May 15 Acts 2:42-47, Ps. 23, John 10:1-10, I Peter 2:19-25

I was never thrilled with the sheep and shepherd image. I resist being seen as a bleating sheep. I resent being virtually indistinguishable in the herd.  As Americans, we are raised to depend on oneself, to distrust groups. On the other hand, my aunt had a large picture of the Good Shepherd holding a sheep that I always liked. Psalm 23 is one psalm that many of us have memorized or close to it. Yes, the Lord is my shepherd but our readings also tell us the Lord is our shepherd.

Our reading from Acts 2:42-47 serves as a template for worship and of one flock.  Prayer and Communion created a joint spiritual endeavor, but it also worked out economically as well. As they share a faith, as they share their lives in worship, they share their possessions.Quite simply, how could they be given a spiritual banquet and then let members go out hungry? Instead of every person looking out for number one, each gets as they have need. In our time, we might do better to see it as sharing possessions, given the hold they have on us. Church could be the sheepfold.
Worship is the gathering place for the sheep-this Acts community is a worshiping community God asks for so little, to keep holy the sabbath. Most of us don;t rest on the sabbath, and now we ignore the clear organizing staple of church life:worship-with glad and generous/sincere/open hearts, as the only imaginably proper response to Easter. (Note well, worship is not a procession of potential mistakes, it follows a narrative flow where we come in and empty leave with a blessing) Indeed maybe worship is the one place where we allow ourselves the luxury of feeling dependent on the hands of God. We organize time and space to reflect being in the presence of Shepherd and Guardian of our souls. Worship is where the flock is the flock of Christ. So much of our time is spent being independent, standing on our own two feet, as we know if you want a job done well do it yourself. Worship is a place where we can say that God restores our souls. then we can out out to explore the pasture. These passages lead us to consider that the flock is important, not only the separate sheep. Jesus keeps the flock together. (coach and team) Life together is resurrection life. Look to the vast array of unifying aspects of the church, instead of mania over small points often lost in the mists of history. Of course, Jesus Christ is the core of being Christian. We cannot arrogate to ourselves the judgment of insisting, no, the unity of one flock and one shepherd is wrong. We are not the gateway to the flock. Jesus Christ is the gate and guardian of our resting place among the many many sheep on this planet. Our job is to stay with the flock and now that our welfare is connected to the welfare of the entire flock. The whole point of this is that the shepherd wants us to have life, abundant life. that life is enjoyed together. (George Clooney quote in Up in the air)

The shepherd job is filled, so we don;t arrogate on to ourselves who is in and who is out. Indeed the likely context of the passage is not Christian and non-Christian but different Christian communities in the first place. Shepherds had a poor reputation in the time of Jesus, maybe akin to  not being up to the job, of looking out for themselves as much as those under their care. Our shepherd gave his life for the flock, for us. We are in this church together, equal members of the body of Christ.. When one of the flock is elevated or diminshed, we too are elevated or diminished.