Fourth Sunday of Easter

Jan 14 2025

Scripture Study for

When Peter declares that God made Jesus both Lord and Christ, the people are cut to the heart with remorse. They realize that they put to death the Holy One, God’s anointed. The openness with which they receive Peter’s words of testimony and accusation shows that all of the Jewish people were not hard–hearted, as some have suggested. Peter then exhorts them to repent and be baptized. The promise of which Peter speaks is probably a reference to the promise of the Spirit that was initially made to the ancestors of the people in Peter’s audience. The promise of the Spirit is now made to them.

The author of First Peter claims that when we suffer precisely for having done what is good, we have the example of Christ to follow. Afflicted though innocent, he did not resort to vengeance. The description of the innocent suffering of Christ recalls a passage from one of the Suffering Servant Songs of the prophet Isaiah (53:4–7). This passage also contains the image of the shepherd. It is employed here to indicate that Jesus is the shepherd and his disciples are the sheep. Although at times they wander away from him, they will be safe and will prosper only if they follow his lead.

In the Gospel, Jesus uses figures of speech to make his points. Characterizing himself as a shepherd, he contrasts himself with those who try to steal into the sheepfold. He seeks to guide, guard, and nurture the sheep; strangers want to snatch the sheep. The true shepherd will be recognized by both the gatekeeper and the sheep. Then, using the technical phrase “I am”, he characterizes himself as the gate. Those who go through Jesus will be safe within the pen. As both shepherd and gate, Jesus shows concern for the welfare of the sheep. He insists that he has come so that they may have life and have it more abundantly.

Jan 08 2025

From Ruin to Restoration

When I was little, my grandpa gave me a packet of World War I postcards for my postcard collection. He had been stationed in Paris in 1918. I remember staring for long minutes at his sepia pictures of bombed-out buildings. The streets were empty and full of rubble. My ten-year-old imagination said that France was in ruins.

I went to France in 2011 to visit my brother. Streets bustled with cars. Apartment buildings were bright with petunias in window boxes. The sidewalks were full of people walking. Mothers were pushing strollers. My grown-up impression of France was of a community that had been materially restored.

Ruin comes in many forms. Thieves who break in and steal the sheep can devastate the owner of the sheep. Deceit, corruption, and insult can tear a person down. A leader who goes astray from a moral path can bomb holes in family and community. The rubble from the abuse crisis litters the streets of the Church and tests our ability to trek onward.

It is the Good Shepherd who wants to lead us from ruin to restoration and then to flourishing. Despite the impression that sentimental Jesus pictures might give us, a shepherd is not a soft character. He is weather-hardened and battle-ready. He is willing to fight to the death for his sheep so that they can safely walk through dark valleys. He restores and watches over all, for his protection is communal; sheep move in flocks.

Jesus says that he came so that we might have life and have it more abundantly. We pray for this renewal. From a personal Spirit-filled abundance, we are to work toward the reinvigoration of the Church and the whole world. We go together. The Good Shepherd will lead us to a vibrant new life.

Consider/Discuss

This week we begin a subtle scriptural shift. In the first half of the Easter season, we’ve focused on the revelation of who Jesus is. In this second half as we build toward Pentecost, we shift our focus toward the empowerment to be the people Jesus calls us to be. Look back at today’s readings. Which passages, verbs, and images speak about what we are to do and who we are to be?
The hunger for restoration is a recurring theme in the Old Testament. As we form impressions of the world in which we live, do we think more about ruin than restoration, or more of restoration than ruin? Where does our information come from? How do those sources affect the way that we approach life? How does that impact our hope?

Living and Praying with the Word

Shepherd of the flock, if we are headed off of a cliff, use your staff to snatch us back. If we are scattering in all directions, herd us together and steer us where you want us to go. As we walk through today’s dark valleys, help us trust that your rod and your staff will help us to travel securely together. Bring us to abundance and help us to flourish. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever.

Jan 08 2025

Scripture Study for

In concluding his Pentecost speech, Peter points out to the Jerusalem crowd that Jesus, whom he has just shown to be Lord and Messiah, was the same Jesus they had crucified. Realizing that they have committed such a grievous crime, the crowd wonders what is next for them. Peter’s response comes as a relief: God has not condemned for crucifying Jesus. Rather, they are offered the gift of repentance, forgiveness, and the Holy Spirit. The promises God made to them as Abraham’s children are now fulfilled in Christ. Rather than chastisement, Peter holds out the promise of life, if they will allow themselves to be saved by the same Christ they condemned to death.

