Will the Good Shepherd be Stopping By Soon?
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
For April 30, 2023:
Will the Good Shepherd be Stopping By Soon?
by Mary Austin
John 10:1-10
Lost in a different neighborhood? Need directions? Have a flat tire? It seems quaint now — the idea that a young person could knock on a stranger’s door and get help. Recently, our young neighbors who knocked on the wrong door, drove into the wrong driveway or tried to hop into the wrong car have paid a terrible price. At least four different young people, making mistakes that most of us have made, were shot, and one of them died.
Our culture of suspicion, plus the number of guns, creates a dangerous mix. Young people are in danger from adults if they seek help, and the current atmosphere raises the level of worry for everyone. In a restaurant the other day, an older woman instructed her niece, “If you need help, don’t knock on a door. Call a family member. Do you understand?” With tenderness, Jesus proclaims that he is the good shepherd, watching out for the sheep. Our young friends could use a shepherd — in fact, all of us could.
The good shepherd invites us to share in his calling, to take up the work of being good shepherds in our own lives. How have we traded that away to live in fear, and to chase the pretend security of firearms?
In the News
A recent article revealed the work of the shepherds who worked behind the scenes after the killings of students, educators and the shooter’s mother in Sandy Hook, CT. The crime scene investigators who went into the school came to believe that if they tended to the bodies, and told the story of the violence there, that the US would change our response to mass shootings. For many days, they photographed small bodies, a teacher and a principal, a teacher with a child in her arms. When the bodies returned to their families, they photographed the classrooms in meticulous detail: Pokemon cards, cups of milk still on desks, children’s goals for the year. “I want to learn to tie my shoes.”
Of the almost 1,500 photographs taken, all but a few have been redacted, and are sealed by Connecticut law. Few people have seen what the people at the crime scene saw. “When they heard Attorney General Eric Holder was coming, the highest-ranking law enforcement agent in the United States, a policymaker of the highest echelon, they knew it was their one chance. To show the scene as they found it. To present the evidence to the right set of eyes. If what they saw did not shake the country out of its denial, nothing would.” Nothing did.
And so the young people shot over the past weeks will likely carry the physical impact for the rest of their lives. The shootings also carry an emotional impact on them, their families, classmates, neighbors and all of us. Gun violence is taking a mental toll on everyone, as we worry more about our safety in schools, churches, workplaces and on the street.
Horribly, the leading cause of death for all children in the US is firearms.
Some of us will be hit harder than others. Gun violence impacts us differently. “Black people die due to firearms at higher rates than any other racial or ethnic group in the US. Firearm-related deaths rose sharply among black and Hispanic children during the Covid-19 pandemic,” according to research by the Kaiser Family Foundation. “Most homicides involved Black children, who make up a small share of all children but shoulder the burden of gun violence more than any others, a disparity that is growing sharply.” School shootings, horrific as they are, are “less than 1 percent of the total gun deaths suffered by American children.”
In the Scriptures
What, then, does the good shepherd have to say to us, speaking into this whirlwind of violence and indifference?
The chapter and section divisions in our Bibles divide up the story so we miss some of the connections. This section follows the lengthy story of Jesus healing the man who was born blind, and it offers an extended meditation on that healing.
The healing ends with the man being thrown out of his community. The religious leaders come to dispute with Jesus, and he tells them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, “We see,” your sin remains.”
Recalling the reactions of the religious authorities, the neighbors and even the man’s parents, we hear Jesus meditate on the question of whom we follow. He says pointedly, “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 religious leaders, preoccupied with the man’s healing, are not good shepherds for their flock. There’s a tenderness and trust between the good shepherd and the sheep, and that compassion is missing here.
Jesus goes on to point out what a good shepherd is and does. Jesus is the gate, the place of protection for the sheep in the sheepfold. The good shepherd stays with the sheep, even when they’re in danger.
Not long after this, Jesus will call Lazarus out of the grave, another place where his sheep know his voice, and hurry to answer. The shepherd who guards the gate here will become the open door of resurrection and life soon after this.
The lectionary’s division of the reading stops abruptly (leaving some good stuff for next week.) We don’t get to hear Jesus’ promise, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” We hold that truth in our hearts, though.
In the Sermon
If Jesus were ever instructed to have a mission statement or an elevator pitch, he has it ready. “I came that they might have life and have it abundantly.” The sermon could explore how the church follows this, or doesn’t. How much of our teaching, programming, service to the community, and future planning is focused on this mission statement, which is important to Jesus? Is it an inspiration? A motivator? An indictment?
The crime scene investigators from Sandy Hook, like the ones from the Pulse nightclub, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and the Tree of Life synagogue, and countless other places, shepherd the bodies of the dead, and tend to the evidence, so that the truth can be told. And each time, it’s a truth we don’t want to hear. Each time, the work exacts a lasting toll on them. “Each scene of unimaginable horror witnessed by an anonymous team we have chosen, without knowing it, to do the gruesome work of internalizing our national crisis for us.”
The bomb expert from Sandy Hook “was embedded with the Navy in Iraq…deployed to suicide bombings to collect DNA for its database of bomb makers. He had picked limbs from trees. Defused homemade explosives. But the worst thing he’d ever seen was the inside of an elementary school in Connecticut.” The sermon might look at the work of first responders and investigators, and the mental and physical price they pay in this unwanted role. The sermon might explore what happens to the shepherds when no one is listening as they try to protect the sheep.
Columnist Tish Harrison Warren posits that because gun violence is a public health problem, the solution will come like other public health shifts. Just as smoking was once commonplace and now is seen as dangerous and disgusting by many people, she argues that we need a similar shift on guns. “It’s been widely discussed that in their 2021 Christmas card photo, Representative Andy Ogles, Republican of Tennessee, whose district includes the site of the Covenant School shooting, and his family posed smiling with assault rifles in front of their bedecked tree. This kind of casual fetishization of violence, which makes light of the deaths of children, needs to become socially unthinkable.” The sermon might explore what that would look like if we all, collectively, made that shift.
She asks, “What does it mean to be peacemakers, to love our neighbors and to affirm the value of human life in this moment? The unavoidable conclusion is that we in America’s churches can no longer claim to worship the “prince of peace” while tolerating the preventable obliteration of America’s children.” The sermon might deepen that vision for people.
Mr. Rogers, quoting his mother, famously told people to “look for the helpers” when trouble comes. As people of faith, we look for the helpers, and we call them shepherds, those who follow the good shepherd himself. The good shepherd holds us in his care and inspires us to be shepherds for others who are lost, in need, or in danger. Look for the shepherds — they are still with us, tending the sheep.
SECOND THOUGHTS
The Message of the Gospel is Abundance
by Tom Willadsen
John 10:1-10, Acts 2:42-47, 1 Peter 2:19-25, Psalm 23
In Scripture
Lots of pastoral images in the readings today. Feeling sheepish in preaching these texts is completely understandable.
Psalm 23
You’re hard pressed to find something original to say about Psalm 23. It’s easily the most recognized passage in the Bible. One can regard the speaker as taking the point of view of a sheep, a member of the flock, protected and cared for by The Shepherd. It’s clear that the psalmist, tradition has it David wrote this before he switched careers from composer/shepherd to politics, has endured trials of some kind. Walking through the valley of the shadow of death indicates any number of perils. (Stylistically my 12th grade English teacher, Mrs. Holmes, would not have cared for this sequence of prepositional phrases.)
