April 21, 2024 - Fourth Sunday of Easter - Shōgun and the Good Shepherd

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."

John 10:11-18

"Flowers are only flowers because they fall"

 Shōgun

This will not be short; my apologies. It’s one of those weeks where I was compelled to take stock after another memorable service and sermon. 

To begin with for nine weeks now my family has watched and appreciated episodes of the new Hulu "Shōgun" miniseries.

"Shōgun" is one of James Clavell's historical novel set in the early 17th century and follows the adventures of an English sailor named John Blackthorne, who is shipwrecked in Japan. Among the languages he knows he speaks Portuguese.

Blackthorne becomes embroiled in the complex and treacherous political intrigues of feudal Japan during a time when the country was ruled by powerful warlords known as "daimyo". The title of Shogun is given to the military dictator that unites the factions.

The samurai Lord Toranaga vyes for power against other ambitious daimyo. The novel explores themes of cultural clash, honor, loyalty, and the clash between East and West. The novel delves into the personal struggles and growth of its characters as they confront the challenges of their time.

Several episodes of this series began to hint at “Crimson Sky,” This appeared to be a secret battle plan for an all-out assault on a medieval castle which might determine who finally rules Japan in this period. “Crimson Sky” is also the title of this week's penultimate episode of the 10-episode mini-series, And, according to the genre of this kind of historical drama, a massive battle for control can often be the climatic event.

Instead this week's episode was a riveting look at a woman, Mariko, who has served throughout the series as Toranaga's translator of Portuguese between he and Blackthorne. Her family of Samurai nobility became Christian through interaction with Jesuit priests from Portugal. In this part of the story she is moved into character tests under extreme circumstances, channeling her lifetime of pain (her father and family are viewed as being traitors) into one final incandescent act of strength and sacrifice. Obviously this episode did not contain an expected battle of massive armies that the title may have promised. Here there’s just one woman, her mind and soul stretched to their limit by the overlapping dictates of her faith, her family, her society, and her own heart, pulling herself together for one final defiant act. In death, she finds a purpose she felt she lacked in life. It is both a triumph and a tragedy.

Jesus' words in this week's Gospel and Shōgun illuminate the underlying messages in each. What 17th century Japanese culture and Christianity calls for within us both stirs many thoughts and emotions and moves our human hearts to the divine. Laying down your life for the ones you love due to duty or destiny simultaneously agonize and inspire us, each giving life deeper meanings.

Mariko faces death in different ways in the episode. First is her choice to fight soldiers who threaten to kill her for acting out of honor and duty. She fights them with others until this combat is obviously shown to be fruitless.  Dishonored she next chooses to die by her own hands. She wants to commit to an act of seppuku, which was the honorable, ritual suicide by disembowelment. This was reserved for men of the samurai class in feudal Japan. Being Christian by faith and she worries that suicide is seen as a mortal sin within the Catholic church. However she is not deterred by this concern. 

Finally she chooses to protect others from a hostile bomb blast set by her enemies. She deliberately puts her body between those she loves and the impending blast to protect them from feeling its full force. So her decision to be a martyr comes into play. Heartbreaking, noble choices coming one after another. This story is based on a historical woman and her actions and choices changed the history of Japan.

And while I ponder this, two passages from scripture haunt me. The last verse of this Gospel "For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father." is one of those passages. The other is the Lord's Prayer, "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." The passages turn my spirit from an overwhelming fear of death to devotion.

Sunday Worship Service Setting - African American Liturgy

The service centered around the subject of the "Good Shepherd" passage in the Gospel. Pastor Emillie's sermon focused on a rather deep paradox of the sheep / shepherd metaphor. She talked about a discussion she had about the meaning of the metaphor where a colleague of hers. The talk centered on what is characteristically assumed of sheep - namely that they blindly follow their shepherd. This bothered Pastor Emillie. Should Jesus be blindly followed? 

She went on to elaborate that sheep follow the voice of their shepherd because a relationship of trust has been developed when the shepherd takes care of their wants and needs. Does that mitigate this blind following? Perhaps it is persuasive enough to make that kind of following understandable or acceptable. Personally I think the primary attribute of sheep is their predominant nature to flock together rather than "blindly" following.

However, the language describing the Good Shepherd is not really as reassuring or comfortable for the sheep as it would first appear to be. Yes, the shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A noble gesture but it also leaves the sheep without a primary defender against their predators and the elements. How a threat is stopped when the shepherd is dead remains unresolved. Whether it is a hired hand who abandoned the flock or the shepherd who has died for them, a continuing, inherent menace to the sheep remains.

Reflecting on inherent menace to the sheep through the Shōgun and the Good Shepherd lens highlights another principle may regarding the danger to the sheep. Obviously this could be a less important a factor as the love that prompts the laying down of one's life for another. 

This is eloquently expressed in the poem Shōgun attributes to being written Mariko. This offers a poetic insight into the novel and this part of Jesus' teaching to his disciples. This also both calls me out and calls me here and now into another perspective and the visibility of all this which illuminates a fault line in my soul.  

To save the sheep, the followers of Jesus may also feel the call to model Good Shepherd behavior themselves. This is a more subversive, disruptive message than is normally heard in these words. Currently, to me,  there are different levels - different speeds - that Christians are asked to live their lives. Perhaps this is as it always has been. A shepherd like Jesus is not always needed, but in the Gospel Jesus' desire is that some of his followers to be more than sheep needing protection appears evident. 

Today the Shōgun and the Good Shepherd and Pastor's sermon invited a deeper spiritual journey and understanding than I initially anticipated, including unexpected complexities.