On the Second Sunday After Easter

1 Peter 2.19-25, John 10.11-16

A constant theme in these lectionary commentaries I’ve been doing, as in my preaching, is Luther’s distinction between Christ as gift and Christ as example. In his 1521 What to Look for and Expect in the Gospels, Luther argues that Christ both an example for us to follow and a free gift of God for us — and that Christ is only an example if he is first a free gift. It’s this distinction that we need to make sense of our readings for today.