“Still waters” is significant. Sheep are very timid and running water can frighten them. Still, clean water was essential for sheep to feel safe.
It is instructive and powerful to remember that this psalm is in present tense. Right now the Lord is my shepherd; right now the Lord restores my soul. Right now the Lord prepares a table for me. The psalmist has been rescued in the past, but celebrates that God is currently alive and keeping him safe.
Preparing the table may be a reference to a shepherding figure of speech. Shepherds “set the table” in an unfamiliar pasture by removing hazards like snakes and scorpion nests before letting the flock enter it.
Ezekiel 34:7-15
This passage is not part of the Revised Common Lectionary (but appears in the Presbyterian planning calendar). It offers a nice contrast to the reading from John 10. Clearly the Lord’s shepherds of Israel have failed and they are being fired and replaced by the Lord Godself!
You might want to set up a “Good Shepherd/Bad Shepherd” scenario as you consider this text alongside the reading from John.
John 10:1-10
It is not clear where exactly this passage takes place. Remember, this comes immediately after Jesus has healed the blind man and the authorities are quite upset because, among other things, Jesus did this particular task on the Sabbath. Maybe it’s still the Feast of Tabernacles (Succoth) because that’s what time it was the last time John told us what time it was back in 7:2. The next mention of time is in 10:22 and it’s the Feast of Dedication (Channukah).
At either time it’s a little difficult to discern whether Jesus is the gate to the sheepfold or the good shepherd, or both? Is the sheepfold God’s realm? There’s a lot of imagery to play with here.
Finally, I cannot resist this reference: In John 10:11 Jesus identifies himself as “the good shepherd.” Country singer T.G. Sheppard, born William Browder, took his stage name from John 10:11. His lone Top 40 hit was “I Loved ’Em Every One,” about the wide variety of women the singer had known through the years. But let’s be honest, couldn’t Jesus have sung exactly the same words, without the lascivious overtones?
Acts 2:42-47
“All who believed were together and had all things in common.” (v. 44, NRSV)
Luke describes an ideal community arising from Peter’s sermon. While there is no overt mention of sheep nor a reference to the new, thriving community as a flock or herd, it is clear that the features that made the first fellowship so strong were their emphasis on the common good, the health of whole community.
1 Peter 2:19-25
This reading from Peter begins one verse too late, excising the context that this is instruction to slaves. Modern Americans are rightly horrified by the concept of slavery, given our nation’s sad history. For some the Bible’s apparent acceptance of the practice will make them unable to hear these instructions. Accepting unjust treatment following Christ’s example of non-resistance will be very difficult to hear.
This passage echoes the Servant Song in Isaiah 52:13--53:12, especially vv. 3-6.
In the News — The Herd Mentality
The Bible is filled with pastoral images, as is the church. “Pastor” is rooted in the word for shepherd. Pastors routinely are thought of as tending their “flocks.” Yet most 21st century Americans have very limited firsthand experience with farm animals, aside from the pot roast I pick up at the meat counter at Kroger and the pure wool sweater I just ordered from Amazon, I cannot think of a recent encounter with livestock. If we think at all about sheep we imagine them as timid, weak, and vulnerable. They need a shepherd/protector lest they be thrown to the proverbial wolves. Humans are certainly superior to sheep; we don’t need a good shepherd or any kind of shepherd! We’re autonomous! We think for ourselves! We do our own research — just like everybody else!
Actually, humans are profoundly social. Christian humans, especially, are profoundly social. Back in our hunter/gatherer days, we needed one another for protection and security. It was perilous to try to survive alone; there was safety and survival in numbers.
Grouping and enhancing social unity are among these behaviors. This involves not dissenting from the community. In a hunter-gatherer group, it could have been a death sentence to be ostracized or exiled. — Herd Mentality Examples (7 Examples) | OptimistMinds
Sheep are stronger and better able to survive when they are part of herds. And herds are very good at concealing and protecting their most vulnerable members. A friend who left a large animal veterinary practice (the practice itself was small; my friend practiced on large animals) told me, “A sick sheep is a dead sheep.” The herd was so good at protecting the weak and vulnerable among them, by the time its illness became apparent to the shepherd — and the shepherd summoned the veterinarian — it was very sick indeed. A good shepherd is well acquainted with their flock and can spot the sick sheep and care for them promptly.
Humans share a lot of the same characteristics that we see in other animals. In March we saw two bank failures caused by runs on Silicon Valley Bank, based in Santa Clara, California, and Signature Bank, based in New York — both classic examples of herd mentality. Whether these failures could have been prevented by better oversight is still being determined. Their difficulties were made dramatically worse, rapidly, by the speed of communicating now possible in the digital age. Once the stampede starts, it’s very hard to stop it.
Humans have a predisposition to mimic the actions of each other. We end up expressing opinions and behaving in ways that we’d never have attempted or individually thought otherwise. This event is referred to by psychologists as mob mentality. — Herd Mentality Examples (7 Examples) | OptimistMinds
Other examples of herd/mob mentality are Black Friday shopping, investment bubbles, and fads of all kinds.
We’re built to be together. One way this reality is explained is in the Theory of Convergence. That is, people tend to find and group with people who share things in common. Social media had made it possible to find like-minded people more quickly than ever before. Converging with people just like us makes it difficult to encounter others who hold different points of view. And our constant contact with people just like us make it harder for us to even imagine other points of view. People who hold other points of view are converging themselves for the very same reason our tribe is converging.
Studying the human tendency to act in groups has some very practical applications. Scientists at the University of Leeds have found that “it takes a minority of just five percent to influence a crowd’s direction — and that the other 95 percent follow without realizing it.” — What is Herd Mentality? Understanding the Psychology (psychcentral.com)
“There are many situations where this information could be used to good effect,” says Professor Jens Krause of the University’s Faculty of Biological Sciences. “At one extreme, it could be used to inform emergency planning strategies and at the other, it could be useful in organizing pedestrian flow in busy areas.” (Ibid.)
While there is safety, security, and ease in being part of a herd, there are also potential downsides. For example, because herds tend to reinforce mutual biases they may be unable to perceive, or even imagine, some kinds of danger. Individuals can pay heavy personal costs for going against the norm. And unscrupulous “shepherds” can lead people into disaster. Social media can give us the illusion that by “doing our own research” we have reached an opinion untainted by poorly-informed “sheep” who get their news from conventional news sources.
How do we know ours is the good shepherd? How can we be sure that we’re hearing his voice?
In the Sermon
How do you proclaim the benefits of being part of Christ’s flock to a people who are supremely self-confident and self-assured? Why should they listen for Jesus’ voice at all?
At the very end of today’s gospel lection Jesus says that he came that we may “have life and have it abundantly.” I’m the guy who walks through church meals and communal dining rooms offering people extra dessert. I am careful to do this after everyone has been through the line and gotten a chance to select a dessert for themselves. Often people’s hands are full or they’re distracted and miss dessert. As the strongest extrovert I know I delight in walking to each table at the event with a platter of cookies or cream puffs, a pair of tongs and napkins so they can have dessert. About 20% of them take a dessert gladly. About 70% indicate that they can’t, or shouldn’t, or have already had dessert. To these people I declare, “The message of the gospel is abundance.” Jesus said the same thing. To the sheep. A few people hear my voice and take another dessert.
