From today’s gospel:  “Jesus said ‘I am the good shepherd.’”

and 

From today’s New Testament lesson:  “Let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.”

I like to start off a sermon with a quote from the day’s lessons.  It lets me focus in on what my main point is going to be.  And unless you’ve been dozing through the entire first portion of this morning’s service, you’re probably aware that today we are being told Jesus is our Good Shepherd.  Indeed, the fourth Sunday of Easter is always celebrated as Good Shepherd Sunday.

To be honest, this is one of those weeks when I’d much rather be sitting over with the musicians or in a pew with you guys.  When I read the gospel for today, I sighed.  What could I possibly say about Jesus as the Good Shepherd that hasn’t been said a thousand times before?  And even if you’ve never heard about Jesus comparing himself to a shepherd…..the gospel is pretty self-explanatory.  Jesus is the shepherd.  We are the sheep.  Jesus is so invested in protecting his flock he will lay down his life for us.  What more can I say?

So I did some research – and by research I mean I typed “Jesus as Good Shepherd” into Google. 

One reflection I found online came to this conclusion:  “Jesus is the one shepherd we, as sheep, can trust.  All we need to do is let Him….and HE will take care of our every need without us having to do anything on our own.”

I found this take on the Good Shepherd almost offensive.  Really?  We don’t have to do anything on our own?  I suppose I could interpret what was written as nothing WE do truly makes us worthy to receive the love of Christ.  By his death – by his resurrection – HE made us worthy.

But I’m not the kind of guy who likes to sit around and wait for things to happen.  And I don’t believe that God intends for us to simply wait for all the goodness of God’s love to shower upon us.  We have that love.  We have that salvation.  Now what are we going to do with it?

That’s why I included two quotes from scripture in the opening of this sermon.

“I am the Good Shepherd.”  That is comforting and a wonderful image for us to think about.

But I want our time together to be spent thinking about a plan of action.  What are we called to do?  So I also wanted to include that phrase from the First letter of John.

“Let us Love….not in word and speech, but in truth and action. 

Word and Speech are fantastic.  We need to get the message out there.  But there is also action involved in love.

So how could I reconcile the gospel with Jesus taking charge as the Good Shepherd with a call to action – with US showing love to the world in actions?

My research continued and I ran across a video on YouTube about modern-day shepherding.  There was a tranquil woman named Janis Reuter who lives and works on a small sheep farm in East-central Minnesota.  She explained in about three minutes what it’s like to work with sheep in the 21st century.  She is a shepherd – a shepherdess to be exact.

The thing that struck me most about the video was the beautiful Border Collie which was her sheepdog.

Sheepdog.

And then I was inspired!  We are called to be sheepdogs.

Yes…in the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, we are the sheep of his fold and the lambs of his flock.  But doesn’t the Good Shepherd need a little help?  Doesn’t the Good Shepherd need some sheepdogs to help him out?

I was off and running. 

There is an old Scottish Proverb which states:  “There is no good flock without a good shepherd, and there is no good shepherd without a good dog.”

Indeed, the shepherd and his sheep need the help of a few good dogs to manage the flock.

Do you know how sheepdogs are raised and trained?  From the time they are puppies they are raised within the flock of sheep.  This gives the dog a sense of belonging – a sense of responsibility to guide and protect the fellow members of his flock.  Just as we – members of Christ’s flock – can take on a responsibility to guide and protect our fellow sheep. 

In Janis Retuer’s video, her gorgeous border collie never once barked or growled at the sheep.  He simply ran around the flock and gently indicated where they should be headed.  Yes, Janis, the shepherd, gave instructions to her dog with single words, but it was the dog who ran ahead and did the job.

That sounds exactly like that passage from the epistle this morning.  “Let us love….not in word or speech, but in truth and action.”  Like the border collie who didn’t bark at the sheep, but showed them the way to go by gently directing them on the correct path.

I don’t know about you, but I get tired of evangelists and politicians ranting and raving about what we should or shouldn’t be doing.  The wages of sin.  The evils of demon rum.  The consequences of a misspent youth.  You better watch out.  You better not cry.  You better not shout.  We are inundated with people (some of whom probably have good intentions) lecturing us on right and wrong.  Words!  Babble!

