Advent Begins

Yesterday was the first day of Advent. Something about the Season has captured my heart since I was a little girl. As a family, we'd sit around our dinner table, and my parents would read to us every Sunday from this trifold pamphlet with the weekly reading. Then, we'd light a candle in our wreath. It was something we always did.

When my husband and I started our family, we talked about this tradition of Advent and wondered together where it came from and if we'd want to continue observing it with our children. We determined that we would, and it became a season I look forward to each year.

There is mention of Advent as far back as the 4th century, but it seems to have been around the 9th century that the Church settled into the tradition of Advent being the four Sundays before Christmas. The name Advent comes from the Latin adventus, which means arrival or coming.

Throughout church history, Advent has looked different in different spaces. Surprisingly, it wasn't until the Second Vatican Council in 1969 that the Season of Advent was declared "a period of devout and expectant delight." Prior to this it was more somber and sometimes referred to as a mini lent with fasting and the removal of certain songs from the weekly liturgy.

Today, Advent is a season of waiting and celebration. For the four weeks leading to Christmas, the lights in our wreath grow brighter as we move toward the celebration of Jesus's birth, and our hope grows as we long for Jesus's return one day.

I didn't have any writing plans for Advent this year, but I was reading John 10 recently, and something about it jumped off the page. I was drawn into this chapter, which I've read so many times before, in a new way. I was captured by questions about sheepfolds, shepherds, thieves, robbers, and more.

I thought that together, we could unpack this one chapter from John during the weeks leading up to Christmas. I'm not sure how much ground we will cover; I think a whole book could be written about this one chapter, but hopefully, whatever we discover will help us see Jesus even more clearly.

This week, I want to focus on the first five verses. If you are up for it, I think it would be helpful to read John 9 and John 10 together, as John 9 seems to set the scene for the opening verses in John 10. However, there seems to be some disagreement over whether this is true or not. So, I will leave it to you to read as much or as little as suits you this week.

John 10:1-5 (NLT)
"I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won't follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don't know his voice."

I want to invite you to read these five verses a few times in whatever translation you like, or maybe even look at a few different ones. Then, jot down what you notice about these verses. What stands out to you? What are you curious about? What questions do you have?

In Chapter 9, Jesus heals a blind man on the Sabbath. Some people are mad about this for a number of reasons, and you can read more about that, but as the chapter wraps up, Jesus and the blind man talk about who Jesus is and how he came to give sight to the blind—literally and figuratively. There are some Pharisees with them, and they have questions of their own.

Based on how these verses read, I am inclined to think that as John 10 opens, Jesus is still in conversation with the people he was speaking to at the end of Chapter 9. Some commentaries I've read agree with this idea, others don't, so we'll just hold that loosely as an idea, and we might revisit it later.

When I read these first five verses, I was curious about the following things: 

• How tall is the wall of the sheepfold?

• Would it be easy for a thief to get into the fold? 

• Is there a difference between a thief and a robber? 

• What is the significance of the gate? 

• How strong did the gate need to be to prevent predators? 

• How many herds of sheep are kept in one fold? 

• How many shepherds does the gatekeeper need to remember? 

• Is the gatekeeper paid?  

• What causes the sheep to know only their shepherd's voice? 

• Is it unusual for the shepherd to lead the sheep rather than drive them? 

• Why do the sheep run from a stranger?  

• What is Jesus trying to convey through this parable? 

Now if you keep reading in John 10, you'll know that those listening are confused by what Jesus is telling them and so as sometimes happens Jesus gives some clarifying thoughts on what he's just been talking about.

But before we get to his more in-depth explanation, I think it is good for us to sit with these questions about what it was like to be a shepherd in the Ancient Near East.

While shepherds were not always esteemed for their work, the work that they did, still do today, matters for the community. A good shepherd cared for their sheep by ensuring their needs were met and protecting them from harm.

The gatekeeper was sometimes a shepherd who had a vested interest in the well-being of the sheep or sometimes a hired hand who may or may not stick around if wild animals or robbers were trying to get in and steal or kill the sheep. Someone hired to watch the gate might not be as invested in the well-being of the sheep as the shepherd who owned the sheep. Sometimes, the shepherd would even sleep at the gate to protect their sheep.

I imagine a sheepfold with one gate, but inside are several herds mixed together during the night. In the morning, each shepherd comes to get their sheep and take them to pasture. The gatekeeper sees the shepherd and opens the gate for them to come in. The shepherd stands at the gate, calling for his sheep. They know his voice, and so they come running, separating themselves from the other sheep in the fold.

I was thinking about how Jesus says the sheep only follow the voice of their shepherd. So, what would that mean when a robber came and stole the sheep from the sheepfold? If the sheep ran from a stranger, then the robber's intent must have been to kill them to use for food and resources.

Imagine yourself as an ordinary shepherd, traveling with your sheep every day - making sure that none of them get lost and that they all end up in a safe space at the end of the day. Imagine putting your life on the line to protect your sheep from theft and death. Imagine knowing all of your sheep by name and having them run to you when they hear you calling. Imagine how safe the sheep must feel to follow their shepherd and know they don't lack anything in his care.

This ordinary picture of an ordinary task is going to unfold before us as Jesus helps us to see more clearly what it looks like for him to be our good shepherd and talks to us more about thieves and robbers.

These first few verses, while telling us a lot about shepherding, are also pointing us to so much more. We'll keep talking about it in the weeks to come.

In the meantime, I'd love to hear your thoughts on these opening verses in John 10. Do you think they are carried over from John 9? What thoughts or questions came to mind as you read these verses?

I am praying that you will experience Jesus in refreshing ways during this season of Advent. May you be reminded that you are seen, known, and loved.  

~  Melissa