About 10% say, “Get thee behind me, Satan!” This only happens at church events. “Get a grip; it’s a damn lemon bar!” I reply pastorally. On occasion a kind of herd mentality will sweep through a table. One influencer who sighs and accedes to another brownie, because it will make me happy (or make me go away) can lead to a cascade of others accepting this free gift of sucrose.
Sociologists have shown that as few as 5% of a crowd can lead the entire herd. Are churches subject to this statistic too? Can a group as small as 5% of a church’s membership, when they truly hear and confidently follow Christ’s voice, lead the whole flock to security and wholeness? I think it could. The proof is in the surplus desserts.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Elena Delhagen:
"The sheep will follow the shepherd because they know his voice, but they will run from a stranger because they do not know the voice of strangers.”
A person’s voice is unique and distinguishable, yet research has shown that most of us are exceptionally bad at recognizing the voice of others (to say nothing of recognizing our own). Recognizing voices requires two processes to operate simultaneously. First, we need to distinguish between the voices of different people (telling people apart), but we also need to be able to attribute a single identity to all the different sounds (talking, laughing, shouting) that can come from the same person.
All that to say – perceiving the voice of a stranger is quite difficult for us. But when it comes to those with whom we’re more familiar?
National Geographic reports that pets – even cats, who seem entirely uninterested in…well, everything – are able to distinguish their owners’ voices from that of strangers. Our tech devices like Siri and Alexa are trained to recognize the voice of the one who programs them. A startling new long-COVID symptom called “face blindness” has emerged, in which people are unable to recognize faces, even those of loved ones. However, in the absence of the perception of sight, their auditory perception is enhanced; they are able to distinguish between people based on their voices alone.
It strikes me that what all these things have in common is proximity. To recognize someone means we need to be close to them. We must spend time with them, get to know them, discover what distinguishes them from anyone else. In doing this, we learn their voices and can perceive what they’re saying to us.
Who are we spending time with? What are we hearing? Are we practicing listening to the good shepherd of our souls?
* * *
A favorite book of mine is The Alchemist by Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho. The main character, a young boy, is a shepherd. At the beginning of the novel, the writer narrates of the boy:
“He arose and, taking up his crook, began to awaken the sheep that still slept. He had noticed that, as soon as he awoke, most of his animals also began to stir. It was as if some mysterious energy bound his life to that of his sheep….
But there were certain of them who took a bit longer to awaken. The boy prodded them, one by one, with his crook, calling each by name. He had always believed that the sheep were able to understand what he said. So there were times when he read them parts of his books that had made an impression on him, or when he would tell them of the loneliness or happiness of a shepherd in the fields.”
Much of the lectionary passages for this week use the imagery of sheep. In many of them, the sheep are cared for by a loving, committed shepherd. But in 1 Peter, there’s an illustration of a different kind of sheep: the kind who stray.
Sheep are flock animals, as we know, which means they have a very strong flocking instinct because they understand that their protection lies in numbers. Yet they will separate and stray from their flock for several different reasons. Perhaps they sense danger approaching, and they become frightened. Maybe they’re a bit absentminded while grazing, and they wander off. And sometimes? They just get curious! They might spot something interesting and non-threatening and decide to check it out – yet once they’ve left their flock, they easily become prey.
So often we wander from what we instinctually know is good for us. I cannot help but think of one of the lines from my favorite hymn, Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing: “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it // Prone to leave the God I love.” The good news, however, is that we have a Shepherd who comes after us and leads us to the gentle places, beside still waters, places we know are good for us.
Praise be to God for a love like that.
* * *
Whenever I read the description of the early Church in Acts, I am struck by how differently the idea of community in today’s Western world looks. We are a highly individualistic culture, and “community” has become something we do rather than who we are. We have our community small groups; we meet for an hour or so once or twice a week (at best) and then we drive home and lock our doors and check “connection” off of our to-do lists.
Yet for much of the world, community is the very fabric of their culture and traditions, built in from the beginning of their existence. For example:
* * * * * *
From team member Katy Stenta:
John 10:1-10
This passage makes me think of children when they run up to their mother’s legs. You know that moment when they accidentally, on occasion, grab the wrong legs and realize immediately that it is not their mother or father? Usually it takes but a moment for them to know that it is not their parent. The individual who is not the parent usually laughs, but also, we all know that the child wants no one other than the parent (or even aunt, other, grandparent, etc.) they are looking for. Children know who their mother and father are. How will we know who Jesus is? When Jesus arrives, we will cling to him, we will recognize his voice. The gateway will be without question. When it opens it will be clear — there will be no question. Like a sheep who knows its shepherd, like coming home, that is how clear it will be.
* * *
Psalm 23
There is without a doubt a deep longing in humanity for something. We like to say that it is a longing for “normal” — especially in this post-pandemic world. The BBC posted a study that everything is normal now, a sentiment I share deep distrust with, which is expressed well in this tweet. However, I think this longing is confused. I think we confuse our longing for Sabbath with a desire for wholeness and rest. Enough with “normal.” Psalm 23 expresses what we long for much better than whatever this so-called “normal” we settle for is.
* * *
Acts 2:42-47
The sharing passage, the thing we teach our children, but never fully act upon as adults — the thing we accuse each other of grudgingly as “communism” or “socialism” as if it is a bad thing. This is a hard thing for human beings to do. My congregation shares the building on a more or less pay what you can scale with other groups, organizations, and parties, and everyone has to clean up after themselves. It is a lot of work, most of it emotional, because people leave messes or break things, and it’s hard to share your personal space with others. It is difficult to show hospitality. It is hard to trust one another. On the other hand, it is really Christian to try to build a community — and it is good to do the hard work of sharing. Some people want sharing to be easy. Though it is not paradise, it is almost always worth it. Because to build the relationships of trust where one can share food, possessions, even church buildings; that is definitely worth it.
* * * * * *
From team member Quantisha Mason-Doll:
John 10:1-10
There is a gate but no fence
When I was an undergraduate, I had the pleasure of working on a farm. There was a wide range of livestock that gave us the opportunity to practice different forms of animal husbandry. We had pigs, sheep, cows, goats — even chickens, all of which required a different form of care and guidance from us, the shepherds. One thing that always stood out to me were the paddocks the animals were put in. Oftentimes they were reinforced sections of land guarded by fencing to keep prey animals out and livestock in. Every once in a while, though, there would be a section of farm that did not have fencing, only a gate marking where the pasture started. To us this might seem strange but to others that is just status quo. Having a gate means the only way in and out of safety is the gate. Rarely do we notice that the fencing is missing. Being a good shepherd means having the ability to be the gate and the fence, while also allowing your livestock freedom of motion. Fencing is not always safe. John 10 should be interpreted as a cautionary tale against gatekeeping.
* * *
1 Peter 2:19-25
This will hurt
If the last three years have taught us anything, it is that when you are down, it feels like the universe knows it. There are many that would argue that humanity has reaped what it has sewn. It was only a matter of time before all of creation and the sins of our progenitors caught up with us. I think 1 Peter is very fitting for our day and age. We are quick to push blame onto something as a means of scapegoating our suffering. Sure, no one wants to feel pain. Very few want to suffer. I said this will hurt because the process of returning is never an easy one. We are told that Christ has borne the pain within his body for us, so why do we choose to suffer? I think of when people are in unimaginable pain, and they have to go through surgery to fix it. Surgery is the process of cutting open the body so that a doctor can reach inside and fix the problem. We have to endure pain to fix pain. Returning to Christ means cutting away all the painful things that have separated us from him in order to redeem us. These are small pains that the body can endure, for the Lord has set the example that even the pain of death cannot stop salvation.
