Harder Than It Has To Be

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday May 15, 2011, the 4th Sunday in Easter.

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Acts 2:42-47

Psalm 23

1Peter 2:19-25

John 10:1-10

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer.  Amen

In our gospel reading today, we heard the first half of what is known as the “Good Shepherd” discourse. There is no more endearing image of Jesus from scripture than the Good Shepherd. Ask any biblical scholar, and I mean any biblical scholar.

One of the things that I do when preparing a sermon is look at scholarly books about scripture called commentaries. Sometimes I look at them extensively, sometimes hardly at all. Sometimes they provide insights that I share at length. Sometimes I find a word or phrase that sends me off on my own path into interpreting the scripture. Our reading from John this week has a piece of information that is interesting to scholars. I’ll let you decide for yourself if you find it interesting.

There are scholars who look at this passage and see two different figures of speech; the image of the shepherd and the image of the watchman at the door of the sheep pen. Of course these scholars can’t decide how to separate the figures. Renowned New Testament scholar Raymond Brown separates the shepherd imagery from the gate and watchman imagery twice.[1] Once within verses two through five and again in verses seven through ten. Other scholars simply separate the figures at either side of verse six.[2]

I’m not so taken with this splitting of proverbial hairs. This is just too much scholarly analysis and not enough Jesus in my opinion. In say separation of this figure of speech or these figures of speech makes interpretation more difficult than it has to be.

In the commentaries I read, one of the facts missing from the analysis is a description of the sheep pen. When this figure of speech was created nobody with any sense of sheep and shepherds needed to be told what a sheep pen looks like. In our largely urban world, the same is even true for everyone who has ever driven past a ranch or has been to a ranch supply store. We don’t need to be told what a sheep pen looks like either. The matter lies in knowing that the technologies of first and twenty-first century sheep pens are quite different.

When we think of a pen and a gate, we think of some kind of fencing with some sort of metal gate that’s hinged and hasped. It’s how my fence looks at home. It’s how I’ve seen dozens of sheep pens across Kansas, Missouri, Texas and Colorado. But I’ve seen something else; I have seen a replica of a first century sheep pen.

Marie and I saw it at a bible theme park in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. As we saw, the first century pens were not the product of barbed wire and steel. The pens were within earthen embankments. The earth formed a wall around the pen like a levee. The barrier separates the sheep from the outside world. The earthen wall was circular and stood several feet high with one gap where the sheep would enter and exit the pen.

There would also be bramble planted along the top of the abutment that was not only effective in keeping the sheep in the pen, it also meant that any predator or thief would have to navigate thorns and spines before reaching their prey. In its way, it was first century barbed wire. Between the piercing thorns and the rattling bramble, not even the wind could come into the pen without being noticed. A decent description of the walls, there is still a missing piece in this picture. I have yet to mention how the gap was closed. I haven’t mentioned what the New International Version calls the gate and the watchman.

Of course the first century sheep pen did not have the metal gate you get at Tractor Supply. In the first century, the shepherds themselves were the gates. Remember that the shepherds were the young boys, each night one of the young boys would stay in the mouth of the gap. He was gate and gate keeper. He was the shepherd and the watchman.

Of course this would be a dangerous position. The remaining shepherds would be with the sheep asleep inside the pen. Like any sentry duty, sitting the gate was left to the youngest of all the shepherd boys, the boy of lowest status. The least of the least was in the most precarious position.

So here we are, scholars say we have two images; the shepherd and the door, the gate and the watchman. As for me, I say they’re splitting hairs. Yes, the shepherds and the watchmen are two different figures of speech. But no, they aren’t really two different things; they are both young boys who are to put their lives on the line for the sheep and their family.

This is where I believe commentary writers make it harder than it has to be. Scholars have written volumes showing other scholars the differences between these images. What I say is that it’s fundamentally the same thing. It’s the same boy serving two different roles. A young boy who is a shepherd by day becomes the watchman at night. Biblical scholars pine on these differences over volumes without making one simple overreaching point.

Jesus says I am the shepherd.

The shepherd leads the sheep. The sheep know the shepherd’s voice. When the shepherd calls, he calls them by name. The sheep follow because they know the shepherd’s voice. There are only a few reasons for the shepherd to call, among them to lead the sheep to pasture and water. Notice the verbs; the sheep follow, the shepherd leads. The sheep don’t know the way; it is up to the shepherd to lead them to where they need to go.

