Shepherd Archives - Renewed Heart Ministries

The Good Shepherd and a Socially Just World

Posted on April 19, 2024 by Herb Montgomery

Herb Montgomery | April 19, 2024

Our reading this fourth weekend of Easter is from the gospel of John:

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep 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 are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” (John 10:11-18)

This reading lands in the center of what Jesus scholars have labelled the “I am statements” in John’s gospel. Jesus is:

The bread of life (John 6)

The light of the world (John 8)

The pre-existent “I am” (John 8)

The good shepherd (John 10)

The resurrection and life (John 11)

The way, the truth, and the life (John 14)

The true vine (John 15)

Rita Nakashima Brock and Rebecca Ann Parker do an excellent job of documenting how, before the Christian faith tradition wedded the Roman Empire and while it was still socially oppressed by the Roman Empire, a very common image of Jesus in Christian art was Jesus as the shepherd. Our world was a pastoral landscape that Jesus the shepherd was restoring to paradise.

Before Jesus is enthroned in imperial Christian theology, art, and the Christian imagination as imperial ruler or as a tortured victim of the crucifix, he was shepherd, teacher, and healer. We find this image in the canonical gospels.

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’” (Luke 15:4-6)

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish. (Matthew 18:12-14)

In Matthew’s gospel, the son of man of the apocalyptic book of Daniel also comes as a shepherd.

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. (Matthew 25:31-33)

The gospels repeatedly imagine the people Jesus ministers to as healer and teacher as sheep without a shepherd too:

“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.” (Mark 6:34) “ . . . the lost sheep of Israel.” (Matthew 10:6) “ . . . the lost sheep of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24)

The image of a shepherd and sheep also has deep roots in the Jewish wisdom and justice tradition of the Hebrew prophets:

“I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken. I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of savage beasts so that they may live in the wilderness and sleep in the forests in safety. I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. The trees will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them. They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid. I will provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations. Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them and that they, the Israelites, are my people, declares the Sovereign LORD. You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign LORD.” (Ezekiel 34:23-31)

Here in Ezekiel, this imagery is used to convey the ethics of a distributive justice for a society where the threat of violence, injustice, and oppression are no more and there is enough for everyone to thrive. The imagery of a Shepherd is used to portray our world as a paradise restored and a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone.

Micah also uses this imagery for a similar purpose:

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

though you are small among the clans of Judah,

out of you will come for me

one who will be ruler over Israel,

whose origins are from of old,

from ancient times . . . He will stand and shepherd his flock

in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.

And they will live securely, for then his greatness

will reach to the ends of the earth.

And he will be our peace . . .” (Micah 5:2-5, italics added for emphasis)

The shepherd brings social healing and teaches us the way of life: the path of love for one another where each of us makes sure we all have what we need.

In our reading this week, John’s gospel describes Jesus as a shepherd who is personally invested in the well-being of the sheep, more than a “hired worker” would be.

This Jesus also names “sheep of other folds” who are part of the restoration of paradise. I think the immediate meaning of this label is other Jesus communities that existed at the time the gospel was written, not just the Jesus community that recognized the apostleship of John, but also those who honored the apostleships of Mary Magdalene, Peter, and Thomas. John’s gospels does a good job here and in chapter 20 of making the Jesus movement tent big enough for each community. It was a time of development in the early church when some communities were competing with others for power, deeming themselves as the genuine Jesus community and other Jesus communities as less-than. Some churches today similarly claim to be the true church with other churches being some kind of counterfeit. And some religions seek to establish themselves as the only legitimate way to access the Divine rather than looking for the universal wisdom or the unique life-giving wisdom faith traditions have to offer to all of us. “Other sheep not of this fold” who belong just as much as us and to whom we are connected is a much more life-giving way to look at others in our world.

But John’s imagery of Jesus as shepherd still ends with a cross. In true Johannine fashion, the death of Jesus is not characterized as we read in Mark, Matthew, Luke and Acts, as an unjust state execution that is overcome by the resurrection. Here it is a mere portal to life that no one forces on Jesus but that he embraces freely so he might take his life back up again.