The Good Shepherd has an enormous flock to manage.  I suggest that some of us sheep step up to the plate and become border collies.  Let us help out our shepherd by gently directing – sometimes nudging - some of the sheep in the right direction.  The sheepdog doesn’t bark orders to get the wayward sheep back into the fold.

The Good Sheepdog of the Good Shepherd runs out of his or her way and SHOWS that little lost lamb where to go. 

The Good Sheepdog doesn’t rely on word and speech but rather on truth and action.

The gospel lesson goes so far as to remind us the Good Shepherd will lay down his life to save his sheep from predators.  Indeed, Jesus as the Good Shepherd died to save us.  We as Good Sheepdogs can help with predators as well.  The sheepdog WILL bark and growl when there is imminent danger to the flock.  And sometimes, that border collie actually gets into a some roughhousing with a predator.  The sheepdog is there to help the shepherd in whatever way is necessary.

And now, I am going to read to you, word for word, the opening paragraph from the website allaboutsheepdogs.com

“A sheepdog is a shepherd’s best friend.  The properly trained sheepdog achieves this by cutting the shepherd’s workload – saving time and money.  Of course, these dogs don’t see what they do as work.  Their reward is pleasing their master, which means they go about their tasks with a cheerful spirit and an instinctive desire to receive approval.  This, in turn, enables the shepherd to carry out his work confidently.”

That paragraph was not written by a theologian.  That was not a commentary on today’s gospel reading of the Good Shepherd.  But that introduction to a website called allaboutsheepdogs.com certainly states to what we as Christians – what we as sheepdogs of the Good Shepherd – are called to do.

We are called to help with the workload of Jesus, our shepherd.  With a cheerful spirit, we are called to assist in leading the flock in the right direction.  And when members of the flock stray, we are called to gently lead them back into the fold.  When danger threatens the flock, we are called to bare our teeth and make some noise – and perhaps get a little messed up – defending the good of the flock.

In the story from Acts this morning, Peter and John are being questioned by their persecutors about where they have received permission to talk about the resurrected Christ.  Peter is filled by the Holy Spirit and given the words to eloquently proclaim salvation in Jesus’ name.

I pray that the Holy Spirit may fill all of us with the energy – the drive – the desire – the stamina – to truly be sheepdogs to help our good shepherd – with a cheerful spirit.  May we help our fellow sheep who have gone astray.  May we assist our fellow sheep who are in danger of getting lost from the flock or attacked by predators.

Let us love…not in word and speech, but in truth and action.

 