Oh to be in the presence, in the fold of the great shepherd. Scripture is filled with glorious images of the shepherd. The 100^th Psalm[3] reminds us of this as we sing “Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” We are the sheep of his pasture. We are the people of the Lord God who calls us each by name.

Some scholars[4] say this gospel passage rings the bell tolled in Isaiah 40 when the prophet says, “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.”

In Numbers[5] as he is about to leave the children of Israel, Moses begs “that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd.” Moses prays for a shepherd for the people. One who will watch them and protect them after he is taken by the great shepherd.

Others[6] say this passage harkens back to 1Samuel 16 where David is identified as the ideal Shepherd King. David, the man who knows God’s heart, foreshadows the King of kings.

Oh the many images of the shepherd scattered in the Word. Each of these figures give us a slightly different insight into the Lord God. They give us a different shade of who Jesus says he is in this passage from John’s gospel.

Jesus says I am the shepherd. Jesus says I am the gate. Jesus says I am the watchman. Jesus says I am.

I AM, the ancient name of God from the Old Testament is also found in the gospels. Jesus says I AM thirty six times in the gospels. Two-thirds of these sayings, twenty four I AM statements are found in this fourth Gospel. Jesus says I AM the true vine. He says I AM the bread of life. He says I AM the way. He says I AM he, which is just how Jesus says I AM who I AM. I am the I AM.

Perhaps the most encouraging of the “I AM” statements is when Jesus tells his disciples and all of creation I AM here. The joy of the presence of God who is here is the most glorious sign of all.

Jesus is who he is. He is the Good Shepherd. He is the way, the truth and the life. This is important. This is the truth. Yet there is one more truth that must be mentioned. Karl Barth said that a good sermon points to God. A good sermon reveals God to the congregation. I pray that I have done this so far. Yet there is one more truth that tends to go unmentioned. We are the sheep.

As the sheep we are powerless. We have no defense against predators. We have no defense against the raging floods that sweep the plains. We have no defense against the thieves that would steal us from our flock.

As the sheep, we have one thing, we have the good shepherd. We have the shepherd whose voice we recognize. We have the shepherd who cares for us. We have the shepherd of the 23^rd Psalm.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. This is the shepherd we celebrated as we rejoiced our Call to Worship this morning:

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.[7]

This is the shepherd who we follow.

St. John Chrysostom was the Archbishop of Constantinople in the late fourth and early fifth century. A stalwart of the early church Chrysostom was a great theologian. Nearly fifteen-hundred years ago, he said these words about the good shepherd: “For so long as we are sheep, we conquer: though ten thousand wolves prowl around, we overcome and prevail. But if we become wolves, we are worsted, for the help of our Shepherd departs from us.”[8]

Chrysostom reminds us that we are the sheep protected by the shepherd. When we choose to become the wolf our God our help in ages past leaves us, for we have left the fold.

We don’t have to rejoice in what scholars tell us, whether this is two figures of speech or one. We rejoice in what we know, God is God and we are not. The Lord is our shepherd and that makes us the sheep. The Lord is the good shepherd who leads us and protects us. The Lord is the gate who stands between us and harm’s way. The Lord is our shepherd, we shall not want. Everything else is just taking the truth and making it harder than it has to be.

---

[1] New Interpreter’s Bible, Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, page 666-667.

[2] “Texts for Preaching, A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV, Year A” Walter Brueggemann, Charles B. Cousar, Beverly R. Gaventa, James D. Newsome, Editors. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995, pages 288-290.

[3] Psalm 100:3

[4] Feasting on the Word, Year A, Volume 2, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010, page 442.

[5] Numbers 27:17

[6] Ibid, page 443

[7] Kirk, James G. “When We Gather” Louisville, KY: Geneva Press, page 66.

[8] John Chrysostom, “Homilies of John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople on the Gospel According to St. Matthew.” http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/200133.htm, retrieved May 14, 2011. Thanks to the Rev. Dr. David L. Johnson of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary for the suggestion.

Eternal Life--from A Service of Witness to the Resurrection for Betty Crittenden

This homily was heard at the clubhouse of Betty's apartment complex in Berryville, Arkansas on Thursday July 22, 2010.

