We Are Vulnerable

A Sermon for April 21, 2013 (4 Pascha, RCL C)

Offered by Nathan Ferrell for The Church of Saint Mary

Texts:             Acts 9:36-43; Psalm 23; John 10:22-30         

Primary Message:  vulnerability is a means of grace in our lives 

Call to Action:          trust God and do not build walls to protect yourself

Title:               We Are Vulnerable

My dear friends: what a tough week! It’s been yet another difficult week for our nation.

Innocent people enjoying one of the great traditions of New England – the Boson Marathon – attacked. Some killed, many maimed and injured. An entire city in lock down while a massive manhunt ensued.

And yet here we are gathered together this morning to celebrate.

In the Church, we call this “Good Shepherd Sunday”, the day each year when we pray the 23^rd Psalm and we celebrate with joy that Christ is our Good Shepherd.

How do we put these two very divergent realities together?

What does the shepherding of Christ have to do with senseless terrorism in the real world?

The day after the Boston bombings, LZ Granderson wrote an editorial at CNN.com expressing well the change reality of our nation.

LZ Granderson - It Can Happen Anywhere

“If September 11, 2001, was the day everything changed, then April 15, 2013, serves as another reminder of that change, of our frailties and of a new reality in which "it can't happen here" has been replaced by "it can happen anywhere."”

I feel this new reality and I know that many of you do as well.

We are vulnerable. And we will always be vulnerable.

Nowhere are we sealed off and isolated from the anger and hatred and violence which infects humanity.

So what do we do with this gnawing sense of vulnerability?

Last week, while driving in New Jersey, I saw a bumper sticker which read as follows: “To-Do List: Pray, Vote, Buy More Ammo.”

May I humbly suggest to you that this is not the way to go! It may perhaps be the most common response when people feel vulnerable or out of control, but it’s clearly misguided.

Don’t take this the wrong way. I’m not speaking of second amendment rights and the freedom of law-abiding citizens.

What concerns me, and what I know with certainty concerns God, is the state of our hearts.

If your sense of vulnerability leads you to buy weapons and to install security systems and to regard strangers with suspicion, then you have missed the boat!

I know that it’s not easy. Truly, we are vulnerable on so many different levels in life, in so many ways. I know that twisting feeling – I get it right here, just under my sternum – when I feel particularly vulnerable and defenseless and insecure.

It is not a good feeling.

It is not easy, but I know that we can live in our vulnerability without fear.

No, even more than that. We can embrace it, and see in our own weakness the birthplace of new life.

Just over 2 years ago, a TED Talk by Dr. Brene’ Brown was posted online and it quickly went viral – it became popular. ((TED Talk by Dr. Brene' Brown)

For those of you who do not know, TED Talks are brief talks given by remarkable people about their passion, their research, their experience.

These videos are available for free on the internet, and many of them offer amazing insights.

Well, this talk by Brene’ Brown was titled, “The Power of Vulnerability”.

Her research found that embracing our vulnerability is essential to a fully and healthy life. This is what she said:

“Vulnerability is our most accurate measurement of courage. Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.”

What about you? Do you want to push away anything that makes you feel unsafe, to guard and protect yourself from all danger? Or are you able to embrace the vulnerability of your life and to live with courage?

This is why faith matters. This is how trust in God makes a real difference in life.

It allows us to face an uncertain, unpredictable future with courage, with positive confidence that God is doing something, and will do something good, no matter how bleak or troubled things may look from our perspective.

After all, we are The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin.

Do you remember how vulnerable Mary was when the angel Gabriel spoke to her?

Of course, he had to re-assure her and say, “Do not be afraid”, because the message he brought to her was truly terrifying!

Do you remember how vulnerable a young woman is in that patriarchal culture when she is accused of adultery? And with no reasonable means of defense, she was completely and utterly vulnerable.

And yet, we see her as one full of grace – that is what is says right there in the stained glass, “Ave Maria, Gratia Plena = Greetings Mary, full of grace”.

That grace allowed her to embrace her vulnerability with hope and courage. And in that openness of heart, of spirit, she conceived the One we look to in love as the Messiah, the One we follow as our Teacher.

