May 12, 2019

Fourth Sunday of Easter
Acts 9:36-43
Psalm 23
Revelation 7:9-17
John 10:22-30

Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
 grace and peace to you from the Good Shepherd. Amen
 
Sheep, well shepherds
appear all over our readings for today,
it’s why this Sunday has the nickname,
Good Shepherd Sunday.
 
 I don’t claim to know much of anything about shepherding
 other than it is the shepherd’s job to take care of sheep
which generally means leading them to food and water,
finding them when they wander off
and protecting them from things that want eat them, like wolves.
 
At least this is the portrait of the shepherd
 that is painted in the Bible,
 a theme that Jesus takes up when he proclaims in John 10:11
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.”
which in this Easter season
 we are well aware that he does.
 
Jesus is the good shepherd,
he promises to take care of us
and that is comforting,
 
no matter how independent or tough we are
or pretend we are,
 we all long to be cared for,
 to be assured that everything will be okay,
that there is someone looking out for us.
 
 And Jesus does,
 but he also has expectations for us
as we follow him
 and that leads to the truth
 that lies behind all the talk of the tender care of the good shepherd,
 
the truth there is no guarantee
that life lived in and with God
will be free from dangers or hardships,
  
in fact Jesus is quite clear
 that those who follow him
should expect danger and hardship,
 
what Jesus does guarantee, promise,
is to be with us,
 alongside us,
in the midst of these times.
 
Take our beloved Psalm 23
 even as the psalmist describes the green pastures
and still waters provided by the shepherd,
what sounds like a pretty cushy life for a sheep,
 
the psalmist acknowledges walking through the valley of the shadow of death
and the presence of enemies,
what makes the difference for the psalmist
 is the presence of God in the midst of these experiences.
 
The danger is there
but the psalmist does not fear
because of the comfort of the Lord.
 
These themes are present as well in our reading from Revelation,
 Revelation or the Apocalypse of John
is an odd book
 
but rather than being a prediction of the future to come
as so many have thought,
it falls more into the category of resistance fiction.
 
 A story written to convey truths
to an oppressed group of people
in a way that will not bring down the wrath of the empire upon their heads.
 
The Christians to whom John wrote in Revelation
were living under the Roman Empire,
their proclaimed belief that Jesus is Lord
 rather than the Caesar
 placed them at the margins of society at best
and subject to death for treason at worst
 
 
and frankly
 things were going to get worse before they got better
 this is the setting for our reading from Revelation,
where John in his vision
 sees a great multitude around the throne of God in heaven,
 from every nation and language praising God
 
John finds out that this crowd
 are the people who have come through the “great ordeal”
they have suffered on behalf of Jesus
 so now they get to spend all their time worshiping God
 “and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat, for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
 
These are images are familiar,
they are the words of the prophet Isaiah
to the Israelites in exile,
God promised to bring them out of exile and God did,
now God promises to bring the people out of the tribulation to shelter,
 
but God will do this as a shepherd,
walking with the people,
 through the danger
to the promised land of safety and security.
 
 Once again God does not promise that there will be no suffering or hardships,
what God does promise is to be there with the people through the hardships.
 It’s the way God works,
 
Jesus is the good shepherd
 And we follow him because he knows us.
 
“My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.”
Jesus says today in our gospel reading,
 and that is the key to the good of the shepherd,
 the knowing of the sheep.
 
 This knowing is a heart knowing
 rather than a head knowing,
the kind of knowing that means the shepherd can pick individual sheep
out of what looks to the rest of us like an undifferentiated mass.
It’s the kind of knowing that anticipates
 that some sheep like this kind of grass,
while others favor another
so the shepherd makes sure to frequent both pastures,
 
 it’s a knowing that heads off that one sheep
 that always wanders away from the rest,
 it’s loving.
 
And the sheep,
knowing they are loved and cared for
follow the voice of the one who loves and cares for them.
 Even if it means going through some dangerous spots,
 they follow because they know the shepherd will go with them
 and take care of them.
 
Jesus is the good shepherd,
 he knows us with the knowledge of love,
a knowing so deep we cannot help but respond
in the good times and in the times of trouble,
 and when we wander away
 Jesus comes to find us
and bring us back into the fold.
 
And now some of you are sitting there thinking
‘that’s a pretty message pastor but how’s that going to work out?”
 
In this Easter season we’ve been spending time with the disciples
who have been saying pretty much the same thing,
 Jesus has appeared to them post resurrection
and given them the good news
and they wonder ‘how’s that going to work if you’re ascending to your father Jesus?’
 
 and Jesus has told them,
you’re going to do it,
I will be present in you.
 
Last week we heard the final conversation between Jesus and Peter
 where Jesus told Peter to feed his sheep and tend his flock
and in that instance the lamb became the shepherd.
 Just like in Revelation where the lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd,
we lambs are to be shepherds to one another.
 
It sounds kind of funny
but again that’s how God works,
 
so here we are,
lambs that are cared for
and shepherds that care for others,
we have both roles to play.
 
 Sometimes we’re more lamb
and sometimes we’re more shepherd
but we are always bound by love.
 
We’ve been lambs this morning,
we have heard we are loved and known,
 and now it’s time to put on our shepherd hats,
 
I want you to look around
and notice who is missing this morning,
think about who you haven’t seen for a while,
 
this isn’t a rhetorical point
I want you to take a moment and pick one person or family
you haven’t seen here for a while.
 
Everyone got someone in mind?
Okay, now it’s your turn to be the shepherd
this week I want you to reach out to that person,
 
write them a note,
give them a call.
 It doesn’t have to be complicated
 just a simple I noticed you were gone,
I missed you
 
 And in this way they will know they are cared for,
that they are known,
that Jesus is with them wherever they are in life,
just like he promised. Amen