Readings FIRST LESSON The first lesson is the 23rd Psalm The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want; He leads me in paths of righteousness Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, You prepare a table before me Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
SECOND LESSON The first lesson is from the Gospel of John, Chapter 10, verses 11 through 18 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as God knows me and I know God. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason God loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from God.”
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This Week's Sermon Date: May 3, 2009 Title: The Good Shepherd Message Delivered By: Rev. Joe Mc Murray It has been truly a remarkable thing for Eric and I to move away from our former lives and set up a new home here – a new church, new home, new friends, new culture. Some people might flinch at all this newness at once, but we’ve clearly enjoyed it. Some people, of course, adjust with new environments better than others. For example, a new Episcopal priest was assigned as pastor of her first church. When she arrived on her first day, she met the former pastor as he was cleaning out his desk. The former pastor said, "Daughter, this is a tough church, but I know you can be successful. I thought about what I could do to help you – what would I tell you to make smooth any of the rough days that might lie ahead.” “So to ensure that you don't make the same mistakes I did, I’ve prepared three sealed envelopes – numbered one, two and three – and I’ve placed them in your top desk drawer. If you find you get into trouble, open envelope number one, follow the instructions and everything will work out just fine. Later on, if you have any recurring problems, open envelope number two and everything will work out just fine. If the problems continue, then—and only then—open the last envelope and you’ll know what to do." And so a full year went by and the new pastor didn’t really feel there were any apparent difficulties. There were the usual things, of course, but nothing she saw as problematic. That is until the bishop of the diocese called her in to see him. "I'm getting an awfully high number of complaints from your parishioners,” he said. “You really need to do something about it. People have told me they’re not very pleased with you as their pastor.” Well, the pastor was in a panic. She had no idea things were that bad—in fact, she didn’t think they were bad at all. But she heeded the bishop’s warning and rushed back to the church to pray. As she sat in the chapel, she thought, “What should I do?” Then she remembered the three envelopes! The pastor went to the desk drawer and pulled out the envelope marked No. 1. She opened the envelope, and read the note inside, which said, "Dear Pastor, At the first sign of trouble, don’t despair. You’re new at this. It can’t be helped that you inherited a mess. So blame everything on the former pastor. Tell the Bishop it’s not your fault, and you need more time to fix things." She thought, “Why not?” Besides, she did inherit a messy situation when she came to the church, and he couldn’t blame everything on her. The next day, the pastor called the Bishop, explained everything as the letter in the envelope said, and the Bishop seemed satisfied. Another year went by, and the pastor got another request from the Bishop to meet. The Bishop said, "You know, Pastor, the complaints about you have increased dramatically since last year. You'd better do something about it, or I'll be forced to relieve you from your duties." The pastor was distraught, and went back to her office, again very disappointed, not sure what she was doing wrong and wondering what she should do to fix it. Then she remembered the envelopes! She rushed to the desk, opened the drawer and pulled out the second envelope! She opened it, and read it very carefully: "Dear Pastor, don’t be too hard on yourself if things aren’t going well. Why should you be held accountable for everything that goes wrong? Blame everything on your church staff. Fire everybody and hire a whole new team. Tell the Bishop you cleaned house and everything will be fine." So the next morning, the pastor fired her entire staff, called the Bishop and said what she’d done. Again the Bishop seemed satisfied. A third year came and the pastor knew immediately when the Bishop called that there was trouble. This time it was no surprise, as it had been a terribly difficult year. When she went to meet with him, he shook his head and said, "Pastor, I’m sorry to tell you, but the complaints have continued, and unless you put a stop to it, I will have to ask for your resignation." The pastor didn’t think twice. She couldn’t get back to her office fast enough. She went immediately to the desk and after some effort, found envelope number three. She opened the envelope, and the letter, in big block letters, began, "Dear Pastor … prepare three envelopes ..." Please pray with me: God thank you for all the ways you hold us accountable for what we do well and on those things in which we have room to grow. Help us to know the difference, to accept the truth about ourselves and the ways we learn, and the grace to ask for and accept help when we need it. For all that we do, we offer to you. And may my words and all of our thoughts be filled with honor and praise to you. Amen. Today’s readings are some of the most popular and oft-spoken scripture verses in the Bible. They portray that age-old image of God—as well as Jesus—well-known in the Christian tradition. These powerful images of a shepherd tending his flock is a common one, often depicted in religious art, some of which used to hang in our living rooms when we were children. I remember when I was a child two paint-by-number portraits of Jesus as the Good Shepherd – one that showed him standing, holding a staff, with two sheep nearby – and the other showing him sitting and resting on a rock with the sheep gathered around him. One of my sisters painted the pictures which appeared in brilliant reds, yellows, peaches, pinks and browns. These images, which I recall from time to time, are seared into my memory as small pieces of an image I have of Jesus—and they reappear every time I hear the words “Jesus” and “shepherd” within three words of each other. Images are very powerful things, and they can stay with us for a long time. A picture is worth a thousand words, and often worth a thousand memories. Scholars believe Jesus was the son of Joseph, a carpenter. It is thought likely that carpentry was his chosen profession, since the sons (and sometimes even the daughters) in the family who were to earn a living and provide for the family most often followed the craft or trade of the patriarch of the family. In fact, very little else is known about Jesus until he came into his own as a preacher, teacher, and social and religious activist. That doesn’t keep this image, however, a very comforting yet powerful image, from being ingrained in our minds and in our hearts. Both of today’s lessons give us accounts—one from an Old Testament psalm and one from John’s gospel—as to why