The Lord is my What?

A Sermon for the 4^th Sunday of Pascha & First Holy Communion Sunday 4-29-2012

Offered by Nathan Ferrell for Trinity Episcopal Shared Ministry

Texts:              Acts 4:5-12; Psalm 23; 1 John 3:16-24; John 10:11-18

Themes:         the good shepherd, first communion, God feeds us

Title:               The Lord is my What?

Today is called “Good Shepherd Sunday” and it is a day when we remember and celebrate Jesus as the Good Shepherd.

You heard it in the famous 23^rd Psalm, in which our First Communion children led us this morning.

“The Lord is my Shepherd.” And you heard this in our Gospel reading.

Here is a copy of an ancient icon, which shows Jesus as the Good Shepherd, carrying the lamb on his shoulders. Please pass it around so that everyone can see it.

But here is my question for all of you: Has anyone here ever seen a real, living shepherd at work?

Not on TV, not in the movies, not in stories, but with your own two eyes?

Well, neither have I! I’ve heard stories about them, of course, and I’ve seen images of them in movies.

But never with my own eyes. They are just not very common in this part of the world.  

It’s a famous and familiar image only if you grew up in the church. But if you did not, the idea of Jesus as our Good Shepherd probably doesn’t mean hardly anything to you at all.

So this got me thinking about what this Psalm might sound like today, if it were written by someone living in Bellmawr/Gloucester City today.

What is it that a shepherd provides for the sheep?

Three things: protection from predators and other dangers, guidance to stay together and to stay in good pastures, and the provision of food and water.

Three things: protection, guidance, and provision.

So where in our world today do we see this kind of figure?

How would someone express this today? 

The Lord is my Nurse? Well, that gets a bit at the idea of someone taking care of me when I need help. And I suppose a nurse might feed me, but a nurse does not protect me from danger and does not guide me in the right way.

The Lord is my Flight Attendant? These folk feed us when we fly on airplanes, but they do not provide us with guidance in decision-making, and they are not always good at protecting us from danger.  

The Lord is my Coach? The coach guides me, perhaps a coach might protect me from a dangerous situation. But a coach does not really provide food and water for me on a regular basis.

What do you think? Any ideas out there?

You know, the only answer which seems to work in replacement of the Shepherd is this:

“The Lord is my Parent.”

That just might be the best option of all, at least when we think of parents as they are supposed to be! The Lord is the one who plans the meals, buys the groceries, prepares the table, brings dinner out when it’s hot, and makes sure that everything gets cleaned up and all ready for tomorrow, when the cycle starts over again!

This metaphor makes sense, doesn’t it? After all, what is the prayer given by Jesus to the disciples?

“Our Father in the heavens…”

Jesus taught them, and he teaches us, to look to God as a child looks to her parents.   

And of course, God is both Father AND Mother: both roles are seen in God.

But how do you know that your parents love you? Can you see it?

No, love is invisible. But you can see the things that are supplied by love!

If your mother loves you, she makes hot soup for you when you are feeling under the weather.

How do you know that God loves you? Can you see it?

Of course not. Love is invisible. But you can see the food that is supplied by love.

Now, I understand that there are some of you who have experienced what it is like to have a bad father or a bad mother. Not all parents handle these duties well: protecting their children, guiding their children, providing food and the basic needs of life for their children.

There are many human parents which fail at this. But that it why Jesus is called the Good Shepherd: the One who does not run away when things are difficult, the One who goes all out in order to protect us, guide us, and provide for us.

This morning, we have here a few of our children who spent some time with me yesterday learning about Communion and preparing for this day.

And together, we talked about how God feeds us and gives us the nourishment that we need to live a full and healthy life in this world.

That is what the Sacraments are for: to feed us, to strengthen us, to prepare us for the challenges of life.

And we talked about the three things that are required in order to have a sacrament.

Do you remember what those three things are?

That’s right: the people – the community, the congregation; the Word of God – the promises of Jesus; and the elements – the creation that is blessed and shared.

In Holy Communion, we have the gathered community in which we all have a role to play; the words of institution from Jesus about his body and blood given for us; and of course, we have the elements of bread and wine.

To me, one of the classic touchstones of life as a child is this: a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!

In order to have a PB&J, you must have three ingredients: the bread, which I think of as the community, the congregation which provides the structure; then there is the peanut butter, which is like the Word of God – it’s the really meaty part with all the protein; and then there’s the jelly, which are the basic elements of the sacrament.

Take out any of these three, and you do not have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!

Take out any of those three basic ingredients, and you do not have a sacrament!

But put them all together, and you have something wonderful!

And what is the point of the sacrament of Holy Communion after all? A sacrament is a visible sign of an invisible gift.

We cannot see that our parents love us, but we can see the gift of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches which they make for us, which they provide for us. And they are good!

We cannot see that God loves us, that God provides for our needs like our parents.

But we can see the gift of this bread and wine, the sign of that nourishment, that grace which feeds us and gives us strength.

And do you know why we need this? Why we need this constant reminder, this continual sign of God’s love and care as our divine Parent, as our Father in the heavens?

Because life is hard. Every day, every week we have to face new challenges. New problems come our way which we cannot predict, and which we cannot control.

These things challenge our faith. We know in our minds that God loves us, but what about in our hearts? Do our hearts know it?

Coming to the Lord’s table week-by-week gives us an opportunity to renew our trust in the Father’s love over and over again, to taste and see that God is good week-by-week.

We hear the promise: “I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.”

But here we can taste it, and feel it, and allow it to penetrate even into the depths of our hearts.

Let it be so that each one of us can say it with our whole heart: “The Lord is my Shepherd. I lack nothing. “ Amen.