LAKE JAMES

NORTH CAROLINA

Easter IV + May 7, 2006 + St. Paul’s Church, Lake James

+ In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Virtually all the devotion of the early Church centered in or derived from the Easter event, the amazing, awe-inspiring fact of the resurrection of Jesus, and, because of his relationship to the Church, a confident reliance on a resurrection for all believers. In that spirituality, one image was especially prominent: that of Jesus as the Good Shepherd who gave his life for his sheep. From ancient catacombs to modern churches, then idea of Jesus as “the Good Shepherd” has enjoyed a steady popularity. At the national cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in Washington, D.C., one of the most popular and powerful shrines, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year, is the one created by the great American sculptor Walker Hancock. That shrine centers in the figure of Jesus the Good Shepherd. In this diocese, there are three parishes named “Good Shepherd” and that title is widely used all over the world for cathedrals, parish churches, schools, hospitals, and religious orders. Over 50 years ago when a new seminary (my alma mater) was established by the Diocese of Long Island, the Bishop chose “The Good Shepherd” for the name and dedication of the seminary chapel. The chapel of the “other” Episcopal seminary in New York also has that name. Clearly, “the Good Shepherd” is a title well established in the Christian heritage in general, and in our own Anglican Tradition in particular.

“The Good Shepherd” is also a concept not only familiar to, but loved by the People of the Old Covenant, the Jews. The Hebrew Scriptures abound with references to God as shepherd and the 23^rd Psalm holds a special place in the hearts of both Jews and Christians. The first five words of that psalm say it all: “The Lord is my shepherd.” So many times I have recited that psalm at a hospital bedside with a frightened or depressed person, and marveled at the power of those words for both of us!

It’s fascinating to consider why it is that the image of the “Good Shepherd” has been so popular through the centuries and, even more, why, even today we still have a positive connotation for it. Think of it: while we live in a very technological age, I doubt that “Jesus the Good Super Computer” would have the same appeal. Why does the figure of the “Good Shepherd” have such meaning for us? Might it be that most of us want the reassurance that we are not only known by someone else, but known intimately, loved unselfishly, and accepted completely? When Jesus says that He is the Good Shepherd, he contrasts himself to uncaring shepherds, bad shepherds. He says that he not only knows his sheep, but is also known by them.

To know someone, really to know someone, is a rare thing in our culture. We spend much time and energy in erecting facades for others to see, projecting images of ourselves we hope others will accept, even while trying to hide other aspects of ourselves which we don’t want or dare to share with others for fear they won’t like or respect us. It’s a special relationship indeed, in which one can be so relaxed, so completely honest, so trusting, as to be “simply oneself,” but even rarer for that to be a two-way reality.

Even good psychotherapeutic relationships, or that between confessor and penitent, are one-way. The therapist may really know the client, and the priest the penitent, but generally the reverse is not so. Sometimes, a very good marriage may include the two-way positive characteristics of openness, love and trust, but the high divorce rate in our society suggests that sadly, that, too, is rare. Perhaps the one place those virtues can still be seen is in the relationship between a loving parent and a young child. Many of us would describe a really good parent-child relationship in just those terms and would expect a major result of that to be a strong sense of security on the child’s part, a trust that, come what may, he or she is truly known and yet still truly loved. Even when being scolded for misbehavior, such a child knows the scolding does not mean that love has stopped. A behavioral scientist would be apt to say that it’s highly probable that those nurtured in such a good way never completely get over the loss of that special early childhood relationship. Certainly the onslaught of adolescence commonly twists and strains that relationship with tension and pain on both sides. Sometimes those strains are not fully resolved until the child reaches adulthood, and sadly, sometimes not even then! But even when the maturing of children does bring reconciliation and mutual understanding, it is never quite the same as it was between parent and young child, and so on some level other, there remains a desire to become young children again, to have everything taken care of by a loving and protective mommy – or daddy – or God, to have the warm security of knowing that, no matter what we do, or how badly we fail, there would be someone to kiss us, to tuck us in at night, and to assure us that “everything will be all right.”

It would be easy to sneer at such needs, to see them as not only childlike, but childish, to label them as examples of an immaturity which needs to be outgrown and replaced by autonomy, independence, and self-reliance. But as Christians, we understand that, in many ways, those human needs are not only normal, they reflect the fact that we are children of God, not fully independent creatures with little or no need for God and for others. It’s important to remember that, within appropriate bounds, our desire for nurturance from mothers, fathers, or surrogate parent-figures, and from God is a desire which is healthy, not neurotic, and expresses the reliance on God which God designed and intended us to have.

It’s a safe bet that there probably isn’t a single person here this morning who can’t think of at least one source of tension or concern in your life right now. Maybe it’s financial, a painful illness (your own or that of a loved one), it might be tensions in your marriage or in other important relationships, it might be loneliness, or a battle with one kind of addiction or another. It might be concern over more global issues such as dangers to our natural environment, the state of the economy, the safety of a loved one in the armed forces stationed in Iraq or Afghanistan. Whatever your concerns may be, our faith teaches us not to ignore them or to pretend they don’t exist, but to see them in a realistic perspective, remembering that we do not live in a world created by accident or one which exists without purpose. On the contrary, we live in a world created by God, sustained by God, and, despite the freedom allowed to humanity (and the resulting mess we so often cause), this is a world loved by God. It is a world into which Jesus the Messiah was sent to be our shepherd, the Good Shepherd who truly knows us, knows the real us, and loves us anyway!

Consider this: if the Good Shepherd knows his sheep, the sheep also need to know Him. If He calls them each by name, don’t the sheep need to be able to hear him call? How else can they respond? In other words, today’s image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd speaks not only about Jesus, but also about us. There is a part for us to play, a responsibility we have if, as we claim, He is our shepherd and we are his sheep! If we say that “The Lord is our Shepherd,” that means we need to trust that shepherd and his promises, both those relating to this life and to the Larger Life to come. It means coming to terms with the responsibilities placed on us at our baptisms: the need to be active and healthy parts of his body, the Church, and the joyful privilege of continuing the mission of Christ on earth, teaching as he taught, feeding as he fed, forgiving as he forgave, and loving as he loved.

Today’s theme of Jesus as the Good Shepherd reminds us to be thankful that he does shepherd us, but also that, in His Name, every one of us – priests and laypeople – every one of us is sent forth to be a shepherd to others in one way or another, using whatever gifts God has given us.

What do you think of that? Even more, what will you do about it?

+ In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Father Alfred T. K. Zadig, Sr.

This page last modified on Friday, April 11, 2008 09:39 PM