She is our template of how an ordinary human being can reject that spirit of fear which causes us to withdraw, to hide, to shield ourselves from the dangers of life.

She is our model of how we can embrace our native vulnerability, and in so doing, conceive of something beautiful and good and life-giving.

Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.”

There is no protection from the basic reality of life on earth: we are vulnerable. Life is full of dangers. Life here is fragile.

Of course, our communities need to take common sense measures to provide security, to protect the innocent among us. But we must NEVER let that feeling of insecurity to creep into our hearts.

Instead, let us embrace the truth of our vulnerability and, by faith, know it to be true: nothing, and no one, can ever destroy that eternal life which Christ shares now with us.

And in that knowledge, let us live with openness and courage.

Let us conclude with a prayer offered this week by our Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, in response to the attacks in Boston. Let us pray.

Gracious God, you walk with us through the valley of the shadow of death.  We pray that the suffering and terrorized be surrounded by the incarnate presence of the crucified and risen one.  May every human being be reminded of the precious gift of life you entered to share with us.  May our hearts be pierced with compassion for those who suffer, and for those who have inflicted this violence, for your love is the only healing balm we know. May the dead be received into your enfolding arms, and may your friends show the grieving [that] they are not alone as they walk this vale of tears.  All this we pray in the name of the one who walked the road to Calvary, [our Lord Jesus Christ]. Amen.

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. 

Eternal and Glorious Plans

A Sermon for 7 Pascha RCL – A (6-5-2011)

Offered by Nathan Ferrell for Trinity Episcopal Shared Ministry

Texts:              Acts 1:6-14; Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35; 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11; John 17:1-11

Title:               Eternal and Glorious Plans

Have any of you ever been on a visit, either as tourists or as pilgrims, to the Holy Land? To Palestine and Israel and Jordan?

Well, neither have I! Perhaps one day I will get there, but that certainly does not seem likely anytime in the near future!

It is said that shepherds in that part of the world behave much differently than they do in the western countries, like they would here in the US. Even today, it is said that Middle-Eastern shepherds tend to develop a close relationship with their flock. Do you remember when the Lord called himself the Good Shepherd who knows each of his sheep by name? He was referring to this type of relationship between the shepherd and the sheep.  This would have been common knowledge to his original listeners, but it is difficult for us here in this time and place to understand.

Chua Wee Hian, the founding pastor of a Korean church in London, tells the story of a group of tourists visiting the Holy Land and touring the countryside by bus. Their guide was a local Arab man. As they drove through hillsides with flocks of sheep grazing on them, he explained to the people the reality that we were just considering; that is, how Middle Eastern shepherds are very close to their sheep. So close, in fact, that these shepherds nearly always lead their sheep. They do not drive them from behind with dogs, as is common in the West.

Middle Eastern shepherds lead their sheep by going in front of them, by calling to them, perhaps by using a pipe or a whistle to call them. The sheep know their shepherd and so they trust him and they follow him. It’s a very different relationship than what we might expect here, and it helps us to understand what the Bible means when it speaks of the Lord as our shepherd who leads us beside still waters.

Well, on this tourist bus, the Arab guide was explaining all of this when a number of the tourists noticed a man on one of the hillsides driving a small flock of sheep down a hill with a large and menacing stick! So the people started to mumble, “Look at that! Maybe he is wrong! Does this fellow really know what he is talking about?”

When the guide saw what the people had noticed, he immediately stopped the bus and ran off across the fields to intercept this man who appeared to be a rather scary kind of shepherd after all.

A few minutes later, the guide returned to the bus, his face beaming with relief. And he announced, “I have just spoken to that man. Ladies and gentlemen, he is not the shepherd. He is, in fact, the butcher!” (See The Contemporary Christian by John R.W. Stott, p. 284.)

You see, the shepherd acts very differently than the butcher, doesn’t he? Here in this amazing 17^th Chapter of the Fourth Gospel, we are given a glimpse into the shepherd heart of Jesus. Here, the Gospel opens up a window onto the secret prayer communication between the Son of God and the Father. We are allowed to eavesdrop into this intensely personal prayer.

