4 Easter Yr B April 25 2021

4 Easter Yr B April 25 2021

Acts 4:5-12, 1 John 3:16-24, John 10:11-18, Psalm 23

 

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters. The words of this 23rd Psalm may be the most familiar words in the bible. The image of Jesus the Good Shepherd may be the most familiar image in the bible. It is depicted in artwork and in music and in beloved stained glass. We describe congregations as flocks, we describe pastors as shepherds. It isn't the only image of Jesus, but it may be the most comfortable. However, Jesus is also the bread, the light, a path, a gate, a vine. No matter how beloved, the Good Shepherd image is one among many that John presents to us.

 

Each one of the images that is presented to us about who Jesus is, the shepherd, the bread, the light, a path, a gate, a vine reveals something about the fullness and the wholeness and the extent of Jesus' invitation into the reality of the gift of God's love, the gift of God in our midst. Each of these images invites us in a different sort of way into how we might be related, how we might be in relationship, and what that trust is like and what it is about. This image we have before us today, this image of the Good Shepherd, helps us to see the fullness of God's investment in God's project of calling all people to God's self. We have in this story comfort and trust and guidance and we are called by name.

 

Hear the sound of your name as the one you love speaks it. Hear the sound of your name when your best friend in all the world is on the other end of the phone. Remember the sound of your name when your mom called you for dinner, or maybe used your entire name when you did something you shouldn’t have done, KATHLEEN ANN MONSON, or when she sang you to sleep at night. Even remember the sound of your name when used in anger, or in fear, KATHY, get out of the street! Or when your beloved calls out to you. When you hear your name like this, you know the one who is speaking it knows who you are. They’ve known you forever, they knew you before you were born, they’ve expected your homecoming, they named you, they love you. 

 

Hear the sound of your name as this one who loves you speaks it. You were called into being before you were born. Your name was spoken at your baptism. You are called to be the person you were created to be, the minister you were created to be. Kathy, follow me, you’ll be fed at green pastures and by still waters, I will guide you along right pathways, and be by your side through the valley of the shadow of death. I will feed you and fill you. You have been anointed for the work I call you to do. 

 

Who is this Good Shepherd that we follow? What makes the Good Shepherd good? For that we need to look at another story, the one that precedes this Good Shepherd story in John. Remember, location, location, location. It is what precedes the Good Shepherd story that tells us who this Good Shepherd is. In the story of the man born blind we have the sign that points us to the Good Shepherd. Jesus heals the man born blind. It’s an unprecedented miracle. And if that’s not enough, it is also an invitation to the possibilities of abundant life, as are all the signs in John. You have heard me speak of the themes in the gospel of John, and here is another one, grace upon grace. The granting of sight sign is grace, and what it signifies is grace upon grace. This man born blind has literally been in the dark, and now is in the light. The man born blind has moved from unbelief to belief. The blind man listens to Jesus’ voice and follows Jesus’ direction. The blind man first hears Jesus, just as Jesus’ sheep hear the shepherd’s voice.

 

And what happens to the man born blind once he is no longer blind? He is thrown to the curb, cast aside, marginalized, and Jesus, the Good Shepherd, calls to him, just as he calls to us, just as he calls to each and every one of God’s beloveds. That’s what makes the Good Shepherd good, no one is outside the Good Shepherd’s embrace. 

 

Jesus is the shepherd, calling my name, calling your name. Come, come with me, walk with me into this amazing place, run into my arms, into my embrace, this place of love, this place of life. Jesus says “I am the door, come through this door, here is a place of protection, of nurture, of sustenance, this is a place created for you.” And when our eyes are opened, when we hear and recognize the voice of the one who creates us, and comes to be with us, and loves us, we run through that door. 

 

And what’s more, is that Jesus does this again, and again, Jesus calls his followers by name, but not just you and me, Lazarus as well. You remember, Lazarus had been dead for four days. Jesus arrived at the tomb of his friend, and Jesus wept, and Jesus called to Lazarus, Lazarus, come out! In hearing his name, Lazarus came out, and was unbound, set free. Lazarus, the one who was dead, is now alive. 

 

But not even just you and me and Lazarus, Mary as well. Mary stood weeping at Jesus’ tomb. She bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, sitting where Jesus should have been. She did not know where Jesus had been taken. 

 

She turned around and Jesus was standing there, but she didn’t know him, she thought he was the gardener. Until he spoke to her, until he called her name, Mary! She turned and saw him, teacher! Mary went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” I have seen the Lord!

 

Lazarus lives! 

 

Mary proclaims!

 

We hear Jesus call our name, we recognize Jesus is the door through which we too can see God’s presence with us, making us into a beloved being. Giving us sight that enables us to see Jesus in our midst, in ourselves, in one another. Giving us sight that enables us to proclaim, like Mary, I have seen the Lord!

 

And what’s more, what’s even more over the top, more abundant, more amazing, is that Jesus, the door into God’s embrace, God’s love, is not exclusive or judging. This not about keeping people out, this is Jesus inviting people into new life, abundant life. “I am the door” is to invite people in, to recognize God in the flesh that is Jesus’ new and abundant life. To hear the voice of the shepherd, to walk through the door that is open, is to follow Jesus into Life, abundant life. Life in the here and now and life eternal in the resurrection. Life in the here and now and life even when Jesus leaves us. You are enough, see Jesus, recognize Jesus is God with us, walk through the door, and receive life, abundant life. 

 

Jesus is the gate. And every sheep, everyone, is welcome. There is no priority of worth in God’s kingdom. All of us, those who are in pain, grief; those who are just messed up; those whose lives are just fine; those who need more and those who have all they need; those who just can’t believe. You, you are welcome, Jesus is the gate, Jesus is the shepherd, Jesus is the love that wins. 

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!