The Trouble with Being the Word
Easter 4; John 10:1-10
Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you,”
words that mark important meanings.
Then he used a series of metaphors,
“sheepfold”, “gate”, “shepherd”, “sheep” -
figures of speech he wove into a story
that likened him to a shepherd,
a familiar connection in Scripture.
Too many have lost that mine of wisdom
so they don’t understand what he is saying.
The trouble with being the Word
is that even if people will listen,
if they follow and are wanting to hear,
they don’t always understand.
Part of the problem is that truth,
the truth of the Wisdom of God,
doesn’t fit into literal thinking,
the everyday telling of fact.
This man is a travelling teacher –
how can he be a shepherd or a gate,
though he heals and feeds and we follow,
though he gathers us close around him
and opens our minds to fresh insight?
Such truth throws light as we reflect:
we catch glimpses in a glass darkly.
Truth is mirrored in metaphor and story,
reversing our old expectations.
Jesus’ life models universal wisdom,
living well for all even through his death.
He comes to us that we may have life,
a life like his, lived abundantly,
even through suffering and dying.
Many here believe that life’s abundance
can be found in success and prosperity,
while others are thieves and bandits
who steal and kill and destroy
caring only for their own profit.
They can’t afford to accept resurrection -
an idle tale, they say, told by women,
though creation itself bears witness.
Barbara Messner 23/04/2026
Barb, poet priest 