Alleluia! Christ is Risen
            The Lord is Risen indeed, Alleluia
Grace and peace are yours in the name of our Risen Savior Jesus Christ
It is a beautiful Easter morning - welcome
We have been enjoying beautiful spring weather           
We have put on our fancy Easter clothes –
            some of us have hunted for eggs or will hunt for eggs –
            some of us will go on to fancy Easter brunch or dinner later today.
We gather here to enjoy a celebration,
            with exquisite music and beautiful visual arts.
But Easter is more than a beautiful celebration and family holiday.
Some of us are hear today because we need this Easter.
We need Easter because we, like Mary, have been waiting in darkness and grief.
We need Easter because we, like Mary, 
            have lost the one we love; lost our hopes and dreams.
We need Easter because we have been lost in the darkness of addition or mental illness.
We have crept, with Mary, to the tomb, carrying our grief and fear.
We need to hear again the story of that first Easter morning.
Mary and Mary Magdalene and Salome, women who had followed Jesus,
            cared for him and his followers in their ministry,
came early to the tomb where Jesus had been buried.
They came to prepare his body,
            which they had not been able to do when he died just as Sabbath was beginning.
They expect a sad and difficult task,
            but caring for the dead body of a loved one who has died is something they have     probably done before.
What they find is not what they expected.
The stone at the entrance of the tomb is gone; the body of Jesus is gone.
A young man dressed in white tells them that he has been raised.
He tells them to go and the tell the other disciples that Jesus will meet them in Galilee.
The women see an angel, hear the most amazing news –
            and then they run away.
They are afraid, and Mark says “they said nothing to anyone.”
This seems like a strange place to end the story.
What happened next?
They must have be more to it,
            or we wouldn’t still be telling the story centuries later.
Yet scholars believe that this is actually where Mark ended his story.
They believe that someone later on – decades or centuries later –
            just couldn’t stand this abrupt non-ending,
            and added more to the story to make it more like the other gospels.
But I love Mark’s original ending.
Many of you have heard me preach about Mark throughout this year,
            and you know I love Mark’s unique take on things,
            the urgency and passion of his story.
So I want to share with you today why I think the abrupt, awkward ending of Mark’s gospel is so wonderful.
The women are afraid to receive the good news that Christ has risen.
After all their hopes have been dashed,
            it seems too good to be true.
It is easier to believe that someone has taken the body, has played a cruel trick on them,
            than to believe that their most secret hope has come true:
            Jesus is alive again!
It is not news that sinks in all at once.
In fact, this may be news that takes a lifetime to comprehend.
Jesus Christ – the light of the world – God with us – was killed.
But death could not hold him.
The fear and hatred of humankind,
            violence and greed and death itself,
            took his life.
But he was not defeated.
He rose from the dead –
            he physically stood up and walked out of his tomb.
Is it any wonder the women have a hard time believing?
Mark’s gospel ending says –
The women must move slowly from darkness into light.
Life and hope and joy return slowly, as they see new life opening before them.
It will not be the life they had.
That time is over, and they cannot go back.
And it takes time to see what life in this new world –
            this world in which death could not hold Jesus in the grave –
            might be like.
The first words of the gospel of Mark are,
            “the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ”
That is all the introduction we get to Mark’s story of Jesus,
            before he jumps in with John the Baptist.
But what if, instead, those words are a title –
            a description of the whole gospel of Mark?
What if Mark knows that his story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus
             is only the beginning?
A story that began 2000 years ago and continues today.
David Lose, President Gettysburg Lutheran seminary, writes in his blog:

            The story of what God is doing in and through Jesus isn’t over at the empty tomb,           you see. It’s only just getting started. Resurrection isn’t a conclusion, it’s an       invitation. And Jesus’ triumph over death, sie and hate isn’t what Mark’s gospel is           all about. Rather, Mark’s gospel is all about setting us up to live resurrection lives             and continue the story of God’s redemption of the world.
And so Mark ends here, in confusion and fear,
            inviting us, the readers, to pick up where he left off and share the good news:
Christ is Risen!
            The Lord is Risen indeed, Alleluia
It’s only the beginning, and we have a part to play.
That is why we need Easter.
To remind us that the story is still unfolding before our eyes
            and, indeed, through our very lives.
And for those of us who struggle with darkness,
            this day is a promise and the fulfillment of all promise.
This is the day which says, once and for all, that the light of Christ shines in the darkness,
            and the darkness has not – will not ever – overcome it.
This is the day which says
            Behold – God is still making all things new! and we are a part of it.
Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
            The Lord is Risen indeed, Alleluia
Thanks be to God. Amen.

When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon
Our culture has become adept at avoiding darkness.
Electric lights make it possible to never be truly in the dark –
            indeed, the lights in our city make it almost impossible to experience real darkness.
We can dull our pain with medicine or other drugs,
            or comfort ourselves with sugary, salty food .
 We can distract ourselves with myriad different kinds of entertainment.
We know many ways to try to escape the darkness,
            both external and internal, which threatens our peace and well-being.
This day strips away the distractions and brings us face to face with the darkness.
Today is the day in our Christian calendar when it seems that darkness has won.
Not only was Jesus killed –
            he was mocked, tortured, humiliated, and died a terrible death.
There is real evil in the world, and on this day we are brought fully into the dark place of human evil.
Evil which can betray innocence and mock goodness.
Evil which can abduct a young woman and well her into prostitution.
Evil which can bully a young gay man to the point of suicide.
Evil which can make a person ease their own pain by tormenting someone else.
On this day we face the evil which can see the love of God embodied
                        and nail it to a cross.
And we come face to face with the truth that darkness lives also in us.
We hurt the people we love most.
Relationships fail.
We cheat, or lie, maybe just a little, just to ease our way a little bit.
We do what we do not want to do –
            and what we know we ought to do is often left undone.
Good Friday is the day that brings us fully into the darkness which exists
            both in the world and in ourselves.
And it holds us here.
For three hours, while Jesus dies.
For three days, while Jesus lays in the tomb.
So why on earth do we call this day Good Friday?
We call this day good because it is a day which strips away our distractions and illusions.
While it appears that darkness is complete and the light defeated –
            what is really defeated is us.
Our attempts to do it ourselves.
Our certainty that we can be good enough, try hard enough,
            to make it all right –
 or at least run fast enough to escape the darkness.
This is the day we look at Jesus on the cross,
            and know that our human efforts have failed.
We can’t fix this.
We can’t banish the darkness.
We are left with emptiness and grief,
            and our hearts break.
But the story is not over.
We need to come to this place in our faith because we all visit this place in our lives.
Suffering is real.
Failure and sin are real.
Despair is real.
All around us, in our homes, our city, our world,
            people are living in darkness and longing for light.
We need our hearts to break –
            to break open.
We need out hearts to break open so that they can be filled by the only one
            who can carry us through the darkness of death and back into the light –
            Jesus, our Lord, whose love took him to death a cross – and beyond.
Jesus, break our hearts open today,
that your light and love may pour in.
Amen. 

