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The Fourth Sunday of Easter, May 11, 2003
The Rev. Merrill Wade
The King of Love my Shepherd is, whose goodness faileth never,
I nothing lack if I am His and He is mine forever.
In the name of the Father, and Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
That wonderful hymn reflects on the 23rd Psalm which has meant so much to so many people through the centuries – Hebrew and Christian people. The Good Shepherd. And reflecting on that most venerable hymn from the Hebrew people, we hear George Harper’s words from a book called A Race to Grace.
He writes, "thinking of that Good Shepherd who led his sheep to the sheltered places in the wilderness where they could find grass and water, staking his own reputation on the health and safety of the flock, Christians later were reminded of a carpenter who cared that way for people. As the shepherd always went first into the dark shadow of the deep ravines through which the sheep paths ran so that he could meet any enemies which might be lurking there, they saw Jesus as going literally through the valley of the shadow of death ahead of them. With his crooked staff the Good Shepherd carefully cleared a field of poisonous plants and snakes before he turned his flock into it to graze. He prepared a table in the presence of enemies of the sheep. At night, standing in the narrow entrance to the fold or to a box canyon, the shepherd admitted only one sheep at a time. His body was the door. Carefully he inspected each one to see whether there were scratches or cuts that needed to be treated with oil or cedar tar. And if one was so tired or hot that it might drink too much at the watering place inside, the Shepherd gave it a drink from a large two handled cup before letting it pass. That anointing oil and overflowing cup," George Harper writes, " is available for our spirits when we look to the Good Shepherd because what God wants for each of us to know is that we are surrounded by goodness and mercy all the days of our lives."
Gospel writer John picked up on this theme and pictured Jesus as the door to the sheepfold and as the Good Shepherd caring individually for each of his flock. And in our midst this morning, our Risen Lord speaks words of grace and truth, echoing these themes. "I am the Good Shepherd, I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father."
And how reassuring and inspiring it is to believe that Christ knows us and goes ahead of us into the dark shadows of the deep ravines where our paths lead us.
At St. Matthew’s we do well to remember that our mission statement is "To know Christ and to make him known" and how wonderful it is for the Good Shepherd, our Risen Lord to proclaim first to us, "I know you, I know you, and guess what," he adds, "I love you."
If, deep inside at your spiritual core this morning, you are tired or hot, Christ indeed will refresh you from the cup of salvation. And so we follow Jesus, our Good Shepherd, and inherent in that following of Jesus is the promise that we might have life and have it more abundantly.
The power to accomplish such abundant life, the power in keeping that promise, does not lie in our human being. But indeed it surges through us, the Body of Christ, as a gift from God given by the Holy Spirit, unleashed in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. We call the death and resurrection of Jesus and the gifts it brings to our lives, we call these great things the Paschal Mystery.
And here is how I understand the Paschal Mystery. Jesus in his life offers his character, his intellect, his wit, his wisdom, his sense of humor, his joy, his fears, his vulnerability, his back to the whip, his heart to be trusted, his body – all of himself – to God.
In offering all of this to God, he attempted in that way to shepherd those persons given into his care. And those he shepherded rejected Him; and in that rejection, his heart was broken. And his body crucified and destroyed.
And on this 4th Sunday of Easter we see in his death an explosion of new life, burst forth in his resurrection. Jesus is completely made new, healed and whole. And in his resurrection the power of forgiveness is released in the world. All were forgiven, all relationships made new as Christ had been made new. This is the source and the power of the Abundant Life that is our promise as we follow the Good Shepherd.
We are not promised constant happiness, wealth, or perfect health. I say that because the Abundant Life can include all of these things, or none of them. For what we are promised is life with the Risen Christ our Good Shepherd in our midst. Christ at our center, shepherding us and loving us wherever we are, wherever we go. Therefore I am saying that the resurrection is not simply a doctrine to be believed, but a promise of grace and abundance. And the chief grace is that the Risen Lord Jesus Christ is always present to his flock.
I am reminded of Margaret Wise Brown’s children’s book, The Runaway Bunny. I suspect a few of you have read this book, and I am going to read it to you. Finally we have a meaningful role for a bunny in the Easter season.
Once there was a little bunny that wanted to run away, so he said to his mother, "I am running away."
"If you run away," said his mother, "I will run after you for you are my little bunny."
"If you run after me," said the little bunny, "I will become a fish in a trout stream and I will swim away from you."
"If you become a fish in a trout stream," said his mother, "I will become a fisherman and I will fish for you."
"If you become a fisherman," said the little bunny, "I will become a rock on the mountain high above you."
"If you become a rock on the mountain high above me," said his mother, "I will become a mountain climber and I will climb to where you are."
"If you become a mountain climber," said the little bunny, "I will be a crocus in a hidden garden."
"If you become a crocus in a hidden garden," said his mother, "I will be a gardener, and I will find you."
"If you become a gardener and find me," said the little bunny, "I will be a bird and fly away from you."
"If you become a bird and fly away from me," said his mother, "I will be a tree that you come home to."
"If you become a tree," said the little bunny, "I will become a little sailboat and I will sail away from you."
"If you become a sailboat and sail way from me," said his mother, "I will become the wind and blow you where I want you to go."
"If you become the wind and blow me," said the little bunny, "I will join the circus and fly away on a flying trapeze."
"If you go on a flying trapeze," said his mother, "I will be a tightrope walker and I will walk across the air to you."
"If you become a tightrope walker and walk across the air," said the little bunny, "I will become a little boy and run into a house."
"If you become a little boy and run into a house’, said his mother, "I will become your mother and catch you in my arms, and hug you."
"Shucks," said the little bunny, "I might as well just stay where I am and be your little bunny." And so he did.
"Have a carrot," said the mother bunny.
And so it is with the Risen Christ, our Good Shepherd. Expressing the maternal love of God, the love of a mother who pursues you, waits on you, wherever you may go. And so it is with the Risen Christ who is in the shape of that car you endlessly drive. Who is in the shape of that computer on which you toil. Who is in the shape of the bed in which you rest and who indeed might be in the shape of the weakest, most helpless person in our city, should we dare open our eyes and hearts to discover Christ there.
The Abundant Life is born within us when we discover that we, you and me, bear in our bodies the Risen Christ for others. Christ uses us as a vessel for his presence. To make him known as our mission statement says, to make him known to others who desperately need the love of the Good Shepherd. As we do.
But on this morning it may feel that being a vessel for Christ is just one more thing to do. One more obligation. A walk that feels like a heavy load to bear. Perhaps this morning you are exhausted by life, and commitments and responsibilities and you cannot cope with even one more expectation to be placed upon you.
So I say, STOP. Quit running away from Jesus’ love. Stop, see where he is, let him find you, he is there, here, out ahead of you, always. The Good Shepherd is ready to refresh you from his cup. He is as close to you as the chair beneath you and the air you breathe. He will change himself to meet you over and over again but you have to be willing to stop, look and listen. This morning, just say, "Shucks. Shucks, Jesus, I might as well just stay where I am and just let you love me."
The Risen Christ says, "Beloved, I know you, I know you by name, I love you. Isn’t that enough this morning, to be known and loved by Jesus? All you have to do today is to allow that Good Shepherd to feed you, to give you a drink from that chalice for this is his table. He yearns to refresh you. He yearns simply to love you. That is all. Shucks, that’s enough. Amen.