I’ve spent a lot of time this Easter critiquing John’s version of the death of Jesus as contrasted with the synoptic gospels and the book of Acts. Here let me just say that the Johannine community’s interpretation of Jesus death, like most of the rest of John’s version of the Jesus story, is different than the synoptics’ version. (For a more detailed critique of interpretations of Jesus’ death that focus on his dying rather than the good news of the resurrection, see For God So Loved the World?)

We may all interpret the events of the Jesus story differently today. But what binds us together is commitment to the way of love, life, and justice as we perceive in the golden rule, the sermon on the mount, and the other ethical teachings and values of the Jesus of our stories. In the end, it’s not about how we read or interpret the supernatural or metaphysical elements of these ancient Jesus stories. The point of all these stories is that we learn again to relate to one another in a way that shapes our shared world into a safe, compassionate, just home for us all.

Discussion Group Questions

1. Share something that spoke to you from this week’s eSight/Podcast episode with your discussion group.

2. How does the imagery of Jesus as shepherd and this world as his pasture inform your own justice work today? Share and discuss with your group.

3. What can you do this week, big or small, to continue setting in motion the work of shaping our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone?

Thanks for checking in with us, today.

I want to say a special thank you to all of our supporters out there. And if you would like to join them in supporting Renewed Heart Ministries’ work you can do so by going to renewedheartministries.com and clicking donate.

My latest book Finding Jesus: A Fundamentalist Preacher Discovers the Socio-Political and Economic Teachings of the Gospels is available now on Amazon in paperback, Kindle and also on Audible in audio book format.

As always, you can find Renewed Heart Ministries each week on X (or Twitter), Facebook, Instagram and Meta’s Threads. If you haven’t done so already, please follow us on your chosen social media platforms for our daily posts. Also, if you enjoy listening to The Social Jesus podcast, please like and subscribe to the SJ podcast through the podcast platform you use and consider taking some time to give us a review. This helps others find our podcast as well.

You can watch our new YouTube show called “Just Talking” each week. Todd Leonard and I take a moment to talk about the gospel lectionary reading for the upcoming weekend. We’ll be talking about each reading in the context of love, inclusion, and societal justice. Our hope is that our talking will be just talking (as in justice) and that during our brief conversations each week you’ll be inspired to also do more than just talking.

If you teach from the lectionary each week, or if you’re just looking for some thoughts on the Jesus story from a more progressive perspective within the context of social justice, check it out, you might like it. You can find JustTalking each week on YouTube at youtube.com/@herbandtoddjusttalking. Please Like, Subscribe, hit the Notification button, and leave us a comment.

And if you’d like to reach us here at Renewed Heart Ministries through email, you can reach us at info@renewedheartministries.com.

Right where you are, keep living in love, choosing compassion, taking action, and working toward justice.

I love each of you dearly,

I’ll see you next week.

Now Available on Amazon!

Finding Jesus: A Fundamentalist Preacher Discovers the Socio-Political & Economic Teachings of the Gospels.

by Herb Montgomery

Available now on Amazon!

After two successful decades of preaching a gospel of love within the Christian faith tradition Herb felt like something was missing. He went back to the gospels and began reading them through the interpretive lenses of various marginalized communities and what he found radically changed his life forever. The teachings of the Jesus in the gospel stories express a profound concern for justice, compassion, and the well-being of those in marginalized communities. This book navigates the intersections between faith and societal justice, and presents a compelling argument for a more socially compassionate and just expression of Christianity. Herb’s findings in his latest book are shared in the hopes that it will dramatically impact how you practice your Christianity, too.

New Episode of JustTalking!

Season 2, Episode 8: John 10.11-18. Lectionary B, Easter 4

Each week, we’ll be talking about the gospel lectionary reading for the upcoming weekend. We’ll be talking about each reading in the context of love, inclusion, and societal justice. Our hope is that our talking will be just talking (as in justice) and that during our brief conversations each week you’ll be inspired to also do more than just talking.

You can find the latest show on YouTube at

Season 2, Episode 8: John 10.11-18. Lectionary B, Easter 4

or (@herbandtoddjusttalking)

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Announcing a New Podcast from RHM!

The Social Jesus Podcast

A podcast where we talk about the intersection of faith and social justice and what a first century, prophet of the poor from Galilee might have to offer us today in our work of love, compassion and justice.

