The Good Shepherding of the Lamb of God

Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year C)

Revelation 7.9-17; John 10.22-30

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 20:40)

 

We are still in the Easter season, but as of last week, we exhausted our accounts of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances to his disciples. In the remaining four weeks of Eastertide, our Gospel readings focus on Jesus’ teachings about faith and intimacy with God. Focusing on our relationship with God. How we relate to God and how God through Christ relates to us. And the Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Easter always focuses on one of the most well-known and perhaps most beloved images of that relationship: the Good Shepherd. With each year of our lectionary delving into a portion of the Good Shepherd discourse from the Gospel according to John.

 

I find it interesting that whenever I prepare a sermon, no matter how many times I have preached on a particular theme or particular set of readings, I invariably notice something that I had never noticed before. A detail in a reading jumps out, as if being read for the first time. Or how the whole set of readings for a particular Sunday come together to present an image I never noticed before. That is what happened for me this week, as I contemplated how to preach about the Good Shepherd for the umpteenth time in my career as a priest. As I pondered the readings for today, something jumped out at me that never had in my nearly 17 years of ordained ministry. As I tried to figure out how to approach the story of the Good Shepherd this year, as I tried to come up with a new angle, I noticed that the image of sheep figure prominently in our reading from the Gospel according to John and in the Epistle reading from the Revelation to John. Both books traditionally attributed to the same author: to John, the Beloved Disciple. The Gospel according to John using the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd to his sheep, and the Revelation to John incorporating the image of Christ as the Lamb of God. Both images pointing to answers to the question Jesus is asked as he walks through the Temple: “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly” (Jn 10.24). You will note that “the Jews gathered around him” asked this question. It is important to recognize that throughout John’s Gospel, when he refers to “the Jews,” he typically is referring to the Jewish authorities.

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Meeting Us Where We Are

Third Sunday of Easter (Year C)

John 21.1-19

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning 19:45)

 

I love all the accounts of the post-resurrection appearances that we hear in these days after Easter. They are all very different, each conveying something about the Risen Lord, but also something about the people Christ appears to. And in the process, these stories somehow weave together attributes of the Risen Lord and attributes of those to whom he appeared, to say something about who we are as the Body of Christ. As those called to carry on his mission and ministry in the world in our own time.

 

It's hard to pick which of the post-resurrection stories is my favorite, as they are all so wonderful and endearing in their own unique ways. But today’ account of Jesus appearing to the disciples on the beach definitely ranks right up there. First off, I like the fact that the story is a bit whimsical. Portraying both Jesus and the disciples in a bit of a lighter manner than in many of the other post-resurrection appearances. As a result, this account is so relatable in many ways. The disciples are certainly relatable in their reactions. And even Jesus is relatable. Which I find interesting, as throughout the Gospel according to John, Jesus seems a bit unapproachable. Not that he is, but John definitely seeks to portray Jesus from a perspective referred to as “high Christology”—that Jesus’ divinity is more evident and on display than in the other Gospels. Given John’s high Christology, what I find so appealing about this story is that after Jesus’ death and resurrection, when he is definitely inhabiting more the divine realm than the human realm, that Jesus comes off as more human. More approachable. More relatable. Even, more playful. And maybe that’s the key to today’s Gospel story.

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Faithful Thomas

Second Sunday of Easter (Year C)

John 20.19-31

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 17:55)

 

If there was ever an election to select a saint for our times, for our contemporary age, Thomas would get my vote. Of the many names given to the times we live in, one of the most common used in secular society is “the information age.” An age in which we generate and consume more information than ever before. An age that is defined by the use—and I would add, abuse—of information. An age which has seen the advent of “fake news.” That has seen self-proclaimed experts and pundits of all political persuasions spin stories and twist their explanations of what should be observable events in ways that would make the most accomplished of contortionists blush. An age in which so much of what is presented as news, as fact, bears no relation to the objective truth. It’s absolutely dizzying and mind-boggling. Its times such as these in which we need the likes of our friend Thomas. The one so often referred to as “Doubting Thomas.” A moniker which, in itself, is actually an unjustified spin on the events of the actual encounter Thomas has with Jesus. The result of fake news, if you will.

