27 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand.30 The Father and I are one.’
John 10:27-30
Dear All,
In these verses in John’s Gospel, we find Jesus saying “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” For many this is understood in quite a limited, exclusive way, and of course, I respect this approach. But I do think there as a wonderful opportunity to interpret this verse, not as a narrow condition for belonging, but as a broad and inclusive recognition of all those who respond to divine love in many different forms. This is not to dishonour our own Christian tradition, no way! We thank God for it, we rejoice in it, this is our way of life! This is where we find our amazing God, so awesomely revealed to us in Jesus, our way, our truth, and our life. But at the same time, as those who live in a diverse society, this passage can provoke a reminder that God’s love cannot be confined to one denomination, (or two in our case!), or one faith tradition, or one people group. Certainly, from a more theologically liberal perspective, surely, the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd extends to all who seek compassion, justice, and truth - whether they explicitly follow Jesus or not.
Valuing a more generous, open minded interpretation may be really helpful to us when we are hoping to engage in friendly open-hearted dialogue with people of other faiths, like our Muslim friends. It was so great to meet with our friends at the Ipswich Mosque the other week, we received a very warm welcome, enjoyed an engaging conversion and we are really looking forward to further opportunities to share friendship with them in the coming months. Valuing a more generous, open minded interpretation may be really helpful to us when we are hoping to engage in friendly open-hearted dialogue with those who are sadly on the margins of society: in God’s all-encompassing love, we are able to affirm that they too are known and held by God.
Sticking with this theme of God’s generous love, perhaps we should also mention Jesus’ statement in verse 30, “The Father and I are one.” Again, this is often interpreted by more conservative Christians as a claim to divine exclusivity. However, we might wonder whether this unity can be understood, not as a boundary-marker, but as a model of divine-human harmony. Rather than using it to claim that only those who believe a specific doctrine are saved, might we see this as a call for all people to live in unity with God’s loving and just purposes? Might we see a passage such as this as one which reminds us to challenge religious triumphalism and to promote humility, peacebuilding, and cooperation across lines of belief? Might it be a springboard for ecumenical and interfaith collaboration and a reminder that divine truth often transcends human categories?
With much love,
