Good morning Children of God!Here is a prayer to start the day, courtesy of the ELCA:
Gracious God, it is good for us to gather as your beloved in community. We treasure your presence with us in word and meal, song and prayer. Be with us in these days when gathering together as often as we would like is not possible. When we must be apart for reasons of safety, we trust that you surround us with your sheltering wings. Encourage us in connecting as we are able, reaching out to our neighbors in need and being persistent in prayer. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our constant companion. Amen.
Here is your Sunday Message. It is also attached.
May 3, 2020
Fourth Sunday of Easter
Prayer of the Day
O God our shepherd, you know your sheep by name and lead us to safety through the valleys of death. Guide us by your voice, that we may walk in certainty and security to the joyous feast prepared in your house, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
First Reading Acts 2:42-47
Psalm 23
Second Reading 1 Peter 2:19-25
Gospel John 10:1-10
Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.
The Fourth Sunday of Easter is known as “Good Shepherd Sunday.” The texts assigned for the day include the “Good Shepherd Psalm” and the “Good Shepherd Chapter” from John’s Gospel. But it is with a verse in the Second Reading from 1 Peter that I would like to begin this message.
“It is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly.” 1 Peter 2:19
Endurance is a key word for us these days. Today is our eighth time to be physically separated on the Lord’s Day. The “Stay at Home” order in Ohio has exceeded forty days. It is an understatement to say that cabin fever has taken hold of the general population. We are getting restless. Our ability to endure is being put to the test.
Nevertheless, staying at home pales in comparison to what so many people are having to endure. The damage and collateral damage caused by Covid-19 is severe and is taking its toll in ways that are still being revealed. In many different ways, everyone is being adversely impacted; some more than others.
The verse above teaches us that adversity is best endured with an awareness of God. In fact, it can be said that life is best lived with such a perception. Awareness of God starts with a belief that God exists. But in order to endure hardship, it is important also to understand that God is love and that God pours that love into the human heart. It is by God’s strength and God’s love that we can endure anything, including the time in which we live. Jesus is God’s strength and love given for you.
Jesus is also our best example of enduring adversity through faith. “When [Christ] was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.” 1 Peter 2:23 When life becomes difficult, trust God. Place your life in the care of the king of the universe. Commit yourself to him. In times of challenge it is important for us to entrust ourselves to God because, as we were taught when we were youngsters, we are weak but he is strong. And yes, Jesus loves us.
Strength and love. On Good Shepherd Sunday we are wonderfully reminded that we belong to a God who exhibits those characteristics. To that end, the Bible makes use of the Sheep-Shepherd metaphor to describe peoples’ relationship with God. The sheep are totally dependent upon the Shepherd for their health, safety, and welfare. Jesus said “I am the Good Shepherd.” John 10:11 And we are his sheep. We are completely dependent upon him and that is right where we need to be these days.
Jesus knows you and cares about you. As a Good Shepherd beckons his/her sheep, so Jesus calls you by name, leads you, and keeps you. By God’s grace you have been given the ability to hear his voice and respond. His is the voice that called Lazarus forth from the tomb; his is the voice that calmed the sea; his is the voice that pardoned the guilty; his is the voice that healed the sick. His is the voice of strength and love.
Jesus helps you to endure hardship by leading you to green pastures for spiritual rest and still waters for spiritual drink. Jesus himself is your resting place, he is your refreshment. Through his merciful provision your soul is restored. Nothing less should be expected of him for he is “the shepherd and guardian of your souls.” 1 Peter 2:25
A healthy soul is critical to a healthy existence and a healthy existence is the key to enduring adversity. Jesus is at the center of it all, leading us, comforting us, and giving his life for us. The cross reminds us that he willingly enters into our hardship in order to protect us; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24 Entrusting ourselves to him is the only way for us to endure. The sheep don’t last long without a shepherd.
Jesus not only called himself the Good Shepherd but he also said, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.” John 10:7 The gate of the sheepfold was a place of entry and exit. It was the WAY in for safe keeping at night, and it was the WAY out for grazing in the pasture during the day. The gate was a small but important opening that was essential to the preservation of the sheep’s life. It was not uncommon for one of the shepherds, at night, to be a human gate, stationing their bodies across the narrow opening to the stone enclosure which acted as the sheepfold. The shepherd-gate kept predators out and the sheep in and safe.
When we pray saying “deliver us from evil” we are calling upon our Shepherd-God to be our Shepherd-Gate. Jesus is that and so much more. By his death and resurrection, Jesus keeps the predators of our souls at bay and keeps us in his protective fold. God’s Son is the gate or the WAY that is essential to preserving life in the Father. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 He also said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10b
It is said that “Misery loves company.” Well, the sheep are always in the company of the shepherd. And we are always in the company of our Lord Jesus. When we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, he is with us, comforting us. When we are threatened by powers that oppose God, he is blessing us. In difficult times we endure because we have the steadfast company and support of Jesus. His loving voice is in our hearts and minds reminding us that he is near. He is behind, beside and before us. We are surrounded by the Lord’s goodness and mercy in much the same way that sheep are surrounded by the walls of the fold. There is no escape from God’s amazing grace! People in misery have to love that.
Endurance of adversity is made easier by the existence of a vision. “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18 The vision Jesus has given us is of a blessed journey with him and one another through life on earth followed by a joyful and triumphant entry into the Father’s heavenly house. True to his nature as the Good Shepherd, he has promised to be our guardian all the way. Because of him, we will endure, and the vision will come to pass. Amen.
Be Thou My Vision (Irish, 8th cent.)
Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
naught be all else to me, save that thou art;
thou my best thought both by day and by night,
waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word;
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord.
Thou my soul’s shelter, and thou my high tower,
raise thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
Riches I heed not, nor vain, empty praise,
thou mine inheritance, now and always;
thou and thou only, the first in my heart,
great God of heaven, my treasure thou art.
Light of my soul, after victory won,
may I reach heaven’s joys, O heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
May God grant you blessings, safety, and peace this day and always,
Pastor Bill