Here, our Lord is about to face his betrayal and passion. Just before this occurs, he stops to pray once more, and to intercede on behalf of his rag-tag group of followers who have gathered around him.

Most of what we hear in this high-priestly prayer is Christological: that is, it carefully explains the relationship between Christ and the Father.

But throughout this dialogue, his love and care and concern for his sheep continuously breaks through. And over and over again, Jesus prays: “Holy Father, protect them.”

 We who know and trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior and our Lord, who have experienced his grace in our lives in profound ways – we believe in his protecting presence as our Good Shepherd.

And yet, it does not always feel this way, does it? You and I continue to experience all types of pain and suffering in this life, even when we live as a sheep of Christ’s own redeeming.

How are we to make sense of all this pain which seems so senseless and meaningless?

Let me suggest that in all of these things, when the suffering and death and pain which we see feels so pointless, what matters is the perspective which we take.

Remember this: what you and I see is but a tiny, small view upon the whole panoramic landscape of God’s activity in the world.

Cabin under construction

Let me explain this matter of our perspective in this way. When our family first bought our little cabin way up in the woods of New Hampshire, it was a small A-frame built in the 1970’s as a hunting camp. A family had been living there before us, so it was – technically - livable as it was (though I don't know how anyone could have lived there!). But our family had a different vision for what that place could become. So, right away, even the very day that we closed the sale, we began to tear it apart. Over the course of the next 3 years, we literally tore that place apart. There were huge piles of debris and garbage all around it, sometimes left there for months until I had time to return and continue the project. We couldn’t really get a dumpster up to the cabin. So I made piles of the debris, some to burn in a big bonfire and some to haul away in my truck.

Now, to anyone who passed by and gazed in over the course of those years, all of the chaos of that place must have appeared as completely senseless and pointless. I’m sure the few neighbors around there thought we were crazy.

BUT - what they could not see is that we had a plan: a long-term plan to completely renovate that place and to transform it. The process of getting there was going to be messy and painful and costly, but in the end, all of that was necessary to complete the transformation.

This is a good way for us to think about the trials and sufferings in life that we see and experience.

We see messy and painful things, we experience chaotic, sudden tragedies, and these things appear so meaningless, unjust and capricious. But the problem is that we can only see just a tiny sliver, a momentary glimpse of what is happening in the universe. We cannot see the long-term plan that is in place to renovate and transform humanity.

Somehow, in some way which is beyond our understanding, we can trust that God will use all things for good for those who love God and are called according to God’s purpose. We can embrace each experience of our life as training, as preparation, for the task that is before us. We do not know what God has in store.

Consider this: in each person’s life, there are a few moments when a decision will be made, or an action taken, that can change the course of history for their family, or their community, or their nation. Each experience of our lives is preparing us, so that when those critical moments arrive, we are prepared to decide rightly and to act with generous love and compassion.

If we can welcome each experience in this way – whether they be good things or painful things, then we will be able to be trained by Christ and prepared for what lies ahead.

Listen to this contemporary translation of our reading today from the 1^st Letter of St. Peter. These verses are taken from The Message (by Eugene Peterson):

“Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job.” And the end of this passage is translated here in this way: “So keep a firm grip on your faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ – eternal and glorious plans they are! – will have you put together and on your feet for good. [God] gets the last word.”    

Jesus has prayed, and continues to intercede, for the protection of his people. God has eternal and glorious plans for us. Long-term plans which we cannot see or understand. But we can trust that the renovation is in process, that the transformation is underway, even if it appears messy to us.

The Good Shepherd has gone before us and he leads us toward good things. Let us never forget that God always gets the last word. Amen.

The Food Here is Good

A Sermon for the 4^th Sunday of Pascha/Easter (RCL A) 5-15-2011

Offered by Nathan Ferrell for Trinity Episcopal Shared Ministry

Texts:              Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 23; 1 Peter 2:19-25; John 10:1-10
Themes:         good shepherd Sunday, breaking bread, leading out into green pastures

Today, my friends, is Good Shepherd Sunday. The 4^th Sunday of the Paschal season every single year is known as Good Shepherd Sunday, and the lessons each year on this Sunday focus upon the description of our Lord Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd who cares for his sheep.

