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.

Team Player

This sermon was delivered at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Trinity Sunday, June 3, 2007.

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Psalm 8
Romans 5:1-5
John 16:12-15

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

For those of you who don’t like sports analogies, you will find this tedious, but it makes my point. The other day I was reading an article[1] that says the superstars of today would rather be famous than great. In this scathing indictment, the writer compared Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player of the 1980’s and 90’s—and arguably of all time—with the greatest basketball player of today, LeBron James. The author’s contention is while Jordan was willing to carry his team on his back to become basketball champions; James is satisfied with his reputation and his paycheck, both of which are sizable. Jordan was a star not just by getting his points, but by making his teammates better where it is said James is just happy putting up numbers. The sports writer said that to take his game to the next level. LeBron has to make the tough choices, take the important shots, and put his team on his back. That’s the only way he will be able to lead his team into the Promised Land, the NBA finals. Many sports pundits said the best example of this was at the end of game two of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. With seconds to go, LeBron could have sent the game into overtime if he had gone to the hoop. Instead, he kicked the ball out to the perimeter where a teammate missed the potential game winning shot. Some approved of LeBron passing the ball saying it was unselfish play. Others said that as the best player in the league, he needed to take the shot. As Gene Hackman once said, “Winners always want the ball when the game is on the line.”[2]

Of course, this can go to extremes, Keyshawn Johnson, an NFL wide receiver who wrote a memoir called “Just Give Me the Damn[3] Ball,” raised some eyebrows with his ability, and a few more with his attitude. It was often said that regardless of how talented he is as a receiver, all of the other things he brought to the field overshadowed his ability. Where Michael Jordan carried his team and his league on his broad shoulders, Keyshawn Johnson always seemed to carry his like baggage. Where Jordan was the consummate teammate, Keyshawn always had the attitude that what he could do was the only thing that could help the team. So, who would you want as a teammate?

Today the church celebrates Trinity Sunday. This is the day we give thanks and glory to God in three persons, the Blessed Trinity. But here’s an interesting fact, never in scripture is the word “trinity” used to describe the Holy Triumvirate. The Old Testament, the portion of scripture predating Jesus, certainly doesn’t mention the Trinity. The Gospels don’t talk about the three distinct yet inseparable persons of God. The Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles don’t make the leap from the individual persons of God to the Trinity either. Revelation features each of the three persons prominently, but never is the concept of the Trinity used or defined.

The concept of the Trinity comes from biblical interpretation and theology instead of coming directly from scripture. In a way the Trinity is revealed through scripture instead of in scripture. The word Trinity was coined by the great theologian Tertullian late in the second century. But Tertullian couldn’t refer to a book or scroll that looked like what we call a bible. The collection of scripture we call the bible wasn’t assembled and standardized until early in the fourth century. So here’s a dilemma, how do we as bible believing Christians celebrate something that isn’t in our bible, a bible that didn’t exist as we know it until a hundred years after the concept was first mentioned?

The answer is not only are we called to read and study scripture; we are also called to interpret scripture. And today’s readings are a great place to start.

When I was in school, the English teachers in my district quit teaching how to diagram sentences. I don’t know if mine was an isolated example or if schools have quit teaching diagramming all together. One of the goals of diagramming sentences is to organize clauses and phrases to help identify the grammatical elements of a sentence and how they relate to one another. If I have learned one thing about John’s gospel over the past couple of months it’s that being able to diagram sentences would have come in handy, very handy.

In our gospel reading this morning, Jesus gives us a picture of how the three persons of the Trinity interact with one another, and then how they interact with us. Jesus tells us that the Spirit of Truth comes to guide us into all truth. The Spirit does not speak on its own, but speaks what is heard and then declares to us what is to come. The Spirit does this to glorify Jesus, and as we recall from last week’s scripture reading,[4] what the Son does he does to glorify the Father. What belongs to Jesus, the Spirit will take and declare to us. Finally, all that the Father has belongs to Jesus. So all that one of the persons of the Trinity has—is shared with each of the others –and then is declared to us.

This belonging and giving is difficult for us to understand. But then our reading begins with Jesus saying that he has many things to tell us, things we cannot bear now. Jesus knows we will never be able to fully understand the eternal relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit on this side of Glory. So if we don’t understand, don’t be afraid, don’t mourn, don’t be anxious. Jesus says we can’t bear all of what he has to say, so he doesn’t expect us to know everything. Not understanding is fine; in fact, it’s the way of things.

But what we can’t know in our heads, through faith we can know in our very beings. Through faith we are justified. Through faith we have the peace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We can celebrate the Trinity, God who scripture unfolds as the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit because God calls the church, calls us to take the grace and the peace of Jesus Christ that the Spirit reveals to us into the world as ambassadors.

Team players. When involved in a team sport it is important to be a team player. As for LeBron James, he answered his critics by taking the last shot in the third game of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. James took the last shot which finally won that game after making the shots that sent the game into overtime and then into double overtime. Since the end of the second game of the series he literally put his team on his back and carried them. The exception was last night when he did not lead his team in points, but he led his team every other statistical category making his teammates better. Through his dominating play and his unselfish efforts, LeBron James led his team past the Detroit Pistons last night and into the NBA finals.

As for Keyshawn Johnson, as a member of the Carolina Panthers and an analyst for ESPN television’s coverage of the NFL College Player Draft six weeks ago, he was excited to learn his team drafted a wide receiver from his alma mater. Keyshawn couldn’t wait to show him the ropes, until Carolina showed Keyshawn the door. Since getting cut from the team, Keyshawn has retired from playing and is now a full time football analyst for ESPN.

Being a team player means knowing your role, knowing your role is important, and knowing your role will change. Sometimes it will mean putting the team on your back and carrying them to victory. Other times it means doing everything you can to make teammates better. In their own way, the three persons of God are one team. The three persons of the Trinity exist in perfect relationship with one another. Their dance is eternal, the way it has been since before the beginning. And God in three persons invites us to join that dance. God invites us to be a team player, a player on God’s team. We are invited through the free gift of God’s grace. We receive this gift of grace through faith and by faith we are justified. Hope will never disappoint us because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. As the people of the Triune God, we are called to respond to this hope sharing the bounty of grace we have been given with the world. This way we will be great, instead of just famous.

[1] I am unable to find the source again, I wish I was able to so that I could cite the original author and so I could make sure I got the thought completely right.
[2] “The Replacements” Bel Air Entertainment, 2000
[3] I mumbled this word in the church.
[4] John 14:8-17, 25-27