Is It Still Easter?

Is it still Easter? Where are the frightened women and the astonished disciples? Why hasn’t Jesus walked through a locked door, or asked his disciples to touch his old/new body? Why this Gospel for today? Curiously, today’s Gospel reading takes us back to a pre-Easter time frame. In our Revised Common Lectionary, the fourth Sunday of Easter is always “Good Shepherd” Sunday. Every year at this point in the liturgical calendar, we hear from the tenth chapter of the Gospel according to John: verses 1-10 in Year A, today’s lection verses 11-18 for Year B, and verses 22-30 in Year C. In each case, Jesus talks about the Good Shepherd and the sheep who know him. In this celebratory time between Easter and Pentecost, how does this image help us to comprehend the risen Christ? Since most of us know very little about shepherds and sheep and would resist being compared to sheep, what does the church want us to hear in this Gospel?

Let’s remember the context of John’s gospel. Remember that this version of Jesus’ life was written in the ‘90s, when conflicts between the ethnically diverse Christian communities and the more orthodox Jewish religious leadership were increasing. John’s gospel is filled with Jesus’ long speeches emphasizing the contrast between those who follow him and those who don’t. In this gospel, Jesus intentionally uses language that points to his divine status. He makes key statements that begin with “I am,” echoing God’s name for Godself. Remember too that in this section Jesus is not speaking to his own followers, he is speaking to the Pharisees. And he is saying something important about himself.

Actually, when Jesus called himself the “Good Shepherd,” the Pharisees knew exactly what he was saying to them. They knew their Scripture. They knew that Jesus was using an image that went all the way back to Genesis. They knew that in chapter 49 of Genesis Jacob reminded his sons that Joseph would be protected “by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, by the God of your fathers…. (Gen. 49:24). Of course, they knew the Psalter, especially the declaration in Psalm 23 that “The Lord is my shepherd.” Perhaps most important they knew Ezekiel’s use of the image of God as shepherd, especially Ezekiel’s assurance that, “’You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God,’ says the Lord God” (Ezek. 34:31). Hearing Jesus use this image of the Good Shepherd, the Pharisees knew immediately that Jesus was asserting his divine status, and that he was reminding them that he was God’s own Son.

In an Easter tide context, Jesus’ self-description as God the Good Shepherd gives us another way of thinking about resurrection and its importance in our lives. If you think about the resurrection appearances we’ve heard about this Easter tide, one of the things that might strike you is Jesus’ freedom to appear wherever and to whom Jesus chooses. In his resurrection life, Jesus demonstrates that he will respond to the needs of his followers, whether those followers need to be released from their fears, whether they need to be convinced that he has been raised, or whether they need to understand that he has fulfilled God’s promises. However, Jesus’ appearances also clearly demonstrate that Jesus takes the initiative and comes to those in need – even before they ask him to come. Our texts for today also remind us that God gives God’s gifts, including the gift of Jesus’ death on the cross, of God’s own free will. In Psalm 23, clearly God does all the giving. The psalmist cannot make God provide nourishment and protection. God cannot be compelled, but God can be relied on to provide. In the same way, Jesus reminds the Pharisees that he will go to the Cross – and regain his life – freely and through his own power: what Jesus will accomplish through his death and resurrection will ultimately be God’s freely given gift. The gift will be on God’s terms and at God’s initiative, and there is nothing they – or we – can do to compel or retard God’s power.

One of the gifts that God’s Son promises us is the gift of community. In today’s Gospel, Jesus also reminds the Pharisees – and by extension us – that God the Good Shepherd does more than know the sheep by name, care for them, protect them, and even die for them. God the Good Shepherd also gathers the sheep. God the Good Shepherd draws the sheep together into a single flock. As the new Christian communities of John’s day struggled with ethnic, social, and economic diversity, the Gospel writer reminded them that, God’s promises were made not only to the Jews but ultimately to all people. All, regardless of who they are, are known by name, cared for, and invited into membership in the community formed by Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Because the relationship within Jesus’ flock will reflect the love between Jesus and his Father, Jesus’ flock will be a community unified by mutual love.

Do we live in such a community of mutual love? Certainly, one can survey the world wide church and wonder when we might see Jesus’ promised blessed flock. Perhaps the church from its very beginning was fractured. We know from Paul’s letters that early communities experienced tensions between Jews and Gentiles. Even largely Gentile Christian communities struggled with social, economic, and ethnic differences. The Council of Nicaea, which hoped to put to rest much theological conflict by crafting a comprehensive statement of faith, did not settle all the theological arguments of its time. The Western Church, centered in Rome, split with the Eastern Church, centered in Constantinople, in 854. The Reformation shattered the unity of the Western Church, and Christian bodies have been splintering ever since.

Do we live in such a blessed community here in Gallipolis, here at St. Peter’s? In our 24/7 world, many of us have virtual communities. But do we have real community? Do we have real community in this parish, or are we hollow within? We might ask ourselves what kind of community God yearns to create here. God’s community, as we see it in the Gospels, is an open and inclusive community. Jesus did not exclude anyone on the basis of their ethnicity, wealth, health, or disability. Are we an inclusive community, a diverse community, a community where those who need God’s nurture, care, and protection might hope to find it? How are we cooperating with God in helping to create a flock whose members are clearly able to hear Jesus’ voice? John’s Gospel is clear: the work of gathering the flock belongs to God and Jesus; our work is to provide a place where all may feel welcome, where all may grow in love, where all may deepen their relationship with God and with each other.

How might we strengthen our bonds as a Christian community? Worshipping together regularly is one way. Participating in Christian formation is another way. We know that we cannot command God to nurture and care for us, any more than we can compel each other to come through the red doors. However, there is one thing we can always do. We can pray, we can make our needs known to God. We can let God know that we care about this parish, its health, and its future. We can assure God that we care about the people in this parish, and that we are prepared to share with them our own experiences of God’s love. We can ask God to fulfill God’s promise to create a strong healthy community is this place.

So here is my challenge to you for the coming week: pray! You might start by thanking God for all God’s gifts to us, as individuals and as a parish. Next, choose one person in the parish. Look around you: choose someone whom you see right now. Commit to praying for that person all week. You don’t need to say long complicated prayers. Simply lift that person up to God during your regular prayers or whenever you can. Then, think of someone who is not here but might be. Commit to praying in the same way for that person too all week. Finally, pray for this parish. Start with prayer number eleven on page 817 of the Prayer Book. Try saying it daily, if you can. In fact, let’s say it together now. [Turn to page 817, read the prayer together.]

It’s still Easter. As we are reminded yet again that we are a community led by a Good Shepherd, we continue to be assured of God’s free and gracious love for us as individuals and of God’s promise to draw all those who love God into a single, blessed community in Jesus’ name.