Let us think for a moment about the role of a shepherd, and what makes a shepherd to be “good”.   

Jesus said that a shepherd goes ahead of his sheep and he leads them out to where they can find pasture.

A good shepherd, then, provides for the needs of the flock, by making sure that the flock has access to food and to water. But a shepherd also protects from the thief and the bandit who come only to steal and kill and destroy.  So a shepherd is good if he providing security from attacks.

Food, drink and safety – this is what a good shepherd provides.

These are the things necessary for sheep to have life. And these are the things that our Lord Jesus, Good Shepherd, provides for us so that we might have life and might have it abundantly.

From the very earliest days of the church’s existence, the followers of Christ have closely associated the care of the Good Shepherd with the sustenance that he provides for his people in the bread and wine of communion.

As we heard today from the Book of Acts, the first community of disciples who gathered after the day of Pentecost devoted themselves to the breaking of bread. These liturgies were certainly not nearly as elaborate as ours today, but they surely seem to have been understood as sacred events where Christ was present in a profound way and where he was nourishing and strengthening his sheep.

If we are to have abundant life as the Gospel says, then obviously we must have nourishment and sustenance for our souls, something that feeds us on the inside. Food, drink, safety – this is what a good shepherd provides, and this is what we need if we are truly to be the people of God.

Week by week you come to the Lord’s table to receive bread and wine which have been transformed by our prayers and by his promise into the body and blood of Christ. What do these things mean to you?

Let me invite you to consider for a moment what the body and blood of Christ have meant for all of the people of God throughout the ages, in all of the different places and situations and circumstances in which the church has existed. From hiding in catacombs and caves during the Roman persecutions, to the communion shared aboard the Apollo mission on the surface of the moon, from the grand cathedrals of Europe, to the communion liturgies in the bush among rural African tribes – everywhere humanity has been, in every circumstance that you can imagine, people have received and embraced the body and blood of Christ as true spiritual nourishment.

The Good Shepherd provides for his sheep. Even when they walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Christ is with them. Christ spreads a table for them even in the presence of their enemies.  

Consider this example, my friends. Dr. Vigen Guroian tells a remarkable true story about a very special Eucharist shared by refugees during the Armenian genocide.  Dr. Guroian is himself of Armenian descent, and he is now a professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia.

Around the time of the first World War, the Turkish army undertook extreme measures against the Armenian people, which resulted in the death of one-half of the 3 million Armenians.

In one instance during this genocide, the Armenian villagers from one small village escaped quickly into the countryside, fleeing from Turkish troops. The village priest had fled along with them. As they wandered, the people decided to stop and worship. I do not know whether it was the Lord’s Day, or whether they just felt that it was right to give thanks that they had escaped. But whatever the motivation, the people paused to celebrate the Holy Eucharist.

However there was a major problem: they had no bread and wine at all. They had fled the approaching army without very little time to gather many provisions. So, there in the countryside, they prayed and they celebrated and they gave thanks by blessing bowls of dirt and cups of water as the body and blood of Christ. It was all that they had.
Everyone took a bit of that blessed dirt and ate it, and washed it down with a bit of that blessed water. And God was present with them. "Restoring The Senses" interview from On Being

Even in their extreme suffering and hardship, wandering as refugees, fleeing from a genocidal army, even there the Good Shepherd provided spiritual nourishment for his people.

It may not always look like what we are used to. It may sometimes be rough, a bit sloppy or unpolished. But our Good Shepherd does provide us with food and drink and safety, the only kinds of food and drink and safety which truly matter!

Spiritual sustenance which brings joy and strength. Eternal security which brings peace that the world can never provide. These are the provisions for abundant life from our Lord.

Now, it is often surprising how the Good Shepherd might provide these things for us. Just consider the dirt and water communion of the Armenians. Consider also this personal story told by Julie Krause, a fellow Episcopalian. It is written in a brief poem, but with a bit of imagination, we can flush out the much larger story of her life which is told here.