 

Let’s take a look at our Gospel account. An objective look. Or as objective as we can get given the information presented.

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The New Normal

 Easter Day (Year C)

Acts 10.34-43; John 20.1-18

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 22:15)

 

Today has been a long time coming! The last time we celebrated Easter Sunday in-person was in 2019. I’m sure we all recall the beginning of the pandemic and the mandatory stay-at-home order that went into effect on March 20^th of 2020. At that time, when the Bishop ordered the cancelling of all in-person worship, he was hopeful that this would all be behind us and we would be back to in-person worship within three or four weeks. Just in time for Easter 2020. And all us clergy were talking about what a glorious Easter that would be, as we celebrated Christ’s resurrection and the end of the pandemic. Right. Not only was church not reopened by Easter, we were not even allowed to live stream from within the church at that time. Instead, our Easter service was live streamed from my dining room. I have to tell you, that was a pretty depressing Easter. At the end of the service, I closed my laptop and started crying. Sure, we had celebrated the Lord’s resurrection. We had brought back the “Alleluias.” We had even sung two quintessential Easter hymns: “Jesus Christ is Risen Today” and “The Strife is O’er.” And yet, it did not feel like Easter. I did not feel as if Christ had risen. At the least, the Body of Christ that is St. Gregory’s had not risen. And the strife was not o’er. As it turned out, it was just beginning.

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Why Do You Look for the Living Among the Dead?

 Great Vigil of Easter (Year C)

Luke 24.1-12

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 1:07:20)

 

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?” These are the words that the angels spoke to the women at the tomb. Maybe I’m being a little too literal, but the women were not looking for the living. They were looking for a dead body. Jesus’ dead body. To prepare it according to their burial customs. But, as we see, this was really the angels’ way of reminding the women of what Jesus had told them before they even came to Jerusalem. That after he was crucified, he would rise again on the third day. That new life can—and in this case, does—come out of death. And, of course, the angels do then confirm for the women that Jesus has risen.

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Solidarity

 Good Friday

John 18.1—19.42

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 33:15)

 

How do we begin to make sense of the horrific events that we commemorate on Good Friday? Theologians have been debating that pretty much since the first Good Friday. Trying to understand just what happened. Why it happened. Why it had to happen. And even how it happened. Not how as in the mechanics of Jesus being nailed on the cross, but how as in just how did Jesus’ death accomplish what we claim that it accomplished? That his death and subsequent resurrection defeated sin and death. In short, what is collectively known as atonement theory. Fear not. I am not even going to attempt to delve into atonement theory. Because between you and me, I don’t find any of the classical theories of the atonement particularly satisfying. Or, for that matter, particularly reasonable if our God is who we say God is: all loving, merciful, and compassionate. For me, the specifics of atonement are a great mystery, understanding of which is way above my paygrade. That it ultimately boils down to a matter of faith. One of the central tenants of our faith as Christians.

 

And yet. And yet. We still feel a need for some sort of explanation to help us understand just a little of what this has been all about. As in such truly unexplainable events, there are undoubtedly a variety of ways of looking at what happened on Good Friday. Of explaining why Jesus had to die on the cross. I think one of the best explanations—at least one that makes about as much sense as any, at least for me—is solidarity. That Jesus underwent suffering and death out of solidarity with us.

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The Right Place at the Right Time

Palm/Passion Sunday (Year C)

Luke 22.14—23.56

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 40:30)

 

Today, with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, we formally begin our journey through Holy Week. Where we witness Jesus’ final days. Where we witness his Passion—his betrayal, his arrest, his trial, his torture, his sentencing to death, his journey along the Via Dolorosa to Golgotha, his execution. On Palm Sunday, or what is sometimes referred to as Passion Sunday, we are provided with an overview of the week’s events. Giving us the lay of the land. And then, throughout the remainder of the week, on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, we delve more deeply into the events of those days.

