Striking images of Jesus in words

May 7, 2006 -- Fourth Sunday of Easter

By Fr. Michael Stubbs

	Fr. Mike Stubbs

An old, sepia-tinted photograph hangs on the wall in front of me. It shows a little girl, perhaps five years old. She is holding her arm around the shoulder of her younger brother, about two years old. That protective gesture and the tender look on her face reveal a great deal about this little girl. A picture is worth a thousand words.

On the other hand, I could tell you many stories about this little girl, who later on when she grew up became my mother. Those stories would enable you to see her as a living person, not an image frozen in time. But that would take more than a thousand words, more than what I am allowed for this article.

The Gospel of John presents us with some striking images of Jesus, painted for us in words. We encounter an example of one such image in Sunday's gospel reading, John 10:11-18. Jesus tells us, "I am the good shepherd." After identifying himself as the good shepherd, Jesus goes on to describe what that occupation involves, how the good shepherd differs from a bad shepherd, what he does for the sheep, and so on. Jesus offers us a detailed picture of the good shepherd. At the same time, he does not tell us a story as such. There is no plot. There is no one specific event, but only generalities.

That is characteristic of the Gospel of John. It is peppered with metaphorical statements by Jesus about himself. They ordinarily begin very simply with the words, "I am..." A week from this Sunday, in the gospel reading, Jesus will similarly state, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower."

Then Jesus will go on to explain the meaning of the vine. That extended metaphor resembles in many ways the one in this Sunday's gospel of Jesus as the good shepherd.

Typically, the Gospel of John presents us with an extended metaphor, while the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke instead tell a parable to make their point. The Gospel of John follows the maxim that a picture is worth a thousand words. The synoptic gospels, on the other hand, prefer a narrative, a short story, with a simple plot and characters who interact. The synoptic gospels tell a parable.

The parables of the synoptic gospels tend to focus upon the kingdom of God, sometimes known as the kingdom of heaven. They often begin with the words, "the kingdom of God is like...," for example, "the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field." In contrast, the extended metaphors of the Gospel of John focus upon the person of Jesus Christ. They seek to explain who he is.

In several ways, the extended metaphors of the Gospel of John and the parables of the synoptic gospels take a somewhat different approach. At the same time, they nonetheless strive towards the same goal. They seek to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.

(Fr. Stubbs, a priest of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, has a master's degree in theology from Harvard.)