Easter 4C
May 8, 2022
Good Shepherd, Wells, MN
John 10.22-30
About 8-10 years ago, I was a few years into my call when Walter called inviting me to lunch. Now, I know there is “no such thing as a free lunch,” but I was willing to take the risk. He took me to the local Rotary meeting where he’d been a member for over 50 years. Now, I’d heard of Rotary, but I didn’t know much about it. At that meeting I was warmly welcomed when I came and when I returned a week or two later, I was remembered and welcomed again. A little while afterward, I was invited to join. I did so, partly because I was looking for a way to connect with leaders in the community, but also because of the sense of belonging I experienced with the people there.
I think that belonging and relationship is the heart of our Gospel reading from John this morning. We may experience some whiplash today as we go back in John’s Gospel to chapter 10. The last three Sundays have focused on what happens after Jesus’ resurrection, but here we are now with a pre-resurrection text. The best explanation for this I’ve heard for why the lectionary does this is that the men at the tomb admonished the women and the disciples to remember. So, here we are flashing back to conversations Jesus had before his death and resurrection so we can move forward in understanding what it means for our lives. A head’s up: we’ll be doing this same thing for the remaining Sundays of the Easter season.
The Sunday that begins this looking back to look ahead is the Fourth Sunday of Easter, also known as Good Shepherd Sunday. One of the most powerful images of Jesus in the Bible is that of the Good Shepherd, this congregation’s namesake. (Did you know that it’s been almost 60 years since the founding of this congregation as a merger between two others, First Lutheran and Our Savior’s?) The conversation Jesus has with the Jews, i.e., the religious authorities, ties this passage with the earlier part of chapter 10 where Jesus declares himself to be both the Good Shepherd and the Gate of the Sheep. These are two of the many and powerful “I am” sayings of Jesus. It’s helpful to remember that the image of shepherd was tied to Israelite kings who were anointed to care for God’s flock, such as the shepherd King David.
This is important because of the question the religious authorities ask Jesus about being the Messiah. In response, Jesus does two things. First, he points out to them that even if he stated it plainly, they wouldn’t believe it anyway. Besides, they already have enough information to figure it out. Secondly, Jesus shifts the conversation because his role as Messiah is completely different from popular understanding. Expectations of the Messiah in Jesus’ time were political and nationalistic, a warrior king who would restore Israel to some preconceived notion of glory. But that’s not what God the Father sent Jesus the Son to do. Jesus came to restore the broken relationship between God and humanity.
Church guru Diana Butler Bass said that the model for membership in the last century followed a pattern of believing, behaving, and belonging. One had to believe the right things first, then learn what a church does. Only when you believed and behaved properly could you then belong to the church. But Butler Bass says the process should be the reverse: belonging, behaving, and believing. It’s not that believing and behaving aren’t important, it’s that they need to be in their proper place. That was my experience with Rotary: I first belonged, then learned what they did, finally came to believe in their purpose.
Although I couldn’t have named it at the time, that was my experience with the church as well. I may have mentioned that I left the church after Confirmation like so many young people. Following college and in my first management job, I was invited back to the community of faith by a fellow employee at Minnesota Fabrics via a young adults group who welcomed me warmly. They made room for my searching as I sought to distinguish the voice of the Good Shepherd from all others that had been competing for my attention, voices that didn’t provide me life. Eventually, I rededicated my life to Christ. I’ve also seen this same dynamic in congregations I have served, where hurting people come to church, have been welcomed and loved by the community, and have found a place to grow in faith.
As Luther seminary professor Karoline Lewis says, “I want clarity. Jesus wants connection. I want believing. Jesus wants belonging.” With God and Jesus, it’s all about relationship, it’s all about belonging. Ironically, in a world where we are instantaneously connected via our devices, people still crave real connection, community, and belonging to something greater than themselves, something more life-giving than YouTube videos and tweets. That has implications for mission and ministry in our time and place, but it also comes with a promise: Jesus, the Good Shepherd, calls each of you by name and you are his forever. Thanks be to God. Amen.
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