This week:

Season 1 Episode 2: The Good Shepherd and a Socially Just World

John 10:11-18

“This imagery was used to convey the ethics of a distributive justice for a society where the threat of violence, injustice, and oppression are no more. Where there is enough for everyone to thrive, a world that is safe for everyone. Before Jesus was the Crucified in Christian theology he was the Shepherd. And this early shepherd imagery calls us to check the kind of world we are choosing to create for each other.”

Listen at:

https://the-social-jesus-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/good-shepherd-socially-just-world

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Category: Esights, Liberation Theology, Social Gospel Tags: Ecological Justice, Economic Justice, Feminism, Immigration Justice, Lectionary Reading, LGBTQ Justice, Liberation Theology, Paradise, Racial Justice, Restoration, Safety, Sheep, Shepherd, Social Justice

A Different Iteration of our Present World

Posted on June 16, 2023 by Herb Montgomery

We want to say a special thank you to all of our supporters out there. If you would like to join them in supporting Renewed Heart Ministries’ work you can do so by going to renewedheartministries.com and clicking donate.

This Week’s Episode of Just Talking Available on YouTube

New Episode of “Just Talking” Now Online!

Season 1, Episode 17: Matthew 9.9-13, 18-26. Lectionary A, Proper 5

You can find the latest show on YouTube at https://youtu.be/MAYBXFTYygY

or (@herbandtoddjusttalking)

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Thanks in advance for watching!

A Different Iteration of our Present World

Herb Montgomery | June 16, 2023

To listen to this week’s eSight as a podcast episode click here.

If we are choosing the unmentioned themes over the centerpiece of the Jesus stories, we have to ask ourselves why we are avoiding the central tenet of Jesus’ teachings in favor of a future or individual, privatized, and inward focus that leaves us unconcerned about social injustices and leaves our unjust systems unchallenged and unchanged.

Our reading this week is from the gospel of Matthew:

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were troubled and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. (Matthew 9:35-10:8)

The first thing that jumps out at me in this week’s reading is the connection between the preaching of the kingdom and acts of healing. The kingdom was to be linked in people’s hearts with the act of healing and liberating them from whatever they were suffering in the here and now. To really get our heads around this, let’s first look at Jesus’ compassionate response to those who were troubled and helpless.

Our reading says that when Jesus saw the crowds, he “had compassion on them, because they were troubled and helpless,” like sheep without a shepherd. He then spoke to his disciples of a plentiful harvest with too few laborers to go out and get it. There is a lot to unpack here.

The Christian church has historically used the image of a harvest as a metaphor for Christian evangelism. But that doesn’t work in this context. Why would Jesus respond to people being oppressed and being helpless by calling for more workers to save souls for heaven. There is a disconnect with this passage that I don’t often hear folks point out. “Harvest” in this passage speaks of something much different.

First, Jesus’ people were troubled, harassed, pushed to the edges and undersides of the empire, and helpless to do anything about it! Jesus then speaks of a harvest. It helps to think of harvest through a more Jewish lens, one that Jesus himself would have used. A harvest metaphor makes a lot more sense given that context.

In the Hebrew scriptures, the harvest was associated with justice: everyone receiving enough to thrive from the hand of the God of the Torah. In fact, the people weren’t even supposed to harvest the entirety of their fields so that those living in poverty could go and glean enough to survive (Leviticus 19:9-10, Leviticus 23:22, Deuteronomy 24:19-22).

When Jesus responds to people being troubled and helpless by saying that the harvest is plentiful, he’s confessing that everything needed for their thriving is present but that the people are being prevented from accessing what they need. Picture a field full of grain but hungry people being prevented from being able to go into the field and harvest the grain they desperately need in order to be fed (see Matthew 12:1).

What Jesus was calling for was access to rights being denied. It was a call to society-wide justice in the face of an elite few who were prospering economically at the expense of the masses. Jesus’ God was sending sunshine and rain on all equally (Matthew 5:45), so if any did not experience what they needed to thrive, we must ask ourselves who was preventing them from receiving what they needed. What Jesus is calling for when he calls for workers for the harvest, then, is not evangelists religiously saving souls for post mortem bliss, but those who work for social justice.

