Easter IV
The Rev. Martha Frances
Easter IV - 29 April 2007
Text: John 10:22-30. Other readings: Acts 9:26-43; Psalm 23; Revelation 7:9-17
Today is Good Shepherd Sunday, & today we have a series of scriptures including sheep & a shepherd. We are nurtured today by the most familiar of all psalms, the 23rd . Jesus becomes the Good Shepherd in John's gospel reading today, telling us that the sheep hear his voice & follow both Jesus & Jesus' heavenly parent since they are one. Many of our songs today call forth the figure of the shepherd caring for the sheep, familiar images to Jesus & his disciples.
Here we are, in the 4 th largest city in the nation, talking about being sheep & following a shepherd. All this language about farm animals was daily life for Jesus' & John's communities, but the closest we come to sheep here on 43 rd Street is those the livestock man brings for Joys of Christmas each year. I saw sheep this past weekend when I visited my mother outside of Kerrville, but I haven't even eaten a lamb chop recently. Sheep are not part of the daily life of city folk.
I have a friend who is a rancher out in West Texas, & he tells us sheep are dumb & goats smell bad. I'm not sure it's a compliment for Jesus to tell us we're the sheep & he's the shepherd. I don't want to admit that I'm a dumb sheep that can't find my way to the water unless I'm led by a shepherd. I'm a pretty independent woman & don't like all this talk about docility & obedience. Sometimes I have to get past the biblical images to the heart of the Gospel for it to be Good News.
The good religious people of Jesus' day challenged him to prove he was the Messiah. Jesus replied, "I have told you, & you do not believe." Our translation says they ask him, "How long will you keep us in suspense?" But the Greek original is really closer to "How long will you continue to annoy us?" It wasn't because they were members of the synagogue that they didn't belong to Jesus' sheep. Jesus is clear about the sequence. He says he has told them & they don't believe. Jesus acts 1 st, doesn't he? Jesus calls his sheep & his sheep hear his voice. Look at the rhythm here: Jesus calls. The sheep respond. Jesus knows the sheep. The sheep follow him. Jesus offers them eternal life & promises that no one will snatch them out of his hand. What a deal! May it's not so bad being a sheep of Jesus' flock!
Those of Jesus' flock are those who believe & follow. In fact, John's vision we call the Revelation is that a multitude from every nation, all tribes, peoples, & languages stand before the throne of God & praise God. We're all part of the flock who worships before the throne of God. It doesn't matter the color of our skin or where we got our clothes or what language we speak. We all belong! Perhaps we can all relate to the people John tells us about because each person in this room has been through her or his own great ordeal. At times, we each want to be wrapped in the white garments of baptism & sheltered by the One on the throne.
When we baptized 5 of our own at the Easter Vigil a couple of weeks ago, they too became sheep of Jesus' flock as we are, regardless of how or when or in what denomination we were baptized. Look at John's vision: we will neither hunger nor thirst no more. I know that Jesus' reign has not yet come fully, & some of the folks we're called to serve are truly hungry & thirsty, some are certainly struck by the sun, & all of us in Houston know about scorching heat.
John's vision gives us hope, however, that Jesus, our Good Shepherd, is leading us to springs of living water where eventually, we will have no need for tears. We have only a few Sundays before we have another baptismal Sunday, & several are already planning for baptism at that time. If you have not been baptized & would like to be, or you have a child to present for baptism, make sure to see me as soon as possible.
Notice that Jesus also says that when he calls his sheep, they follow him. What does Jesus call us to at this time in the life of Hope parish? During the past few weeks, I've pondered what Jesus calls us to. Our 4 former senior wardens spent part of their weekend yesterday describing the process of our joining at a diocesan multi-cultural conference at Camp Allen. We are accomplishing a good & fruitful thing at Hope as we come together making community from our various backgrounds. I just have a sneaking suspicion that Jesus hasn't called us together & led us thus far in order for us to fizzle out & rock along as a little church doing the same old thing. There have been comments dropped lately about how we're going to have to tighten up our belts & spend less around here in order to balance the budget. Let me tell you all, the belts have been pretty tight ever since I got here & the two churches have been together. There's not much more belt-tightening we can do.
