Fourth Sunday Of Easter
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VII, Cycle B
Seasonal Theme
Alive and out of the grave, the risen Christ is witnessed in the real world.
Theme For The Day
Our security and unity in the Christ whom we follow as our Good Shepherd.
First Lesson
Acts 4:5-12
Peter And John Before The Council
The Easter readings continue the same pattern again today. The First Lesson is an example of the early church live as the body of Christ; the Second Reading some theology about what this resurrection means for us; and then another story from the Gospels about Jesus alive and with the disciples after Easter and before the Ascension.
After healing a cripple in Solomon's portico, Peter and John were arrested by the temple police and taken before the council. Notice how in verse 9 Peter ("filled with the Spirit") stated in his answer the obvious that they had done a wonderful thing for this cripple and because of this act of mercy were hauled before the council. His answer is threefold: the healing was in Jesus Christ's name; God had raised from the grave the same Jesus they had killed on the cross; and this Jesus was none other than the Messiah promised by their hero Isaiah (see Isaiah 28:16).
Then comes the no doubt shocker to those very pious Jews (v. 12). It was only through this same Jesus that they could be saved. And no one else, either!
Second Reading
1 John 3:16-24
Loving God's Children
The theme of this passage is repeated over and over in several different ways. Jesus loved us so much that he gave us his life for us and that means we ought love each other. Again the phrase "little children" is used, which probably is an address of love similar to "dear ones."
John claims that certain signs ought to flow from loving God and each other:
1. If we have the world's goods we will share them with others who have need.
2. Our love ought to show in action as well as in words.
3. We will receive from God whatever we ask and we will do whatever pleases God (v. 22).
4. God will give to us the Holy Spirit and God will live in us (v. 24).
The Gospel
John 10:11-18
The Good Shepherd
It's a familiar passage of the New Testament, Jesus as the Good Shepherd. It is based on Ezekiel 34 and addressed the contemporary time of the evangelist when the religious were more "for hire" than faithful. The main emphasis is on the love of the shepherd contrasted with someone who is translated as "the hired hand." This person probably represented the false teachers with the wolf in verse 8 representing the persecutor occupying the country from Rome. The contrast is between Jesus who lays down his life for the sheep and the "hired hand" who deserts them in time of danger.
Verse 16 deserves our attention. It claims universal parenthood of God and calls for unity. There were earlier translations that mistakenly called for one fold. Here the New Revised Standard Version corrects earlier mistakes. Our unity is not in placing everyone in one fold; but rather is following one Shepherd. The unity is not in ecclesiastical unity but in loyalty to Christ.
Verses 17 and 18 let us know that Jesus' death on the cross was voluntary and not forced upon him. He chose it and there was glory connected with it. God's own son paid the ultimate price because of his love for the sheep (us) and because of his obedience to God.
Preaching Possibilities
The Acts reading will easily preach by itself using the outline above in the First Lesson. We could take the approach of "our defense on trial" for being Christian. See the first illustration in that section as a powerful metaphor that could be extended throughout the sermon.
We could also continue using "the Easter people" theme, combining all three readings:
A. Acts: Our sure defense as Easter people.
B. 1 John: Easter people love in truth and action.
C. John: Easter people have one shepherd.
There is a close emphasis in the Second Reading and the Gospel. Both tell us that Jesus laid down his life for us (1 John 3:16 and John 10:11 and, more remotely, Acts 4:10b).
Yet one other way all these readings might be used:
Theme: Our unity in Christ
Scripture: Through Christ we are all saved (Acts 4:12); we are united in loving each other (1 John 3:23); we are united by having one shepherd (John 10:16b).
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
Because this Easter 4 Sunday has traditionally been called "Shepherd Sunday," and because the religious art and music are so rich with the Good Shepherd image, I'll go with this very familiar theme today.
