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St. Andrew's Church
An Anglican Church • Grimsby, Ontario, Canada
Preached by
Stuart Pike
Rector
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Easter 4 C - The Shepherd's Voice
St. Andrew's Church, Grimsby
29 April 2007
Psalm 23
John 10: 22-30
How many people here recognized the psalm that we read? We read it frequently at funerals because of the comforting words. Perhaps the words are so familiar to us that they have lost their meaning for us. Here is a paraphrase of the 23rd Psalm by Jim Taylor:
God has walked with me; I could ask nothing more.
God has given me green meadows to laugh in,
clear streams to think beside,
untrodden paths to explore.
When I thought the world rested on my shoulders,
God put things into perspective.
When I lashed out at an unfair world, God calmed me down.
When I drifted into harmful ways, God straightened me out.
God was with me all the way.
I do not know what lies ahead, but I am not afraid.
I know you will be with me.
Even in death, I will not despair.
You will comfort and support me.
Though my eye dims and my mind dulls,
you will continue to care about me.
Your touch will soothe the tension in my temples;
my fears will fade away.
I am content. "In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with me."
All through life, I have found goodness in people.
When life ends, I expect to be gathered
into the ultimate goodness of God.
Jim Taylor - Paraphrase of Psalm 23
I Know We Know the Psalm, But Do We Know The Shepherd?"
The image of Christ being the Good Shepherd is one of the most recognized and loved by Christians. It was also an image which was recognizable by the Jews to whom Jesus was speaking when he used this imagery. The Scribes and the Pharisees would have been shocked by Jesus' words, for the image of the Shepherd of Israel was used to describe God's own image with Israel. The term was also applied to Kings of Israel of old.
It was also a good image because it was one which every Jew could picture. And even today, in the holy land, the Bedouin people still look after their sheep in much the same way that they did in Jesus' time. You will still see shepherds leading their flock out to the pasture during the day and guiding them at dusk to the watering hole. At the watering hole many flocks gather together to drink, but when it is time to return home for the night, the shepherds don't worry about their flocks getting mixed. Each shepherd has their own distinctive call and their sheep know the shepherd's voice and will follow.
In the Gospel lesson, Jesus speaks about how his sheep know his voice. Jesus says that he knows them and they follow him. That is the relationship which Psalm 23 is about. It is about knowing Jesus voice and following him.
Many voices compete for our attention these days. We live our lives in a cacophony of voices which are competing for our attention. I think it is harder and harder for people to hear the voice of Jesus calling us amidst the noise of our everyday existence.
A sheep's ear is attuned to the master. How about us? Can we - individuals or the Christian community pick out Christ's voice in the noise that calls out for our attention?
That is one of the reasons why I have really valued my time at silent retreat, where there is no T.V., no radio and no noise but the sound of worship each day. Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still and know that I am God." I think that we need to find ways to turn off the noise for some time each day, to be able to listen for Jesus' voice - the voice of our Good Shepherd. It is only by doing this regularly that we can get acquainted with his voice, that we can know his voice. Can we hear the good news?
And, of course, the Good News - the Gospel - is where Christ will lead us. Christ will lead us home, ultimately. Even though we might have to experience the worst at times in our lives, Christ will still guide us in the right way. Even though we might be in the Valley of the shadow of death, Christ will lead us.
The Good shepherd is the image of care for us. We know that no matter how deep and dark the valley of the shadow of death is for us, Christ's voice is calling us to guide us in the way for us.
So, even we can take comfort in the image of the Good Shepherd who leads us in the right way - if we will hear his voice. And, even in the midst of increasing confusion in our society. Even in the midst of violence and destruction in many parts of the world, we can celebrate that salvation belongs not to the powers of this world, but to the lamb, and that lamb is, in turn, shepherd to us. Our task, as those who hear the shepherd's voice is to be witnesses to the world - even our friends and neighbours - about this shepherd.
We are the faithful, and we listen for and recognize our shepherd's voice. Amen.