I'd like to offer a radical suggestion: Jesus is calling us to do a new thing in this parish of Hope, to grow a church that can make a radical difference in this neighborhood & in this diocese. Jesus is calling us to live as Easter people in all our lives—not just on Sunday mornings & not just during the Easter season, but in our whole lives, 24/7, 365 days a year. Jesus is calling us to call others, not just to welcome those who find their way to our door, but to actively & intentionally gather folks up & bring them to church, show them how to find their way through our worship service, walk them over to coffee hour & introduce them to others there, & help them connect to a group or ministry in the church.
If we're not ourselves involved in a small group & an outreach ministry, we need to find a group to become involved in. Each person at Hope needs to be stretching his/her mind & heart with regular scripture study, if not on Sunday mornings, then with a group you develop on your own. We have a great opportunity next Sunday evening to learn about outreach & becoming involved in peace & justice issues at the Comstock's. In a month, we'll be celebrating 56 years of educating of youngsters with St. Michael's Day School, & we'll welcome our new youth minister, Elizabeth Dowell—two opportunities to grow a new generation of Christians ourselves, not to leave it to some mega-church with fancy facilities & programs to attract those who can carry on beyond those of us who are graying.
And it's not ok to look around & say someone else can do it. We're all busy people; we all make priorities in our lives. WE'RE the someone else's. There isn't anyone else. It's you & me, folks! WE are the sheep of Jesus' pasture. It's up to US to contribute—financially, timewise, of our talents, of our hearts. Jesus will guide us to springs of the water of life, & God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, but folks, we've got to drink, to be nourished, to respond, & to join Jesus in renewing the face of the earth. Are we up to the challenge? What are we waiting for?
Easter IV - 29 April 2007
Text: John 10:22-30. Other readings: Acts 9:26-43; Psalm 23; Revelation 7:9-17
Today is Good Shepherd Sunday, & today we have a series of scriptures including sheep & a shepherd. We are nurtured today by the most familiar of all psalms, the 23rd . Jesus becomes the Good Shepherd in John's gospel reading today, telling us that the sheep hear his voice & follow both Jesus & Jesus' heavenly parent since they are one. Many of our songs today call forth the figure of the shepherd caring for the sheep, familiar images to Jesus & his disciples.
Here we are, in the 4 th largest city in the nation, talking about being sheep & following a shepherd. All this language about farm animals was daily life for Jesus' & John's communities, but the closest we come to sheep here on 43 rd Street is those the livestock man brings for Joys of Christmas each year. I saw sheep this past weekend when I visited my mother outside of Kerrville, but I haven't even eaten a lamb chop recently. Sheep are not part of the daily life of city folk.
I have a friend who is a rancher out in West Texas, & he tells us sheep are dumb & goats smell bad. I'm not sure it's a compliment for Jesus to tell us we're the sheep & he's the shepherd. I don't want to admit that I'm a dumb sheep that can't find my way to the water unless I'm led by a shepherd. I'm a pretty independent woman & don't like all this talk about docility & obedience. Sometimes I have to get past the biblical images to the heart of the Gospel for it to be Good News.
The good religious people of Jesus' day challenged him to prove he was the Messiah. Jesus replied, "I have told you, & you do not believe." Our translation says they ask him, "How long will you keep us in suspense?" But the Greek original is really closer to "How long will you continue to annoy us?" It wasn't because they were members of the synagogue that they didn't belong to Jesus' sheep. Jesus is clear about the sequence. He says he has told them & they don't believe. Jesus acts 1 st, doesn't he? Jesus calls his sheep & his sheep hear his voice. Look at the rhythm here: Jesus calls. The sheep respond. Jesus knows the sheep. The sheep follow him. Jesus offers them eternal life & promises that no one will snatch them out of his hand. What a deal! May it's not so bad being a sheep of Jesus' flock!
