Justin Appel
Dear Friends,
In today’s gospel lesson, John 10:1-18, Jesus describes himself with biblical language, as the ‘good shepherd’ (v. 11). By ‘biblical’, I mean that his statement was framed by Old Testament passages, such as the following:
‘As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep.’ (Ezekiel 34:12)
or
‘Like a shepherd, he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, Carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care.’ (Isaiah 40:11)
Reading this passage reminds me of early Christian catacomb art, which depicted Jesus in a kind of recognizable artistic form, but now baptized as a Christian symbol.
So, rather than say too much about this, I thought I would share a kind of artistic and musical montage on the theme of Christ the Good Shepherd, using sculpture from the Vatican Museum, frescoes from the Catacombs of Priscilla in Rome -- both described by the marvelous art historians Drs. Beth Harris and Steven Zucker -- and with a beautiful motet by the Franco-Flemish 16th-century composer, Jehan Lheritier.
Far more than a dusty archaeological exhibit, an examination of these works helps shape our imagination with generative metaphors, and it helps us to sense our connection to Christians over the centuries.
Yours in Christ,
Justin
Surrexit pastor bonus
qui animam suam posuit pro ovibus suis,
et pro grege suo mori dignatus est, alleluia,
et enim pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus.
Alleluia.
The good shepherd has arisen,
who laid down his life for his sheep,
and for his flock deigned to die, alleluia,
And for our Passover was sacrificed for us: Christ.
Alleluia.
(Text a composite of John 10:11 and I Corinthians 5:7)