Acts 2:42-47
Psalm 23
1 Peter 2:19-25
John 10:1-10
Year A, Easter 4
May 3, 2020
St. Thomas the Apostle
The Rev’d Virginia Holleman
In the Name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN.
My Father was born and grew up in Branford, Connecticut, a small town on the Long Island Sound about an hour-and-a-half from New York City. Daddy thought Connecticut was the prettiest place in the world and, once he retired from the Air Force in 1962 and moved back to Branford, he swore he’d never leave the beautiful home he and my Mother had until he left – as he put it – “Feet first in a pine box!” But when my Mother died in 2005 and Dad realized the four most important things in the world to him were in Dallas – that would be my sisters and me – he moved here several months after her death. At the time he had mild dry macular degeneration, a disease that can greatly affect a person’s eyesight. At first it really didn’t interfere with his life much at all which was fortunate because there’s nothing really a doctor can do for it. But not long after he moved to Dallas, it went wet almost overnight and that interfered with his life Big Time. Fortunately there is something you can do for that but I will spare you the details. For a while he was fine and could see reasonably well by my taking him to the doctor once a month for a treatment, but as the disease progressed the treatments were less and less effective. As the disease advanced it was almost like small coins had been placed over Daddy’s eyes so he couldn’t see directly in front of him, but he could see peripherally but only for short distances. He couldn’t see to distinguish things clearly more than a few feet away. So for all intents and purposes my Dad was blind. Fortunately he lived in my neighborhood about 3 blocks away and directly across the street from my sister, Betsy. And his other two daughters weren’t too far away either. His house was small and he was comfortable living there on his own, and he preferred it to living with one of us. At least one of his daughters had dinner with him every evening, and once I retired I saw him every afternoon and two or three times during the week for dinner as well.
In many ways Dad’s loss of sight left him very vulnerable. Even though he was okay inside his little house, he was very dependent on us when he went outside – he always held our hand, trusting that which ever daughter he was with would guide him on a safe path, warning him in advance of a curb or some kind of obstacle that could cause him to fall and seriously hurt himself. He felt safe and secure in our presence. If one of my sisters or I came into his house unexpectedly, he could see that someone was there but he wouldn’t know which of his daughters it was – until we spoke to him. He recognized each of our voices instantly. He knew his daughters’ voices.
On the surface, our reading from John’s Gospel is about sheep and sheepfolds, and protecting the sheep who recognize their shepherd’s voice and will only follow the one they know, not some stranger who may harm them. The stranger is pictured as the thief and bandit who sneak in “to steal and kill and destroy” the sheep; their shepherd on the other hand comes so that the sheep “may have life and have it abundantly.” Looking beneath the surface of this little parable, we see that the reading is really about our knowing and trusting the voice of the One who cares for all of us, the One who leads those who hear and recognize his voice. It’s about our hearing and following the Good Shepherd – even though we can’t see him.
Jesus sees himself in this passage as both the shepherd and the gate of the sheepfold. He’s drawing upon biblical tradition where God (and theoretically kings and other leaders) was seen as trustworthy shepherds, the protectors of the people. Our psalm for today reiterates this – “The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want.” I will be comforted and revived, guided and fed; I will want for nothing, and I have nothing to fear with the LORD as my shepherd. Jesus tells us the shepherd is the one who enters the sheepfold by the gate – or the trustworthy way to enter this space. The shepherd doesn’t sneak in since his intention is not to harm the sheep; he doesn’t sneak in because he’s the one who knows the sheep by name and whose voice the sheep recognize. This is the one the sheep trust and will follow. With the Good Shepherd, the sheep feel safe and secure.
A little about sheep and sheepfolds in biblical times since I don’t believe any of us at St. Thomas have much expertise in this area. The sheepfold was the place where the sheep were brought for safekeeping at night. Sometimes it was a protective enclosure built for this purpose – with a strong gate. But sometimes the sheep had to be kept out in the pasture area overnight. On those occasions, several shepherds would gather their sheep into a ravine or a small valley that was surrounded by several rocky walls. The opening into the ravine had no gate at all. So the shepherds would take turns during the nights literally to become the gate – during the night one of them would simply lie across the opening. The sheep could get out only by going over him, and, just as important, the enemies of the sheep could only get in the same way – both would have a protecting shepherd to contend with if they tried to get to where they weren’t supposed to be – because access in and access out was only through the shepherd. The shepherd was both the guardian and the gate. The shepherd was the one who literally would lay down his life for the sheep. And in the morning when it was time to go out to the green pastures, each shepherd called his own sheep – by name or a distinct sound – and they would follow him, because “they know his voice” and they trust him. Sheep are a lot smarter than we often give them credit for being!
