via smoke inhalation for the rest of your life? Now it becomes a more difficult question, because answering it knowing the real consequences reveals to us what really matters. It tells us what we truly value.
In the same way, this Good Shepherd Sunday reveals that very truth to us. We know Jesus to be good precisely because of the price he was willing to pay for us, and the value he put upon each of our lives. If the sheep don’t matter, then there is no need nor desire to ‘lay down’s one’s life for them.’
If you think about all the people who mattered in your life – from the great teachers you knew, to the wonderful priests, to the family members and neighbors who impacted your life, I think you will find a common denominator. They all valued YOU as a human being. They all thought you were worth the effort and care and energy they put into loving you. Jesus says it this way in John’s gospel: “I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own…” That is what makes Jesus the GOOD SHEPHERD. Because of the value he puts upon you and me. We are worth dying for. We are worth running into the burning house to rescue. Even if it should cost Jesus his life.
In the book, The Last Temptation of Christ, the author Nikos Kazantzakis imagines the devil tempting Jesus to come down from the cross, to end his suffering. The devil is telling Jesus that all those people before him, all he sees from the cross in sees in his memory – are not worth all that suffering. Christ rebukes the devil, saying, “I would rather die than stop loving them.”
I would rather die than stop loving them!
That’s how much love the “good shepherd” has for us. We look at the crucifix and see the arms of Jesus stretched out — at that moment, we know that’s how much Christ loves each of us, you and me.
In less than 24 hours, our second grader will receive the Lord in the Eucharist for the first time. I wish you could see what I see in that moment. The kids coming to receive the Lord with such devotion. They get it. They understand what Jesus says to them, his sheep: “I know my sheep and my sheep know me… and I will lay down my life for my sheep.” And they understand that there are two parts to that – Jesus’ and ours. On Jesus’ part, he knows not only knows our name, but he knows our hearts as well. In the Communion we share with him, he tells us – there is nothing he won’t do for us. The cross tells us that he is good to that promise – of laying down his life so that you might have life. And He asks only that we “know him.” That we draw closer to Him each day by how we love Him and how we show that love to our family and our neighbors and our world. “I know my sheep, and mine know me.” That’s good news, isn’t it?
So, if your house was on fire, what object would you save from that burning building? I hope that none of us will ever have to face that choice, as one of our families had to this past fall. But our answer tells us a lot about what we value. On this Good Shepherd Sunday, we hear the answer of the Son of God – Jesus always chooses us… He always freely lays his life down for us. He would rather die, than stop loving us…