* * *
Psalm 23
The table is prepared, will you sit with the enemy?
I would argue that almost every Christian the world over knows Psalm 23 by heart. Old standby ready to be used as an example of the unwavering love of our Lord. We speak of how the Lord is the guide that causes things to happen, thus allowing us, the listener, to be a passive participant. What if we take a moment to reevaluate the psalm as an invitation to action. When the table is set in the presence of our so-called enemies, God ensures abundance. Our cups overflow, so why can’t we invite our enemies to sit with us to enjoy a meal and talk things over? In today's society we see increasingly decisive rhetoric pitting neighbor against neighbor. Psalm 23 challenges us to the hard work of having to sit with people we do not agree with, assured in the knowledge that God has not abandoned us in our time of need.
* * * * * *
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship
One: God is our shepherd, we shall not want.
All: God causes us to lie down in green pastures.
One: God leads us beside still waters where our souls are restored.
All: We are led in right paths for God’s name’s sake.
One: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all of our days.
All: We shall dwell in God’s presence forever and ever.
OR
One: The good shepherd calls us to the peace of the fold.
All: We long to hear the voice of our Shepherd.
One: The Shepherd is the gate who welcomes all the flock to enter.
All: We seek to enter the safety and shelter we are offered.
One: Come into the fold and know the care of the shepherd.
All: We enter the fold with joy calling others to join us.
Hymns and Songs
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
UMH: 110
H82: 687/688
PH: 260
GTG: 275
AAHH: 124
NNBH: 37
NCH: 436/440
CH: 65
LBW: 228/229
ELW: 503/504/505
W&P: 588
AMEC: 54
STLT: 200
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
UMH: 140
GTG: 39
AAHH: 158
NNBH: 45
NCH: 423
CH: 86
ELW: 733
W&P: 72
AMEC: 84
Renew: 249
If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee
UMH: 142
H82: 635
PH: 282
GTG: 816
NCH: 410
LBW: 453
ELW: 769
W&P: 429
Hope of the World
UMH: 178
H82: 472
PH: 360
GTG: 734
NCH: 46
CH: 538
LBW: 493
W&P: 404
The King of Love My Shepherd Is
UMH: 138
H82: 645/646
PH: 171
GTG: 802
NCH: 248
LBW: 456
ELW: 502
Renew: 106
The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want
UMH: 136
GTG: 801
NNBH: 237/241
CH: 78
LBW: 451
ELW: 778
W&P: 86
AMEC: 208
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
UMH: 133
GTG: 837
AAHH: 371
NNBH: 262
NCH: 471
CH: 560
ELW: 774
W&P: 496
AMEC: 525
Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life
UMH: 427
H82: 609
PH: 408
GTG: 343
NCH: 543
CH: 665
LBW: 429
ELW: 719
W&P: 591
AMEC: 561
Stand By Me
UMH: 512
NNBH: 318
CH: 629
W&P: 495
AMEC: 420
I Want Jesus to Walk with Me
UMH: 521
PH: 363
GTG: 775
AAHH: 563
NNBH: 500
NCH: 490
CH: 627
W&P: 506
AMEC: 375
God Is So Good
CCB: 74
I Call You Faithful
CCB: 70
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
GTG: Glory to God, The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who calls your people together as a shepherd calls the sheep:
Grant us the faith to trust that the Christ is our good shepherd
who watches over us in love through all our lives;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you calls us to be your people, the sheep of your flock. You have given us the Christ to be our good shepherd who watches over us always. Help us to let our fears rest in his gentle hands. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially when we allow our fears to blind us to your constant loving presence watching over us.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another our failures to live as your people. We have strayed from the fold you have given for our protection and nurture. We have failed to listen to the voice of the good shepherd you have sent to us. We have filled our bellies with things that do not satisfy our hunger. We have allowed our fears to rob us of the joy you offer us. Forgive us and renew us with your Spirit so that we may dwell in peace within your fold. Amen.
One: The good shepherd seeks to find us and bring us back into the safety of the fold. Rest in that loving care and call others to discover that love.
Prayers of the People
Blessed are you, O God who shepherds your people with loving kindness. You are the good shepherd who watches over us always.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another our failures to live as your people. We have strayed from the fold you have given for our protection and nurture. We have failed to listen to the voice of the good shepherd you have sent to us. We have filled our bellies with things that do not satisfy our hunger. We have allowed our fears to rob us of the joy you offer us. Forgive us and renew us with your Spirit so that we may dwell in peace within your fold.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which you care for us. We thank you for your good creation which sustains us with all that we need for this life. We thank you for you offer us to bring us joy and completeness. We thank you for those whose loving care sustains us day by day. Most of all we thank you for Jesus, our good shepherd, who serves as the gate to your sheepfold.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for those who are in need this day. We pray for those who struggle for the necessities of life. We pray for those who live in fear and in danger. We pray for those who struggle wit issues of health, for those who are dying, and for those who are grieving. We pray for those who do not know they are welcomed into your loving fold.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
* * * * * *
CHILDREN'S SERMON
God, Our Shepherd
by Dean Feldmeyer
Psalm 23
You will need: 15-30 small, pieces of white paper cut in the shape of sheep. A piece of poster board with a wolf’s face drawn on or glued to it.
Say:
Today’s scripture lessons tell us that God is like a good shepherd and we are like God’s sheep. How are we like sheep? Are our bodies covered with wool? (No.) Do we eat grass? (No.) Do we go baaaah? (Well, usually not.) So, how are we like sheep.
Well, a couple of the ways we are like sheep are that 1.) we are safer when we stay together in a group (dump sheep cut-outs on the table or floor at the center of the group), and 2.) we always want to wander off, away from the group. (Pull some of the sheep cutout’s away from the others so they are alone.
Why do you suppose the sheep shouldn’t wander away from the herd? (As they think about answers, slowly show them the wolf cut-out.) That’s right! There could be danger out there away from the rest of the sheep. (Push individual runaways back near the herd.)
And sometimes, the danger is so big that it threatens the entire herd. (Use the cardboard wolf as a fan and blow all the paper sheep onto the floor. Have the kids help you put them back in the center in a pile.)
But, the Bible says that God is like a shepherd who protects us, his sheep. Now, if you were a shepherd, how would you protect these sheep from this big bad wolf?
(As you talk, pull one or two of the kids around so they are standing between the big bad wolf and the sheep so the wolf fan can’t blow the sheep away.)
Ah, ha! That’s it. One thing God does for us is stand between us and danger. That’s one of the ways God protects us from the things that might harm us.
End with a prayer thanking God for the gift of protection.
Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, April 30, 2023 issue.
Copyright 2022 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
- Will the Good Shepherd be Stopping By Soon? by Mary Austin based on John 10:1-10.
- Second Thoughts: The Message of the Gospel is Abundance by Tom Willadsen based on John 10:1-10, Acts 2:42-47, 1 Peter 2:19-25, Psalm 23.
- Sermon illustrations by Elena Delhagan, Quantisha Mason-Doll, Katy Stenta.
- Worship resources by George Reed.
- Children's sermon: God, Our Shepherd by Dean Feldmeyer based on Psalm 23.
