May 3, 2020
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois
Psalm 23; John 10:1-18[1]
OK, here it comes again -
getting compared to sheep. We’re
supposed to be obedient and passive, following the rules, going where we’re
led, content with our lives. Well, I’m
not a follower. I’m a leader! I can fly solo and I don’t need anyone to
tell me what I’m supposed to do or where I’m supposed to go. I’m free and independent; I can do it on my
own, thank you very much!
There are times, I’m sure, when
we all feel like this. Someone else
wants to tell us who we’re supposed to be, what we’re supposed to do, how we
should look, what we should buy, and how we should feel. We get tired of other people controlling us,
and we want to just shut out all the noise and just be ourselves.
It’s all these voices that
surround us, pulling us in a thousand directions, which leave us feeling
stretched, frustrated, lost. Everywhere
we turn there is another voice offering us better, bigger, faster, more. “The world’s thinnest smartphone. Takes the
best pictures ever!” “The Super Duty
truck – built stronger, tougher, better.”
“We make every aspect of rolling over your 401k as simple as possible.
Make the smart choice.” “The ultimate,
collectible, special edition – available for a limited time!” The volume keeps getting louder and louder,
and we begin to start listening.
“Maybe if I buy a bigger TV I’ll
be happier.” “One more promotion and
I’ll finally get to do what I want.” “If
I wear right jeans, maybe she’ll notice me.”
We start to listen, and we begin to follow those voices. They are very seductive, and they sound so
sincere. And then we really lose our
way, because those voices confuse us.
They don’t come from a place of love and community. They lead us into the dark valley, charge
admission to the green pastures, and bottle up the still waters.
It’s not that we haven’t heard
the warnings. When we stop to think
about it, we know where the thieves and bandits are leading us. But it’s so much easier to climb the fence
than do what it takes to get through the gate.
Trying to do the right thing, to be the best version of ourselves all
the time can be exhausting. It’s so much
easier to just give in to temptation. We
want so desperately what the thieves and bandits promise: contentment,
happiness, joy – even when we know they can’t deliver.
I think that what we are all
really searching for is abundance. But
it is not the abundance of material things.
It is not the abundance of wealth, power, or prestige. It is not even the abundance of people who
think we’re really swell. I think what
we are all really searching for is something that only the true shepherd can
give us – abundance of life. In the
Psalm we hear the metaphor of the abundant life of the spirit – green pastures,
still waters, the overflowing cup.
Jesus says “I am the good
shepherd.”[2] In the hill country of ancient Israel, a shepherd
lived a hard life. There was little or no shelter, wolves and snakes to contend
with, and all those sheep in constant need of fresh grass, water, and someone
to lead them. But a good shepherd loved
the sheep as his own, and would lay down his life to protect them.
Jesus is the gate for the sheep
– and when we come in and go out by the gate, we find pasture. When we hop the fence with the thieves and
bandits, we only end up being destroyed.
But, when we hear that one voice, the voice of the one who knows us each
by name, then we know the one to follow.
When we follow the voice of the one who loves us, we know that we will
be led by right paths to the abundant pasture.
It is lonely when no one knows
your name, your story, the real you.
When no one knows you, it is as if you don’t matter, you don’t
belong. There is a challenge in that for
the Church. Most of us know the names of
the people who join us each week for worship.
But even in our small church there are people who are not known. There are people whose names are not called,
whose stories go untold, who never know a real sense of community, of
belonging, of being known. It is a
challenge to us, as people who are known, to seek out the unknown, to seek out
those who are lonely and lost, and call them by name. It is a challenge to us to welcome into our
community those who don’t seem to fit anywhere else and open the gate so that
they can belong, because they too have a shepherd who calls them by name.
One of the ways in which we name
one another is something we do in worship each week. We share our joys and celebrate the ones we
love by saying the names. We celebrate
birthdays and lift up people who are sick and who have died. We have postponed Confirmation Sunday until
we can gather in person again, but on that day each of the young people being
confirmed will hear their name spoken in the midst of the gathered
community. In normal times, at
commencement ceremonies around the world, the names of high-school and college
graduates are spoken as they step forward to be recognized, and we will
recognize the graduates from our church family here. On All Saints Sunday, we speak the names of
those who have died in the past year, as we celebrate the lives they lived
among us.
When Mary Magdalene went to the
garden on that first Easter morning, Jesus called her by name, and she knew that
voice. In that voice she heard the love
and care and hope that God had for her. In
that one word, “Mary,” she knew that she mattered.
In the early church the
disciples had very little. But they had at
least three things they could celebrate. They had a community where they were known by
name, a community wherein they shared all things in common, and served one
another’s needs. They had the presence
of the Holy Spirit as they spent time praying in the temple and breaking bread
together with glad and generous hearts.
And they had an abundance of life as the goodness and mercy that filled
their cups overflowed into their community and beyond.
I have enjoyed that abundant
life from time-to-time. I remember as a
child going to church pot-lucks and festivals that filled the air with
fellowship and celebration. When I was
in high school, I went to camp, spending a week or a week-end singing, praying,
learning, and eating in sacred community.
Take a moment and see if you can
remember a time when you had that powerful experience of fellowship, joy, and
community. Can you remember that
feeling? Can you remember that feeling
of abundance – love, and joy, and peace?
Like you I’m sure, those moments
have been fleeting for me. They come
around only from time-to-time. I get
pulled away, drawn back into the routine, the work that must be done, the pains
and sorrows, frustrations and hassles of a life that seems everything but
abundant. Honestly, sometimes I think
about climbing the fence and running off toward the false promises.
That is why it is so important
that we remind one another that the life we seek, the abundant life, is found
in Christ. We enter by the gate when we
listen to the voice of the one who laid down his life for us, yet rose again to
life abundant. We follow the shepherd
because we know the voice.
And how do we know the voice of
our shepherd? It helps if we stay with
the flock, or hang out near the gate. We
practice listening together and learning to tune out the discordant and
dissonant noise that leads us astray. We
study and speak and sing the words of Jesus until we hear him calling to us,
and we know his voice: “It is I; do not be afraid.”[3] “Those who drink of the water that I will
give them will never be thirsty.”[4] “Love one another as I have loved you.”[5] “By this everyone will know that you are my
disciples, if you have love for one another.”[6] “Follow me.”[7]
When we practice listening,
listening with each other for the voice of true, holy love, we begin to hear it
through the din of all the other voices.
And when we become adept at following that voice, we become shepherds
too. We can help others to listen to the
voice of the shepherd and to stop listening to the thieves and bandits who know
us not. We become guides for one
another, shepherds in sheep’s clothing, if you will. When we know the way through the gate, we can
help others to find the way.
Listen! I hear a voice calling my
name. Do you hear it too? It’s saying “I am the way, the truth, and the
life.”[8] Amen.
[1] The
scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989, by the
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ
in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2]
John 10:14.
[3]
John 6:20.
[4]
John 4: 14.
[5]
John 15:12.
[6]
John 13:35.
[7]
John 1:43.
[8]
John 14:6.
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