Psalm 23
Titus 3:1-7
Psalm 121
Luke 10:25-37

The lawyer’s question to Jesus has been asked by humanity since the beginning of time. What must I do to inherit eternal life?

Often, all too often, when we read an obituary in the news paper it begins, “Our Sister left this world to be with her Lord…” Far be it from me to tell you that Betty is not with her Lord. In this service of Witness to the Resurrection we begin with this very truth. Yet I must let you know with all humility that Betty did not leave this world to be with her Lord. Betty has been with God long before she and I first met three years ago. Betty knew this quite well, quite well indeed: Eternal life begins while we are still here on earth. Eternal life begins with life in Christ and Betty knew this well; very, very well. She lived like she was a child of God.

She followed the law not just in word, but also in deed. She knew the words of scripture; she knew that she was saved by grace though faith. She knew for sure that a vibrant faith in the living God is about receiving and sharing God’s steadfast love, God’s good grace with those around her.

Betty loved the Lord her God with all her heart, and with all her soul, and with all her strength, and with all her mind; and she loved her neighbor as she loved herself. She demonstrated this through her volunteer work for people who needed what she could provide. With energy and imagination she served the Senior Center well through taking care of the Thrift Shop. She saw the store through three different locations, growing as it moved from space to space to space.

With the church, she helped package school supplies for children whose parents were hard pressed to afford school supplies. Betty and her siblings were raised in humble circumstances, so she knew what it was like to need things for school.

Yet while I say humble, I dare not say poor or impoverished. There is a spirit in her family, from her father who always worked hard to provide for his family to her mother who would tailor and refit WPA clothes handouts during the Great Depression so that her family would have properly fitting clothes. Finances were tight in the dust bowl of western Kansas, and there was eternal life.

Betty was fiercely independent; she could take care of herself as she helped take care of others. In her own words this didn’t set too well before she was school age when her older brother Richard was assigned by their parents to take care of her when they were playing outside. It also had its moments after Betty retired and she moved back to Dodge City to be with her sisters. I can only imagine what it was like when Betty thought she would be taking care of her youngest sister Sharon, and Sharon though the exact opposite. For them it must have been high drama, but I can imagine that for some around them it was pretty amusing.

Yet, Betty did not do these things that she may inherit eternal life. She knew the words of Paul to Titus when he said “when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” She wasn’t like the lawyer who sought to justify himself. She was a woman who knew that it took being a part of the family to receive the inheritance. Betty served others because that is how she learned to serve God, responding to her salvation, not trying to earn it.

Jesus responded to the lawyer’s answer saying, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.” By the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, in God’s love Betty lived the answer to this question and continues eternal life today.

She loved God and her neighbor. And we who are here today bear witness; her life has borne glorious fruit. By those she has loved and by those who love her, the fruit of her life continues to thrive and will continue to thrive far, far into the future.

The 121st Psalm is a psalm of trust and confidence in God; assuring pilgrims on the way to and from Zion of God’s constant protection. The question raised in the first verse “I lift up my eyes to the hills; from where is my help to come?” is answered beginning with “My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.”

She knew and lived the words of the Psalmist through her life and her acts. She knew the Lord kept her and keeps us all. The Lord keeps our lives from this time and forevermore. And she responded to the gracious love and protection of the Lord our God in acts of boldness, love, and mercy. She knew that it was up to her to share God’s love with the world. She knew this was God’s call in her life. She knew it was as important to share as it was to receive God’s grace, peace, and love.

Let me finish by sharing what Betty wrote the best advice she ever received. When she was young girl, she couldn’t have been older than nine or ten, one summer Betty and her brothers, and her sister; contracted mumps and chicken pox. As miserable as it was for her siblings, Betty had to be taken to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City from their western Kansas home. It took a while, but Betty mended. Just before she was discharged, the doctor gave Betty this advice, “From now on and for the rest of your life I want you to rest when you get tired, eat whether you’re hungry or not, and be a good girl.

Betty wrote that she seldom missed a meal but she had been tired beyond belief. She didn’t comment about whether or not she had been a good girl though.

