4 Easter - Deacon Marty Garwood

In a different time and in a different place, our worship space might be entirely different:  with a long central aisle, pews on both sides, stone walls punctuated by tall narrow stained glass windows depicting many of the Bible stories that are so familiar to us.  Perhaps on a particular Sunday, the morning sun would be aligned just perfectly to highlight the Good Shepherd window.     But in the here and now of St. Andrew’s we don’t have those types of stained glass windows.  We do, however, have a number of wonderful paintings that invite us into the stories.  This particular painting usually hangs in the garden room but this morning we have moved it here so that our feast on the Liturgy of the Word can be both visual and auditory.   Scripture has many many references to shepherds and stories about how they cared for their flocks.  Here in western South Dakota we aren’t very familiar with shepherds.  The stories we do hear often refer to sheep herders rather than shepherds and the stories don’t usually bear repeating.     The people listening to Jesus were familiar with shepherds.  Not only were shepherds important because the economic reality of the time demanded that great care be given to the flocks; but the identity of the Hebrew people was tied intrinsically to their history of being a nomadic pastoral community.  The stories they told about who they were as a people included the stories of ancestors who were shepherds.     Their ancestor David was a shepherd before he was anointed by Samuel to become the king.  Other shepherds in their history – in our history – include Jacob, Rachel, Abraham, and the prophet Amos.   The Prophet Jeremiah related the promise of God in these words:  “Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.”  According to Jeremiah, God also promised:  “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the LORD.”  There were great blessings to being a shepherd but there were also great responsibilities.   The saga of the Exodus from Egypt is a classic story of being in the care of a shepherd.  The Hebrew people had been called by their Shepherd to be the people of God.  God knew them by name and called them his own.  Like a good Shepherd, God led them through the wilderness, protecting them from enemies.  The Shepherd led them to springs of water and to life giving sources of food.  They were led to a promised land where they could rest after their wanderings.     We too are led through the wilderness of life by the Good Shepard who calls us by name and claims us as his own.  We are given – with no strings attached – the gift of love.  Set before us is the promise of a banquet complete with all that is needed to sustain our bodies and our souls.  Our wounds are healed and we have the assurance of faith that in the care of the Good Shepherd there is nothing that we need to fear.   I invite your attention back to our painting this morning.  Take a moment to gaze upon the picture.  Don’t focus too strongly but rather let your vision blur just a little around the edges.     There – did you notice it?  The features of the shepherd in the painting began to shift just a little.  The Shepherd began to resemble you – He began to resemble me.   Jesus is not the only good shepherd in this relationship we have with God.  You and I are also called to be shepherds of this flock of God’s creating.  We have been given hearts after God’s own heart.  We have been shown what being loved can be like and we are called to love in return.  The witness or the testimony of our lives being lived deeply grounded in the love that God has for each and every one of us declares to the world who and whose we are.   When Jesus met his disciples on the shore of Galilee following His resurrection, Jesus asked Peter three times if Peter loved him.  Each time, Peter said yes, of course – each time more emphatically than the last.  Following Peter’s third declaration of his love, Jesus than told Peter “feed my sheep”.  That is exactly what we are called to do.  We are to feed God’s sheep in every way imaginable.   We are called to tear down the fences and to build bridges over the abyss that separate us not only one from another but that also separate us from God.  We are all one flock separated by divisions put there by humankind.  God has called us all by name and loves each of us unconditionally.  As shepherds, we are to tend the flock God has created – a flock of which we are a part of.  We are to unify and strengthen that flock.  We are called to lay down our lives out of love for God and for one another.  We are to die to those things which we allow to prevent us from caring for one another.  We will experience resurrection in a new found way as we live out God’s purposes for us in the world today.  We are to be the hands and feet of Christ right here where we live our extraordinary every day lives.   In her book “Gospel in the Global Village Seeking God’s Dream of Shalom” Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefforts Schori wrote the following: “After all, the baptized may all be sheep, but they also have a vocation to be shepherds – every single one of us.  It is a way of talking about our vocation to follow Jesus, working to heal the world.”   Bishop Katharine also states “that to participate in God’s mission of healing the world – puts fear into most of us, if we are honest.  It is an enormous and awesome and impossible job.  Yet we continue to go, most of us, every day, to build the reign of God – one encounter and one person at a time.”   Our ability to serve as shepherds is grounded in the peace and confidence that is given to us through Jesus – the Good Shepherd.  When we call ourselves Christians, and pattern ourselves after Jesus Christ, then all that we are and all that we do works to the betterment of God’s kingdom.  We are to seek and serve Christ in all others – loving our neighbor as ourselves.     There is nothing too small or too insignificant – all that we do matters.   Let me share some of the ways I have seen you serving as shepherds.   I see a younger sibling praising the accomplishments of an older sister. I see you faithfully bringing food items so that others may be fed out of your bounty. I see a spouse caring for a husband or wife who is not in good health. I see you providing transportation so that others may attend events in the community as well as church functions. I see you participating in programs that protect God’s creation – our environment. I see you returning your neighbor’s trash can to the head of the driveway so it doesn’t blow down the street. I see you going out of your way to learn more about a culture that is different from your own so that you can teach your children. I see you welcoming the stranger to the community because you too have been in their shoes. I see you praying not only for those you know but also for those you do not know. I see you taking time for yourself – for rest and relaxation – because you know that if you don’t minister to yourself you won’t be able to minister to others.     Of course, this is an incomplete list.  This is only a sampling of the many ways in which we all serve as shepherds.   Earlier this week I opened my e-mail and found an entry from a blog by the Rev.Tim Schenck.  Father Schenck is the rector at St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church in Hingham Massachusetts.  This particular blog entry was about sharing the Peace – or as Father Tim describes it - the Holy Half Time.  It is meant to be that moment during the liturgy when “By exchanging The Peace with one another we are forced to confront the reality that we worship in community, not because it happens to be convenient or always easy, but because Christ gathered disciples around himself and calls us into community as well.”   As I prepared for this homily, I found myself returning again and again to Father Tim’s words about what the peace of God really means.  I believe that in offering the peace of God to one another, we are living into our roles as shepherds.  So I offer you a challenge this morning.   Rather than attempting to hug or shake hands with as many people as possible – approach two or three people.  Take time to look each one in the eye.   And in your best shepherd voice offer them the peace of God.  By that I mean really offer them – the lay your burden down, come rest with me, drink of the living water, and eat of the bread of life – Peace of God.  This is what the Good Shepherd brings to you and me.  It is the least of what we can offer to others.   Alleluia!  Christ is Risen The Lord is Risen Indeed.  Alleluia!