Gospel text for 4th Sunday of Easter 22 April 2018

John 10:11-18        Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”  

Reflection       When we listen carefully to Jesus’ words, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the father knows me and I know the father. I lay down my life for the sheep,” we hear him making a three part declaration. The first part of his declaration is; I am the good shepherd. Jesus knows who he is. Second part; Jesus acknowledges the mutual connection of his relationship with those whom he knows and who know him as well as the mutuality of his relationship with God. So the second part of Jesus’ declaration is about connection and belonging. The third part of Jesus’ declaration is about personal responsibility, “I lay down my life for the sheep.” Jesus’ life is not only for him self, it is also for others. He holds his individual life lightly, he does not cling to it.

When we know who we are and claim the mutuality of our relationships in community and in God, we naturally take responsibility for the care of one another,  even though this is risky business, even though it may cost us our life as we know it.

If life is all about me then every one else and everything else is a potential obstacle or problem and it is no wonder we live in a chronic state of anxiety and defensiveness. Viewing the world from this perspective, connection, belonging and community fail. Rather than stand in the way of an active shooter we stand in fear and fail to enter a school to protect endangered children. We spend $16.8 trillion dollars to bail out big banks insuring their CEOs receive their bonuses and fail to feed the 49 million Americans who lack the means to get enough nutritious food each day.* When we view the world exclusively from the ‘its all about me” perspective we fail to show up, connect and take responsibility for our community.The result of doing this, God’s kingdom is not come because God’s kingdom requires all of us in our conjoined humanity.

What then is the solution? We must join Jesus in making our own three part declaration; claiming who we are, acknowledging our connection and belonging, and taking personal responsibility for the good of one another. Here is my declaration. 

I am here. I am wholly present. The actions you can count on me for are creating opportunities for you to be here too. I will notice and affirm God’s presence in and of, with and for you. The difference I now see I can make is making God’s Presence known, making God’s kingdom come. Will you join me in my possibility? Will you join me in taking the risk to stand up for connection, belonging and community? Will you join me in making God’s kingdom come? 

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*https://mashable.com/2016/07/14/child-hunger-united-states/#pp4gMW3PIaqM

Gospel text for 3rd Sunday of Easter 15 April 2018

Luke 24:36b-48        Jesus himself stood among the disciples and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.

Reflection       The risen Christ stands among us, indeed, in and of and with each of us, saying “Peace be with you.” What better place than in Church to practice passing on the peace, the peace that dwells within each of us? the peace for which we all long? The risen Christ stands among the disciples who betrayed and abandoned him, who ran away when he was arrested, who hid when he was beaten, humiliated and died. The message is irrefutable, God’s peace of  wholeness and completeness, well being and security is present and available to everyone, no matter what.

When we stop think about it, the act of passing the peace is an act of radical resistance to everything within us and around us that promotes division and distrust, doubt and disillusion. As we pass the peace we are standing up against the forces of hatred in our world. We are looking into one another’s eyes and affirming a truth that is beyond our understanding. No matter what appears to be going on, God’s peace, God’s wholeness, completeness, well-being and security IS with us. 

Here I must make a confession. Something about our liturgical usage of the words “Peace BE with you,” has always left me unsatisfied. The risen Christ has already come and stood among us,  has already breathed on us ”the peace that is beyond understanding.” (Phil 4.7) The blessing of peace; of wholeness, completeness, well being and security IS already with us. In the gospel according to John we read Jesus’ words, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives…. (John 14. 27).   In other words, peace IS with us. We do not receive the gift of peace contingent upon who we are, where we come from, what we believe, who we vote for, or anything that we have done or that we have left undone. God’s peace is present and available to everyone, right now, no matter what. 

This is startling, this is terrifying, this raises doubts in our hearts. Much like the disciples,  we want to feel joy but we cannot believe it and we wonder, how can this be? We look for peace and instead we see brutality and bloodshed. In lieu of completeness we suffer patronage and partiality. Loss and disadvantage supplant our sense of well being. Confusion, suspicion and mistrust overthrow our security.  Peace? What peace is there for us? 

Jesus himself stood among the disciples and said to them, “Peace be with you.”… “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” “And he opened their minds to understand.” The peace of the Lord IS always with you. This is good news indeed. 

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