Monday, April 16, 2018

easter 4 year b - john

John 10:11-18
Jesus said:
11“I am the good shepherd.
      The good shepherd lays down their life for the sheep. 
      12The hired hand,
            who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep,
            sees the wolf coming
            and leaves the sheep and runs away—
                  and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 
      13The hired hand runs away
            because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 
14I am the good shepherd.
      I know my own and my own know me, 
            15just as Abba knows me and I know Abba.
      And I lay down my life for the sheep.
      16I 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. 
      17For this reason Abba loves me,
            because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 
                  18No one takes it from me,
                        but I lay it down of my own accord.
                  I have power to lay it down,
                        and I have power to take it up again.
                              I have received this command from my Abba.”

Queeries for the text:
Who are the sheep?  The hired hand?  The wolf?
Who do I run away from?  Who do I not care for?
Who snatches and scatters us?
If Jesus is the good shepherd, who is Abba?
If Abba is Jesus' good shepherd, is Jesus both a sheep and a shepherd?
What good does it do for the sheep if the shepherd is killed by the wolf?  What happens the next time the wolf is hungry?
Who are Jesus' other sheepWhat do they call Jesus
What happens when someone lays down their life without the power to consent?
If Abba commands Jesus to lay down their life in order to take it up again, why does Jesus just tell us to love each other?
How confused was Jesus trying to make the disciples on this last night?

What are your queeries?


Bonus: This is a blog post about a sermon I preached off of this text and after queerying it in this post: https://christianityisaqueerthing.blogspot.com/2018/04/a-queer-process-of-preaching-easter-4b.html

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