Will the Good Shepherd be Stopping By Soon?by Mary Austin
John 10:1-10
Lost in a different neighborhood? Need directions? Have a flat tire? It seems quaint now — the idea that a young person could knock on a stranger’s door and get help. Recently, our young neighbors who knocked on the wrong door, drove into the wrong driveway or tried to hop into the wrong car have paid a terrible price. At least four different young people, making mistakes that most of us have made, were shot, and one of them died.
Our culture of suspicion, plus the number of guns, creates a dangerous mix. Young people are in danger from adults if they seek help, and the current atmosphere raises the level of worry for everyone. In a restaurant the other day, an older woman instructed her niece, “If you need help, don’t knock on a door. Call a family member. Do you understand?” With tenderness, Jesus proclaims that he is the good shepherd, watching out for the sheep. Our young friends could use a shepherd — in fact, all of us could.
The good shepherd invites us to share in his calling, to take up the work of being good shepherds in our own lives. How have we traded that away to live in fear, and to chase the pretend security of firearms?
In the News
A recent article revealed the work of the shepherds who worked behind the scenes after the killings of students, educators and the shooter’s mother in Sandy Hook, CT. The crime scene investigators who went into the school came to believe that if they tended to the bodies, and told the story of the violence there, that the US would change our response to mass shootings. For many days, they photographed small bodies, a teacher and a principal, a teacher with a child in her arms. When the bodies returned to their families, they photographed the classrooms in meticulous detail: Pokemon cards, cups of milk still on desks, children’s goals for the year. “I want to learn to tie my shoes.”
Of the almost 1,500 photographs taken, all but a few have been redacted, and are sealed by Connecticut law. Few people have seen what the people at the crime scene saw. “When they heard Attorney General Eric Holder was coming, the highest-ranking law enforcement agent in the United States, a policymaker of the highest echelon, they knew it was their one chance. To show the scene as they found it. To present the evidence to the right set of eyes. If what they saw did not shake the country out of its denial, nothing would.” Nothing did.
And so the young people shot over the past weeks will likely carry the physical impact for the rest of their lives. The shootings also carry an emotional impact on them, their families, classmates, neighbors and all of us. Gun violence is taking a mental toll on everyone, as we worry more about our safety in schools, churches, workplaces and on the street.
Horribly, the leading cause of death for all children in the US is firearms.
Some of us will be hit harder than others. Gun violence impacts us differently. “Black people die due to firearms at higher rates than any other racial or ethnic group in the US. Firearm-related deaths rose sharply among black and Hispanic children during the Covid-19 pandemic,” according to research by the Kaiser Family Foundation. “Most homicides involved Black children, who make up a small share of all children but shoulder the burden of gun violence more than any others, a disparity that is growing sharply.” School shootings, horrific as they are, are “less than 1 percent of the total gun deaths suffered by American children.”
In the Scriptures
What, then, does the good shepherd have to say to us, speaking into this whirlwind of violence and indifference?
The chapter and section divisions in our Bibles divide up the story so we miss some of the connections. This section follows the lengthy story of Jesus healing the man who was born blind, and it offers an extended meditation on that healing.
The healing ends with the man being thrown out of his community. The religious leaders come to dispute with Jesus, and he tells them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, “We see,” your sin remains.”
Recalling the reactions of the religious authorities, the neighbors and even the man’s parents, we hear Jesus meditate on the question of whom we follow. He says pointedly, “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 religious leaders, preoccupied with the man’s healing, are not good shepherds for their flock. There’s a tenderness and trust between the good shepherd and the sheep, and that compassion is missing here.
Jesus goes on to point out what a good shepherd is and does. Jesus is the gate, the place of protection for the sheep in the sheepfold. The good shepherd stays with the sheep, even when they’re in danger.
Not long after this, Jesus will call Lazarus out of the grave, another place where his sheep know his voice, and hurry to answer. The shepherd who guards the gate here will become the open door of resurrection and life soon after this.
The lectionary’s division of the reading stops abruptly (leaving some good stuff for next week.) We don’t get to hear Jesus’ promise, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” We hold that truth in our hearts, though.
In the Sermon
If Jesus were ever instructed to have a mission statement or an elevator pitch, he has it ready. “I came that they might have life and have it abundantly.” The sermon could explore how the church follows this, or doesn’t. How much of our teaching, programming, service to the community, and future planning is focused on this mission statement, which is important to Jesus? Is it an inspiration? A motivator? An indictment?
The crime scene investigators from Sandy Hook, like the ones from the Pulse nightclub, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and the Tree of Life synagogue, and countless other places, shepherd the bodies of the dead, and tend to the evidence, so that the truth can be told. And each time, it’s a truth we don’t want to hear. Each time, the work exacts a lasting toll on them. “Each scene of unimaginable horror witnessed by an anonymous team we have chosen, without knowing it, to do the gruesome work of internalizing our national crisis for us.”
The bomb expert from Sandy Hook “was embedded with the Navy in Iraq…deployed to suicide bombings to collect DNA for its database of bomb makers. He had picked limbs from trees. Defused homemade explosives. But the worst thing he’d ever seen was the inside of an elementary school in Connecticut.” The sermon might look at the work of first responders and investigators, and the mental and physical price they pay in this unwanted role. The sermon might explore what happens to the shepherds when no one is listening as they try to protect the sheep.
Columnist Tish Harrison Warren posits that because gun violence is a public health problem, the solution will come like other public health shifts. Just as smoking was once commonplace and now is seen as dangerous and disgusting by many people, she argues that we need a similar shift on guns. “It’s been widely discussed that in their 2021 Christmas card photo, Representative Andy Ogles, Republican of Tennessee, whose district includes the site of the Covenant School shooting, and his family posed smiling with assault rifles in front of their bedecked tree. This kind of casual fetishization of violence, which makes light of the deaths of children, needs to become socially unthinkable.” The sermon might explore what that would look like if we all, collectively, made that shift.
She asks, “What does it mean to be peacemakers, to love our neighbors and to affirm the value of human life in this moment? The unavoidable conclusion is that we in America’s churches can no longer claim to worship the “prince of peace” while tolerating the preventable obliteration of America’s children.” The sermon might deepen that vision for people.
Mr. Rogers, quoting his mother, famously told people to “look for the helpers” when trouble comes. As people of faith, we look for the helpers, and we call them shepherds, those who follow the good shepherd himself. The good shepherd holds us in his care and inspires us to be shepherds for others who are lost, in need, or in danger. Look for the shepherds — they are still with us, tending the sheep.
SECOND THOUGHTSThe Message of the Gospel is Abundance
by Tom Willadsen
John 10:1-10, Acts 2:42-47, 1 Peter 2:19-25, Psalm 23
In Scripture
Lots of pastoral images in the readings today. Feeling sheepish in preaching these texts is completely understandable.
Psalm 23
You’re hard pressed to find something original to say about Psalm 23. It’s easily the most recognized passage in the Bible. One can regard the speaker as taking the point of view of a sheep, a member of the flock, protected and cared for by The Shepherd. It’s clear that the psalmist, tradition has it David wrote this before he switched careers from composer/shepherd to politics, has endured trials of some kind. Walking through the valley of the shadow of death indicates any number of perils. (Stylistically my 12th grade English teacher, Mrs. Holmes, would not have cared for this sequence of prepositional phrases.)
“Still waters” is significant. Sheep are very timid and running water can frighten them. Still, clean water was essential for sheep to feel safe.
