Sermon 30th April 2023 - 4th Sunday of Easter
Text John 10:1-10 – more than
a number
Do you get frustrated like I
do with having to remember so many numbers. What’s your mobile phone number? What’s
your customer number? What’s your PIN number? What’s your licence number? What’s
your medicare number? And with so many scams these days even with your Password
protecting your bank and other accounts they have what’s called “2 step
verification”. What that means is after you’ve put in your account number and
password you get a text message with a separate number you need to enter as a
2nd password. Gone are the days when your name was your identity. When your
name was trusted.
Names are important. God’s
name was given to Moses as his protection against Pharoah. Jesus was given the
name that is above all names that at the NAME of Jesus every knee would bow and
tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. Not at his NUMBER. In fact in the Book of
Revelation warns about the Beast who would be identified by his NUMBER – 666. How
comforting to know that as Christians we are not numbers to God but baptized
into the name of God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It’s interesting to compare
that with our pets that we call them by name – we assign them a name.. It’s
only humans that are being reduced to numbers and those numbers become very
impersonal.
We constantly hear how our
population number is getting too big as our population number edges towards 8
billion. We devalue the importance of human beings by referring to humanity in
number tolls. We have to reduce our population because of climate change and
overuse of resources – but isn’t every person a child of God? We have to get
the road toll down to an acceptable number. Even if we get it down to ONE –
that’s ONE too many especially if it’s your loved one.
God’s relationship with us is
personal. We are brought into God’s family through our Baptism. And as a
result, our relationship with one another is described as family – brothers and
sisters in Christ. And we see an example of how that looks in our first reading
from Acts: All who believed were together and had all things in common; they
would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as
any had need.
And what we discover through
this is that this is the secret of mission. This is the secret of church
growth. There is no point going out into the world and inviting others to
become part of a fractured family that doesn’t get along. A family that argues
with each other and puts one another down.
No – we see how this family of
disciples through their “family love” drew people into their family as day by
day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. Did you hear
that – THE LORD added to their number. They didn’t add to their number; the
LORD added to their number. It wasn’t a program or worship style – they broke
bread – they prayed – they shared. In fact Jesus revealed that very same secret
to his disciples before he was put to death: “A new command I give you: Love
one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone
will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. Again, did you
hear that “By this” – by loving one another – everyone will know you are my
disciples.
Jesus calls us into a very
special relationship with himself as our Good Shepherd which is a very
protective relationship against those who seek to do us harm. He is quite
specific about the harm these “false shepherds” intend calling them a thief and
a bandit with the intention to steal and kill and destroy. On the other hand,
Jesus calls us to have life, and have it abundantly. We get an image in our
Psalm of that abundant life: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. He
makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters. He
revives my soul and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake. Did you
hear that – for his NAME’S sake.
It doesn’t mean our life is
without difficulty as Christians. No, our Psalm speaks about the valley of the
shadow of death but in those time we won’t be afraid because our Good Shepherd
will be with us. And sometimes our Good Shepherd disciplines us when we go off
track – his rod and his staff – they comfort us. A rod and staff were used for
correction to lead back to safety. Much like a lead on a dog can be
uncomfortable when used to disciple a dog that wanders toward the road and you
have to yank them back. Sometimes our Good Shepherd prunes which can be harsh
but produces new and lush fruit. In fact, St Peter says similar about those
times:
It is a credit to you if,
being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. If you endure
when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure
when you do right and suffer for it, you have God's approval. For to this you
have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example,
so that you should follow in his steps.
As our Good Shepherd, Jesus is
leading us forward to the place he knows we need to be. Sometimes that requires
a lot of faith and trust and sometimes a harsh rebuke when we wander away like
Peter did – get back behind me Satan. Peter wanted to lead the way which was
not the way Jesus spoke of and was told to fall back in line behind the shepherd.
And that’s because he is protecting us from the things that lay ahead.
They have to go through him –
much like a hero in a movie protecting his loved one who stands in the way and
says “you have to go through me first”. Or even more appropriate – over “my
dead body” – which is exactly what Jesus has done to protect us. He has placed
his crucified and risen body in front of us to protect us: He says - “Very
truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are
thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate.
Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find
pasture.
As our gate he is both the one
through whom we enter our eternal rest and the one through whom the enemy must
go to get to us – who only want to kill, steal and destroy – but they can’t. Because
Jesus has defeated them and won the battle for us. By his wounds you have been
healed. For you were going astray like
sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. You
are not a number – you are a child of God for whom Christ has died.
So may the peace of God that
surpasses our understanding watch over you now and forever. Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment