| First
Reading | Psalm | Epistle | Gospel |
| Acts
4:5-12 |
23:1-6 |
1
John 3:16-24 |
John
10:11-18 |
A
story from the Christian communities who lived in the Egyptian desert
during the fourth century tells of the soldier who asked a monk,
whether God would truly forgive a real sinner. The monk replied,
“If your cloak was torn or an edge was frayed, would you throw
it away?” “Of course not,” replied the soldier, “I
would mend it so that I could wear it and keep warm.” So the
monk said, “If you would care so much for your cloak made of
thread, do you not think that God would care as much for every one
of us?”
Our language describing God is often like
a torn cloak. It ultimately is imperfect and somewhat on occasion
somewhat ragged. Yet through our words, we can still perceive
the ideal. Words continue to communicate how God is, albeit in
an imperfect way.
Today is known as Good Shepherd Sunday
and the lessons and psalm of this day allude to God as the good
shepherd. It also happens to be “Mother’s Day”
originally an English holiday when people honored their parish
church as their spiritual mother and then brought spring flowers
to their own mothers. In America it is more a secular holiday
involving sending greeting cards, making long distance phone calls,
sending an arrangement by FTD, or even taking mother out to eat
at something better than a fast food eatery along the Meadow Street
strip.
In
the 23rd psalm we are given the image of a lone desert traveler
who presumably has become separated from his tribe or caravan.
The desert has always been a very hazardous place for someone
alone. The traveler comes upon an encampment of shepherds who
offer the stranger hospitality and protection. There is real danger
here. The shepherds could have been bad shepherds. They could
have taken advantage of the traveler and beat, robbed him, or
worse. At the same time, the stranger could have been an escaped
and bloodthirsty criminal. Part of the image here is that God
is welcoming and takes a chance on travelers and seekers. God
does not hold back, but offers generous hospitality to all.
Israel was originally a nomadic herding
society. Their greatest political hero, David, was called from
shepherding and anointed king. The Book of First Samuel (1 Sam.
17:34-35) recounts David risking his life to protect the flock
from a lion and bear. David became the warrior, the guarantor
of safety, prosperity and security to Israel. Of course, history
was a good deal more mixed than later legends. Nonetheless, to
talk of a descendant of David as being the good shepherd, would
certainly awaken past hopes and aspirations.
By the time today’s Gospel was written,
Israel was no longer a herding society. Jesus’ followers
were farmers, fishermen, and trades people. Shepherds were outsiders
with few rights, and having no roots, were often regarded with
suspicion. When the early church heard of Jesus as the Good Shepherd,
they would be reminded that Jesus was regarded as an outsider,
and with considerable suspicion by many of their synagogue- attending
neighbors. This Christian community also knew of religious leaders
who were false teachers and stirred up trouble and dissension
among them and were like wolves that came disguised as sheep.
They, as well as all the inhabitants of the land, suffered under
mercenaries, collaborators, and the hired hands of the Romans
who cared nothing for their welfare, but oppressively milked the
people for everything they were worth.
All in all, Jesus as the Good Shepherd
was not a romantic, clean image, removed from the realities of
everyday life or the ambiguities of history. Despite it all, Jesus
was the Good Shepherd because Jesus was shown to be dependable,
caring, and did not sell –out. Jesus stuck by the young,
fragile, church no matter what the danger. By his life and death
Jesus revealed that God was invested in the total and complete
welfare of humanity
This
morning when we describe God as the Good Shepherd it is probably
wise to emphasize the adjective good as much as the noun shepherd,
because God is good, even beyond any of our descriptions of good.
Whether as a mother, father, counselor, friend, pastor, or whatever,
we ultimately fail to live up to the ideal role. Yet the good
news is that God’s intentions are pure; God’s love is
sufficient; God’s trustworthiness is complete. This is what
the disciples began to discover more and more after the resurrection.
The incident, referred to in today’s lesson from the Book
of Acts, describes Peter’s realization that the risen Jesus
had become the cornerstone holding up his life. Peter is not giving
a backhanded put-down to other religions as much as offering his
personal testimony to the completeness of God’s grace as
revealed to him in Easter. Peter understands that he needs no
other power to sustain him and no other alternative to support
him besides the Gospel. To be alive in the resurrection is to
be completely alive.
Go from this place today, knowing that
God is the Good Shepherd. God repairs torn cloaks. God sticks
by humanity. God is steadfast and will not desert us. The plants
that children give to mothers today have a limited shelf life.
They only help point to the gift of growth and promise of fruition
that God intends for each of us.
And
I offer this to you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Amen