Well, Betty might have seldom missed a meal but you couldn’t tell by looking at her. She also knew that sometimes the price of taking care of those you love is fatigue beyond belief. She also knew that none is good but God. Today, I say today as we come together to celebrate the life and witness the joy of the eternal life of Betty Crittenden; today I say yes, she was a very good girl.

She was a wonderful woman, sister, and mother. We celebrate the eternal life that she shared when she heard our Lord tell the lawyer “Go and do likewise.” We celebrate the example she set as a child of God who inherited life eternal as an heir to the kingdom, not as a hired hand. We celebrate the eternal life Betty lived and now continues to live in the name of her Lord.
Let us pray…

Eulogy for Ricky Lee Williams, Sr.

This eulogy was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas during the Service of Witness to the Resurrection on Thursday October 1, 2009. Thanks to Michael Card for the story of the little boy and the man.

Psalm 23
Matthew 25:31-46

I love a good story. Who doesn’t? A story that you might not know is that the lights outside of these front doors are not original to this building. Sure, renovations happen all of the time, not much of a story there. But the source of those lights, now that’s a story. You see, those two lanterns sitting so valiantly, waiting for God’s people to come and worship the Lord of all creation, those two lanterns came off of the Berryville speakeasy. That’s right; the lights that shine the light of God on the world were once on a prohibition era illegal saloon. I guess you can never tell just where anything came from, or where anything is going.

You might ask why I would tell that story, the answer is easy. Yesterday when Ricky’s family heard this story, they told me that he would get a hoot out of his funeral being held in a place with tavern lanterns on the front stoop.

Ricky loved a good story, and I wish I knew more of the details to this one, because it would be a yarn worth spinning. Ricky loved not just to hear a good story; he loved to tell them too.
As the father of five, he had a bunch of growing up tales to tell, both to and then about his children.

A Nam era vet, I can only imagine the stories he had about his time in the service. For example, he is the one and only soldier to receive a three day pass for acing the sharpshooting course. The reason he is the one and only is because after he got the pass, word came down the line that that little commendation would never happen again. So to this day, Ricky is the one and only.
In the service, he was reported missing in action, which must have been harrowing. The time he served as a prisoner of the NVA could have only been worse.

He loved to travel, not in the way most folks travel. He loved to hitch-hike across the country finding adventures and tales along the way. He would tell stories and share them with friends and I imagine anyone with an ear to bend and a few minutes to listen. His family told me that he would stand behind every word he said… until it changed.

I was told that he stood up for what he believed. He stood up for people who could not defend themselves. He stood up for those who are weak and less fortunate. He stood up.

He stood up.

Not long ago, I heard a definition of what it means to stand up for someone. It’s from a story of a young boy and an older man. It’s a story about a boy who was upset with his parents, for a reason long lost to time. The little boy was upset, so the older man took the younger boy aside and said, I believe in you, even if you’re wrong, I believe in you.

I think Ricky would have liked that story. It points to a love that is given without reservation. Love given without condition. Love given without strings attached. The Ricky his children shared with me yesterday would have been like this older man, he would have stood up for the boy.

The joy of this story is that our Lord loves us all with this same love. I am told that Ricky was not a religious man, and as the local Presbyterian minister, it may seem out of character for me to say that Jesus is standing for Ricky right now; even though he wasn’t religious. That’s fine because being without religion does not mean being without faith; and salvation comes by grace alone though faith alone. You see, God believes in us. God believes in us.

And Ricky, the man who sticks up for his friends, the man who sticks up for those who can’t stick up for themselves, this man is before God now. And I have faith that the Lord who takes care of the weak is now taking care of Ricky. Because as Jesus tells us all, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” This, this my friends is eternal life.

Eulogy for Elizabeth Beck

Eulogy is the Greek word for "Good Words." These good words were spoken at the Service of the Witness to the Resruuection for Martha Elizabeth Beck, age 100, at the Nelson Funeral Home in Berryville, Arkansas on September 3, 2008.

Psalm 121
Psalm 23

Asking about Miss Elizabeth, one comment took me back. One person told me, “She was a lady.” People my age don’t use that word; it’s outside of our vocabulary. But we who know Elizabeth know well what this means. She was a lady in every sense of the word.

She was a gracious woman, surely as a part of her upbringing as the daughter of a Methodist minister. Her manners were impeccable. Her demeanor was always polite. She was always personable, no more so than to people who she met late in life like Pastor French[1] and me.

But being reserved and lady-like never meant she was a pushover. She stood firm with her convictions. She stood by friends and family with a love and peace and grace which is the fruit of the Spirit of God.

She served her Lord and she served the people of God. She was a Pink Lady, active in the Hospital Auxiliary. She volunteered at Loaves and Fishes, and I mean the old semi-dangerous, poorly lit, overfilled site. She didn’t worry about how the place looked; she was worried about the people who came in the door. She was the curator of the museum. And she played the organ, an instrument she taught herself to play, at the First Presbyterian Church, refusing to accept pay.

Her sense of humor was glorious, and she was always welcoming when a visitor would drop in to share a word. Just a few weeks ago, a friend went to visit Miss Elizabeth and she asked how hot it was outside. When told it was 98 degrees she hushed her voice and said, “That’s darn hot.” Then giggled like a young girl sharing “bad words” with a girlfriend.

She was progressive, not the way we use the word today. She said that she was one of the first women ever who learned to drive an automobile. When she was a mere twelve years old, her father bought an early model automobile and taught her to drive it. It’s no wonder the Twenty’s were roaring.

Her independence and resolve remained with her. Until the age of 95 she still drove. Imagine the differences between a 1920 model vehicle and one from around 2000; this is just one benchmark of the life she led; of the world she saw.

She was a graduate of Hendrix College in Conway, and she loved Razorback football. Down to the comforter on her bed she loved them Hogs.

The 121st Psalm is a psalm of trust and confidence in God; assuring pilgrims on the way to and from Zion of God’s constant protection. The question raised in the first verse is answered in the remainder of the psalm.[2]

She knew and lived the words of the Psalmist through her life and her acts. She knew the Lord kept her, keeps all of us from all evil. The Lord keeps our lives from this time on and forevermore. And she responded to the gracious love and protection of the Lord our God in acts of boldness, love, and mercy.

She lived her life in confidence of the words of the 23rd Psalm which declares the Lord prepares a place for us at the table. Through this confidence, she opened herself to the promise of Emmanuel, God with us; God with her. Her response to this promise of life in Christ was a life fully lived with Him and fully lived with us.

By grace through faith in our risen Lord Jesus Christ, she rests with Him today in glory.

Martha Elizabeth Beck of Berryville, Arkansas was born August 9, 1908 to George Granville and Zora Mae (Bryant) Davidson. Mrs. Beck departed this life August 29, 2008 in Berryville, AR at the age of 100.

Mrs. Beck was an English teacher for nine years in Harmony Grove, Arkansas before they moved to Berryville and started the Ben Franklin Store on the north side of the square. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville. She and her husband Ray were very active in the United Methodist Church in Berryville for many years. She was also active in the St. John's Hospital Auxiliary and the Loaves and Fishes Food Bank. Elizabeth and her husband also loved to go floating with family and friends. They especially loved football and attending every Razorback football game they could.

Mrs. Beck is survived by one daughter, Patricia and husband Hugh McKinney of Berryville, Arkansas; four grandchildren, Barbara and husband Mike Newberry of Green Forest, Arkansas, Diane and husband Randy Wells of Gentry, Arkansas, Linda and husband Kevin Davis of Harrison, Arkansas and Jeff McKinney and wife Rayma of Kansas City, Missouri; eight great-grandchildren; six great-great-grandchildren; and a host of other relatives and friends.

On May 2, 1931, Elizabeth was united in marriage with Ray Owen Beck who preceded her in death. She was also preceded in death by her parents, one granddaughter, Ann McKinney and one brother, Charles Bryant Davidson.

[1] The Reverend James “Skip” French is Pastor of the Berryville United Methodist Church. At the request of the family, we shared the responsibility of celebrating this service.
[2] Study note for the 121st Psalm, New Interpreter’s Study Bible. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2006.

The Shepherd Calls Us All

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on April 13, 2008, the 4th Sunday in Easter.

The image at right is a chalk drawing of Jesus the Good Shepherd in the chancel of the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas.


Acts 2:42-47
Psalm 23
1Peter 2:19-25
John 10:1-10



May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen

In our gospel reading today, we heard the first half of what is known as the “Good Shepherd” discourse. There is no more endearing image of Jesus from scripture than the Good Shepherd. You need only look behind me for proof of this. The wonder of this image is not only that the shepherd cares for the sheep, but that the shepherd protects the sheep from predators and thieves.