It is instructive and powerful to remember that this psalm is in present tense. Right now the Lord is my shepherd; right now the Lord restores my soul. Right now the Lord prepares a table for me. The psalmist has been rescued in the past, but celebrates that God is currently alive and keeping him safe.
Preparing the table may be a reference to a shepherding figure of speech. Shepherds “set the table” in an unfamiliar pasture by removing hazards like snakes and scorpion nests before letting the flock enter it.
Ezekiel 34:7-15
This passage is not part of the Revised Common Lectionary (but appears in the Presbyterian planning calendar). It offers a nice contrast to the reading from John 10. Clearly the Lord’s shepherds of Israel have failed and they are being fired and replaced by the Lord Godself!
You might want to set up a “Good Shepherd/Bad Shepherd” scenario as you consider this text alongside the reading from John.
John 10:1-10
It is not clear where exactly this passage takes place. Remember, this comes immediately after Jesus has healed the blind man and the authorities are quite upset because, among other things, Jesus did this particular task on the Sabbath. Maybe it’s still the Feast of Tabernacles (Succoth) because that’s what time it was the last time John told us what time it was back in 7:2. The next mention of time is in 10:22 and it’s the Feast of Dedication (Channukah).
At either time it’s a little difficult to discern whether Jesus is the gate to the sheepfold or the good shepherd, or both? Is the sheepfold God’s realm? There’s a lot of imagery to play with here.
Finally, I cannot resist this reference: In John 10:11 Jesus identifies himself as “the good shepherd.” Country singer T.G. Sheppard, born William Browder, took his stage name from John 10:11. His lone Top 40 hit was “I Loved ’Em Every One,” about the wide variety of women the singer had known through the years. But let’s be honest, couldn’t Jesus have sung exactly the same words, without the lascivious overtones?
Acts 2:42-47
“All who believed were together and had all things in common.” (v. 44, NRSV)
Luke describes an ideal community arising from Peter’s sermon. While there is no overt mention of sheep nor a reference to the new, thriving community as a flock or herd, it is clear that the features that made the first fellowship so strong were their emphasis on the common good, the health of whole community.
1 Peter 2:19-25
This reading from Peter begins one verse too late, excising the context that this is instruction to slaves. Modern Americans are rightly horrified by the concept of slavery, given our nation’s sad history. For some the Bible’s apparent acceptance of the practice will make them unable to hear these instructions. Accepting unjust treatment following Christ’s example of non-resistance will be very difficult to hear.
This passage echoes the Servant Song in Isaiah 52:13--53:12, especially vv. 3-6.
In the News — The Herd Mentality
The Bible is filled with pastoral images, as is the church. “Pastor” is rooted in the word for shepherd. Pastors routinely are thought of as tending their “flocks.” Yet most 21st century Americans have very limited firsthand experience with farm animals, aside from the pot roast I pick up at the meat counter at Kroger and the pure wool sweater I just ordered from Amazon, I cannot think of a recent encounter with livestock. If we think at all about sheep we imagine them as timid, weak, and vulnerable. They need a shepherd/protector lest they be thrown to the proverbial wolves. Humans are certainly superior to sheep; we don’t need a good shepherd or any kind of shepherd! We’re autonomous! We think for ourselves! We do our own research — just like everybody else!
Actually, humans are profoundly social. Christian humans, especially, are profoundly social. Back in our hunter/gatherer days, we needed one another for protection and security. It was perilous to try to survive alone; there was safety and survival in numbers.
Grouping and enhancing social unity are among these behaviors. This involves not dissenting from the community. In a hunter-gatherer group, it could have been a death sentence to be ostracized or exiled. — Herd Mentality Examples (7 Examples) | OptimistMinds
Sheep are stronger and better able to survive when they are part of herds. And herds are very good at concealing and protecting their most vulnerable members. A friend who left a large animal veterinary practice (the practice itself was small; my friend practiced on large animals) told me, “A sick sheep is a dead sheep.” The herd was so good at protecting the weak and vulnerable among them, by the time its illness became apparent to the shepherd — and the shepherd summoned the veterinarian — it was very sick indeed. A good shepherd is well acquainted with their flock and can spot the sick sheep and care for them promptly.
Humans share a lot of the same characteristics that we see in other animals. In March we saw two bank failures caused by runs on Silicon Valley Bank, based in Santa Clara, California, and Signature Bank, based in New York — both classic examples of herd mentality. Whether these failures could have been prevented by better oversight is still being determined. Their difficulties were made dramatically worse, rapidly, by the speed of communicating now possible in the digital age. Once the stampede starts, it’s very hard to stop it.
Humans have a predisposition to mimic the actions of each other. We end up expressing opinions and behaving in ways that we’d never have attempted or individually thought otherwise. This event is referred to by psychologists as mob mentality. — Herd Mentality Examples (7 Examples) | OptimistMinds
Other examples of herd/mob mentality are Black Friday shopping, investment bubbles, and fads of all kinds.
We’re built to be together. One way this reality is explained is in the Theory of Convergence. That is, people tend to find and group with people who share things in common. Social media had made it possible to find like-minded people more quickly than ever before. Converging with people just like us makes it difficult to encounter others who hold different points of view. And our constant contact with people just like us make it harder for us to even imagine other points of view. People who hold other points of view are converging themselves for the very same reason our tribe is converging.
Studying the human tendency to act in groups has some very practical applications. Scientists at the University of Leeds have found that “it takes a minority of just five percent to influence a crowd’s direction — and that the other 95 percent follow without realizing it.” — What is Herd Mentality? Understanding the Psychology (psychcentral.com)
“There are many situations where this information could be used to good effect,” says Professor Jens Krause of the University’s Faculty of Biological Sciences. “At one extreme, it could be used to inform emergency planning strategies and at the other, it could be useful in organizing pedestrian flow in busy areas.” (Ibid.)
While there is safety, security, and ease in being part of a herd, there are also potential downsides. For example, because herds tend to reinforce mutual biases they may be unable to perceive, or even imagine, some kinds of danger. Individuals can pay heavy personal costs for going against the norm. And unscrupulous “shepherds” can lead people into disaster. Social media can give us the illusion that by “doing our own research” we have reached an opinion untainted by poorly-informed “sheep” who get their news from conventional news sources.
How do we know ours is the good shepherd? How can we be sure that we’re hearing his voice?
In the Sermon
How do you proclaim the benefits of being part of Christ’s flock to a people who are supremely self-confident and self-assured? Why should they listen for Jesus’ voice at all?
At the very end of today’s gospel lection Jesus says that he came that we may “have life and have it abundantly.” I’m the guy who walks through church meals and communal dining rooms offering people extra dessert. I am careful to do this after everyone has been through the line and gotten a chance to select a dessert for themselves. Often people’s hands are full or they’re distracted and miss dessert. As the strongest extrovert I know I delight in walking to each table at the event with a platter of cookies or cream puffs, a pair of tongs and napkins so they can have dessert. About 20% of them take a dessert gladly. About 70% indicate that they can’t, or shouldn’t, or have already had dessert. To these people I declare, “The message of the gospel is abundance.” Jesus said the same thing. To the sheep. A few people hear my voice and take another dessert.
About 10% say, “Get thee behind me, Satan!” This only happens at church events. “Get a grip; it’s a damn lemon bar!” I reply pastorally. On occasion a kind of herd mentality will sweep through a table. One influencer who sighs and accedes to another brownie, because it will make me happy (or make me go away) can lead to a cascade of others accepting this free gift of sucrose.
