Sermon for Easter 4 – Good Shepherd Sunday
Psalm 23
Revelation 7:9-17
John 10:22-30
At
that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was
winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the
Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in
suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." Jesus answered, "I
have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name
testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep.
My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal
life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What
my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out
of the Father's hand. The Father and I are one."
Alleluia Christ is Risen!
Today s the fourth Sunday of
Easter. Not the fourth Sunday after
Easter. We still have our Easter finery
in the church. However the Easter Lilies
and other flowers are starting to fade.
For the secular world Easter with its cute bunnies and Easter egg hunts
and oodles of candy – can you say peeps and cadbury cream eggs? – has faded
into the background. All around us
society is already starting to think about the next holiday and the beginning
of the summer season that is just around the corner. But it is still Easter in the church. How do we hold on to a celebration that lasts
50 days in our world of short attention spans?
How do we celebrate the joy of the resurrection when faced with the
bombings at the Boston Marathon this past Monday and the manhunt that
captivated the nation coming to a close with one suspect dead and the other
captured and hospitalized in serious condition?
How do we celebrate Easter in the midst
of violence and death? And to top it off
this Sunday is what we refer to as Good Shepherd Sunday. It is a Sunday full of images of sheep and
shepherds. It was tempting for me to
ignore the events of this past week and to preach about shepherds and cute
sheep but instead the events of this week caused me to go deeper into the
readings.
It useful to put the Gospel into context. The setting is a cold December day. It is the festival of the Dedication or as we
know it today Chanukah. It’s a far cry
from our spring filled Easter setting.
The portico of Solomon is also the seat of judgment. It is where the king would sit and pronounce
judgment on the people. And that is
where we hear the people asking Jesus to tell them plainly if he is the
messiah. No more riddles. And how does Jesus reply? Seemingly in another riddle. But behind that riddle is hope. Jesus reminds the people of all that he has
done in their presence. Jesus has not
only been telling the people that his is the messiah but he is demonstrating it
though his acts.
Jesus then tells those people that
because they are not his sheep they cannot hear – and I would add cannot see –
that Jesus is the messiah. There is a
tenderness to this passage. There is a
promise of hope in the midst of doubt.
It is a two way street. The sheep
know the shepherds voice and the shepherd knows his sheep. The shepherd will protect them. There is a promise that we just have to
listen for Jesus voice. But it’s not
that easy during weeks like this past week.
Weeks like this can make us doubt.
Another preacher I follow said “So often in church we talk about faith
and that is a powerful thing to talk about, but to not claim the flip side of
faith, the perpetual travelling companion of faith -- doubt -- means we are not
leaving room for the real life experiences of people. Even the most faithful
have moments of doubt. (Workingpreacher.org)”
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Where is Jesus voice in the midst of the destruction? Can
you hear it above the roar of helicopters and ‘flash-bang’ grenades? Can we hear Jesus voice calling us above the
media frenzy that followed the manhunt all day on Friday? The good news for us is that God is
persistent. Even when we doubt God’s
presence we can – if we look find God’s presence. We can see evidence of God in the reactions
of those who – instead of running away from the bombsite – ran to the site to
help those in need. We can see God’s
presence in a community that refuses to live in fear. We can see and hear God whispering to us. God will take care of us even in the midst of
tragedy. It can be hard to believe that God
is present in times of tragedy but that is the good new of Easter. God suffered death on the Cross and rose on
Easter to prove to us that nothing on this earth can kill the love of God. God’s love will pursue us all the way to the
grave if necessary. Let me repeat that –
NOTHING ON THIS EARTH CAN KILL THE LOVE THAT GOD HAS FOR US. We can trust in
that. Even – and perhaps especially when
we have doubts. We hear it in our Gospel
reading today - God’s promise that even from Solomon’s portico – from the judgment
seat – that God knows us and we know his voice.
We also hear that promise from the Psalmist today. The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not
want.” When we are confronted by doubt
and despair the psalms are good places to turn.
They express all the doubt, fear, anger and joy towards God that we experience. There is one particular line in the psalm
today that when translated differently emphasizes Gods relentless pursuit of
us. The last line of the psalm can be
translated from the Hebrew to read “Surely Goodness and mercy shall chase or
pursue me all the days of my live, and I will dwell in the house of the lord
forever.” (Sermon Brainwave at workinpreacher.org) In the midst of our crazy lives. When nothing makes sense try saying the 23rd
Psalm. Say it for your self or for
someone else. Lynell has preached about using this psalm as a method to lift up
to God people or situations when we don’t know how to pray. Change the pronouns and instead of it being a
personal response it can become a prayer for the victims or even the
perpetrators of violence.
Lets try it together.
Change the pronouns anyway you want.
It can be for someone(s) in need of consoling or those who we don’t know
how to forgive because of what they have done. (BCP 612)
1
The LORD is my
shepherd; *
I shall not be in want.
I shall not be in want.
2
He makes me lie down
in green pastures *
and leads me beside still waters.
and leads me beside still waters.
3
He revives my soul *
and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake.
and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake.
4
Though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death,
I shall fear no evil; *
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
I shall fear no evil; *
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5
You spread a table
before me in the presence of those who trouble me; *
you have anointed my head with oil,
and my cup is running over.
you have anointed my head with oil,
and my cup is running over.
6
Surely your goodness
and mercy shall [pursue] follow me all the days of my life, *
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
God’s pursuit is never ending. It is sometimes hard for us to hear or see
the love that never refuses to die but it is there. How will we hear God’s voice through the
tumult? It is not easy. But the Easter promise is not one of
judgment. The Easter promise is that God’s love for his creation can’t be
killed. I invite you to find a way to be
able to listen for God’s voice in your life.
Is God’s voice there for you in the beauty of creation? Is it in your relationships with others? Is it in the beauty of worship and the
sacraments? The good news of Easter as
expressed by the psalmist is that God will pursue us and call us all the days
of our lives – even on those days we doubt in the goodness of creation and in
the love of God.
Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