Imagine if you will a large pen, a stockyard or a sale barn perhaps. In this yard are the sheep of many different shepherds. The gatekeeper recognizes the shepherd, so the gate is opened and the shepherd calls the sheep by name. Somehow, some way, the sheep know the voice of their shepherd. When the shepherd calls, the sheep come.

Saturday afternoon, I was sitting at the computer, looking over this sermon, and one of our cats came into the room. Now, cats are historically finicky. It is said you don’t own a cat, the cat owns you. But Cal is different; he knows his name and responds when called. When I call him he knows he will be petted, he will be loved. We even started a game while in seminary, while he is on the bed I can walk up to him, pat my chest, and he will come up, put his paws on my chest, and I pet him.

Now does that make him well trained or me?

I couldn’t tell you how the sheep know the shepherd’s voice, but scripture says they do. Perhaps it is something like me calling Cal by name. The shepherd develops such a loving and protecting relationship with each sheep that an intimacy develops. Or maybe it is the flock who knows their shepherd’s voice like Israel knows the voice of the Lord their God.[1]

In our Call to Worship we offered the words of the nation of Israel, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.”[2] In this Psalm, the Lord is worshipped for the protection of the shepherd and how the shepherd provides for the flock.

We give thanks that we have a good shepherd in the Lord Jesus, a shepherd who protects the sheep from danger. That’s actually what I preached a year ago, the last time this gospel reading was used in worship.

But when I read all of the lectionary readings this time I became more interested in the sheep than the shepherd.

My usual sermon points to Jesus in the word and in the world. But recently I have been thinking not just about Christ but the body of Christ, the church. And while these readings from John and the Psalms wonderfully describe Jesus as the Good Shepherd, today I am drawn to who we are as the sheep and the flock.

As the sheep in the psalm, we shall fear no evil because of the work of the Good Shepherd. We are fed and watered in perfect rest and harmony, not in a terrified and anxious hurry. We have been anointed and set aside; we drink from the cup of many blessings, the cup which over flows with the goodness of the Lord.

We are so loved that we have been given a name, both as individuals and as a holy people. We are a people following the call of the good shepherd. The voices of other shepherds surround us; voices that call us away from the good shepherd and toward a life that is less; voices that tempt us to veer from a holy way of life.

The thief would come to steal and kill and destroy, but the good shepherd offers life, abundant life.

So often, this is where I would say give praise, halleluiah, glory to God. But today, as the church, as the holy people of God, as the flock of the shepherd, I want us to ask the question “what comes next?”

In Acts, we are offered the answer. The Acts of the Apostles is a unique book in the New Testament. It is a sequel to the Gospel of Luke and continues the narrative account of the early church, from the ascension of Jesus and the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost, continuing with the spread of the gospel “to the ends of the earth.”[3] In this portrait of the church, the people devoted themselves to the Lord and the teachings of the Lord in the church.

The first of the four characteristics of the church in Acts is holding fast to the teaching of the apostles, as they teach the meaning of the kerygma, or gospel message.[4] Kerygma is one of those fancy words you can drop into conversation to impress or bore your friends, but there is a very important reason to use it. Kerygma by its very definition reminds us that the message is more important than the messenger.[5]

When I was working at the University of Arkansas, one day I was on my way to my boss’ office when I heard a campus preacher on a soapbox. This is nothing new at the UofA; in fact, there had been an article in the campus newspaper about this particular man. As I walked by, he was preaching the Good News of the Kingdom of God. Two hours later, as I returned from my boss’ office and from lunch, he was still there in full voice. But he had gotten off of his soapbox and onto his high horse preaching hair length.

Yes, it is biblical. Paul’s discourse on hair in 1Corinthians 11 is there for a reason. But this young man had gone from the fullness of the Gospel to the narrowness of Paul Mitchell and Miss Clairol. He had gone from the message of sacrificial love and gone to cosmetology school to show what offended him and God. As the early church in Acts, we need to focus on the full teaching of the Gospel, not tiny pieces of it. We are called to focus on the one who is the message, not the one who gives it today.

