John 10. 10: I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
John’s discourse exploring the relation between the shepherd and the sheep evokes familiar ideas and then develops them in unfamiliar ways. Although we envisage a shepherd as caring for the sheep, we do not think of him as giving them life. Nor is it immediately clear how sheep can be given abundant life. The fact is that at this point the analogy has broken down. Jesus is not talking about sheep but human beings. Jesus came so that humanity might be revivified and might, through him, experience life to the full.
This is not what we always expect of Christianity. So many Christians regard their religion as a matter of closing the curtains against life, of restricting their interests and their activities, of repudiating many expressions of vitality, from art and music to sex. But, you may say, surely Jesus did not recommend self-indulgence? Once you start asking that kind of question, it is difficult to avoid the evidence that he enjoyed parties, and particularly the kind attended by unsuitable people; he was accused of drinking too much wine; and he did not observe all the laws about purity and the Sabbath. It is not surprising that Simon the Pharisee did not bother with ritual purification when Jesus came to dinner.
It seems important to remember God as Creator and to recognize that there is nothing in this world foreign to him. In so far as we have creative talents they are given us by him and reflect his fecundity, whether we write dance music or join the priesthood. He made everything there is, and made us as we are, so that however exotic or conventional our behaviour or our tastes, we are not outside the range of his love, or his sympathy. He enabled us to make our hair green or blue if we want to. He inspired the leaders of Britart as much as the leaders of Impressionism. It is no good devout Christians thinking they can shut God up in church and make him concentrate on pious devotions. He will escape their grasp and join the dancers in Ibiza.
If this doctrine seems difficult, remind yourself that Jesus was a real human being. I know nothing about the way first-century Jews brushed their teeth, but Jesus did. That poor baby was circumcised soon after he was born; he was a perfectly ordinary man. There is no reason to worry about whether he can sympathize with our problems; he lived through them, from getting work to seeing Joseph die.
So, when Jesus offered us abundant life, he knew what he was saying. Of course he didn’t mean we should all go to Ibiza, or even the latest trendy Jerusalem nightspot. But I believe he wanted us to be happy, to relax, and to trust him to see us through our problems. There is no abundance in melancholy. What is Christianity for if it reduces the scope of our vision? It should enlarge it. In particular, it should widen and deepen our relationships with other people, because it is about love.
I believe it to be of the first importance that we should look outwards all the time. There is nothing like preoccupation with yourself to make you miserable. But, on a wider view, a church like this could shrivel up if its members looked after themselves alone. We have to be seeking and welcoming newcomers continually, partly, indeed, because we live in a society in flux, in which people are continually coming and going, but also because we need the enrichment of new talents and new ideas and they need the abundant life which Jesus offers.
If we are to live abundantly, we need those new ideas not only at the social level, but at the personal level too. I sometimes feel that older people are more open to innovation than the young middle-aged; when you are looking after children and trying to succeed in your career your abundant life consists in your job and your children’s development. But the retired people can afford to look outward. Naturally. if what you want to explore is downhill skiing, don’t wait till you’re sixty! But both art and music will reward the expenditure of time which may not be available earlier in life. So will thinking about God.
There is something unnerving about the way we come to church, even the most regular of us, and take what we are given, and do not ask for more. Of course, in one sense we receive enough. I believe that the Father is ready to answer our prayers, however brief and halting they may be. Particularly in the Eucharist, it is enough if we come and put ourselves at his disposal. He will not let us down. But today we are talking about abundant life. Is there more to meet our needs than what is simply offered by regular attendance at church? How often do you find the time, or the energy, to read a book about God? (And if you don’t know what to read, the clergy will certainly be ready to advise you.) Have you any spare time you could contribute to voluntary work? Are you giving enough money to your favourite charities? Have you ever considered coming to one of the week-day services in this church, or, if you work in the City, at a church nearby? What about the problems of your neighbours? Are you sufficiently involved with them?
I know very well that many of you take your responsibility to your neighbours very seriously. I am not trying to attack you but to offer a checklist. Nor do I want to make people feel uncomfortable; we do what we can. But I want to assure you that your contribution to the life of the world we live in and whatever you may do to intensify it is an expression of the love of God and a reflection of him who said that he had come that we might have life, and live it more abundantly.
Amen
Alan Goodison