Sociologists have shown that as few as 5% of a crowd can lead the entire herd. Are churches subject to this statistic too? Can a group as small as 5% of a church’s membership, when they truly hear and confidently follow Christ’s voice, lead the whole flock to security and wholeness? I think it could. The proof is in the surplus desserts.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Elena Delhagen:"The sheep will follow the shepherd because they know his voice, but they will run from a stranger because they do not know the voice of strangers.”
A person’s voice is unique and distinguishable, yet research has shown that most of us are exceptionally bad at recognizing the voice of others (to say nothing of recognizing our own). Recognizing voices requires two processes to operate simultaneously. First, we need to distinguish between the voices of different people (telling people apart), but we also need to be able to attribute a single identity to all the different sounds (talking, laughing, shouting) that can come from the same person.
All that to say – perceiving the voice of a stranger is quite difficult for us. But when it comes to those with whom we’re more familiar?
National Geographic reports that pets – even cats, who seem entirely uninterested in…well, everything – are able to distinguish their owners’ voices from that of strangers. Our tech devices like Siri and Alexa are trained to recognize the voice of the one who programs them. A startling new long-COVID symptom called “face blindness” has emerged, in which people are unable to recognize faces, even those of loved ones. However, in the absence of the perception of sight, their auditory perception is enhanced; they are able to distinguish between people based on their voices alone.
It strikes me that what all these things have in common is proximity. To recognize someone means we need to be close to them. We must spend time with them, get to know them, discover what distinguishes them from anyone else. In doing this, we learn their voices and can perceive what they’re saying to us.
Who are we spending time with? What are we hearing? Are we practicing listening to the good shepherd of our souls?
* * *
A favorite book of mine is The Alchemist by Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho. The main character, a young boy, is a shepherd. At the beginning of the novel, the writer narrates of the boy:
“He arose and, taking up his crook, began to awaken the sheep that still slept. He had noticed that, as soon as he awoke, most of his animals also began to stir. It was as if some mysterious energy bound his life to that of his sheep….
But there were certain of them who took a bit longer to awaken. The boy prodded them, one by one, with his crook, calling each by name. He had always believed that the sheep were able to understand what he said. So there were times when he read them parts of his books that had made an impression on him, or when he would tell them of the loneliness or happiness of a shepherd in the fields.”
Much of the lectionary passages for this week use the imagery of sheep. In many of them, the sheep are cared for by a loving, committed shepherd. But in 1 Peter, there’s an illustration of a different kind of sheep: the kind who stray.
Sheep are flock animals, as we know, which means they have a very strong flocking instinct because they understand that their protection lies in numbers. Yet they will separate and stray from their flock for several different reasons. Perhaps they sense danger approaching, and they become frightened. Maybe they’re a bit absentminded while grazing, and they wander off. And sometimes? They just get curious! They might spot something interesting and non-threatening and decide to check it out – yet once they’ve left their flock, they easily become prey.
So often we wander from what we instinctually know is good for us. I cannot help but think of one of the lines from my favorite hymn, Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing: “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it // Prone to leave the God I love.” The good news, however, is that we have a Shepherd who comes after us and leads us to the gentle places, beside still waters, places we know are good for us.
Praise be to God for a love like that.
* * *
Whenever I read the description of the early Church in Acts, I am struck by how differently the idea of community in today’s Western world looks. We are a highly individualistic culture, and “community” has become something we do rather than who we are. We have our community small groups; we meet for an hour or so once or twice a week (at best) and then we drive home and lock our doors and check “connection” off of our to-do lists.
Yet for much of the world, community is the very fabric of their culture and traditions, built in from the beginning of their existence. For example:
- The Khasi people in Meghalaya is a native group of about 1 million in northern India. They follow a matrilineal system of descent and inheritance; children take their mother’s surname, the youngest daughter receives inheritance, and if no daughters are born to a couple, they adopt a daughter and pass property rights to her.
- The indigenous Juma of Brazil tribe is located on the banks from the Assua River, more than 1,100 km from the capital, Manaus. In the 18th century the Juma group consisted of about 15,000 indigenous peoples; today, there are only four left.
- The Bedouins of the Middle East date all the way back to 6000 BCE. They are desert-dwellers who are divided into clans and share a common herding culture (usually camels or goats). Their ancient traditions are nomadic and tribal in nature.
* * * * * *
From team member Katy Stenta:John 10:1-10
This passage makes me think of children when they run up to their mother’s legs. You know that moment when they accidentally, on occasion, grab the wrong legs and realize immediately that it is not their mother or father? Usually it takes but a moment for them to know that it is not their parent. The individual who is not the parent usually laughs, but also, we all know that the child wants no one other than the parent (or even aunt, other, grandparent, etc.) they are looking for. Children know who their mother and father are. How will we know who Jesus is? When Jesus arrives, we will cling to him, we will recognize his voice. The gateway will be without question. When it opens it will be clear — there will be no question. Like a sheep who knows its shepherd, like coming home, that is how clear it will be.
* * *
Psalm 23
There is without a doubt a deep longing in humanity for something. We like to say that it is a longing for “normal” — especially in this post-pandemic world. The BBC posted a study that everything is normal now, a sentiment I share deep distrust with, which is expressed well in this tweet. However, I think this longing is confused. I think we confuse our longing for Sabbath with a desire for wholeness and rest. Enough with “normal.” Psalm 23 expresses what we long for much better than whatever this so-called “normal” we settle for is.
* * *
Acts 2:42-47
The sharing passage, the thing we teach our children, but never fully act upon as adults — the thing we accuse each other of grudgingly as “communism” or “socialism” as if it is a bad thing. This is a hard thing for human beings to do. My congregation shares the building on a more or less pay what you can scale with other groups, organizations, and parties, and everyone has to clean up after themselves. It is a lot of work, most of it emotional, because people leave messes or break things, and it’s hard to share your personal space with others. It is difficult to show hospitality. It is hard to trust one another. On the other hand, it is really Christian to try to build a community — and it is good to do the hard work of sharing. Some people want sharing to be easy. Though it is not paradise, it is almost always worth it. Because to build the relationships of trust where one can share food, possessions, even church buildings; that is definitely worth it.
* * * * * *
From team member Quantisha Mason-Doll:John 10:1-10
There is a gate but no fence
When I was an undergraduate, I had the pleasure of working on a farm. There was a wide range of livestock that gave us the opportunity to practice different forms of animal husbandry. We had pigs, sheep, cows, goats — even chickens, all of which required a different form of care and guidance from us, the shepherds. One thing that always stood out to me were the paddocks the animals were put in. Oftentimes they were reinforced sections of land guarded by fencing to keep prey animals out and livestock in. Every once in a while, though, there would be a section of farm that did not have fencing, only a gate marking where the pasture started. To us this might seem strange but to others that is just status quo. Having a gate means the only way in and out of safety is the gate. Rarely do we notice that the fencing is missing. Being a good shepherd means having the ability to be the gate and the fence, while also allowing your livestock freedom of motion. Fencing is not always safe. John 10 should be interpreted as a cautionary tale against gatekeeping.