we are so easily able to assign this role as “shepherd” as a deeply meaningful and spiritual one. It was very difficult to keep sheep together – particularly a large number of sheep – in the wide open spaces. Sheep were loyal and attentive to the shepherd, partially because they were very dependent animals who would count on the shepherd to continuously herd them to grassy areas for feeding. He would frequently need to lead them to water to quench their thirst. Ancient shepherds often worked in isolation, and were constantly confronted with the dangers that this type of isolation could bring—thieves who wanted to steal the sheep and for themselves, or kill them for the meat; other predators—hungry wild animals who survived on killing and eating their prey for their own survival. There was a great risk in the intricacy of this relationship between shepherd and flock. So, too, there is a remarkable bond between the shepherd and the herd the shepherd tends. One of my sources spoke at length about a modern-day shepherd in Jerusalem, who still leads his sheep through the busy streets of Jerusalem, singing and whistling, which keeps the sheep together. They hear his melodic voice or whistle and have memorized its sound. They trust him to lead them through these precarious avenues of travel. Likewise, in the mornings, in places where multiple herds of sheep are gathered together, each shepherd sings and calls out to their sheep. The sheep then obediently separate themselves from the larger gathered flock and follow the shepherd whose voice they know—the trusted shepherd who will once again lead them to their daylight feeding. I neither want to overdramatize nor paint too nostalgic a picture of the relationship between shepherd and sheep. It’s a livelihood, and not a very glamorous one. Yet it’s important to emphasize the origin and meaning of the imagery of both shepherd and flock—one drawn to the other, dependent yet independent —in relationship, in harmony, reliant yet compliant. Today’s gospel from John was probably an analogy written in light of a major occurrence in Jesus’ ministry—perhaps it was a response to the Pharisees who chastised Jesus for healing the man born blind. This tale is indicative of the contrasting images Jesus was trying to impart of himself as a true shepherd and the Pharisees who represented the hired hands who falsely portrayed themselves as righteous figures of change but who did little to help the poor or address the issues of the marginalized. Still, this image Jesus uses is an ancient one that had been used for centuries from the Egyptians to the Jews. It reflected the patriarchal construct of the times—and dissected the relationship between a leader and his people. The leader cared about the people in the kingdom—for their well-being, their safety, for their protection. However, there is another emphasis we must examine for Jesus is the one who watches and protects; he also puts himself at risk for his flock. The hired hand represents the false shepherd who might lead us astray because he is not invested in our welfare, only his own. He is employed to provide sustenance and stability for himself—the hired hand flees in the face of challenge or danger—and is not concerned for the care of the sheep. The shepherd says, “I know my sheep, and they know me.” There is the intimacy—the deep connection between shepherd and flock. We, too, can be shepherds—sacrificing for the sheep—indeed our very lives if necessary—knowing the flock well, responding to them so much so that their lives are impacted by our care—as God impacts our lives. We can be shepherds—to our families, our children, our friends and neighbors—and even our communities. Jesus calls upon us not simply to follow, but to lead. But how can we possibly emulate the type of leadership Jesus gave the disciples and his other followers? Jesus is the model for our lives. The question is, do we, too, live that life? Jesus’ exemplary behavior, all too often, is the exception, rather than the rule. It’s much easier to idolize him than emulate him. We want to be true followers of Christ and to do God’s will. Therefore we must carefully discerning what God’s will for us is. Here in Key West, we really have got a clue. The clue lies within the motto we profess: “One Human Family.” Participating in “One Human Family” means we are all one. We are similar yet different. We’re the same but also unique. It means that when one of us is down, the others are there to pick her up. When the ones we know—even the ones we don’t know—need our help, we’re there to offer a helping hand. It means when we have issues or problems we can’t solve by ourselves, and we feel we’re drowning, we know we’ll be thrown a life-line—that we’ll be offered counseling, or health care, or programs to heal us. When one of us is alone, when we’ve lost a loved one, others are there to insure we’re never really alone. It means when one of us is down on our luck, or lost a job or our home, or had to sell our car or we have to live in it to survive, that there are others there to fill in the cracks so that we never go without warm clothing, decent food, a place to worship, a kind remark, a loving smile. And it means when one of us is targeted, that the rest of us come together to do what’s right to protect that one from harm. Sometimes that means engagement, sometimes it means prayer, sometimes it means raising awareness, and sometimes it means knowing that doing nothing to exacerbate the situation is the safest course. Most of you know that Rev. Fred Phelps is planning to come to Key West later this month to spread his particular message of hatred and divisiveness to our One Human Family community. Most of us are angry about this. Many of us want to fight back. Some of us wish he would just go away. All of these are natural reactions based on the feelings and emotions that are aroused from this type of threat to the peace. MCC is proud to host a Community Meeting this Thursday, May 7 at 7pm so we can talk about this pending visit and what we as a community feel about it and how we might want to respond. This is a chance for us to listen to God’s voice and to lead. Our community is one that may benefit from what we have to say, just as we will benefit from hearing others. Discernment is always the key. We must know who we are following. And we also must agree to lead when we are called to do so. We hope you will plan to attend the meeting. Invite your friends and neighbors so together we can decide what a proper response should be. The relationship of shepherd and sheep is an important one to understand. With God as shepherd, we come to know God and trust God’s voice—to come alive with the song of God on the wind—to engender ourselves to the heart of God through our relationships with one another. Let us model our lives after Jesus, step forward as shepherds, and helping to discern what’s best for our interests as a community. Let us take the path of righteousness for God’s sake, so that we can say, “We know ours, as ours know us, just as we know God, and God knows us.” May it be so. Amen.
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Selected Past Sermons