Easter 4

Hallelujah, Christ is risen, the Lord is risen indeed.

Hallelujah.

Let's pray together.

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid.

Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

The Lord be with you, and we also with you.

Let us pray.

O God, whose son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people.

Grant that when we hear his voice, we may know him who calls us each by name and follow where he leads.

Who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns one God forever and ever.

Amen.

The Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not be an one.

He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside the dull waters.

He revives my soul and guides me along right pathways for his name to say.

Though I shall walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil.

For you are with me.

Your rod and your staff they comfort me.

You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me.

You have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over.

Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

It is the legal people, it is not a ear to do come down to where we are to be and we find ourselves.

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.

Or to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you should follow in his death.

He committed no sin and no deceit was found in his mouth.

When he was abused, he did not return abuse.

When he suffered, he did not threaten, but he entrusted himself to the one who judges eternally.

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

By his wound you have been healed.

For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your soul.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Jesus said, 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's brought down 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 his 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 steal and kill and destroy.

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

The gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a lamb of your own fold, a sheep of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming.

In the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

On this fourth Sunday after Easter, we get to go back to something Jesus said before he was resurrected because the disciples are hearing it in a new way, and they're invited along with us to consider what being the gate and being the Good Shepherd mean in terms of the resurrection of Jesus.

And I have to tell you, uh, there are few places more beautiful to do this than in our own chapel.

One of the things that I really love about this particular glass that Christine Alexander made for us is that it's the only depiction I've seen of Christ the Good Shepherd, in which the Lamb comes willingly, possibly even joyfully, to the call of Christ the Good Shepherd.

And that's our passage today.

My sheep know my voice and they heed me.

And I want to say up front, I think there's something really beautiful about this statement of Christ the Good Shepherd, and an opportunity to consider it as a clean analogy instead of what we often do by mixing it up.

So we often consider in the church that, hey, the local pastor is like the shepherd of the flock.

And so the pastor is the one who guides us around.

Or maybe we consider it's the bishop.

After all, he's got the crozier.

But here's this really interesting mystery of the resurrection, of uh the incarnation, of who God is.

Uh, none of those people are the good shepherd.

Only Christ is the good shepherd.

And the way Jesus chose to come was not as a people among a person among sheep.

Jesus came as the good shepherd, as a lamb among sheep.

And so Jesus didn't come over and above.

He came as one of us and took on our infirmities.

And essentially the way he tried to lead sheep into green pastures and to sustainable waters was by coming alongside us, not coming above us.

And this, I think, is number one principle that we have as a recdirected community.

How we lead others relies on us considering who's in the flock, how did Jesus ultimately lead, and how do we make decisions about how to be good, sustainable shepherds as lambs ourselves.

So to be clear, I've heard clergy are sheep dogs, and that's why we have that collar around our necks.

And again, I that might be really cute, but I don't think that matches what Jesus is saying here.

Um, it is maybe really helpful for you to hear.

Uh, I grew up hearing that the reason we're compared to sheep is because domesticated sheep are really stupid, but I wouldn't tell you that's not right at all.

Uh, number one, domesticated sheep were the economy in ancient Israel.

They were nomadic people in addition to having a little bit of agriculture.

I mean, the earliest Israelites were nomads and they followed their sheep.

But there's something really interesting about sheep that uh is really important to hear, which is that domesticated sheep are genetically different from wild ones.

So, wild sheep, you know, are very spry and they live on mountaintops where it's difficult for predators to get at them.

They have bigger horns, they know better than to bleat in the presence of a wolf.

And the great thing about wild sheep is they don't stay in one place and eat the grass till it's dead, they move on.

They're instinctually migratory.

Well, we domesticated sheep a long, long time ago, and we picked traits like smaller horns so that they don't poke us and they don't end up butting us.

And we also pick to make sheep reliant upon shepherds.

So the domesticated sheep, if you put them in a pen, they'll eat the grass to death.

They'll overload the carrying capacity of the grass, of the land.

They'll eat not only the blade, they'll eat the root.

It's not because the domesticated sheep is stupid, it's because human beings made them that way.

We made them reliant upon our care.

And here is Jesus saying, not, hey, people are really dumb.

God made us in such a way that we naturally yearn for that kind of leadership, for something greater than ourselves, for God, for the resurrected Jesus.

So when uh when we need that, it's not because we're deficient.

God made us that way.

And here is Jesus the gatekeeper inviting us to consider how we can be good shepherds and what kind of gates we erect.

Now, I hope this isn't too far-fetched.

So last time I had a biology class, I was 16 years old.

Actually, I think I was 15.

Uh, it was AP biology in high school.

And I hope it's helpful to hear, though, in as particularly we're we're in this current situation we're in, that um Jesus as the gatekeeper is a semi-permeable membrane like a cell wall, not a rigid door.

That is, he lets the sheep go out the pasture and brings them back into safety.

And he doesn't uh shut the door and keep it closed to sheep that don't make it back in time.

And of course, he allows sheep to come out.

And I will tell you that there are times, frankly, in which it's a little puzzling about what it is that Jesus keeps in and out.

Uh, obviously, Jesus, just like the cell walls in our body, is not physically keeping out viruses from our bodies.