A. Begin by paraphrasing the Gospel in contemporary imagery and language. Perhaps the shepherd could be female and the "good nurse" or the "good police officer" or the "good doctor" -- you get the idea.
B. Move to the imagery of the shepherd and compare it with the contemporary one above.
C. Move again to what Jesus was trying to teach as he told this only parable in the Gospel of John.
1. Jesus loves us and will not desert us.
2. We have protection for scary times.
3. Jesus knows us as individuals just like God knows him and he knows God.
4. We have a unity in being in this flock.
5. Jesus went to the cross on purpose for us, his flock.
D. Return to your imagery of a contemporary Good Shepherd like a "good foreman" and point out the difference between the good and bad one, using the above five teachings. For instance, a good doctor will not desert his/her patient to play golf when the patient needs him/her (see 1 above).
E. Conclude with prayer.
Prayer For The Day
Holy God, Good Shepherd, we rejoice today in our protection and unity in following you. Help us to be your sheep and follow your direction. Bless us in this fold that we would share and love each other. In the name of the Christ. Amen.
Possible Metaphors And Stories
Andrew Hsiao, former president of LTS, told me of his mother in Hunan Province of China during the cultural revolution. As an old woman she was called into their Lutheran Church building and put on trial for being a Christian, forced to renounce her faith in the sanctuary of her own church! She never recovered from it. I am not sure he has either.
One of my Chinese students wrote these words for me in a class I was teaching on discipleship in Hong Kong: "I've given materials to my husband as well as in-law's family but the response is, OK, Jesus is another deity that I can go to ask a blessing. So they will come once in a while to a church and go to the Buddhist temple at the same time."
In My Fair Lady, Eliza Doolittle sings to her suitor, Freddie, about being "sick of words." "If you are in love, show me!" she demands. Jesus shows us from the cross.
The church of the New Testament is no longer a territorial church but a church of all people, a church which has its children in all lands and gathers them from every nation. It is the one flock of the one shepherd, called out of many folds (John 10:16), the universal -- the truly catholic -- church which flows through all time and into which all people pour.
Alive and out of the grave, the risen Christ is witnessed in the real world.
Theme For The Day
Our security and unity in the Christ whom we follow as our Good Shepherd.
First Lesson
Acts 4:5-12
Peter And John Before The Council
The Easter readings continue the same pattern again today. The First Lesson is an example of the early church live as the body of Christ; the Second Reading some theology about what this resurrection means for us; and then another story from the Gospels about Jesus alive and with the disciples after Easter and before the Ascension.
After healing a cripple in Solomon's portico, Peter and John were arrested by the temple police and taken before the council. Notice how in verse 9 Peter ("filled with the Spirit") stated in his answer the obvious that they had done a wonderful thing for this cripple and because of this act of mercy were hauled before the council. His answer is threefold: the healing was in Jesus Christ's name; God had raised from the grave the same Jesus they had killed on the cross; and this Jesus was none other than the Messiah promised by their hero Isaiah (see Isaiah 28:16).
Then comes the no doubt shocker to those very pious Jews (v. 12). It was only through this same Jesus that they could be saved. And no one else, either!
Second Reading
1 John 3:16-24
Loving God's Children
The theme of this passage is repeated over and over in several different ways. Jesus loved us so much that he gave us his life for us and that means we ought love each other. Again the phrase "little children" is used, which probably is an address of love similar to "dear ones."
John claims that certain signs ought to flow from loving God and each other:
1. If we have the world's goods we will share them with others who have need.
2. Our love ought to show in action as well as in words.
3. We will receive from God whatever we ask and we will do whatever pleases God (v. 22).
4. God will give to us the Holy Spirit and God will live in us (v. 24).
The Gospel
John 10:11-18
The Good Shepherd
It's a familiar passage of the New Testament, Jesus as the Good Shepherd. It is based on Ezekiel 34 and addressed the contemporary time of the evangelist when the religious were more "for hire" than faithful. The main emphasis is on the love of the shepherd contrasted with someone who is translated as "the hired hand." This person probably represented the false teachers with the wolf in verse 8 representing the persecutor occupying the country from Rome. The contrast is between Jesus who lays down his life for the sheep and the "hired hand" who deserts them in time of danger.