The kingdom that Jesus preached is also associated in the reading with exorcisms and healings. In the book Journeys by Heart: A Christology of Erotic Power (this month’s recommended reading from RHM), Rita Nakashima Brock points out that, in the Jesus stories, exorcisms were associated with political liberation (Mark 5:9) while healing stories were often associated with social liberation (Mark 5:25). Again, the kingdom, whatever we make of it today, was about people experiencing a liberation marked by them receiving enough to thrive. The kingdom was Jesus’ vision of a world where no one had too much while others didn’t have enough.

Now let’s return to this kingdom theme in the Jesus stories. In the synoptics and the book of Acts, Jesus’ gospel was not about getting to heaven. And as important of a corrective to abusive religion as the idea has been, Jesus’ gospel was not about a God who loves you. Don’t misunderstand me here. Both heaven and God’s love are important themes and have been life-giving to many Christians. But they simply aren’t Jesus message in the synoptics or the book of Acts. In fact, in Acts, where the gospel goes out to all the world, the disciples do not mention hell, heaven as a destination for us, or Divine love. What the gospel does proclaim is “the kingdom.”

Consider the following passages.

After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news [euangelion – gospel]!” (Mark 1:14-15)

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news [euangelion] of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. (Matthew 4:23)

As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. (Matthew 10:7-8)

But he said, “I must proclaim the good news [euangelion] of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” (Luke 4:43)

Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ (Luke 10:9)

So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news [euangelion] and healing people everywhere. (Luke 9:6)

But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. (Acts 8:12)

Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. (Acts 19:8)

Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. (Acts 20:25)

They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus. (Acts 28.23)

For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance. (Acts 28:30-31)

Today the language of kingdom is problematic. Many no longer believe a kingdom is the best way to organize human society, and many subscribe to some form of democracy, not a kingdom. Secondly, a kingdom is deeply patriarchal and not the best language for the egalitarian world Jesus envisioned in his teachings.

Today we can and should call it something else. Many do. One of my favorite alternatives is Kelly Brown Douglas’ language of “God’s just future already breaking into the present.” I’ve written at length on various life-giving ways we can envision Jesus’ kingdom in chapter 5 of my book Finding Jesus. Whatever we call it, Jesus’ kingdom preaching was about a world that is compassionate, safe, just home for all, especially prioritizing those our status quo is marginalizing and making vulnerable to harm.

Too often, when people speak of the gospel today, they’re aren’t referring to Jesus’ vision for a world where no one is harmed in the here and now. If they do, they receive the pushback of being “too political.” I find this sad. As Jesus followers we should not see people being harmed as a tool to be exploited by a political party, but as people who are objects of Divine value and worth, people who are being harmed, and people who we are called to care for. It’s fine to be passionate about heaven and God’s love, but not at the expense of Jesus’ kingdom. If we are choosing the unmentioned themes over the centerpiece of the Jesus stories, we have to ask ourselves why we are avoiding the central tenet of Jesus’ teachings in favor of a future or individual, privatized, and inward focus that leaves us unconcerned about social injustices and leaves our unjust systems unchallenged and unchanged.

Jesus’ kingdom calls each of us to participate in choosing and creating a different iteration of our present world, a world that is a safe, compassionate, just home for all.

HeartGroup Application

1. Share something that spoke to you from this week’s eSight/Podcast episode with your HeartGroup.

2. How does this more “kingdom” focus in our passage this week shape your own Jesus following? Discuss with your group.

3. What can you do this week, big or small, to continue setting in motion the work of shaping our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone?

Thanks for checking in with us, today.

You can find Renewed Heart Ministries on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. If you haven’t done so already, please follow us on your chosen social media platforms for our daily posts. Also, if you enjoy listening to the Jesus for Everyone podcast, please like and subscribe to the JFE podcast through the podcast platform you use and consider taking some time to give us a review. This helps others find our podcast as well.

Also I want to share that we are partnering in a new weekly YouTube show called “Just Talking.” Each week, Todd Leonard and I will be talking about the gospel lectionary reading for the upcoming weekend. We’ll be talking about each reading in the context of love, inclusion, and societal justice. Our hope is that our talking will be just talking (as in justice) and that during our brief conversations each week you’ll be inspired to also do more than just talking.

And if you’d like to reach us here at Renewed Heart Ministries through email, you can reach us at info@renewedheartministries.com.

