Sermon Notes 4/29 John 10, I John 3

April 29 John 10:11-18, I John 3:16-24 Many of us love the good shepherd image-its sense of care, of being carried and protected. The sheep recognize the voice of the shepherd. In a visual culture, voice is still vital. We can tell by the tone of voice that something is amiss with a loved one. We are all plagued with a spiritual deafness at times, sometimes chosen, sometimes not. (master’s voice in the old RCA ad) Can one ever truly stray from the good shepherd? It is a most comforting image when we downcast, to be picked up in the arms of Jesus the Good Shepherd. In a time when so much is coming at us so fast, it is a pleasure to hear that we have a guide to the pasture and to the still waters of refreshment. We go through brainstorming sessions at work and are faced with a million ideas and a million means toward ends, but we still don’t know which way to turn. when someone does decide on a path, then then are hit with a million missiles of complaint. A shepherd is the responsible one, the boss-this passage always hits a candid pastor between the eyes, as our title comes from the root word for shepherd; you hear it in the word pasture. (I know immediately some of you start thinking of the all the pastors you would like to send out to pasture) Pastors shudder and wonder if we are closer to the hired hands? We try to avoid it by using a phrase such as terms of call for contract; we don’t hire a pastor, we call them.In the christian community are we called to all be shepherds as well as sheep? A verse that has me sit up is “I have sheep not of this fold.” Where did we get the idea that we get to decide the size of the fold? Jesus is the shepherd, not us. Jesus is the gate to the fold, not us. god enfolds us with the divine presence. In the the movie Babe, the pig becomes a sheepdog, a shepherd’s assistant. He finds he can speak to the sheep.he discovers that if he speaks politely to the sheep they are quite co-operative. The good shepherd here is one who will lay down his life for the sheep. Notice the intimacy here, Jesus knows the sheep as fully as the relationship of the Father and the son.We go through life knowing that we have so much in us, but it goes unrecognized. One reason Jeremy Lin has hit so big with basketball fans is that he is a symbol of what people can show if only given a chance. The Good Shepherd recognizes us and knows us just as we know the voice of the shepherd. Michener in the novel Hawaii introduces us to an immigrant chinese family. One contracts leprosy and a woman stays with him as a kakua, a pledged helper as the caretaker role. Often, only those who had a kakua were buried in the early days of the islands. Bruce Springsteen is coming out with a new album and one of the songs is :We Take Care of Our Own.I am so glad that our passage from I John does not only emphasize love as a nice feeling. it insists on acting out of love. Love improves and weakens vision. it may well be blind to faults. It sees need and wants to help, is compelled to help.The Easter image for us is the new life is enjoyed within community. We find safety, security, and life within the flock.The church present and future for us is a sheepfold, one that offers us the security of being known and loved.