I’ve got to tell you….I am so tired.


I am exhausted.

Having spent most of Lent preparing for Holy Week and now…living through Holy Week with yet more preparations and so many services I am so tired.

And we’ve still got 2 days to go.

This exhaustion is not unique to me.  Oh no.  Ask any member of the clergy.  Ask any member of the altar guild.  Ask anyone who prepares flowers and the sanctuary for the myriad of services.  Ask the servants of worship.  Holy Week is a marathon of concentration, prayer, and activity.

Lent, Holy Week, and Easter are truly exhausting.

I think I can imagine how Peter, James, and John must have felt.  It was the middle of the night.  Jesus had asked them to go the Garden of Gethsemane with him.  Although they had some idea of what was ahead, they weren’t sure what was going on.  Why were they in the garden in the middle of the night?  Jesus went to pray alone but instructed his friends to keep awake.  Jesus checked on them three times…and each time they had fallen asleep.  Jesus chastised them for not giving him their full support.

The disciples felt bad, I’m sure, but they were tired.  The second time Jesus roused them, we heard “they did not know what to say to him.”  They knew they should keep awake and PRAY FOR and PRAY WITH their friend.  But they were so tired.

Back in November, our lectionary treated us to the parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids.  I remember it because I gave the sermon that Sunday.  You know….10 bridesmaids were waiting for the bridegroom to arrive.  But he was late and the maidens all fell asleep.  When the groom arrived, only half of the bridesmaids had enough oil in the lamps to escort the groom.  Jesus said the lesson from that parable was “Keep awake.  For you know neither the day nor the hour.”

And once again, Jesus uses the exact same words when asking his friends to watch and pray with him.

Keep awake.

But who can blame Peter, James, and John.  It has been a very busy time for them.  I think we often forget what happened after the triumphant entry into Jerusalem.  We are reading the Passion narrative from Mark this afternoon.  The portion in Gethsemane occurs in the middle of chapter 14.  The palm waving and Hosanna shouting are at the beginning of chapter 11.  There are so many things which actually took place before we get to today’s story:

Jesus threw the money changers out of the temple.

There’s the lesson of the withered fig tree.

Jesus had several encounters with religious figures.  They asked him where his authority came from.  He related the parable of the wicked tenants of the vineyard.  Jesus told them to give to the government what is owed government and give God what is owed to God.  The Sadducees attempted to trick Jesus with a question about a woman who married seven brothers.  Jesus related the first and greatest commandment and the second one of equal importance

He noticed the widow giving everything she had to the temple and taught the disciples a lesson about that.  Jesus foretold the destruction of the temple.  A woman anointed his head with expensive oil at dinner one night.

Meanwhile Judas was convinced to betray Jesus by the officials.

And then there was the last supper.

So, it had been a very busy few days after they arrived in Jerusalem.  And add to that the constant threat of danger from the authorities.  It had to be so tiring.

And now….Jesus wanted them to keep awake in the middle of the night in a park and pray with him.  I can just imagine how difficult that would have been.