My new book, Finding Jesus: A story of a fundamentalist preacher who unexpectedly discovered the social, political, and economic teachings of the Gospels is now also available at renewedheartministries.com

Right where you are, keep living in love, choosing compassion, taking action, and working toward justice.

I love each of you dearly,

I’ll see you next week.

Now Available at Renewed Heart Ministries!

Herb’s new book Finding Jesus: A story of a fundamentalist preacher who unexpectedly discovered the social, political, and economic teachings of the Gospels, is available at renewedheartministries.com.

Get your copy today at renewedheartministries.com

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Category: Esights, Liberation Theology Tags: Ecological Justice, Economic Justice, Feminism, Harvest, Healing, Immigration Justice, Jesus, Kingdom, Lectionary Reading, LGBTQ Justice, Liberation Theology, Racial Justice, Sheep, Shepherd, Social Justice

Fulness of Life for Everyone

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Herb Montgomery

This Week’s Episode of Just Talking Available on YouTube

New Episode of “Just Talking” Now Online!

Season 1, Episode 11: John 10:1-10. Lectionary A, Easter 4

You can find the latest show on YouTube at https://youtu.be/7Smif6b6Q_w

or (@herbandtoddjusttalking)

Please Like, Subscribe, hit the Notification button, and leave us a comment

Thanks in advance for watching!

Herb Montgomery | April 28, 2023

To listen to this week’s eSight as a podcast episode click here.

“How, then, do the ethics and values we encounter in the Jesus story inspire us to shape our present world into a just and safe home for all? It is important to remember that this abundant living doesn’t come at the cost of death for others. This kind of life isn’t “life” for any of us unless it is life for us all.”

Our reading this week is from the gospel of John.

“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:1-10*)

The language we encounter in this week’s reading, about shepherds, sheep, sheep pens, and gates, had a context in the Jewish scriptures. Let’s look at two examples as a foundation for our discussion this week.

“I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken. ‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of savage beasts so that they may live in the wilderness and sleep in the forests in safety. I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. The trees will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them. They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid. I will provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations. Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them and that they, the Israelites, are my people, declares the Sovereign LORD. You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign LORD.’” (Ezekiel 34:23-31)

What jumps out to me is the deeply political, concrete and material role the shepherd plays as a conduit of liberation and the means of governing and protecting the nation. The shepherd was not a private, individual, or spiritual image in the Jewish tradition as it has become in the Christian tradition.

We find the same in Micah:

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be our peace when the Assyrians invade our land and march through our fortresses. (Micah 5:2-5)

So how did the Jesus community come to spiritualize the image of the shepherd? In the gospel of John, whenever we bump into pejorative characterizations of the Pharisees, we are witnessing tensions and disagreements between the proto-Gnostic Johannine community and the Pharisees who were their contemporaries. The Pharisees later evolved into Rabbinic Judaism, while many of the narrative elements and themes in the gospel of John evolved into early Gnostic Christianity. Just as orthodox Christianity characterized Gnostic Christianity as heretical, Rabbinic Judaism opposed Jewish Gnosticism. In John’s gospel we see an early form of those tensions.

Our reading this week is unique for the canonical gospels. It symbolizes Jesus as a “sheep gate” through which legitimate shepherds would have led people to knowledge (gnosis). For the Johannine community, Jesus is the gate through which Johannine followers of Jesus, not Pharisees, will lead people into the gnosis/knowledge that would in turn usher them into life.

That is the theme of our reading. The Johannine community’s unique version of Jesus is the measure shepherds can be judged against: if one has the best interests of the sheep in mind, they are a shepherd; if they only have their own gain as their chief motive, they are a thief. Thieves “come only to steal, kill and destroy,” while Jesus has come to give life to the full.

As I’ve said before, this is an unfair and inaccurate characterization of the Pharisees. It’s just not true that the Pharisees were “thieves,” only motivated by killing, thieving and destroying. (Read Jesus the Pharisee: A New Look at the Jewishness of Jesus by Harvey Falk for a nuanced discussion of Jesus’ Jewish roots.)

The Pharisees’ characterization in this week’s reading is the product of the antisemitism that had become full-blown in Christianity by the time John was written. This gospel has inspired much harm to our Jewish friends and neighbors. Christians can and must do better today.