The second of the four characteristics is koinonia, the fellowship which entails both spiritual communion and the sharing of possessions.[6] The people were called to be together in the community of believers.

There are many who say: “I feel just as close to God in the woods (or on the lake, or with my family, or in bed, or so on) than I ever could in church, and I was once one of them. There is something to be said for solitary time of meditation and reflection, but this alone is not how we are called to respond to the word of the Lord.

We are called to come together to hear the word of God. We are called to come together to be the community of God and it is impossible to be a community of one. I have spoken of Jewish theologian Martin Buber who said, “I cannot be an I without a thou.” In the Lord, if we do not have a relationship with others, we do not have a relationship with the people of God, nor do we have a relationship with God. We don’t even have a right relationship with ourselves. To be God’s people, we must be with God’s people as God’s people serving God’s people.


This point is also elaborated on later in this reading. The author of Acts reminds us that the people would sell their possessions and distribute the proceeds to those in need. Scripture does not say “other members of the community as they had need,” it says “distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.” Yes, God is alive in the church, but only when the church is alive in the world meeting the needs of all God’s creation.


The sharing of meals and celebration of the Lord’s Supper is the third element of the church’s devotion shared in Acts.[7] Today we will celebrate both beginning with the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. We are called to joyfully come together and share the bread of life and the cup of salvation, the body and blood of God’s Son Jesus Christ. We celebrate this meal that we might live no longer for ourselves but for him who died and rose for us. [8]

Today we also celebrate Fellowship Sunday. We come together and break bread and drink from the cup of what is in the refrigerator. We will sit around the table and share stories, we will laugh, and we will share concerns with one another. We are called to share the word of God, and we are called to joyfully share the bounty of the Lord’s Table and the kitchen table together.


The last of the four characteristics of the early church is prayer, both in their homes and in the Temple.[9] We are called to share our joys and concerns for the church, the world, and one another. We are called to pray not just for those we love, but for those who would do us harm. We are called to pray not just for the weak, but also for the strong. I am called to pray for you and you for me.

Brian Kolodiejchuk, a member of the Catholic Order of the Missionaries of Charity, collected and edited the letters of Mother Teresa in a book called “Come Be My Light.”[10] In her letters, there is one thing that stood out to me as she wrote of the Sisters of Loreto, the Missionaries of Charity, and the people of India; she ended nearly every letter begging the recipient, “Please pray for me.” The Saint of Calcutta knew the prayers she needed from the people and from the church. In this, we should remember that if Mother Teresa needed prayer, all of us need prayer.

Let me say to you, in the words of Mother Teresa, “Please pray for me.”

We talk about the Good Shepherd, but we also need to talk about our role as the flock; the body of Christ bringing in the Kingdom of God; the kingdom begun before the creation, marked by the crucifixion and resurrection, continuing today. The shepherd calls us all, all of the sheep in the pen. The shepherd calls us to be the flock and follow him, Jesus the Christ, into the assembly and into the world.

We are called together to share the good gifts of God with one another and with the world. We are called to do this as joyful response to the gift of salvation given freely by the grace of God.

We are called to be like the church of Acts spending much time together; breaking bread and eating with glad and generous hearts praising God; having the goodwill of all the people; through kerygma, koinonia, breaking bread and prayer. And by these things, through God’s grace and peace, the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

We are called to be the church, the body of Christ in the world today as the church was called to be two thousand years ago.

[1] New Interpreter’s Bible, volume IX, page 667.
[2] This rendering of the 23rd Psalm comes from the Presbyterian Book of Common Worship. As this Psalm was from today’s lectionary, we used it as our Call to Worship.
[3] Introduction to “The Acts of the Apostles” from the New Interpreter’s Study Bible, electronic edition
[4] Ibid, text note for Acts 2:42-47
[5] “Kerygma”, BDAB Lexicon, Electronic Edition
[6] Ibid, New Interpreter’s Study Bible, text note for Acts 2:42-47
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid, Presbyterian Book of Common Worship, Communion Setting E
[9] Ibid, New Interpreter’s Study Bible, text note for Acts 2:42-47
[10] “Mother Teresa, Come Be My Light, The Private Writings of the Saint of Calcutta”, Brian Kolodiejchuk, MC, editor. New York: Doubleday, 2007.