4 Easter, Yr A (2023) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
4 Easter, Yr A (2023) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
Acts 2:42-47 St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
Psalm 23
John 10:1-10
In the name of the one, holy, and living God:
who was, and is, and is to come. Amen.
Today Jesus speaks of thieves and bandits...
of threat and harm...
but also of pastoral guidance and protection and even abundant life!
In other words, Jesus speaks of everyday life.
Some years ago when Alexandra was a little girl,
she and I walked out onto our screened porch,
and we noticed that our dog had something in her mouth.
It was strange because she wasn’t eating it.
Whatever it was, she wasn’t chewing on it either,
so we weren’t quite sure what was happening.
We thought she might be choking on something or in some kind of distress,
so we went over to her and knelt down to try to see what was going on.
When we knelt down, she dropped something out of her mouth onto the floor.
There we saw a little hummingbird,
entangled in a mess of sticky spider web,
desperately trying to free its tiny, little wings,
yet getting ever more bound up the harder it tried to break free.
Alexandra and I let the dog in the house,
and I went and found a couple of sticks in the yard
while Alexandra hovered over the bird.
Then we gently took the sticks and pried away the spider web piece by piece;
we didn’t want to touch the bird with our hands.
Eventually the bird’s wings were free enough that she flew away.
What was remarkable to me was that our dog could have easily just eaten that little bird, but she didn’t.
She tenderly held the bird in her mouth
and then dropped her when we came outside.
Now, a hunter might tell me that our English Setter was just behaving as a good hunting dog would...not harming the prey.
But to this day
I think she was tending this little creature…
not wishing harm but trying to help…to protect.
Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit.”
“The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.”
Jesus is the shepherd who calls the sheep by name and leads them out and protects them.
Thieves and bandits climb over the fence and can come in many guises.
Thieves and bandits can be represented by governments and systems, like the Roman Empire in Jesus’ and John’s day….through governments and systems in our own day.
Thieves and bandits can also come in the form of individual people, too:
by physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual means.
And yet, Jesus says,
“I am the gate.
“Whoever enters by me will be healed,
and will come in and go out and find pasture.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.”
Like the disciples I am a bit befuddled by Jesus’ imagery.
What does he mean when he says, “Whoever enters by me will be saved?”
I am guessing he means that whoever lives as he lived --
with compassion and mercy,
confronting injustice when it stands before them,
living with generosity of spirit through forgiveness and tenderness –
these are the folks who will find abundant life!
Not those who come to kill and steal and destroy.
Now, lest I breathe a sigh of relief too soon as I think that I never intend to kill or steal or destroy (those being very strong words),
I must take account that sometimes I say or do things that harm others…
sometimes blatantly,
but other times by just going along with the status quo and not protesting
or not at least withdrawing from systems of oppression as far as I can.
The juxtaposition of these two images of protection and harm that we have in the gospel are also portrayed in today’s Psalm.
It is amazing how much the Psalmist says in only 6 verses:
The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He leads me beside still waters;
She revives my soul.
These are images of protection and rest and renewal.
And then come the images of death and evil and harm:
“I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.”
“You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me.”
And yet, through it all, the Psalmist cries:
“You have anointed my head with oil,
and my cup is running over.
Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”
Threat, harm, destruction…
Guidance, protection, abundant life!
The images and stories of daily life, it seems.
I remember grocery shopping when COVID first hit…
trying to stay 6 feet away while going down a 4-foot aisle!
I came about three feet from an older woman whose face was covered by a mask,
as was mine.
Our eyes met…these were the only possible points of contact.
As she gazed at me, I could tell she smiled because the little wrinkles at the corners of her eyes grew more plentiful.
I can still see the light and life that shined through her eyes toward me –
a complete stranger.
We were two people meeting momentarily in a world threatened by disease and isolation…
eyes meeting that just as easily could have been diverted,
eyes inviting a connection to life.
It seems to me that this was an instance,
in a very small way,
of what Jesus meant when he said, “Whoever enters by me will be saved.”
I received healing in that moment through her joy-filled and compassionate gaze.
I can only hope that she felt a little of the same from me.
Jesus said, “I came that they may have life,
and have it abundantly.”
We never know where that life is going show up…
and it just might be through us!
I think that is Jesus’ invitation:
Jesus calls us by name and leads us into abundant life.
As we are led into abundant life,
then we become vessels of that Grace in the lives of others.
One day I was watching a TV show.
I now don’t remember if it was some home renovation show
or a show focusing on gardening.
What I do remember is that the woman who owned the house turned her somewhat small front yard into a garden filled with flowers and vegetables.
She built a simple little gate on the street and put a sign outside it which read:
“All are welcome.”
A gravel path wound in and among all the flowers and veggies.
What she found is that one by one as her neighbors walked down the street,
they ventured in to walk through her little garden of life and love.
She began talking with her neighbors,
and then her neighbors began talking with other neighbors…
all in this new gathering space of beauty and life.
She began to offer vegetables to her neighbors;
she couldn’t eat them all herself.
Then she noticed some of her neighbors sprucing up their front yards.
The street became quietly vibrant with new life.
Jesus came to bring life…life abundant.
and to lead the sheep out into the world.
In what ways are we being called to follow?
How might Jesus’ abundant life flow through us?
I invite you to ponder these questions this week.
How is God leading you, as a person, into sharing abundant life?
How might God be leading us,
as the community of St. Andrew’s,
into abundant life for our neighborhood and our town?
Jesus is the light of the world.
The light has shined in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
May we, too, bear the light of Christ in this world and illuminate the darkness.
Amen.
