4th Sunday of Easter

Readings: Acts 4v5-12; Psalm 23; 1 John 3v16-end; John 10v11-18.

Let us pray: May the words of my mouth, and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.

A Word: In the 23rd psalm, we hear that the Lord is our shepherd. A good shepherd who leads the sheep to food and water. A good shepherd who stays with the sheep at times of danger. A good shepherd who loves, serves and blesses the sheep. A good shepherd who seeks and searches for the sheep in order to bring them back home to God. This is a psalm that tells us all we need to know about God, for God is a shepherd who wants to help, guide and save us – his sheep.

In the gospel of John, we hear Jesus describe himself as the “Good Shepherd”. A shepherd who puts the sheep before himself, a shepherd who knows his sheep, a shepherd who will do whatever it takes to keep his sheep safe. For, the good shepherd is someone who loves the sheep, someone who wants to take good care of the sheep, someone who will put themselves in danger in order to defend and protect the sheep. This reading tells us that being a good shepherd is important because the sheep will only trust good shepherds and when they trust those who are shepherding them, they will follow them wherever they go. Understanding what it means to be a good shepherd is vital for the church in this day and age because Jesus told his disciples that there are many who need to be gathered up and joined together as one huge flock.

Gathering up everyone that God is calling into one flock is something that can be done, probably through a miracle, because as we hear in Acts, Jesus is the chief cornerstone - the one in whose name everyone can be saved. But, to play our part in this gathering, we must be good shepherds. For as Jesus warned in the gospel of John, the sheep do not trust bad shepherds because they know that bad shepherds do not care what happens to them and that bad shepherds will not do what is needed to protect them. For bad shepherds do not love them and are only there to take what they want for themselves. However, being a good shepherd is well within our reach, for as we hear in the letter of John, it is a calling to live like Jesus, who loved and sacrificed his life for us. A calling that John’s letter tells us is one in which we must stop being self-critical so that we can begin to live boldly before God. A bold people who are do what pleases God, by believing in Jesus and keeping God’s command to love other people.

I believe that this is our calling. A calling to be good shepherds. Good shepherds working for God. Good shepherds who care for others and serve them diligently and faithfully, just like Jesus did for us.

Let us pray: Most merciful God, we give you thanks for your son Jesus who suffered on the cross to deliver and save the world. Help us to live like he did, so that we can be servants of others in the world for which he died. Teach us how to be Good Shepherds in this generation, teach us how to love and care for others and help us to gather your people into your one true sheepfold. Amen

Thank you for joining us.