Ms. Krause’s poem is titled “Homeless Angel” (from Women's Uncommon Prayers) and it speaks of a serendipitous meeting with a homeless man who points her toward the nourishment of the Lord’s Table in her time of need:

Returning from the nursing home, I feel empty.

She who nurtured me no longer knows me.

Suddenly, I need to be taken care of.

The unkempt homeless man on the steps of the church invites me in.

“The food here is good,” he says.

Trained early not to talk to strangers, I think only, “Do I look poor or hungry?

Why should he call me to me?” It’s his soup kitchen, and more his church than mine.

There is a noon Eucharist. How I’ve missed it. Communion,

And the taste of my mother’s kitchen. A meager celebration.

But the bread and wine feed my soul.

Outside, he calls to me again as I walk past.

“Did you get to eat? Did they feed you? Did you get what you needed?”

I glance back over my shoulder. He smiles.

“Yes,” my heart silently shouts.

He nods.

That’s right, my friends. The food here is good! Because it comes from the Good Shepherd who spreads out a table for us and who fills our cups to overflowing!

If we will but come to the feast; if we will join in the celebration, along with all of those around the world who know his voice and follow where he leads. Thanks be to God for the gift of abundant life which we receive through our Lord, the Good Shepherd. May each one of us always know and experience this sustaining and protecting grace which he so lavishly provides. Amen.

Each by Name: Good shepherd Sunday

Sermon for 4 Pascha C RCL 4/25/2010, Offered by Nathan Ferrell for Trinity Episcopal Shared Ministry

What is the power of a person’s name? Today is what we call Good Shepherd Sunday, and on this day we remember and celebrate the reality that our Risen Lord Jesus Christ is in fact the Good Shepherd who calls us each by name.

The promise of the Lord is clear and direct: “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish” (John 10:26).

Today, we bring another child into the flock of the Lord. Today, Evangeline Franecki begins her journey into eternal life under the watchful care of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd.

Today, as the One present here in this assembly, the Lord calls her by her true name, as a beloved child of God.

In the Biblical worldview, there is tremendous power in a person’s name. The ancient Hebrews refused to speak the name of God that was revealed to Moses, using pseudonyms instead out of regard for the sacred power of that name. Remember also how God changed the name of Abram to Abraham as a mark of his covenant with the Lord. Remember how Jesus changed the name of Simon to Peter, the name of Levi to Matthew, the name of Saul to Paul. Do you remember how, just a few weeks back on Resurrection Sunday, when Mary came to the empty tomb in grief, she was not able to recognize Jesus as alive and risen until her called her by name?

In our first reading today, the scripture is clear in displaying how Peter called Tabitha by name when he healed her and brought her back to life. And when we hold all of this together as a general theme, there can be no mistake that we are meant to understand how the name of a person holds power and meaning.

Since the earliest decades in the Church, there has been the tradition of taking the name of a Saint at the time of baptism. As far as we can tell, this practice began with a prince named Fulvian in the first century.

According to tradition, it was a princely ruler in Ethiopia, named Fulvian, who killed the apostle Matthew. Later, Fulvian repented of this evil deed and he asked to be baptized. And just before Fulvian was baptized by the bishop, a voice from the heavens called out, “Do not call him Fulvian, but call him Matthew.” Call him Matthew, in remembrance of that holy man for whose death the prince was responsible. From that day forward, he was to bear the name of this apostle as a continual reminder that now he shares the same grace, the same baptism, the same Lord, the same family as that holy apostle.

This tradition has fallen out of use somewhat in recent times, but it is a good reminder of the power and meaning that lies behind our names.

The Good Shepherd is the one who calls us each by name. One of the distinctive elements of our catholic tradition is that the general focus of the liturgy is never upon the individual, but rather upon the entire people of God.

Some of you have grown up in Methodist churches, or have spent time in Baptist congregations or in other Protestant churches. If so, I am sure you have noticed that the hymns we sing are typically different than theirs. Not all of them, of course, but a majority are different. Do you know why? Most popular Protestant hymns are all in the first person singular. “And he walks with me, and he talks with me.” Or, “O, how I love Jesus, because He first loved me.” Remember: I spent a few years as a Baptist, so I know these hymns! But the hymns that are most appropriate when we gather for the Eucharist are collective ones. We worship, we sing. The Lord redeems us.