In his letter, Peter continues to develop the implications of being Christian. He reminds his persecuted audience that in his own suffering, Christ showed them how to remain faithful as “aliens and sojourners” (2:11) in a hostile world. Jesus did not respond to insults with insults, or to threats with threats of his own. The death of Christ was part of God’s mysterious plan to free Christ’s followers from their sins and equip them to “live for righteousness.” Jesus’ followers have been healed not only of the wounds of past sins, but also from sinful inclinations to hurt those who hurt them, “worldly desires that wage war against the soul” (2:11). Jesus shows them a better way and guards those very souls against which the world (and worldly desires) wage war.

The image of the people of God as God’s flock is a venerable biblical metaphor. In Jesus’ figure of speech, the “thieves and robbers” who have illicitly entered the sheepfold are the Pharisees and other opponents, who do not have the people’s best interests at heart. Although he will soon call himself the good shepherd, here Jesus refers to himself as the gate for the sheep, an image that focuses on his role as the one who gives access to God, the source of life. Whereas others who claim to shepherd the people in fact only lead them to destruction, Jesus alone guides God’s flock to abundant life and salvation.

Dec 16 2024

Good Shepherds Still Needed

God spoke through the prophet Ezekiel, promising to shepherd Israel (Ezekiel 34:11ff), so it is not surprising that Jesus himself used the image of the shepherd to speak of his mission. Nor was it surprising that the first mission of his apostles was described as being sent out to gather the lost sheep of Israel (Matthew 10:6). Going further, in his own ministry, Jesus reached out to those beyond the boundaries of Judaism, bringing healing to some Gentiles by exorcising their demons (Mark 5:1ff and 7:24ff). And the vision of Revelation reveals the Lamb as one who shepherds people of every nation, race, and tongue.

The role of shepherding was given to Peter in the Gospels, while the example and letters of Paul certainly show his own acceptance of this role in the various communities of Gentiles. Today’s first reading presents Paul as the one who will be God’s instrument in bringing God’s light, Christ, to the Gentiles outside Israel through his preaching. The Greek word for “good” (kilos) used to characterize the shepherd does not refer to moral character—though that is certainly a necessary attribute of all shepherds—but this particular word indicates that the shepherd is one who is “good at” shepherding. This helpful distinction challenges all who are called to participate in ministry in whatever capacity, however small, that concerns the nurturing and care of God’s people. Competence and skill must accompany holiness and wisdom. When all these qualities are in play, there is greater certitude that the Church will have good shepherds.

Consider/Discuss

Have you experienced Jesus as a Good Shepherd?
How does your calling to be a disciple involve you in the work of the Good Shepherd, caring for his lambs and sheep, being good at bringing others closer to God?

Responding to the Word

Gentle Shepherd, continue to raise up good shepherds for your church. May all you have called to shepherd your people continue to be attentive to the guidance of your voice and follow your example in all that they do. Direct and protect our shepherds as they tend to your people.

Dec 16 2024

Scripture Study for

Animosity arose between the apostles and certain segments within the Jewish community. This caused Paul to discontinue ministering to the Jews and to turn to the Gentiles. The passage might suggest that all the Jews rejected the gospel and only Greek-born Jews were open to it, when in fact it was probably only the leaders of the synagogue who contradicted Paul and blasphemed against Jesus. Paul reinterprets a Servant Song of Isaiah, which declares that salvation will come to the Gentiles through the agency of the people of God. He thus claims that he, Paul, will be God’s light to the Gentiles.

The multitude in John’s vision is international in character. The people come from every nation, race, people, and tongue, thus fulfilling a promise made to Abraham that he would be the father of a host of nations (Genesis 17:4). The “blood of the Lamb” is a reference to Christ’s redemptive sacrifice. It is also a reference to the baptism of the individuals gathered together, for it was through baptism that they were incorporated into Christ’s death. It is because they have endured and have been made pure by Christ that they can stand before God and worship day and night without end.

Jesus’ sheep hear his voice, recognize it, and follow him. This image implies intimate knowledge between Jesus and his followers and unquestioning trust on the part of the followers. Jesus promises that if the sheep heed his voice they will never perish. Since he wields power over death, he will certainly protect them from lesser evils. He has the right to exercise this kind of authority over the sheep because they have been given to him by God. All that Jesus says and does is the actual embodiment of God’s will and not just behavior that conforms to it. Since Jesus and his Father are so closely joined, the shepherd who cares for the sheep is indeed one with God.