In the middle of my time at the all night watch last evening, something came to me.  In this first portion of the Passion narrative we just read – in the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible we read -  Jesus asks his disciples to “KEEP awake.”  And if you go to Matthew and re-read the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, you’ll notice the same thing.  The lesson of that parable is to “KEEP awake.”

Jesus does not ask his disciples to “STAY awake.”  He asks them to “KEEP awake.”

Potato….Pa-tah-toe?  Perhaps.
But think about it.

STAY awake.

KEEP awake.

Stay holds the listener at arm’s length.  Stay is a command you might give a dog.  Stay implies distance or something remote.

KEEP means to hold something…to know the importance or value of something….to fondly cradle something in your arms.  If you KEEP something, you cherish it, you treasure it.

Yes, in our common English usage Stay Awake and Keep Awake actually mean the same thing.  In fact, KEEP awake almost sounds a little stilted to our ears.

And I want to suggest that is exactly the point.  In our exhaustion, in those moments when we just don’t want to be bothered with another thing, Jesus is asking us to KEEP awake.  Jesus wants to us to cherish – to fondly desire – the ability to keep watch with him.

But that brings us to this question:  For what, exactly, are we keeping awake?  Jesus isn’t here needing support and prayer in the middle of the night.  What does the request of KEEP awake mean to us today?

We are asked to KEEP awake spiritually.  There are so many distractions in our lives that keep us from the love of God and keep us from following the commandments of Jesus which allow us to be true Christians in the very purest sense of the word.

At the beginning of this meditation, I told you was I tired.  I then gave a stock answer about being busy with church things in preparation for Holy Week.  But my exhaustion goes much deeper than that.  It is a chronic condition I have suffered most of my life.

I want to please everyone.  I want everyone to like me and tell me what a good boy I am.

Let me tell you.  It is truly exhausting.

On this Good Friday, I suggest we all could take some time and reflect on what it is that makes us tired.  What is it that may be preventing us from truly keeping our spiritual lives awake and vital.

Perhaps you have a secret you feel no one will understand.  The time and energy spent on keeping people from knowing what that secret is will wear you out.

Maybe you have an addiction.  That addiction might be to drugs or alcohol….the internet….unhealthy eating habits…..binge watching a 10 year long television series.  The amount of time feeding that addiction or trying to kick that habit can be exhausting.

Are you in a relationship in which you give so much more than you receive?  That is incredibly tiring.

Are you bullied or suffering from prejudice or discrimination?

Do you dread going to your place of employment each day because your job is not fulfilling to you?

Are you caring for children or an elderly member of your family?  Even though such responsibilities can bring you great joy and fulfillment, that doesn’t make them any less tiring.

Do you suffer with chronic physical or emotional pain?  That can drain you of all your energy.

Do you suffer from a general malaise that is hard to define?  Do you feel like your life has no direction?  Do you feel drained of the desire to do anything?

As the old adage goes….are you sick and tired of being sick and tired?

On this Good Friday, may I suggest you take a first step toward KEEPING awake?  This is the perfect day to take those tiring habits, those exhausting problems, anything that makes you tired and place it at the foot of the cross.

I cannot tell you in good conscience that simply admitting your problems to yourself and to God will fix everything.  Metaphorically putting your pain and suffering at the foot of the cross will not miraculously heal you of your maladies and make everything perfect.  The metaphor of the cross is that once you have admitted you are tired and you want some rest, you know there are outlets to help you.

The knowledge that Jesus died for our sins on this day….The realization and acceptance of God’s plan of redemption for us – reconciliation between God and humans – is the first step in keeping your spirit awake.


Jesus asked his disciples to keep awake to support him and pray with him during his time of need.  Jesus asks us to keep awake so that our souls may be ready to accept the help we need to conquer what is making us so tired.  And in keeping awake, we are able to help one another in those exhausting times.  Like Peter, James, and John, we must do our best to keep awake to support Jesus in his mission here on earth and carry out the commandments he gave us.

Let us pray:

Gracious God, as Jesus prayed for strength and courage to face his crucifixion, WE ask for strength and courage to keep our souls….our spirits….awake to face the challenges of each day and to help each other on our journeys.  Amen.