Another distinctive element of our catholic tradition is how, when we do use the name of an individual, then we only use their Christian name, the name given at baptism. Because in this house, at this table, this is the only name that matters. Family names mean nothing within the body of Christ. They signify only our particular family tribe or national identity. But in the Church, we come together as one new flock united under the one Good Shepherd who calls us each by the name that he knows.

Now, we’ve talked about the name by which the Lord calls each one of us, but what about this title by which we call Christ on this Sunday: the title of the Good Shepherd.

What does it mean for us to call him our Good Shepherd? You know the primary inspiration in that most famous of Psalms: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want.

But what does it mean for us to call him Good? Is this the same as nice, or polite, or friendly? Like when we say, “Oh, he’s a good boy.” Or, “Now, you be good!” What exactly does the Church mean when we call him the Good Shepherd?

In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the second (but most famous) book of the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, there is a classic scene in which the 4 children learn about Aslan for the first time. Mr. and Mrs. Beaver are explaining to them all about the evil witch and about Aslan, when the children suddenly realize that Aslan is not a man at all, but rather a lion! “Is he safe?” Susan asks Mr. Beaver. “Safe?” replies Mr. Beaver. “Who said anything about Aslan being safe! ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you!” And later on Mr. Beaver says, “He’s wild, you know. Not like a tame lion.”

Aslan, of course, is meant as an icon of Jesus, the Messiah, the true Shepherd who lays down his own life to protect his beloved flock, to redeem his fractured creation.

And so, of course, Mr. Beaver is right on target. This Shepherd of ours is good, but he isn’t safe. There’s nothing tame about this Shepherd. In fact, he’s a bit wild! A bit reckless, a bit unpredictable. Do you remember the parable about the lost sheep? When the Shepherd decides to leave the 99 sheep in the field and to go after the one sheep that became lost.

You know, that’s not a very smart plan! That is definitely not the way they are taught at the shepherd’s training school! If one gets lost, you have to cut your loses, and guard even more carefully the remaining flock. But you don’t ever leave them alone out in the wilderness, and go chasing after the one who wandered off!

No, this Shepherd is not really safe, but he’s good. He’s the king, I tell you!

More than anything else, my sisters and brothers, I hope and pray that you will understand this simple truth: the Good Shepherd continues to search for you, to look for you, to long for you. It’s this compelling desire of God, this passionate love of God, which causes this Shepherd to be reckless in pursuing us.

And he continues to pursue us even when we are in his flock! Can you believe it? I know that I struggle to understand it, but I know in my heart that it’s true: God cannot get enough of us! Always, Christ wants to be with us more!

He knows our name. He calls out to us. Listen for his voice, my friends, and follow where he leads. You will never find a better option. For this Good Shepherd gives us life which is real, and deep and unending. Thanks be to God. Amen.

We Know Love by This

Sermon for the 4th Sunday of Pascha / Easter (RCL – Year B)
Offered by Nathan Ferrell at HS, Bellmawr & St. Luke’s, Westville

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

My friends: this is Good Shepherd Sunday, the one Sunday in the Great Fifty Days when the Church reflects together upon our life under the care of our Lord who is the Good Shepherd.

All of us who are gathered here today have thought about God’s care for us personally as proclaimed with such beauty in the 23rd Psalm, one of the most widely known passages of Scripture. But this Sunday is much more about what it means to live together as one flock under the loving watch of Christ.

It has been said that “the church is a society of sinners. It is the only society in the world, membership in which is based upon the single qualification that the candidate shall be unworthy of membership” (Charles Clayton Morrison).

The Church is the flock of wayward, stubborn sheep who seem to always be looking at greener grass farther away and yet who the Good Shepherd has brought together and keeps together through his own personal sacrifice.

And yet, how quickly we forget why we are here. How quickly we forget that love is the reason for our gatherings and that unity in love in this one flock is God’s plan.

