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The Shepherd who becomes one of the sheep
SERMON – 9.00am & 10.15am,
Emmanuel Church, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
Sunday 3rd May 2009
Revd. Robert Martin
Jesus says, 'I am the Good Shepherd.' We hear this phrase so often, we see images such as we have in our churches of Jesus with a sheep on his shoulders. But do we know what it means. Is Jesus simply the good shepherd? What do we mean by good? Do we mean sinless? Do we mean kind? Do we mean just a vague sort of caring or loving?
Actually, if we look to the original Greek, the word used was καλός (Kalos) and we have to say that the English word good is not an adequate translation. It really should be something more like model. He is the model shepherd. He is the ideal shepherd. He is the very best of shepherds. He is the archetypal shepherd.
A shepherd, in order to know his sheep and care for them, has to live among them. He has to be close to them. He has to get down and dirty with them, living in the same fold.
Jesus is our best possible shepherd because he is the only one fully qualified to be this for us. This is first of all because he is God. But just as importantly because he is at the same time fully human. Jesus not only came from heaven to earth to be near his sheep, he actually became like them.
The shepherd became one of the sheep, took on our nature, and lived life in the same way as we do (except without sin). He is truly, as you know in this church, Emmanuel ~ God with us. This is why he is the good shepherd, perfectly qualified to know us and to care for us. He is like us in our flesh. There is no shepherd like this Jesus.
And he lays down his life for his sheep - for us. He is, in one of those marvellous paradoxes of the Gospel, at the same time both the lamb and the shepherd - the victim and the priest.
Now this is not just a theological statement about the Incarnation. It also has implications for us ~ for if Jesus is the model shepherd and we are his flock ~ are we then called to be model sheep? A good flock for a Good Shepherd?
It means that if this Good Shepherd has become one with his flock, if God himself has come among us, if the Word truly has become flesh ~ Emmanuel, God with us ~ then we can never again look at one another or creation in the same way. It means that when we look at one another we will see not just a sheep but a beloved child of God.
"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God." 1 John 3:1
We are to model ourselves on his unselfish love.
"Little children let us love, not in word or speech but in truth and action." 1 John 3:18
Today, in parts of the Anglican Communion, is also called 'Vocations Sunday'. It's a day when we traditionally think of the ordained ministry. When we think of the Good Shepherd we often think firstly of people like me and Father David, ordained priests, and in our ordination services the model of the Good Shepherd is used. The bishop says; "Take the Good Shepherd as the pattern of your calling." We even us the word 'Pastor' to describe our clergy. Here in Hong Kong we call our priests 牧師 (Muksi Cantonese Mushi Mandarin) a word which means shepherd. But in truth vocation and ministry are much bigger.
In the ECUSA Catechism used in many parts of our Communion the following question is asked about the Church's ministry.
Q: Who are the ministers of the Church?
A: The ministers of the Church are bishops, priests, deacons and faithful lay persons.
And this answer hits the nail on the head because vocation is not just about clergy but about all God's people. About each on of us discerning what God has in mind for us ~ where the Good Shepherd will lead us.
The Good Shepherd is not merely a model for the clergy; he is the model for us all. It is to him that we must look as the pattern for all ministry. He knows his sheep and he cares for them and they follow him and he gives his own life for their salvation.
They follow him because they recognise his goodness and his kindness. They know that he will keep them from danger and lead them in the true path.
Each one of us carries our share of responsibility for ministry in our various churches and in our own families and in the wider community. We can do no better than this: to imitate the Good Shepherd, to do as he would do, to speak as he would speak, to love as he would love and when and if necessary to give our lives for our sheep.
In short, we too are called to be shepherds. The Good Shepherd becomes one with his sheep, and gives up his life for them, in order that they may share in the work of shepherding.
Now looking in the mirror this morning you may not have seen a shepherd staring back at you, sometimes I don't. You might not see yourself in the role of a pastor, a shepherd. It might not be your image of yourself but it is your calling. A commitment made at your baptism, confirmed at you confirmation and renewed each time we break the bread of the Eucharist together.
There's a post-communion prayer often used in Anglican churches and it contains these words.
By your presence, by your kindness and encouragement, by your prayers and sometimes by your sacrifice you, too, will help to pastor the flock.
But it doesn't end there. Jesus also says;
You may ask where/who are these other sheep? How can they be gathered into the one fold? How will they hear about Emmanuel, God with us and this Eucharistic community named after him?
And from my experience getting to know you over this last week I suspect many of you know the answer already. They will be gathered in by you, because they are the people you meet day by day in your work, in your homes and in your offices.
And this is how the Faith is handed on, not so much by the preaching of sermons in church but by the living sermons of your faith lived out in everyday life. Have you ever thought that you may be the only sermon some people will ever hear, the only copy of the gospels they will ever read? I wonder how they will read each one of us? Will they hear/read Good News?
So, dear friends, give example by your presence, give encouragement by your kindness, give support by your prayers. Make the Gospel the centre of your life; make the following of Jesus your aim in all that you do, let the words on your lips speak the words of Jesus. It is when others see your life changed by following this Good Shepherd that they will want to know this Good News.
So, we are presented in today's gospel with one of the great paradoxes of our faith. The Shepherd who becomes one of his sheep that they themselves may become shepherds.
As we come face to face with the Good Shepherd today we have to make a choice. We can take the gospel image at face value, a cuddly image of meek and mild shepherd or we can go deeper and hear the authentic voice of the Good Shepherd whose call echoes over the centuries;
He calls……. but the choice is always ours.
Amen.
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