What I love about this passage, and where I agree with the Johannine community about Jesus, is that Jesus came to show us the path to life and life abundant, not just surviving, but thriving. I also add: he didn’t just come to show the way to a full, ethereal afterlife. He came to show us life in the here and now, especially for those whom the present systems of our society push to the margins and undersides of our communities.

This Easter season, I’ve been finding a lot of life in the works of Delores Williams. Jesus coming to give us life and life more abundant brings to mind one of my favorite passages from Williams:

“It seems more intelligent and more scriptural to understand that redemption had to do with God, through Jesus, giving humankind new vision to see the resources for positive, abundant relational life. Redemption had to do with God, through the ministerial vision, giving humankind the ethical thought and practice upon which to build positive, productive quality of life. Hence, the kingdom of God theme in the ministerial vision of Jesus does not point to death; it is not something one has to die to reach. Rather, the kingdom of God is a metaphor of hope God gives those attempting to right the relations between self and self, between self and others, between self and God as prescribed in the sermon on the mount, in the golden rule and in the commandment to show love above all else.” (Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk, pp. 130-131)

This is a gospel, not about life after death, but abundant life in the here and now. It’s about shaping a re-iteration of our present world. As Elisabeth Fiorenza writes in In Memory of Her A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins (RHM’s recommended reading for April):

“This gospel of the basileia [the kingdom] envisioned an alternative world free of hunger, poverty, and domination.” (p. 63)

The picture of Jesus we usually get in the gospels is of a Jesus coming to give us life now, here, today. How, then, do the ethics and values we encounter in the Jesus story inspire us to shape our present world into a just and safe home for all? It is important to remember that this abundant living doesn’t come at the cost of death for others. This kind of life isn’t “life” for any of us unless it is life for us all.

HeartGroup Application

1. Share something that spoke to you from this week’s eSight/Podcast episode with your HeartGroup.

2. How do the ethics and values we encounter in the Jesus story inspire us to shape our present world into a just and safe home for all? Share with your group.

3. What can you do this week, big or small, to continue setting in motion the work of shaping our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone?

Thanks for checking in with us, today.

And if you’d like to reach us here at Renewed Heart Ministries through email, you can reach us at info@renewedheartministries.com.

Right where you are, keep living in love, choosing compassion, taking action, and working toward justice.

I love each of you dearly,

I’ll see you next week.

*Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

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Category: Esights, Interfaith, Liberation Theology Tags: Abundant Life, Ecological Justice, Economic Justice, Feminism, Here, Immigration Justice, Lectionary Reading, LGBTQ Justice, Liberation Theology, Now, politics, Racial Justice, religion, Sheep, Sheep Gate, Shepherd, Social Justice, Thriving, Womanism

A Preferential Option and Student Debt Forgiveness

Posted on September 9, 2022 by Herb Montgomery

Herb Montgomery | September 9, 2022

To listen to this week’s eSight as a podcast episode click here.

“In a society that privileges certain ones from pushing others to the edges and undersides of their society, we have to practice a preferential option for those being marginalized to bring things back into balance. This is a way to remediate the harmful preference that is already being shown.”

Our reading this week comes from the gospel of Luke:

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

So he told them this parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:1-10)

This week’s reading includes arguably two of the most famous stories associated with Jesus today: the stories of the lost sheep and the lost coin. Many progressive historical Jesus scholar also consider these stories original to the historical, Jewish Jesus.

There’s a parallel to the story of the lost sheep in the book of Matthew:

What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost. (Matthew 18:12-14)

We also find a version of this saying in the non-canonical gospel of Thomas:

Jesus said, The kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. One of them, the largest, went astray. He left the ninety-nine and looked for the one until he found it. After he had toiled, he said to the sheep, ‘I love you more than the ninety- nine.’ (Thomas 107)

A quick word about the derogatory light Luke’s story casts the Pharisees in. This way of speaking about Pharisees has a long antisemitic history that we at RHM don’t support. The Pharisees, who followed the teachings of Hillel, had much in common with Jesus’ interpretation of the Torah through a lens of loving one’s neighbor. Even the more conservative interpretive school of Shammai (which this passage may be blanketly referring to) sided with Jesus on divorce.

