Fourth Sunday of Easter
Good Shepherd Sunday, the name that this Sunday usually goes by, has a special place in my memory. Two things make it so. The first thing that gives it a special place results from an occasion I preached on the theme in the Parish of Cooma, in southern NSW. Cooma was my first appointment after ordination.
The Parish of Cooma is the largest Parish, geographically, speaking in the Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn. It stretches from Cabramurra in the mountains in the west, to Nimmitabel in the east, and from just south of Canberra in the north, to north of Dalgety near the Victorian boarder, in the south. It is about seven thousand square kilometres in size. Seven or eight centres used to have regular services. I am not sure what they have now.
That part of the Parish which is not the Kosciuszko National Park, comprises mainly wool growing areas. On my way around the Parish, taking services and visiting people, on many occasions, I often came across mobs of sheep being driven from one place to another, or simply grazing on the “long paddock” grass on either side of the road. Many graziers used the roadside grass in times of drought to keep their stock alive.
Many times I would come around a bend on a back road and find myself confronted by large numbers of sheep. The only thing you can do in such circumstances is stop. If you are lucky the sheep will move pass you or off the road. It can be treacherous. If you try to move, at the same time a sheep may suddenly decide that it may like the other side of the road better than the one that it was on and suddenly dash across to the other side. You have to be very careful.
Such capricious behaviour by the sheep gave me a very low estimation of the intelligence of sheep. Consequently, I had a moment of insight. I thought, Aha! Here is a story for my sermon to hang on, the next time Good Shepard Sunday came around. I would talk about the need for sheep to have a shepherd because they were dim-witted. Similarly, I thought I could extend that to the need for humans to have a shepherd.
The fateful day I had to preach on the theme was at a Saint Batholomew’s church, in the small settlement called Bredbo. You would know Bredbo if you have ever been caught speeding on the way to the snow. For more than likely than it is the place lots of speeding drivers can get caught. It is a well-known speed trap.
I prepared what I thought was a good sermon. I led the service and delivered the sermon using the illustration of the silly sheep. I started the sermon by saying something like,
“I think that sheep are one of the dopiest creatures”.
The service ended and I went to the door to say farewell to the congregation. As I was doing so a grazier came to say goodbye and as she shook my hand she said, “I think that sheep are not stupid. They are very intelligent!”
I don’t know if the concept that I was trying to propose that we all need a shepherd to guide us through life, because we are so silly, got through to her. I now also know however that not all people think that sheep are stupid! It also reminds me that no matter how similar we appear to be, we don’t all see things in the same way.
The second thing that causes Good Shepherd Sunday to hold a special place in my memory is that the Psalm for the day is Psalm 23. The Twenty-third psalm is a wonderful Psalm. I never tire of reading it for it speaks to me of life. I never tire of hearing it at weddings and funerals. It’s a piece of Scripture that gives mourners hope; and the newly wed, a guide for their future.
No matter how tenuous the faith association of the deceased or his or her family it is a lifeline in dark times. No matter how hopeful and enthusiastic the couple may be the Psalm reminds them that it radiates its beauty in the good as well as bad. It is a Psalm for the whole of life.
In a consumer-oriented society, it is extremely difficult to hear the simple but radical message of Psalm 23. That message is God is the only necessity of life! The traditional translation of the first verse that says “I shall not want” is particularly appropriate in a culture that teaches people to want everything. A culture that's driven by greed rather than need. It's hard for we can hardly imagine having only the necessities of life; food, drink, shelter and protection, but we know that there are many people in today’s world who struggle to survive.
Clever marketing people have succeeded in convincing us that what former generations considered incredible luxuries are now necessities. To say in our prosperous context that God is the only necessity of life sounds hopelessly quaint and naïve. Then again the words of Jesus also strike us as naïve:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?
And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you - you of little faith?
Therefore do not worry, saying, "What will we eat?" or "What will we drink?" or "What will we wear?" For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6: 25—33)
By making Psalm 23 our own we are saying that we don’t need to worry about our life or our death. God will provide. God’s provision is possible because of God’s reign. The correct response to the simple good news of Psalm 23 and Jesus Christ as described in our gospel reading today is to trust God, the Good Sheperd.
This is precisely the dilemma that we face. In a secular society, we are encouraged to trust first ourselves and to work to secure our own lives and futures. Psalm 23 challenges us to state with the psalmist:
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want”.
By saying that the Lord is my shepherd, means that we wish to live humbly and gratefully as a child of God.
To be a child means that we are a part of a family and to share our family life around a table. Therefore we are led to think about what it means to be a part of God’s household. When we consider the implications of life in the family of God we discover that they are profound and radical. We discover we are not our own. We belong to God and to each other! And, in particular, when we celebrate the family meal, the Eucharist” we are fed and supported.
Because Psalm 23 states God is the source of all food, drink and security and we belong to his household our lives are transformed. Our daily realities are not to be taken for granted. They are not to be treated as rewards we have earned. Psalm 23, like the Lord’s Supper, is an invitation to live under God’s rule and in solidarity with all God’s children. Therefore to make Psalm 23 our guide to live by is a radically profound statement of faith that transforms our lives and our world.
Psalm 23 is heard in the midst of death and dying. Nevertheless, just as importantly it is heard in the ordinary activities of living. It gives ordinary everyday experiences extraordinary significance. It invites us every moment of the day to share bread with all of God’s people.
Good Shepherd Sunday has been a life changing experience for me. I hope it is so for you.
Christ is risen, Alleluia!