Jesus: Shepherd of Our Infirmities
- davidwperk
- Apr 9
- 8 min read
Devotional Reflection, Wednesday, April 9, 2025
The week of the fifth Sunday in Lent
The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.
Key phrases for reflection from today’s Gospel reading;
7So again Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. 11‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.
You will find the full text of today’s Gospel reading at the end of this reflection.
Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 956)\
AM Psalm 119:145-176; PM Psalm 128, 129, 130
Jer. 25:30-38; Rom. 10:14-21; John 10:1-18
Today we celebrate the Feast of Dietrich Bonhöffer.. (See below.)
David's Reflections
Theodore Roethke, a Pulitzer Prize winning lyric poet, gives us these poignant lines in his poem, Infirmity:
In purest song one plays the constant fool
As changes shimmer in the inner eye.
I stare and stare into a deepening pool
. . .
Sweet Christ, rejoice in my infirmity;
There's little left I care to call my own.
. . .
The deep eye sees the shimmer on the stone;
. . .
My soul is still my soul, and still the Son,
And knowing this, I am not yet undone.+
These lines express vividly a sense of infirmity and weakness that does not undo the poet and that he and we can share with Jesus without feeling at risk. How counterintuitive! How often do we feel at risk with one another about our infirmities? But, in Jesus we meet unconditional, unfailing love.
John presents us with the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for us and who gives us eternal life on the basis of his life, death, and resurrection. This life, the life of God, overflows into abundance in our experience. Jesus says he gives us life so that we may have life abundantly (verse 10 above).
Jesus gathers us into his love and instills within us the capacity to trust him; trusting in him opens up a lifetime of ongoing deliverance and transformation. Today, I want to suggest another aspect of the good shepherd's gathering work, his response to our darkness and evil. Fritz Kunkel has said: "Religion without a thorough study of sin, religion without awareness of conscious and unconscious, individual and collective darkness, evil and deviation, is not religion but blind idolatry.” *
John Sanford, in his book, Evil: The Shadow Side of Reality, says we fear acknowledging the dark side of our nature because of two factors.@ First,
we fear that our imperfections will overwhelm us. Dark beasts like fear, lust, and anger prowl about in the cellars of our souls. We hear them howling and growling and fear what they will do to us and to others. Talk of accepting our dark side prompts some to warn us that we are taking evil lightly. Behind that talk is a fear that we will be enslaved to it if we admit its presence.
Second, we feel guilt over our imperfections. Those feelings link to memories of harm done to others and moments of our disobedience to God and moments when others have judged us for our imperfections. We fear the shepherd's rejection, so we hide our imperfections and try to be like him. We dread admitting that within us is a shadow side that could make a shambles of the Ten Commandments (and already has violated many of them) and could push us toward living out our fears and our darkest emotions and desires.
Can we not believe that the Good Shepherd who gave his life for the sheep, who delivered us by absorbing evil's power to hurt and destroy, can keep us from the re-enslaving clutches of evil? Can we not trust that the one who conquered death can conquer our inner death and demons? Are we not free to accept honestly our imperfections and our darkness because the Good Shepherd will remain with us to share his life, to empower us not to be captive to those beasts, and to heal us when we are wounded by evil. Jesus says he knows us, yet knowing our infirmities proves not to be off-putting to the Good Shepherd. He treasures us.
He cleanses us of the guilt and shame that cling as a residue of our history, and he embraces us with our feelings of imperfection and inadequacy. Because we are forgiven and cleansed of the burdens of the past, we can reflect on our behaviors, learning from them about that secret side of our being that can flash out like lightening from a dark cloud. Do we not trust the love of a Good Shepherd who laid down his life for us to shepherd our dark side with compassion, to shepherd our infirmities and to do so with that persistent, unconditional love we see him demonstrating in his relationships with his followers?
As Roethke wrote:
Sweet Christ, rejoice in my infirmity;
There's little left I care to call my own.
. . .
The deep eye sees the shimmer on the stone;
. . .
My soul is still my soul, and still the Son,
And knowing this, I am not yet undone.+
+The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke (New York: Doubleday, 1966), p. 244.
Fritz Kunkel, cited by John A. Sanford, The Strange Trial of Mr. Hyde: A New Look at the Nature of Human Evil (New York: Harper, 1987), p.79.
@John Sanford, Evil: The Shadow Side of Reality (New York: Crossroads, 1981).
Collect of the Day, the Fifth Sunday in Lent
Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP, 219)
Wednesday in the Fifth Week of Lent
Almighty God our heavenly Father, renew in us the gifts of your mercy; increase our faith, strengthen our hope, enlighten our understanding, widen our charity, and make us ready to serve you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Weekday Eucharistic Propers, p. 42)
Today we celebrate the Feast of Dietrich Bonhöffer, pastor, theologian and martyr (died 9 Apr 1945 CE).
Collect of the Feast of Dietrich Bonhöffer
Embolden our lives, O Lord, and inspire our faiths, that we, following the example of your servant Dietrich Bonhoeffer, might embrace your call with undivided hearts; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A Collect for Grace
Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 100)
A Collect for the Presence of Christ
Lord Jesus, stay with us, for evening is at hand and the day is past; be our companion in the way, kindle our hearts, and awaken hope, that we may know you as you are revealed in Scripture and the breaking of bread. Grant this for the sake of your love. Amen. (BCP, 124)
For the Diocese
O God, by your grace you have called us in this Diocese to a goodly fellowship of faith. Bless our Presiding Bishop, Sean, our Bishop, _____, and other clergy, and all our people. Grant that your Word may be truly preached and truly heard, your Sacraments faithfully administered and faithfully received. By your Spirit, fashion our lives according to the example of your Son, and grant that we may show the power of your love to all among whom we live; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 817)
A Collect for Mission
Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. (BCP, 100)
Daily Office Gospel, John 10:1-18
10:1‘Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.’ 6Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. 7So again Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. 11‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.’
Daily Prayer Offices in The Book of Common Prayer
Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, Book of Common Prayer
Noonday Prayer, p. 103, Book of Common Prayer
Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p. 109, Book of Common Prayer
Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer
Compline (Night Prayer), Page 127, Book of Common Prayer
Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer
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