Do you know why geese fly together in V-shaped delta wing formations? We have seen many in the past 2 months, migrating back to the north after the winter. Do you know why they fly together as they do? An individual goose, going alone, can fly roughly 100 miles in a day. But when they are in formation, flying together, they can fly up to an amazing 1000 miles a day. 10 times farther every day!

This is a metaphor, a parable that the Creator has given us to display the power of brothers living together in unity, the energy that God designed to be at work among humanity gathered together in the one flock which is the Church.

God designed the Church to be one. Through our human pride and greed and selfishness, we have completely destroyed that unity. Right now there are over 10,000 separate Christian churches and associations in the world, all paying homage to Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd, and each one laying claim to be the “true” and “correct” Church. How ridiculous, and how sad!

And of course, as any of you know, we in The Episcopal Church are right now in the midst of a struggle where the battle lines are being drawn and groups are dividing into their own tidy little corners with all of those who think and act like themselves.

Even right now, for the first 2 weeks of May, the Anglican Consultative Council, with members – lay and ordained – from across the globe, are gathered together to consider the creation of an Anglican Covenant. This Covenant is likely to be approved and passed along to all of the member churches of the Anglican Communion as a framework for our life together. I have seen the draft document. It is quite vague, with very little detail, but the Covenant does speak in beautiful theological language about the life of the Church gathered together under the care of the Good Shepherd.

It’s lovely, but to be frank, I cannot see any good reason why we need to spend our time and money on these things when we have all the guidance we need right now in the Scriptures. Aren’t these texts clear enough? Let’s look again at that reading from the 1st letter of John for today, and let’s read that first sentence together – in unison! “We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us – and we ought to lay down our lives for one another” (1 John 3:16).

Is this not clear enough?

Two tourists are hiking in the Himalayan foothills in India, making their way through the thick jungle, when they spot a tiger in the bush. This tiger is eyeing them and looking hungry. So one on the hikers quickly reaches into his backpack and takes out a brand new pair of Nike sneakers, and begins to put them on. The other asks him, “Do you really think those will make you run faster than that tiger?” “I don’t have to run faster than that tiger,” the first says. “I just have to run faster than you!”

Sadly, unfortunately, this attitude has been all too characteristic of the church when dealing with one another. Even into our own day, with our conflicts and disagreements, our instinct seems always to look out only for our own interests. What do we need to do to protect ourselves?

But this is precisely what the Church of Jesus Christ is not about. We should know better, for we know love by this, that he laid down his life for us. “For while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6) – for those who did not care about loving God nor their neighbor. The Good Shepherd laid down his life for us, to bring us into his flock.

And so what is the proper and correct response to receiving this amazing, loving care? “We ought to lay down our lives for one another.”

The questions being asked right now by our church leaders all across this country are: Who owns the property? Who holds the deed to the building? Who gets to stay here and who has to leave? How sad! Wrong questions!

The questions that we need to ask as the community living under the care of the Good Shepherd are these: Are we laying down our life on behalf of others? Are we serving others in the name of Christ? “Freely you have received; freely give.” This is the way of our Master.

Our Lord speaks to his people in parables, and we can be pretty sure that his students at that time had no idea what this meant. “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.”

I have other sheep that do not look or think or speak like you, but they belong to the same flock as you, and they will listen to my voice.

And this, my friends, this is the crux of the matter: “They will listen to my voice.”

To whose voice are we listening? Factions, schisms, associations, splinter groups – so many clear evidences that we are in fact listening to a different voice. The wolf scatters the one flock.

In the 1940’s, in a Nazi German prison, Dietrich Bonhoeffer had this to say about the unity of the Church:

“Christian brotherhood is not an ideal that we must realize; it is rather a
reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate. The more clearly
we learn to recognize that the ground and strength and promise of all our
fellowship is in Jesus Christ alone, [then] the more serenely shall we think of
our fellowship and pray and hope for it” (Life Together, p.30-31).

And so, my friends, the way forward for us here in this community and in the larger Church is quite simple: let us love one another, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. Let us love another as the Good Shepherd has loved us. Amen.