April 26, 2026
Beulah UMC & Oak Grove UMC
You might not be aware of this interesting fact, but I ran for president in the 1972 campaign. I ran against Richard Nixon, and he beat me by a landslide.
Actually, Beth Jones one of the most popular girls in the 5th grade won the election. I was George McGovern in this mock election. Beth was not only the most popular girl, she was also one of the smartest students in our class. I just couldn’t compete with her on the campaign trail. I think that the only demographic group that voted for me over her were my kickball friends.
Every other demographic group: boys/girls, low income/high income, rural/town, popular/non-popular, you name it, the majority of them voted for Beth. And that landslide victory marked the end of my political career. If only I would have had twitter back, then!
I’ve been thinking about that 5th grade election because of our Gospel reading this morning. In this reading, Jesus is sounding a lot like a candidate out on the campaign trail trying to get your vote.
That might not sound very spiritual to us since we often think of Jesus in non-political terms, but this is exactly what Jesus is sounding like in this scripture reading. He’s trying to get the attention of the people by explaining why he would be a much better choice than any of his opponents.
Listen again to what Jesus is saying in his campaign speech: “I am the gate for the sheep. All of those who came before me are thieves and bandits.”
Wait, is this Jesus doing some negative campaigning? “My opponents are just thieves and bandits.” Sounds like a tweet to me. Short, concise and hard hitting. “All my opponents are just thieves and bandits.”
Jesus then adds to his speech and offers this more positive tone, “I am the gate for the sheep. If you elect me, you will have life and have it abundantly.” Jesus is saying to the crowd to choose him and not his opponents who won’t be able to deliver on their campaign promises.
We don’t often think of Jesus on a campaign trail, but we do get a sense of it here. And it’s not just Jesus’ campaign talk to get people to take notice of him, he also uses what John the Gospel writer refers to as “signs.” In fact, John’s Gospel describes seven signs where Jesus offers glimpses that he truly is the one sent by God to save the people.
Do you remember his first sign? He turned water into wine. And not just cheap wine, but the expensive kind. With this first sign, Jesus reveals his economic agenda. Think of how this will help grape growers during a severe drought.
Three other signs were when he healed people. Think of how this will solve our health care problems.
Another sign was his feeding of the 5,000 with just two fish and a couple loaves of bread. Jesus can end world hunger.
And then, what was probably his most famous of these seven signs according to John was when he raised his friend, Lazarus from the dead. He raises people from the dead. How can Jesus not win this election?
Well, spoiler alert. John will later inform us in his gospel, that he didn’t get enough votes. In fact, he was mocked and humiliated and crucified on a cross.
Of course, Jesus hints at all of this in his campaign speech here in John, chapter ten. Sorry, we didn’t read his full speech when we read this passage earlier, just the first half of it.
In the very next verse of our Gospel reading for today, Jesus goes on to say, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
Evidently, Jesus should have hired a speech writer because immediately after that speech, John tells us that he got terrible reviews. The critics were relentless. They were so negative that some even said that he had a demon and was out of his mind.
But here’s the amazing thing. Even though Jesus lost the election, he won the victory by being raised from the dead. And not only did he win the victory, he continues to reign as the true king over all earthly powers to this day.
Through his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus shows us that he truly is the good shepherd, the one sent by God to establish God’s kingdom on earth. The good shepherd who saves us. The good shepherd who offers abundant life. The good shepherd who calls his sheep by name. The good shepherd who helps us to find pasture or as the Psalmist describes it so poetically, “He makes me to lie down in green pastures and restoreth my soul.”
Why would we not want to cast our vote for this candidate, the one who is our good shepherd and who lays down his life for his sheep?
During the last couple of presidential election cycles, there were people offering up a 3rd possible candidate. His name? The 1980s singer, Rick Astley. Why vote for him? Because in the words of his famous song, He’s “never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you, never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbye, never gonna tell a lie and hurt you.”
And I know that you’re singing that song in your head right now and it’s probably going to stay in your head the rest of the day! You’re welcome!
Jesus is never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down. He is our Good Shepherd, the gatekeeper and the sheep hear his voice, he calls his sheep by name and leads them out. And when he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. Whoever enters by him will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. He came that we may have life and have it abundantly!
And by the way, I got all of that from his campaign page that you can find here in John, chapter 10. It is true that he’s never gonna give you up and never gonna let you down.
And not only is our Good Shepherd never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, our Good Shepherd, the ruler over all the world, invites us to continue his campaign in offering God’s healing love to a broken and hurting world.
That’s you and me. We are the sheep. We are called to be the visible expression of God’s mercy and love for all people, a people called by our shepherd to live in such a way that always points people to the Good Shepherd.
And unlike today’s bombastic and ruthless political campaigns, we are called to take an entirely different approach, one of servanthood and sacrificial love. Because remember, our candidate’s campaign symbol is a cross of all things.
Our Acts scripture reading this morning describes the church as that place where we are to continue to live out Jesus’ mission.
What does a grassroots campaign look like in continuing Jesus’ mission and ministry here on earth? It looks volunteers learning about their faith. It looks like sharing in fellowship. It looks like praying together. It looks like finding unity within their diversity. It looks like sharing their resources for the sake of the mission. It looks like joyfully worshiping the Good Shepherd. And it looks like always inviting more people to join the movement. Now, that sounds like a wining campaign to me!
And so it is in this spirit that we are are invited to hear and respond to the voice of the Shepherd.
The voice of our Good Shepherd who referred to his opponents as thieves but then ended up getting crucified between two thieves.
The voice of our Good Shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep.
The voice of our Good Shepherd who is always seeking out the least, the last, and the lost.
The voice of our Good Shepherd who has a special place in his heart for the marginalized, the poor, and the forgotten.
The voice of the Good Shepherd who provides us with green pastures and abundant life.
The voice of the Good Shepherd who invites us to be his church, his authentic and welcoming to all community of faith.
The voice of the Good Shepherd who when gathered around a table with his disciples said, “This is my body broken for you. This is my blood shed for you.”
This is the voice who we need to hear above all other voices vying for our attention. It’s the voice that invites us to continue to live out Jesus’ platform of offering sacrificial love for the sake of the world.
So, join his campaign. Enter through that narrow gate because it will lead to green pastures, still waters, and abundant life. And may it lead us to say with the psalmist, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”
