Easter 4 - 2022
Based on John 10.22-30: Whose voice am I following?
Jesus does not appear on earth at random. His appearance is foretold throughout the Old Testament.
Jesus arrives on the scene as the climax of a series of prophecies as well as in a mesh of foretold circumstances and a golden thread of God’s ineffable plan for the salvation of the souls of humankind.
Jesus is not wandering aimlessly around the portico of Solomon. He is deliberately and intentionally walking in territory that he is about to take control over.
Jesus comes to overcome the forces of darkness and the realm of evil to reclaim God’s people. He also finds that he is up against the self-interest of the religious institutions that are supposed to shepherd God’s people but are in fact discover many who are exploiting and oppressing them.
It is Winter in Jerusalem. It is the Festival of Dedication which occurs around 25 Kislev or December according to the Hebrew calendar.
It is also the Roman Festival of Saturnalia which occurs from 17 to 23 December according to the Roman calendar. This Festival celebrates the god Saturn. The poet Catullus described the Festival as the “best of days”. It was a carnival; when people enjoyed a time of liberty and celebration including a public banquet where the masters served the slaves, gift giving, and a level of behaviour not normally allowed in Roman society.
The Festival is looking forward to a Golden Age when Saturn will return to rule the world - Saturn, Lucifer, Prince of Light.[1]
Please stay with me, there is an important point to be made.
The Jews are celebrating the Festival of Dedication instituted by Judas Maccabeus after it was cleaned up having been desecrated by the Seleucids under their King Antiochus Epiphanes (168 BC). [2]
The point is that this Festival is Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. The Jews light series of 8 candles in their places of worship and in their homes. Eight: the number of new beginnings, the day after the day of rest after creation.
Now you will hear some naysayers of Christianity saying that Christmas is simply a copy of a pagan Festival echoing the Festival of Saturnalia, That maybe true but it is not the point – it is the wrong way round.
The point is that Jesus appears in the middle of the Festival of Saturnalia and the Festival of Hanukkah, and he declares who he is. He is the true Messiah; he is the Light of the World. He declares victory over one and fulfilment over the other.
Jesus makes other declarations throughout the gospel of John at other pagan or Jewish feasts and festivals: I am the Way the Truth and the Life, I am the Good Shepherd, I am the Word, the Bread, the Living Water.
25(Then) Jesus said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?’ 27Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.[3]
O, if only Jesus to explain everything to us. If he could make it clear from the horse’s mouth, we would believe him. But we do know, we have the Scriptures, we do not read them, and we listen to poor teaching.
Over the last 2000 years we have wasted time, ink and energy intellectualising, disproving, allegorising the gospel message. In our cleverness and sophistication we obfuscate the message and deny people the good news of God’s salvation. Listen to one of the harshest prophets:
Ezekiel 34.17 As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats: 18Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture? When you drink of clear water, must you foul the rest with your feet? 19And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have fouled with your feet?[4]
The 64 thousand dollar question is: whose flock do I belong to and how would people know?
Let me ask myself a question. When I walk through the world does it make any difference? Do the ways of the world seep into me so that I live as the world lives? Or do I seep into the world as a child of the kingdom of God. Do I mould myself on what is acceptable in our modern or post-modern world, or do I push back against it?
Do people say: Jane is a good person to have around, she is one of the girls (or boys)!
Or do they say: do you know what, Jane is ok, but she makes me feel a bit uncomfortable, always going on about Jesus and God and the kingdom, never mind the Devil – why doesn’t she chill out a bit and relax.
Jesus walked through the world deliberately and intentionally coming up against the works of evil. He was angry about demonic activity, disease, destructive sin, and he cast out, healed, raised from the dead. He did not leave the world as he found it, but his presence and power transformed it.
Why? Because human life is precious, and God loves every human soul.
9I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. [5]
And for a while, the apostles carried on Jesus’ work walking in his power. We are asked to do the same and Jesus promises that whatever danger, persecution, difficulty we face as his flock, he will protect and ultimately save us.
You and I are here on this planet, in this church as God’s imagers, as the body of Christ Jesus. In a few moments we will be meeting as that body in the Annual meeting. This is not just a formality, a tedious and boring business meeting. This is the members of this church focusing on what we are here for – what we stand for.
How are you and I going to do the will of God in this parish? How are we going to be the hands, heart, and voice of Christ Jesus? How are we going to cure the souls of those lost in delusion, darkness and disappointment and ultimately spiritual death?
Do we want to be liked and relevant or transforming and challenging?
Whose voice are we listening to?
[1] Wikipedia: Saturnalia. The idea that Saturn is the Prince of Light or Lucifer is a developing idea in Dispensational writing.
[2] In the book of Maccabees – Apocrypha.
[3] Luke 24.25-27 NRSV
[4] Ezekiel 34.17-19 NRSV
[5] John 10.9-10 NRSV
