I Have Other Sheep that Do Not Belong to This Fold

This meditation is based on a passage for April 14, 2011 in the Daily Lectionary Year 1 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993).

Text: John 10:1-18

Reflection and Question: Jesus connects Himself to the very familiar image from the Hebrew Scripture of the good shepherd. One claim that Jesus makes here about Himself as the good shepherd has guided me particularly in recent times. It is “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.” I hear this as Jesus’ reminding us that there are people and even religions that may well be the sheep of another fold, and therefore just as much loved as we are. This constant possibility requires me to suspend my judgment of any one or group. What does Jesus’ having other folds mean to you?

Prayer: Spirit of the living God, sheep are not part of our every day. If we know of them, it comes from Bible verses or children’s songs or petting zoos. From this, we ask that Jesus be our shepherd, as He is for folds of which we do not know. Amen.