Third Sunday of Easter - Year A

Welcome Statement

Last Week’s sermon was rich with imagery of communion, and the issue of those straying and struggling and wrestling with God’s truth and word. We are very familiar with the relationship of Shepherds and their sheep. As sheep of God’s flock, we find ourselves straying alot, a lot of it being due to our own blindness, like a sheep looking for greener pastures, we must rely on the Shepherd to guide, and follow with the body of Christ. Note how a single sheep does not thrive by himself, but thrives in communion with others, the Shepherd is at his most effective when the sheep are together. The road to Emmaus in that regard, is like us, straying. This Shepherd imagery is steeped in a rich tradition from the days of when the Israelites were still wanderers and nomads. David who eventually becomes king, remembers the days of his own work as a Shepherd, and how it is a humble life, that requires care and guidance and focus to take care of the flock. David realizes, this is analogous to how God operates with Israel. As Christians, we inherit that same relationship through our spiritual inheritance through Jesus Christ.

Old Testament Reading - Psalm 23

Psalm 23 NRSV

A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.

Back And Forth

The Psalmist shows a back and forth, a give and take relationship in following God as Shepher

It slips between who God is, and how we relate to him as his sheep

The thing about sheep is,

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Guidance

The thing about sheep is, without guidance they will kind of stick together, but they will overgraze, and sort of stick in one spot

One Sheep might start to go off in one direction and the others follow. Which the we might mistake for leadership, but is actualy just noise and randomness. (This relates to a lot to the people we see as leaders in the world)

The reality is, we need a shepher with a corrective rod. The rod doesn’t violently beat down, it blocks and guides sheep straying, it is more like a stop signal rather than a blunt instrument

Jesus The Ultimate Shepher

Jesus becomes the new Shepherd of the flock. David and other leaders of Israel all attempted to sit in this role and struggled, because they still needed shepherding themselves. in a lot of ways they were more like hired hands, doing things out of obligation or responsibility, rather than a total vested interest in the flcok.

Jesus when he speaks in the NT, is well-versed in these stories and language, so with this background prepared, we now go to John 10:1-10

New Testament Reading - John 10:1-10

John 10:1–10 NRSV

“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, “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. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Jesus as The Gate to New Life

Jesus is only exclusive or exclusionary in the sense that he does not allow other Idols to share space with him

You can’t have your cake and eat it too

Meaning, you can’t both eat the cake, and still have a cake leftover

If you spend your time with Idols, There is no time for Jesus, Jesus will not compete for attention, he is our object of attention

As a Gate, Jesus allows people into the New Jerusalem, the Kingdom of God, the Garden of Eden, the New Heaven and Earth. But he also restricts and protects the kingdom from dangers outside, those who wish to do harm to the body of Christ, those who reject the law of Love and the love of God.

Thieves will try to “have their cake” by coming in illegitimately. This happens a lot, people will be involved in church, may even provide positive outcomes, but in some sense Jesus has not captured their hearts

Or in the other sense, people will wield Christianity for their own gains, by making Christ align with their goals in their minds, fooling themselves that they are doing the lord’s work.

We will recognize a stranger who tries to stand in the shoes of Jesus, who is not our real shepherd, but we must also guard our hearts

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New Testament Point #2

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New Testament Point #3

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Closing Statement

Lord, we thank yo

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, Lord we thank you for giving us new life into your Kingdom, for allowing us access to the Holy of Holies through your spirit, and your son. Help us to recognize your lordship in our lives, that you really do wish to guide us and correct us, to give us better lives, greener pastures. These pastures may not always look the way we expect, but you know they are the pastures meant for our stories and our hearts. In your name I pray.

Amen.

Doxology / Benediction / Closing

In Peter’s first letter to the Christians in diaspora of Asia Minor, He encouraged them to recognize what Jesus did on the cross, and how they are being brought back into his fold, even though they felt lost during persecution. He says the following:

1 Peter 2:24–25 NRSV

He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; 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.

We are the prodigal sons and daughters who Jesus seeked, even when we did not want it, some days it can be easy to fear the unknown, and worry our future selves might mess up the beautiful relationship we have with Jesus, but we forget, he is a shepherd, he comforts us, and corrects us when we are astray. He won’t let us go, ever.

May you Have a Blessed Sunday, and rest of your Week! Amen!