Fourth Easter

John 10: 11, 14

Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd would die for their sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”

I remember how badly it stung. The kids in the neighbourhood were choosing sides for a game of touch football, and I was odd man out. Rejected. Told to sit on the sidelines. I slunk on home and read comic books – taking solace in reading about the rejection that Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne experienced. Little did the world know whom they were rejecting in Clark and Bruce – and me.

And I remember another time being on the street gathering for a game when an older kid who was creative took charge. Again we had one too many players. Again someone was going to be left out. This time it was another of the younger kids – my mate Jeffrey. But then the older kid said, “Hey, don’t leave. You can be the official waterboy for both teams. And so began a tradition in our neighbourhood where no one was left out of the game. No one was rejected.

Perhaps it is because he knew he would be the “stone the builders rejected” that made Jesus so passionate about inclusion – seeing himself as the good shepherd who would not rest until the lost sheep was brought back into the fold. How does your family measure up on keeping everyone included? Who gets lost in your household? What creative measures can you take so that no one is left out, no one feels rejected?