St. Alban’s Church
Acts 9: 36 – 43
May 8, 2022 Psalm 23
Fourth Sunday of Easter Revelation 7: 9 – 17
Pastor Jim Stickney John 10: 22 – 30
My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.
Our Psalm for today is the 23rd Psalm, perhaps the most famous of the Psalms. It evokes images of the boy David, who was taken from tending sheep to be King. We find comforting images, the table of feasting spread despite the presence of troublemakers, the sense of being guided to green pastures and still waters, and especially the promise of God’s being with us when we walk in death’s valley.
In the tenth chapter of the Gospel of John, we hear Jesus spelling out in some detail what this image of the good shepherd really means — putting one’s life on the line for the sake of the sheep, standing up to the wolves who are prowling as the flock journeys safely through the valley of the shadow of death.
In this tenth chapter of John’s Gospel, Jesus tries to reassure anxious people that he is on the lookout for them even as they impatiently wait for further clarity. Jesus declares that he knows his sheep, and they know his unique voice.
My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.
In a spiritual sense, those who listened to Jesus felt the frustration of not knowing whether or not He was their long-awaited Messiah. He kept things vague. Jesus’ listeners want him to state right out whether or not he is the Messiah! They are frustrated that Jesus is waiting for what he calls “his hour”. Like us, they want clarity. And like us, they cope with not-knowing, with suspense.
To help his hearers, and us, to be patient with ambiguity and suspense, Jesus uses the image of the Good Shepherd, with the idea of caring for the flock. The prayer composed for this Sunday gives a clear summary of the theme:
“O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people, grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads….” [Book of Common Prayer, p. 225].
Amidst this talk of sheep and shepherd, I recall a very earthy reflection I heard from a fellow seminarian from the great state of Montana. He told us that the sheep not only know the distinct voice of their shepherd, but that the sheep also know the shepherd’s smell. He or she smells “sheepy”, like them! Can we imagine things being just that intimate between us and God?
My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.
Do we really believe that the Creator of all that exists, the Uncreated One, beyond all human projection and imaging, the One who’s simple “Let there be!” initiated the Big Bang or the Seven Days or whatever creation story we use — could that infinitely powerful God take the time and care to know me, and to love me?
Some of us have powerful imaginations, and can take the idea of “infinity” and understand that such a divine power is boundless, and not limited by space-time. But others among us need a more human way of understanding God’s love — and so we have the Word of God, the Logos, the Wisdom of God, Sophia, born among us, living among us, dying at human hands, and rising for us.
Most of us know that there are many millions of Christians around the world who call themselves “Orthodox”. They are located mostly in the East, in the countries of Greece and Russia and Ukraine and in other Eastern countries.
When the Orthodox explain how Christ Jesus relates to human beings, they are rather bolder than most Anglicans or Roman Catholics. They can say
Christ Jesus became as we are, so that we might become as He is.
They speak freely of the divinization of our humanity. What does “divinization” mean? Just this: By following Christ’s teachings and example, we participate in divinity. But Jesus does not leave it at that. Following Christ cannot be just about our own souls. He says, I have other sheep who do not belong to this fold. Who is Jesus talking about? Jesus means other people, those not in this flock of his Christian followers.
One of the Archbishops of Canterbury declared that the Christian church is the only organization that exists for the benefit of those who are not its members. I pray that we can always support those in the church who turn our attention to those who do not yet know, or have forgotten, the shepherding truth of God’s love.
My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.