Verse 16 deserves our attention. It claims universal parenthood of God and calls for unity. There were earlier translations that mistakenly called for one fold. Here the New Revised Standard Version corrects earlier mistakes. Our unity is not in placing everyone in one fold; but rather is following one Shepherd. The unity is not in ecclesiastical unity but in loyalty to Christ.
Verses 17 and 18 let us know that Jesus' death on the cross was voluntary and not forced upon him. He chose it and there was glory connected with it. God's own son paid the ultimate price because of his love for the sheep (us) and because of his obedience to God.
Preaching Possibilities
The Acts reading will easily preach by itself using the outline above in the First Lesson. We could take the approach of "our defense on trial" for being Christian. See the first illustration in that section as a powerful metaphor that could be extended throughout the sermon.
We could also continue using "the Easter people" theme, combining all three readings:
A. Acts: Our sure defense as Easter people.
B. 1 John: Easter people love in truth and action.
C. John: Easter people have one shepherd.
There is a close emphasis in the Second Reading and the Gospel. Both tell us that Jesus laid down his life for us (1 John 3:16 and John 10:11 and, more remotely, Acts 4:10b).
Yet one other way all these readings might be used:
Theme: Our unity in Christ
Scripture: Through Christ we are all saved (Acts 4:12); we are united in loving each other (1 John 3:23); we are united by having one shepherd (John 10:16b).
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
Because this Easter 4 Sunday has traditionally been called "Shepherd Sunday," and because the religious art and music are so rich with the Good Shepherd image, I'll go with this very familiar theme today.
A. Begin by paraphrasing the Gospel in contemporary imagery and language. Perhaps the shepherd could be female and the "good nurse" or the "good police officer" or the "good doctor" -- you get the idea.
B. Move to the imagery of the shepherd and compare it with the contemporary one above.
C. Move again to what Jesus was trying to teach as he told this only parable in the Gospel of John.
1. Jesus loves us and will not desert us.
2. We have protection for scary times.
3. Jesus knows us as individuals just like God knows him and he knows God.
4. We have a unity in being in this flock.
5. Jesus went to the cross on purpose for us, his flock.
D. Return to your imagery of a contemporary Good Shepherd like a "good foreman" and point out the difference between the good and bad one, using the above five teachings. For instance, a good doctor will not desert his/her patient to play golf when the patient needs him/her (see 1 above).
E. Conclude with prayer.
Prayer For The Day
Holy God, Good Shepherd, we rejoice today in our protection and unity in following you. Help us to be your sheep and follow your direction. Bless us in this fold that we would share and love each other. In the name of the Christ. Amen.
Possible Metaphors And Stories
Andrew Hsiao, former president of LTS, told me of his mother in Hunan Province of China during the cultural revolution. As an old woman she was called into their Lutheran Church building and put on trial for being a Christian, forced to renounce her faith in the sanctuary of her own church! She never recovered from it. I am not sure he has either.
One of my Chinese students wrote these words for me in a class I was teaching on discipleship in Hong Kong: "I've given materials to my husband as well as in-law's family but the response is, OK, Jesus is another deity that I can go to ask a blessing. So they will come once in a while to a church and go to the Buddhist temple at the same time."
In My Fair Lady, Eliza Doolittle sings to her suitor, Freddie, about being "sick of words." "If you are in love, show me!" she demands. Jesus shows us from the cross.
The church of the New Testament is no longer a territorial church but a church of all people, a church which has its children in all lands and gathers them from every nation. It is the one flock of the one shepherd, called out of many folds (John 10:16), the universal -- the truly catholic -- church which flows through all time and into which all people pour.
