Charlotte
Collins Reed
Christ
Church Episcopal
April 22,
2018
4 Easter B
Some 40 years ago, a Presbyterian
Church and a Jewish temple came together for a joint Thanksgiving service. That
service has grown over the last 4 decades to include a Greek Orthodox, Roman
Catholic, Episcopal, and American Baptist church along with an Islamic
Center. Every year, the clergy and
various lay leaders of the different faith communities gather to plan a service
in which everyone can give thanks together for our many blessings. The service is always rich with shared
stories, prayers, and music from our various traditions and each year the
service is held in a different house of worship. We learned something about ourselves and
about each other as we engaged the sacred writings and traditions of other
faiths. After the service we enjoyed one
another's company over coffee and cookies and we built good relationships with
each other over the years. When 9/11 and
other disasters occurred, I was so grateful for these long-standing
relationships. The religious leaders could
come together quickly to respond to the needs of the community, working to
build unity in times that could divide.
Through our work together over the years, members of the participating
congregations have developed deep respect for one another's faith.
So, I am caught up short by Peter's proclamation in
the reading from Acts this morning.
"There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name
under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved." Peter sounds exceedingly exclusive. There is no salvation at all for those who do
not believe in Jesus? When I would
gather with my brothers and sisters of the other Abrahamic faiths at
Thanksgiving, was I to believe that their faith traditions are just wrong and
we Christians have the only real relationship with God? At a deep intuitive level, that claim seems
wrong to me. Fortunately, all of our readings this morning provide some context
for hearing Peter's words.
This
morning, Peter and John have just healed a man who was lame from birth when we
find the two disciples in prison, being interrogated by the entire family of
the high priest. The charge against the
two men is first that they are teaching about the resurrection, then that they
have claimed some power that does not belong to them. Peter's defense argument is brilliant. Peter transforms the charges against him from
a charge of blasphemy to the charge that he has done a good deed for someone
who was sick. Who can argue against a
good deed done for someone who is sick?
Peter's claim is that he could not heal the man by his own power, but
that the lame man could only be healed by Jesus, thus proving that Jesus was
the Messiah. Peter is not speaking to
the Roman Council, and he has no other faith in mind when he tells his very own
people that their salvation comes through Jesus. Peter is essentially saying "Look what
amazing things God is doing in our midst!"
A few chapters later, in Acts chapter 10, Peter will say "I truly
understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears
him and does what is right is acceptable to him." This morning, Peter is challenging his own
people to see what Jesus is doing in their midst, and a few chapters later,
Peter is clear that God shows no partiality.
The 4th Sunday of Easter, which is today, is
traditionally known as "Good Shepherd Sunday." On this Sunday every year, we hear one of the
gospel stories from John that portray Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Today, we hear Jesus say "I am the Good
Shepherd. I know my own and my own know
me. And I lay down my life for the
sheep." Over the centuries, the
church has tried to figure out who, exactly, Jesus sheep are. Who is in the fold and who is out? The seemingly obvious answer is that
Christians are Jesus' sheep. And we
are. But Jesus also says "I have
other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice." Jesus' claim is that he has sheep we don't
even know about, who will also listen to his voice. Just a few verses earlier, Jesus said
"The sheep follow the Good Shepherd because they know his
voice." The very definition of
Jesus' sheep is that they know his voice and follow him. That is the whole
definition. We do not get to decide who
is in the fold and who is not. Jesus
does. And in John's gospel, that news
infuriates his audience.
But to focus on
the sheep is to miss the point. The
point is the Good Shepherd. When Jesus
says "I am the Good Shepherd," he is not simply saying that he will
take good care of the sheep. Throughout the Old Testament, in the prophets
Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and in the Psalms, specifically the 23rd Psalm
that we read/sang this morning, God is identified as the Shepherd. In the
Hebrew Scriptures, most of the work of the Shepherd has to do with justice,
providing food for the poor, strengthening the weak, and binding up the
injured. When Jesus says "I am the
Good Shepherd," Jesus is pointing to those very scriptures and telling his
listeners that he is God.
Many chapters later, at the end of John's gospel,
after Jesus has been crucified and has risen, three times Jesus will ask Peter,
the same Peter we hear from in the reading from Acts, "Peter, do you love
me?" Three times, Peter will say
"Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." And each time, Jesus will respond "Feed
my sheep." Feed my sheep. The work of the Shepherd and the work of the
sheep is the same-the work of justice, feeding the hungry, strengthening the
weak. The command of the gospel is that
we love Jesus by feeding his sheep, whether the sheep are starving for food, or
justice, or healing, or acceptance. As
the writer of 1 John so pointedly puts it "How does the love of God abide
in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and
refuses to help?" The command of
the gospel is that we let the love of God abide in us and that we act on that
love. That is our job. Sheepfold membership decisions are the job of
the Good Shepherd.
Amen.
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