* * *
1 Peter 2:19-25
This will hurt
If the last three years have taught us anything, it is that when you are down, it feels like the universe knows it. There are many that would argue that humanity has reaped what it has sewn. It was only a matter of time before all of creation and the sins of our progenitors caught up with us. I think 1 Peter is very fitting for our day and age. We are quick to push blame onto something as a means of scapegoating our suffering. Sure, no one wants to feel pain. Very few want to suffer. I said this will hurt because the process of returning is never an easy one. We are told that Christ has borne the pain within his body for us, so why do we choose to suffer? I think of when people are in unimaginable pain, and they have to go through surgery to fix it. Surgery is the process of cutting open the body so that a doctor can reach inside and fix the problem. We have to endure pain to fix pain. Returning to Christ means cutting away all the painful things that have separated us from him in order to redeem us. These are small pains that the body can endure, for the Lord has set the example that even the pain of death cannot stop salvation.
* * *
Psalm 23
The table is prepared, will you sit with the enemy?
I would argue that almost every Christian the world over knows Psalm 23 by heart. Old standby ready to be used as an example of the unwavering love of our Lord. We speak of how the Lord is the guide that causes things to happen, thus allowing us, the listener, to be a passive participant. What if we take a moment to reevaluate the psalm as an invitation to action. When the table is set in the presence of our so-called enemies, God ensures abundance. Our cups overflow, so why can’t we invite our enemies to sit with us to enjoy a meal and talk things over? In today's society we see increasingly decisive rhetoric pitting neighbor against neighbor. Psalm 23 challenges us to the hard work of having to sit with people we do not agree with, assured in the knowledge that God has not abandoned us in our time of need.
* * * * * *
WORSHIPby George Reed
Call to Worship
One: God is our shepherd, we shall not want.
All: God causes us to lie down in green pastures.
One: God leads us beside still waters where our souls are restored.
All: We are led in right paths for God’s name’s sake.
One: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all of our days.
All: We shall dwell in God’s presence forever and ever.
OR
One: The good shepherd calls us to the peace of the fold.
All: We long to hear the voice of our Shepherd.
One: The Shepherd is the gate who welcomes all the flock to enter.
All: We seek to enter the safety and shelter we are offered.
One: Come into the fold and know the care of the shepherd.
All: We enter the fold with joy calling others to join us.
Hymns and Songs
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
UMH: 110
H82: 687/688
PH: 260
GTG: 275
AAHH: 124
NNBH: 37
NCH: 436/440
CH: 65
LBW: 228/229
ELW: 503/504/505
W&P: 588
AMEC: 54
STLT: 200
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
UMH: 140
GTG: 39
AAHH: 158
NNBH: 45
NCH: 423
CH: 86
ELW: 733
W&P: 72
AMEC: 84
Renew: 249
If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee
UMH: 142
H82: 635
PH: 282
GTG: 816
NCH: 410
LBW: 453
ELW: 769
W&P: 429
Hope of the World
UMH: 178
H82: 472
PH: 360
GTG: 734
NCH: 46
CH: 538
LBW: 493
W&P: 404
The King of Love My Shepherd Is
UMH: 138
H82: 645/646
PH: 171
GTG: 802
NCH: 248
LBW: 456
ELW: 502
Renew: 106
The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want
UMH: 136
GTG: 801
NNBH: 237/241
CH: 78
LBW: 451
ELW: 778
W&P: 86
AMEC: 208
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
UMH: 133
GTG: 837
AAHH: 371
NNBH: 262
NCH: 471
CH: 560
ELW: 774
W&P: 496
AMEC: 525
Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life
UMH: 427
H82: 609
PH: 408
GTG: 343
NCH: 543
CH: 665
LBW: 429
ELW: 719
W&P: 591
AMEC: 561
Stand By Me
UMH: 512
NNBH: 318
CH: 629
W&P: 495
AMEC: 420
I Want Jesus to Walk with Me
UMH: 521
PH: 363
GTG: 775
AAHH: 563
NNBH: 500
NCH: 490
CH: 627
W&P: 506
AMEC: 375
God Is So Good
CCB: 74
I Call You Faithful
CCB: 70
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
GTG: Glory to God, The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who calls your people together as a shepherd calls the sheep:
Grant us the faith to trust that the Christ is our good shepherd
who watches over us in love through all our lives;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you calls us to be your people, the sheep of your flock. You have given us the Christ to be our good shepherd who watches over us always. Help us to let our fears rest in his gentle hands. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially when we allow our fears to blind us to your constant loving presence watching over us.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another our failures to live as your people. We have strayed from the fold you have given for our protection and nurture. We have failed to listen to the voice of the good shepherd you have sent to us. We have filled our bellies with things that do not satisfy our hunger. We have allowed our fears to rob us of the joy you offer us. Forgive us and renew us with your Spirit so that we may dwell in peace within your fold. Amen.
One: The good shepherd seeks to find us and bring us back into the safety of the fold. Rest in that loving care and call others to discover that love.
Prayers of the People
Blessed are you, O God who shepherds your people with loving kindness. You are the good shepherd who watches over us always.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another our failures to live as your people. We have strayed from the fold you have given for our protection and nurture. We have failed to listen to the voice of the good shepherd you have sent to us. We have filled our bellies with things that do not satisfy our hunger. We have allowed our fears to rob us of the joy you offer us. Forgive us and renew us with your Spirit so that we may dwell in peace within your fold.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which you care for us. We thank you for your good creation which sustains us with all that we need for this life. We thank you for you offer us to bring us joy and completeness. We thank you for those whose loving care sustains us day by day. Most of all we thank you for Jesus, our good shepherd, who serves as the gate to your sheepfold.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for those who are in need this day. We pray for those who struggle for the necessities of life. We pray for those who live in fear and in danger. We pray for those who struggle wit issues of health, for those who are dying, and for those who are grieving. We pray for those who do not know they are welcomed into your loving fold.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
* * * * * *
CHILDREN'S SERMONGod, Our Shepherd
by Dean Feldmeyer
Psalm 23
You will need: 15-30 small, pieces of white paper cut in the shape of sheep. A piece of poster board with a wolf’s face drawn on or glued to it.
Say:
Today’s scripture lessons tell us that God is like a good shepherd and we are like God’s sheep. How are we like sheep? Are our bodies covered with wool? (No.) Do we eat grass? (No.) Do we go baaaah? (Well, usually not.) So, how are we like sheep.
Well, a couple of the ways we are like sheep are that 1.) we are safer when we stay together in a group (dump sheep cut-outs on the table or floor at the center of the group), and 2.) we always want to wander off, away from the group. (Pull some of the sheep cutout’s away from the others so they are alone.
Why do you suppose the sheep shouldn’t wander away from the herd? (As they think about answers, slowly show them the wolf cut-out.) That’s right! There could be danger out there away from the rest of the sheep. (Push individual runaways back near the herd.)
And sometimes, the danger is so big that it threatens the entire herd. (Use the cardboard wolf as a fan and blow all the paper sheep onto the floor. Have the kids help you put them back in the center in a pile.)
But, the Bible says that God is like a shepherd who protects us, his sheep. Now, if you were a shepherd, how would you protect these sheep from this big bad wolf?
(As you talk, pull one or two of the kids around so they are standing between the big bad wolf and the sheep so the wolf fan can’t blow the sheep away.)
Ah, ha! That’s it. One thing God does for us is stand between us and danger. That’s one of the ways God protects us from the things that might harm us.
End with a prayer thanking God for the gift of protection.
Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, April 30, 2023 issue.
Copyright 2022 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