And that's really interesting to think about.

Jesus did not come so that we would never die in a physical sense.

The mystery of the incarnation and the resurrection is Jesus came so that death with a capital D, that is the powers that isolate, that denigrate the creatures of God, so that that kind of death could be abolished forever, starting now in this life.

I think it's really helpful for us to think about.

If we don't have permeable boundaries within our cells, we won't let any nutrition any nutrients or water and our cells will starve.

If our boundaries are too porous, of course, we'll lose what's inside of us and cells won't function.

And so I think it's really helpful to think about as a resurrected community, how do we set boundaries and how is it that we um how is it that we're permeable so that we can function and live and thrive?

So this is where it's really helpful for me to go back to Brene Brown's work that I mentioned before.

She says that the most compassionate people she's met are the ones with the firmest boundaries.

Because when we don't set a boundary, when we don't choose the discomfort of setting a boundary, we invite the resentment that will come if we don't.

On the other hand, if we only ever set boundaries and have no porousness, we never allow love or joy to come in because those essentially could end up being hurtful for us.

Those are vulnerability things.

So I think this is really helpful for us to consider as a resurrected community.

What are we keeping in and what are we keeping out?

And just staying with the sheep analogy and with the cell analogy, you know, it's really helpful to hear that the thieves and the bandits Jesus talks about are not other people.

If the analogy is kept clean, everybody's a sheep.

So what are the thieves and the bandits?

The ones that have to hop over the wall, the ones that end up stealing sheep down.

I want to suggest to you there's something like viruses that hop into cell walls.

And depending which scientist you listen to, viruses may or may not be alive.

Ultimately, they can't replicate on their own.

They need host cells to reproduce.

They essentially come in as predatory parasites and grab hold of living organisms and take the life that was intended to grow and thrive in them and bend it toward their own devices.

Now that's really interesting to think about.

Particularly, here we are in an election year, and um it's good to remember that people are not viruses, even though sometimes, sometimes we behave uh under the influence of viruses like sexism and tribalism, viruses like um over-politicizing our neighbors so much that we strip their humanity because they vote differently from us.

People are not viruses even if we disagree for really good reasons with their conclusions or the behaviors.

How do we handle disagreement as Christ the Good Shepherd would?

I want to suggest to you that one way we do that is by having firm boundaries.

And I think it's really helpful to think about what the criteria are as we think about how cells operate, as we think about the resurrected community in Christ the Good Shepherd.

And as an aside, you know, I think it's really helpful to think through that.

If you are the Chinese freshwater dolphin, which by the way went extinct more than 10 years ago, um, they didn't die from viruses, they died from human behaviors that polluted their natural environment and overfished and preyed upon them.

It's really interesting to think that sometimes humans behave virally to the rest of the world.

And of course, sometimes we do that so that we can have short-term benefits, even though the cost to future generations is really, really high.

Or we are willing, we're willing to hurt other people because we perceive the benefit to ourselves or to the group of people who are like us justifies what we're doing.

I want to suggest to you that's predatory viral behavior.

And I think gatekeeping in the resurrected community is about saying who is going to get life out of what we do and who's going to bear the cost.

And this is really important.

Jesus comes, and this is why I think we return to Christ the Good Shepherd after the resurrection.

Jesus gave the cost himself.

He didn't push it off on other people, he bore it in his own body.

And of course, the resurrection says that death with a capital D does not get the last word.

The other thing that we have to consider is who ends up benefiting when we make decisions?

Do we make decisions on behalf of the resurrected community that only benefit some at the expense of others or that benefit some and not others?

Or did Christ come as the good shepherd for the sake of every single lamb in the flock?

Even the ones that are infected with the contagions, uh, whatever we call them, of having the wrong politics or the wrong education, or frankly just doing things that annoy us.

And this is where I think it's really, really helpful for us to consider the way that Christ keeps the gate.

I'm not really sure if this is right, but coming back to Brene Brown, she says that the biggest single differentiator between whether people have joy in their lives or not is whether or not they believe other people are doing the best they can with what they have.

What's interesting in her book is that uh she says, even though that seems to be the trait in joyful people, that they do believe other people are doing the best they can with what they have, um, even some of those people aren't sure it's true or not.

What they know is that that belief benefits their joy.

And so this is really interesting.

Even though that's not something that I think that can be objectively proven, it makes our life better to consider that other people, no matter how much under the influence of uh viral thinking we suppose them to have, it makes our lives better to presuppose they're doing the best they can with what they have.

And I want to suggest that that thought becomes a really important membrane for us as we let sheep in and out of the fold and as we tend to our fellow lambs.

Could we be curious about why we're so outraged that some people insist on wearing masks or don't?

Could we be curious about where that's coming from in ourselves instead of hateful?

Of course, what's great about setting boundaries in compassion is that if we are social distancing and other people put their hand down and get very uh miffed at us because we didn't shake it, um we can live into that boundary and still have compassion for that other person, even while we don't adopt their behavior.

I mean, this is what Brene Brown suggests, but it's also I want to suggest what it means to set limits in the resurrected community.

