The sermon for the fourth Sunday of Easter.

Click here to read the text: John 10:11-18.

In this morning’s gospel reading, Jesus presents us with two ways of relating. The first one he calls “the Shepherd” and the second he calls “the Hand.”

The first thing we learn about the hand is that he’s “hired”: the hand shows up because he’s paid to be there; he gets something out of the transaction. When the relationship ceases to be personally beneficial, it ends. So, the hand is primarily self-interested.

This leads directly into the next thing Jesus tells us about the hand: Because he is self-interested, he “sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away – and the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them.” The hand is defensive. When he sees a potential threat, he protects himself first.

In a way, this makes sense: If I’m working…