Those of Jesus' flock are those who believe & follow. In fact, John's vision we call the Revelation is that a multitude from every nation, all tribes, peoples, & languages stand before the throne of God & praise God. We're all part of the flock who worships before the throne of God. It doesn't matter the color of our skin or where we got our clothes or what language we speak. We all belong! Perhaps we can all relate to the people John tells us about because each person in this room has been through her or his own great ordeal. At times, we each want to be wrapped in the white garments of baptism & sheltered by the One on the throne.
When we baptized 5 of our own at the Easter Vigil a couple of weeks ago, they too became sheep of Jesus' flock as we are, regardless of how or when or in what denomination we were baptized. Look at John's vision: we will neither hunger nor thirst no more. I know that Jesus' reign has not yet come fully, & some of the folks we're called to serve are truly hungry & thirsty, some are certainly struck by the sun, & all of us in Houston know about scorching heat.
John's vision gives us hope, however, that Jesus, our Good Shepherd, is leading us to springs of living water where eventually, we will have no need for tears. We have only a few Sundays before we have another baptismal Sunday, & several are already planning for baptism at that time. If you have not been baptized & would like to be, or you have a child to present for baptism, make sure to see me as soon as possible.
Notice that Jesus also says that when he calls his sheep, they follow him. What does Jesus call us to at this time in the life of Hope parish? During the past few weeks, I've pondered what Jesus calls us to. Our 4 former senior wardens spent part of their weekend yesterday describing the process of our joining at a diocesan multi-cultural conference at Camp Allen. We are accomplishing a good & fruitful thing at Hope as we come together making community from our various backgrounds. I just have a sneaking suspicion that Jesus hasn't called us together & led us thus far in order for us to fizzle out & rock along as a little church doing the same old thing. There have been comments dropped lately about how we're going to have to tighten up our belts & spend less around here in order to balance the budget. Let me tell you all, the belts have been pretty tight ever since I got here & the two churches have been together. There's not much more belt-tightening we can do.
I'd like to offer a radical suggestion: Jesus is calling us to do a new thing in this parish of Hope, to grow a church that can make a radical difference in this neighborhood & in this diocese. Jesus is calling us to live as Easter people in all our lives—not just on Sunday mornings & not just during the Easter season, but in our whole lives, 24/7, 365 days a year. Jesus is calling us to call others, not just to welcome those who find their way to our door, but to actively & intentionally gather folks up & bring them to church, show them how to find their way through our worship service, walk them over to coffee hour & introduce them to others there, & help them connect to a group or ministry in the church.
If we're not ourselves involved in a small group & an outreach ministry, we need to find a group to become involved in. Each person at Hope needs to be stretching his/her mind & heart with regular scripture study, if not on Sunday mornings, then with a group you develop on your own. We have a great opportunity next Sunday evening to learn about outreach & becoming involved in peace & justice issues at the Comstock's. In a month, we'll be celebrating 56 years of educating of youngsters with St. Michael's Day School, & we'll welcome our new youth minister, Elizabeth Dowell—two opportunities to grow a new generation of Christians ourselves, not to leave it to some mega-church with fancy facilities & programs to attract those who can carry on beyond those of us who are graying.
And it's not ok to look around & say someone else can do it. We're all busy people; we all make priorities in our lives. WE'RE the someone else's. There isn't anyone else. It's you & me, folks! WE are the sheep of Jesus' pasture. It's up to US to contribute—financially, timewise, of our talents, of our hearts. Jesus will guide us to springs of the water of life, & God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, but folks, we've got to drink, to be nourished, to respond, & to join Jesus in renewing the face of the earth. Are we up to the challenge? What are we waiting for?
posted by
Hope Episcopal Church
at 7:23 PM
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