 

Looking at the arc of events, this year I find there is one verse, one image, in today’s Passion Narrative that has captured my attention. Focusing on a single person. One who, in many ways, serves as a guide for what will happen. Not so much a guide through the week, but one who can serve as a guide for understanding what this means for us and our lives of faith. “As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus.” (Lk 23.26). Simon of Cyrene. An obscure character, to say the least. Yet, as we shall see, one who serves as an exemplar for how we can begin to approach the horrific events of this week and help us to be transformed by them.

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Through Faith in Christ

Fifth Sunday in Lent (Year C)

Philippians 3.4b-14; John 12.1-8

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 15:45)

 

On the first Sunday in Lent this year, I preached a sermon that I entitled “Making it Through the Wilderness.” I talked about Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil. I went on to talk about how this story and other biblical stories of wilderness experiences provide an image for our own wilderness times: times of being tempted and tested. How our Lenten journey, if anything, is an image for what those times of tempting and testing have been about in our own lives. How our Lenten journey is not so much about the specifics of the temptations, but about our responses to those temptations which may come between us and our relationship with God. That regardless of the specific temptations, Jesus tells us there is a universal response. That we are to recognize our reliance upon God. Because it is in relying on God, in being obedient to God, that we open ourselves to be molded and shaped by God. In so doing, we have the opportunity to live into the fullness of who God creates and calls us to be as his beloved children.

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Making it Through the Wilderness

First Sunday in Lent (Year C)

Deuteronomy 26.1-11; Luke 4.1-13

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 18:25)

 

While Lent officially began four days ago on Ash Wednesday, there is a part of me that feels like the period between Ash Wednesday and the First Sunday in Lent is a time to ease into our Lenten journey. A time to get up to speed, as it were. Now, that is not the official position of the Church; it’s just my personal view. I think it is because on the First Sunday in Lent, our Gospel reading is always the temptation of Jesus. Perhaps my personal sense that Lent begins in earnest on this day is precisely because the Gospel reading recounts Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness, where he is tempted by the devil. And that our 40-day Lenten journey—with its own temptations as we struggle with our Lenten disciples—is intended to call to mind, even parallel in some ways, Jesus’ 40 days of being tempted and tested.

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Are You Ready?

Ash Wednesday

Isaiah 58.1-12; 2 Corinthians 5.20b—6.10; Matthew 6.1-6, 16-21

St. Thomas of Canterbury, Long Beach (7:00 AM)

and St. Gregory’s, Long Beach (7:00 PM)

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 15:00)

 

Are you ready? Today is the beginning of Lent—the 40-day journey of preparation for Easter. Traditionally, this is a time when we engage in special Lenten disciplines to help us in our preparations. So, have you decided what you are going to be doing for your Lenten discipline this year?

 

Traditionally, our Lenten practices revolve around the three disciplines outlined in our reading from the Gospel according to Matthew: giving of alms, prayer, and fasting. We most commonly think of this as including giving up something, like your morning Starbucks beverage of choice, television, chocolate, or any other number of things. Reminiscent of the discipline of fasting Jesus talks about in our Gospel reading. For some, this is a time to take on something additional, particularly by way of outreach ministry—helping at a food pantry, or a homeless shelter, or making additional charitable contributions. Reminiscent of the discipline of almsgiving Jesus talks about in our Gospel reading. And for many, there are additional spiritual practices, such as special devotional readings, like the “Living Well Through Lent” book our two congregations are using, or extra worship services, or study programs, like our joint Lenten program exploring various versions of the Stations of the Cross. Reminiscent of the discipline of prayer Jesus talks about in our Gospel reading.

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