Enfolded in Love -- A Message for April 25, 2021

 

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

John 10:11-18

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 

The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 

just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 

I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 

The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 

No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Prayer for Understanding

God of Story and Song, through the scriptures you have taught us of your love, and lifted our hearts in praise. Send us your Holy Spirit as we listen to the witness of your people, so that we may claim the story of your redeeming love again and praise you with our lives through Christ, our Lord and Guide. Amen.

Message                                          Enfolded by Love            

            In the first century, in Israel, there were many, many sheep and shepherds to watch over them.  People wove sheep wool into clothing.  People drank sheep milk and ate sheep cheese.  The main type of meat people ate, when they were lucky enough to eat meat, was derived from sheep.   Sheep dotted the land.

            When Jesus talked about being a shepherd, people understood what he was talking about.  They knew shepherds.  They knew the dangers faced by sheep.  And, they knew how sheep behave….they are notorious for losing their way and following leader sheep who take them off-course.

            The only sheep I see when I am out and about are at Black’s farm up the road on Skippack Pike.  These sheep are contained in a small grassy field surrounded by serious fencing.  Those sheep have nowhere to wander off to since they are stuck inside their fence.  They don’t need a shepherd to walk among them and keep them from wandering away --- the fencing does the work of  a Shepherd.

            But, the Ancient Middle East was not fenced.  Shepherds were essential keep track of the sheep.

            And, there was a difference between the hired help and the owners of the sheep.  The shepherds “for-hire” were not invested in the sheep the way they owners were invested.  When predators came to attack, the hired help ran away.  They were not willing to risk life and limb for the sheep.  For the owners, it was a different story.  They would risk everything to protect the sheep.  Their livelihood and the lives of their family were dependent on keeping the sheep alive so they could be shaved for wool and milked and eventually slaughtered for human food.

            In our reading this morning, Jesus talked about being the “good shepherd.” A good shepherd risks his life for his sheep.   A good shepherd risks everything so that their sheep are preserved and their family’s source of income and food is preserved.

            When Jesus told his followers he was the Good Shepherd, he knew he would lay down his life for his sheep, for his people, for us.  Jesus loved the people of our world so much that he was willing to die to protect us….to protect us from the weight of our sins.  Jesus was willing to give his life for us, his sheep.

            Jesus also says in this passage that he was gathering up other sheep that were not of “this” sheep pin.  Jesus was a Jewish man who came as the Messiah.  But, he was not only the Messiah for Jewish people, he was the savior of all people.  So, Jesus wanted to make it clear that he was gathering up all of the people of the world, not just the Jewish people of the World.  Everyone was welcome to follow Jesus, to live by his teachings, to experience the love of God, to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God….everyone.  Not just the Jewish people, not just the people who once were God’s Chosen People.  Through the Good News of Jesus Christ, we all learned we are the Chosen People of God.

We are called to become one flock -- "There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28)   In Jesus’ time, the Jewish people were separate from the Gentile people.  They actively worked to keep themselves separate from their neighbors. But, Jesus came to change that, to bring people together.  In our time period, who is separate from us?  Who are our Gentiles? Who have we separated ourselves from?  

In our country, over the past year, in addition to grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic, we have also been soul-seeking as a country that struggles with racial equality.  Although we are mandated by our faith to treat everyone with respect and love, the history of our country is a history of prejudice against racial and ethnic groups who are not powerful.  The White European majority has separated ourselves from our version of the Gentiles the ancient Jewish people distained. We treated Native Americans unfairly the moment Europeans set foot on this country; then we brought enslaved African people here against their will.  We treated Irish immigrants, and Italian immigrants, and Polish immigrants, and Chinese immigrants unfairly.  Even after we ended slavery, we still mistreated African Americans. We forced Japanese Americans to live in detention centers.  We have treated immigrants from Mexico and Central America with suspicion and hostility.   The majority group in our country, a group that is predominantly Christian, has treated other people as our “Gentiles” – we have separated ourselves from the “other” again and again and again.

The mandate of our faith is to welcome everyone into our sheepfold.  Everyone is supposed to mix together.  We are called to invite everyone to follow Jesus.  WE are called to share the Good News with everyone – people who look like us and people who don’t – people with our ethnic origins and people of every other ethnic origin – people who are women and people who are men – people who are married and people who are single and people who are divorced and people who are widowed – people who are heterosexual and people who are homosexual and people who are bisexual and people who are pansexual --  babies and toddlers and children and teenagers and young adults and middle aged adults and older adults and senior adults. – People who speak English as a first language and people who speak Spanish as a first language and people who speak Swahili as a first language and people who speak sign language.  Everyone is invited to our sheepfold.  Everyone is invited to our church.

And part of our job is to gather them up.  We can’t expect people to just show up.  Why would they come? We have to give them reasons to come. And, we have to invite them to come. 

There are many people who haven’t heard the Good News.  Or they have heard a version of Christianity that doesn’t resonate with them.  Many people don’t know that there are churches like ours – churches where we work to love and accept all people, and want to make sure everyone knows they are loved by our God and they don’t have to change into someone else to fit in with our group. There are no perfect Christians.  WE are all on a journey together. We are people who are not perfect but we are trying to do things better. We are working to support and love each other as we grow in our faith and as we grow in our compassion. 

Jesus laid down his life for us.  He was the Good Shepherd who risked everything for his sheep.  We are also called to take risks for our faith – to risk telling others about Jesus. To take risks inviting others to come to church with us. To risk inviting people who are different than we are to join us here. Jesus reminded us that this faith is not only for those of us who are believe in it now, but we are always in the process of sharing in with new people and inviting new people to develop a relationship with our God.

Let us reach out in love. May it be so. Amen.