19th July 2026 

Freedom and Possibility

I am writing this at 6pm on Wednesday, before (in a highly unusual move for me) going round to a friend's house to watch England play Argentina in the semi-finals of the World Cup. By the time you read this, we will know the outcome - we will either be preparing to play Spain in the finals on Sunday, and football could still be coming home, or we will face the altogether more dreary prospect of the third place play-offs. But, as I write, all the options are open, and there's a world of possibilities before us.

I've been reflecting quite a lot over the last few weeks on John 10 and have been especially noticing the sense of freedom and possibilities. "I am the gate for the sheep", says Jesus. "Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture." (John 10:7, 9). There's an expansiveness to Jesus' invitation, which, of course, culminates in the verse on our vision statement "I have come that they may have life, life in all its fullness" (John 10:10). Jesus doesn't seek to save us by shutting down possibilities. Jesus is the gate by which we can go in and out - from the security of the sheepfold to the freedom of the open pasture, learning, discovering, experiencing the life which he offers.

I was exploring this passage a few weeks ago with some Year 5s at the Bromley Schools Festival, using Godly Play. They were not from a church school and had clearly never heard the story of Jesus the Good Shepherd before. It meant that their reflections on the passage were wonderfully natural and beautifully fresh. One group focused very much on the sheep-fold. It was a safe place, but it was a constricted place. There wasn't much room to explore. It was better, they decided, to be able to go out of the gate and enjoy the green pasture and the cool waters - even if that meant facing the danger of the wolf (which they loved!) or straying onto the rocks. And all of them loved the moment when the Good Shepherd comes to find the sheep that has got stuck in the rocks, brings him home and has a party.

Sometimes, we can be tempted to make faith all about what we shouldn't, can't and won't do. But actually, what Jesus invites us into is a world of possibilities. It takes wisdom to navigate this freedom, but that comes as we get to know Jesus, our good shepherd, as we spend time listening, learning to recognise his voice calling us by name. 

It's nearly the summer holidays, and all of us can remember the sense of heady freedom that comes with knowing that six long weeks stretches before us. We've had our last official church meeting until September: let's take some time to enjoy the freedom to come in, to go out and to find pasture, whatever that looks like for us. And let's take some time to listen for the voice of our Good Shepherd, calling us by our name, inviting us, whatever the football results, to life in all its fullness.