But what about those who do not enter the sheepfold by the gate but instead climb in another way – those Jesus identifies as thieves and bandits who come only to steal and kill and destroy? Who are these people? To understand who they are, let’s look at this passage in the immediate context of John’s Gospel. Jesus has come to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Tabernacles. He has just healed the man born blind – remember he’s the one who tries to convince his parents, his neighbors, and the Pharisees that he is indeed the man who WAS blind but Jesus, the man from God, has given him his sight. And if you remember, absolutely not one person believes him! At the conclusion of that story, Jesus has been critical of the religious leaders of his time because they have failed to see God’s works revealed in this miraculous healing. All they can see is that Jesus cannot possibly be from God because he heals on the Sabbath and therefore is a sinner because he breaks the Commandment to keep the Sabbath holy – as if healing is not a holy thing!
Here, in today’s reading, I think Jesus makes it clear he’s not giving us a lesson on sheep-tending practices in ancient Judea. He may be “talking” about sheep and gates and shepherds, but he’s really talking about leadership, those who should be caring for God’s people, leading them beside still waters and reviving their collective soul. Good leaders are those who put the sheep, those in their care, first – above their own needs, even if it means sacrificing their lives in order to do so. Good leaders do not refuse to see God’s works nor hear God’s voice through the healing, ministering deeds of another, even when those deeds are done on the Sabbath. Good leaders keep the health and well-being of their people as the most important thing they do, even at the risk of their own life, literally or figuratively. To bring this into what’s going on today, I listened to our Mayor’s press conference on Thursday. I don’t always agree with everything he’s said and done but I must say I think he was right on when he insisted that keeping the people of Dallas safe is his most important job – even at the risk of delaying an economic recovery. Judge Clay Jenkins is saying the same thing even though it’s going against what the Governor is saying. Keeping us safe is The. Most. Important. Thing. And it may cost them both their jobs in the next election; I hope not but people are struggling to pay their rent, put food on their tables and keep their sanity in the midst of this crisis. And for some economic recovery is more important. I can understand that though I personally think the health of our loved ones is primary.
So how would we characterize the abundant life Jesus promises because quite frankly for many of us life looks anything but abundant right now! I think we could all agree that the abundant life Jesus is giving us has everything to do with the relationships we have with each other and really nothing to do with accumulating more and more stuff. But how abundant is life when we’re worried about paying our bills or feeding our families? How abundant is life when we can’t BE together, in person, touching and feeling and just being? It’s hard. Jesus talks about recognizing his voice, and this is where I think we as people of faith have an advantage – because we recognize the voice of Jesus when we read Scripture and the Word of God becomes part of our very being and who we are. We internalize the voice of Jesus and we follow him. And that means acting in love with compassion and justice and mercy. We also recognize the voice of Jesus in the voices and actions of ourselves and of those around us. For example and this is where I think we can help – the Diocese of Dallas is serving thousands of people in South Dallas weekly as this sector of our city is the hardest hit. The Diocese is working in partnership with the Greater Dallas Coalition; our work with them is part of Bishop Sumner’s PROJECT:US United and Serve Initiative, dedicated to serving those in need in partnership with brothers and sisters across the body of Christ. Because of existing economic and health disparities, their needs have been exacerbated with the coronavirus outbreak. If you are interested in joining this effort, I will get some information together to include in next week’s Doubter that will give definite ways we can help.
Unfortunately because of the age of many of us here at St. Thomas we fall into that “vulnerable” group and are not able to volunteer “actions” – in other words our time and effort to help distribute food or offer childcare services, or even package up food at the distribution centers. But we can pull our belts in a little tighter and offer financial assistance – a gift of $25 for example can go a long way to feeding a hungry family. We can also check in with each other and our neighbors by telephone or Zoom or FaceTime. When we speak to another with kindness and concern, we speak with the voice of the Good Shepherd. When another speaks to us, offering to shoulder part or even our entire burden, she speaks with the voice of the Good Shepherd. When you speak against injustice and evil, you speak with the voice of the Good Shepherd. And when you speak with acceptance in your voice and your action, loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself, you speak with the voice of the Good Shepherd. And when you extend a helping hand, you are doing so as the Good Shepherd.
It was a big step for our Father to move to Dallas. He left a community and lifestyle he loved, he left friends and even a few family members. But he trusted that he was making the right decision and he trusted his daughters. My sisters and I had eight wonderful years of being with our Dad and making his final years safe and secure and comfortable. Echoing the words Fr. Christopher wrote in this week’s Doubter, we spent very little time “doing” exciting things with Daddy and a whole lot of time just “being” – working crossword puzzles, watching Monday Night Football or the UConn Lady Husky Basketball Games or reading out loud to him. We were present to him and frankly he was to us as well. Those years we had were special, the time spent together not always convenient but always special. In many ways he had been our good shepherd when we were growing up – we always felt safe and secure when he was around, and it was a blessing for us when it was our turn to do the same for him.
AMEN.