And I'm gonna tell you, I think particularly because right now uh I've heard uh people say, well, whatever you think about the virus is really depends on whether your political orientation.

So if you're a masked person, you're a Democrat.

If you're not a masked person, you're a Republican, and that just doesn't line up in my own family life.

Um, I think this is a non-political situation that's based on a whole bunch of other things, and frankly, it's really good training for what's coming in November because we're gonna hear voices in November within our own country, within our own congregation, within our own families, that are going to say, people who make decision A are viruses and they're evil and they're bad.

And I want to tell you that's the voice of a bandit and a thief.

Because Christ the Good Shepherd says, whether we agree or disagree, these are my lambs, and I didn't come to kick out the bad ones.

I came to bring them all into the pen so that they can be safe, so that they can be nourished.

I came to look after them as one of them, and I'm willing to bear the cost of that in myself.

And I hold this meditation out to you this week as we continue to live into what it means in the middle of the world economy, of our national economy, of our customs, of our ability to even worship as a church, proximately or not, for us to be open to the voice of the Good Shepherd.

Sometimes I want to tell you, I think we have trouble discerning between Christ's voice and the voice of culture or the voice of what we want.

So I put back before you do you think we're called to set boundaries so we can be compassionate?

And that's one of those criteria.

Are the boundaries I'm setting helping me love other people, or do I find that I'm resenting other people more?

Resurrected boundaries give us more love, not less.

Who bears the cost of the boundaries we set?

Are we willing to bear that cost in ourselves, or do we push it off on other corners of the world, on corners of creation?

Is the benefit for some or is it for all?

And this is where I think we're guided, not just in these times of COVID-19, but as a church, as a nation, to rethink our politics with the environment, our politics with poverty, our politics even with people who are so similar to us but disagree at just a few points.

What boundaries do we set?

And will we listen when the Good Shepherd calls our name, or do we wad our ears with the voice of thieves and bandits?

My prayer is that I, that you, that we, will hear the Good Shepherd when he calls, and that we'll come willingly, readily, and joyfully, jumping into the larger life that Jesus wills for each and every one of us.

Please join me as we pray our faith in the words of the Nicene Creed.

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only child of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one being with the Father.

Through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation, he came down from heaven.

By the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary and was made human.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate.

He suffered death and was buried.

On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures, he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and God's kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.

With the Father and the Son she is worshipped and glorified.

She has spoken to the prophets.

We believe in one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sin.

We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.

Amen.

And I have one addition to the prayers of the people we're about to pray.

I bid your prayers for God re for God free Ashby.

Let us pray for the church and for the world.

Grant, Almighty God, that all who confess your name may be united in your truth, live together in your love, and reveal your glory in the world.

Lord, in your compassion, hear our prayer.

We pray for all who govern and hold authority in every nation, for the members of the armed forces throughout the world, and for all who struggle for peace and justice.

That they may act with prudence and vision to plant the seeds of your kingdom everywhere.

Lord, in your compassion.

Give us all a reverence for the earth as your own creation, that we may use its resources rightly in the service of others, and to your honor and glory.

Lord, in your compassion, hear our prayer.

Bless all whose lives are closely linked with ours and grant that we may serve Christ in them and love one another as He loves us.

Lord, in your compassion, hear our prayer.

Lead our parish.

Source of wisdom to guide us.

Source of strength to support us.

Source of love unify us.

We pray.

Lord, in your compassion, hear our prayer.

Guide St.

Thomas the Apostle School.

That those who teach and those who learn may rejoice in the knowledge of your truth.

That we may teach our students to love whatever is just and true and good.

And that we may be bearers of your grace to all who come through our doors.

Lord, in your compassion, hear our prayer.

Comfort and heal all those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit.

Give them courage and hope in their troubles, and bring them the joy of your salvation.

Especially Chris, Britta, Jerry, Kirsten and Maya, John, Jerome, Susie, Stephanie, and Ted.

The congregation is invited to name celebrations or petitions silently or aloud.

Lord, in your compassion, hear our prayer.

We commend your mercy on all who have died, especially in Gloria, that your will for them may be fulfilled.

And we pray that we may share with all your saints in your eternal kingdom.

Lord, in your compassion, hear our prayer.

Compassionate God, make your healing and peaceful presence known to the world.

Comfort those who mourn, strengthen those who are weary, encourage those in despair, and lead us all to the fullness of life.

Lord, hear our prayer.

Amen.

The peace of the Lord be always with you, and also with you.

And now as our Lord and Savior Christ has taught us, we are bold to pray, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.

Amen.

May God the Father, who has redeemed us and made us children of God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, bestow upon you new joy, the riches of God's favor.

Amen.

May God the Holy Spirit, who through the waters of baptism has raised us from sin and into newness of life, lead you into the mission and holiness of being God's own forever.

Amen.

May Jesus, who has brought us out of bondage to sin, and into the true and lasting freedom as our Redeemer, guide you to live into your eternal inheritance.

Amen.

And may the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be upon you this day and remain with you forever.

Amen.

Alleluia, Alleluia, go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Alleluia, Alleluia.

I will sing God, too, blessing, too, the blessing.

I will sing God's breeze.