Neither group agreed with Jesus’ stance on debt forgiveness, which is interesting given the comments I see many politically conservative Christians making about Biden’s modest student loan forgiveness plan. I’d say to them, just be thankful it’s Biden and not your Jesus doing it, or all of the debt would be cancelled. The gospels use the phrase “the year of the Lord’s favor”, referring to the year of jubilee, a time when all debts would be cancelled (Luke 4:18-19). The contradiction is telling.

If this idea that Jesus agreed with various schools of Pharisaical interpretation is new to you, I recommend the classic, well researched book: Jesus the Pharisee: A New Look at the Jewishness of Jesus by Harvey Falk.

But for now let’s take a closer look at the story of the lost sheep. The idea of prioritizing one sheep over ninety-nine is a fundamental tenet of various forms of liberation theology. In those schools of interpretation, “a preferential option” for the one being harmed, excluded, and/or oppressed is foundational.

This week’s story includes a preference for the one sheep lost rather than for the ninety-nine sheep that remain, much as an urgent care medical facility prioritizes people in life-threatening circumstances over others whose cases are less severe.

As a parent, I understand. I love all of my kids. And as they were growing up, each of them had times when they would receive a priority of attention because of something they were facing. Whether they were sick, or having a challenge at school, or something was happening in their social lives, their need at the time governed whether our family centered or preferred them. The term “preferential” constitutes favor or privilege, and in our context this week, it’s about centering those being marginalized over those our society is choosing to privilege.

For example, in Latin liberation theology we encounter a preferential option for the poor, especially people of color around the world. Black liberation theology offers a preferential option for people who are Black. Feminist liberation theology gives us a preferential option for those who are not men. Womanist liberation theology points to a preferential option for Black women, their families and communities. In environmental liberation theology, we encounter a preferential option for the planet, and in queer liberation theology, we encounter a preferential option for LGBTQ people. In a liberatory theology of disability, we encounter a preferential option for people living with disabilities. As a result, in each of these examples we encounter a rich diversity of focuses, assumptions and scope.

Each of these theologies attempts to prioritize those being harmed by their society in a way that parallels Jesus’ ethical practice, the practice being defended by the Jesus of the gospels in the stories we’re reading this week. Those benefited in this society, especially if their benefits come at the expense of others, will always push back against this. It is this pushback that we are seeing Jesus respond to in this week’s stories.

The word “option” in the phrase “preferential option” doesn’t mean this is optional for Jesus followers. Option means that every day we can choose to follow Jesus, to practice preferring those being harmed rather than those benefiting from their harm.

This is a deep theme in the Jewish wisdom and prophetic traditions:

The LORD works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed. (Psalms 103:6)

But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream. (Amos 5:24)

In a society that privileges certain ones from pushing others to the edges and undersides of their society, we have to practice a preferential option for those being marginalized to bring things back into balance. This is a way to remediate the harmful preference that is already being shown.

Parts of the early Jesus movement also valued this practice. Consider this passage from the book of James:

My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you? (James 2:1-7, emphasis added.)

All of this calls to me to continually reassess my own practice. Who is it that I’m practicing a preferential option for? Our society practices privilege. Who does our society disenfranchise or exclude? When there are efforts to bring things into balance, whose voices speak against favoring those suffering harm?

The recent debate over student loan forgiveness is just an example. I don’t think Biden’s plan goes far enough. I’m thankful for what it does do; it’s a good start. But anyone who understands the predatory nature of student loans understands that some people and companies are benefitting by harming students financially. We need a preferential option now to restore balance. It never ceases to surprise me when I hear people in my circle of friends who are against such efforts. I’m thankful that two out of three folks in our society see the wisdom in a preferential option for people in debt. And we can do even more.

Who is the Jesus story calling you to practice a preferential option for this week?

HeartGroup Application

1. Share something that spoke to you from this week’s eSight/Podcast episode with your HeartGroup.

2. What community is the Jesus story calling you to practice a preferential option for this week? Discuss with your group.

3. What can you do this week, big or small, to continue setting in motion the work of shaping our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone?

Thanks for checking in with us, today.

Right where you are, keep living in love, choosing compassion, taking action, and working toward justice.

I love each of you dearly,

I’ll see you next week