Sermon preached by
the Reverend Philip Banks

25th April 2010 - Fourth Sunday of Easter

Acts 9:36-43,  Revelation 7:9-17,  John 10:22-30

Jesus says: “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they know me”. 

What’s your image of what it’s like to be a shepherd?
If it is anything like mine - a romantic image of shepherds and sheep in a rural idyll setting – then I am afraid that it is probably a whole world away from the reality of Middle-Eastern shepherding at the time of Jesus! Shepherds were regarded as a rather unhappy mixture of 'gypsy' and roaming thief (flocks of sheep would often eat their way through other people’s property!), and were considered so untrustworthy that they were disqualified from being witnesses in a court of law. And our romantic image of shepherding does not include such things as the harshness and danger of living in the wild, the smell of the unwashed, living on the fringes of society or being at the very bottom of the ladder, lumped with peddlers and donkey-drivers at the time.

So: when Jesus describes his leadership as that of a shepherd – he was clearly declaring himself to be a leader in a radically different mould to the leadership that people might have expected, or the leadership that they had experienced in their day – he was aligning himself with those on the edges of society. And – Jesus’s “sheep” are therefore surely those who hear and receive a message of a very different set of values – the values of the kingdom of God. 

It is with this in mind that we need to think about the encounter described in today’s gospel reading. John’s gospel, from it’s magnificent opening (“In the beginning was the word…”) John constantly hammers home the point – that there is no doubt about who Jesus is : his authority, his personality, his healing miracles, his teaching – all point to the fact that Jesus and the Father are one. So how is it that the religious authorities (the ‘experts’!) still don’t see it. “Are you the Messiah? Don’t keep us in suspense”, they say. They’ve seen his teaching, they’ve questioned those who he has healed: yet they fail to recognise him. Tom Wright, theologian and former Bishop of Durham, says “perhaps they have managed to keep God at enough of a distance to make positive identification impossible”! 

What is it about Jesus’ presentation of God that they so hate and are disturbed by? Is it the inescapable choices that Jesus lays before them? To stick to the same old ways of doing things – or to truly hear, and listen to, and follow, a way of life rooted and grounded in him. 

Here we are, gathered 2000+ years later. We are ten days away from a General Election (it is good that our local PPCs will gather here later today for our Election Forum); and we are also gathered together with friends from Emmanuel church in Forest Gate in church today – welcome, again, to you.  

As Christians together we have a great deal to contribute to the election process – and a huge amount to contribute to the society and community life as we seek to listen to and follow the voice of the Good Shepherd. 

One of the factors about the political and social landscape which we are in at present is the subtle, but dangerous, erosion of the right to express our Christian and religious views – the right to express that we indeed follow the voice of the one who shows us values of the kingdom. I’m glad that I am not a political leader, because we know that it is very hard to get right the balance between - on the one hand - the religious tolerance and freedom which have always been hallmarks of our national life, and - on the other hand – a proper curbing of religious fanaticism which itself can lead to narrow-mindedness, oppression and terrorism (viz Christian fanatics we have seen in the past in Ireland, and muslim terrorists today who mis-represent the values of the Islamic tradition). 

But we have seen in two worrying trends – first, the two cases recently of employees being forbidden by the courts from wearing crosses – and second the present government’s intention of removing from the House of Lords bishops and faith leaders – those who bring ‘kingdom values’ to the parliamentary process. It is a cause for great concern because Jesus teaches that, as Christians, we are to be the salt that keeps society healthy, and the light that guides it. It follows that, the marginalisation and erosion of Christian voices in society, and the voices of other honourable and respected faith traditions, may well cause the ‘salt to remain in the cellar’ and light to be forced under a secular ‘bushel’. Suppressing gospel values will, surely, accelerate the moral decline of society, and will make it much harder for Christians to do those good works which can transform society – as it has in the past (cf abolition of slavery and the ‘Make Poverty History’ campaign, led by Christians). 

‘Good works’ are articulated beautifully in the story of Tabitha/Dorcas in today’s reading from Acts. This is clearly a well established Christian community, which has at its heart the care of others. Tabitha illustrates something of the quality of a Christian life lived in and formed by the atmosphere of a community seeking live out kingdom values and to follow the voice of the Good Shepherd: “she was devoted to good works and acts of charity”.  

It is that kind of authentic Resurrection life that we celebrate in Eastertide and that we are called to participate in – as Christians together and as a part of the household of saints described in today’s second reading from the Revelation. 

When it comes to voting in ten days’ time, the Good Shepherd, I’m afraind, gives you very little advice! But Jesus did speak these words of warning to those who were leaders: In Matthew 22: “You have neglected the important things: justice, mercy and faithfulness”. My prayer is for a government to be elected  which will indeed have firmly on its radar these three things – justice, mercy and, yes, faithfulness – or at least a proper respect for people of faith – a faith which has shaped the society which is our inheritance today. 

And – what about shepherds and sheep?
In that encounter in today’s gospel (which Jesus has with the Jewish leaders), what we see is that the ones rejecting Jesus are the very ones who should know him best! There is plenty of evidence, both in scripture and in our lives, that suggests that thinking you know Jesus – and have him where you want – is the best possible inoculation against really knowing him and his purposes for your life. For Shepherds in the Middle Eastern tradition always led their sheep, from the front, to new pastures (rather than herding from behind), for the sheep knew their shepherd’s voice and followed it. 

Jesus, too, constantly is on the move – and we need to be attentive to his voice leading us to new places in our journey of life. He keeps moving; he is the ‘God of Surprises’; he shakes the dust from his feet; he never lingers in one place, even when the hospitality is generous; he’ll never be tied down – except when taken to calvary and those in leadership think they have finally nailed him down. But, what we celebrate at Easter is that Jesus doesn’t settle to death either – the tomb, too, is a temporary stop. For he now continues to lead us, as individuals and as a church family, if we but listen to his voice.  

Following our AGM last week and the publication of our Vision & Mission document, my prayer is that we might indeed be people who hear and listen to the voice of him, the Good Shepherd, and that we may play our part, not just at election time, to be people – in our church, in our community, in our society – people whose lives shine out the values of the kingdom, and that we might be people of justice, mercy and faithfulness, now and always. Amen. 

Jesus says: “ My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me”.

© Philip Banks 2010

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