The Day of Pentecost, Year B

"BRINGING THE HOLY INTO FOCUS"
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker Given at: Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL; Sunday, May 31, 2009
Acts 2: 1 – 11; Psalm 104: 25 – 37; I Corinthians 12: 4 – 13; John 20: 19 – 23

Think with me for a moment: “Does the Church spend enough time thinking about the Holy Spirit, and encouraging the Spirit’s presence and work among us?”

Perhaps as I ask that question, I ought to provide a context: I mean our part of the Christian family generally, the Episcopal Church. But I also mean our local congregation, Trinity, Mt. Vernon.

So, what would the answer be, do you think?

As you ponder that question, let me make two comments about the Holy Spirit, and particularly about the Christian family’s approach to, and regard for, the Holy Spirit:

1. Many of us are ‘binatarians”, not Trinitarians: Many Christians spend a lot of time worshiping God the Father and God the Son. But the Holy Spirit is treated as a minor member of the Trinity.
   
   
2. We may shy away from a proper regard for the Holy Spirit: It is most likely true that some parts of the Christian family focus on the Spirit to the extent that other parts of the Trinity are neglected. And, sometimes that focus on the Spirit becomes a license for emotionalism which encourages individuality.

This part of the Spirit’s power – the power to move people and to cause ecstatic speech and displays of emotion and joy - may encourage us to shy away from a focus on the Spirit, especially if we value an intellectual approach to God, which encourages study of God’s word (the Bible) and a study of the history of God’s people down through the ages, including a study of the great theologians of the past. We may value that part of the tradition so much, however, that we become members of God’s “frozen chosen”, whose intellectual approach to faith is so overpowering that the Spirit can’t wedge a way into our hearts.

Now, let’s return to our question: “Does the Church spend enough time thinking about the Holy Spirit, and in encouraging the Spirit’s presence and work among us?”

If you aren’t sure about the answer, maybe this sermon will provide some guidance as we consider the giving of the Spirit on Easter Sunday evening (John’s account in chapter 20), as we consider the coming of the Holy Spirit at the great feast of Pentecost (our reading from Acts chapter two), and the Spirit’s gifts and manifestation to each member of the Body of Christ, which is the Church, for the upbuilding of both individual and the Church.

So, let’s dig in!

Bestowing of the Holy Spirit: John 20: 22 reads, “And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit…’” How does Jesus’ giving of the Holy Spirit square with the Acts chapter two account of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost? Scholars have wrestled with that question, and one answer comes in this way: “The Lord gave the Holy Spirit to the small band of His disciples on Easter Sunday evening. This was the first of two arrivals of the Holy Spirit, the other one being the Spirit’s coming at Pentecost, when the Spirit’s presence alighted on a larger group of believers.” I must say that I find this explanation to be quite in line with the scriptural witness. It’s quite possible that Jesus wanted to have a direct transition from His presence with His followers to the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, the Comforter, who would lead his disciples “into all truth”, and who would “remind them of everything He had said”.

The Holy Spirit: Individual possession, or community gift?: With this question, we come back now to the issue of individual expression, of individual status within the community of faith. And this question was at the heart of the problems that St. Paul was addressing in the 12th chapter of his first letter to the Church in Corinth. Let’s explore those problems briefly:

“Anything you can do, I can do better,”, the old Irving Berlin song says. That would describe the situation in the Corinthian church quite well….You see, this congregation seems to have been torn apart by rampant individualism, by an individualism that manifested itself in the boasting of some of its members about their ability to speak in tongues. Called (technically) glossalalia, this gift of tongues is essentially the gift of ecstatic speech, in which God is praised with words that transcend normal human language. Sometimes, this gift of tongues also serves to enlighten God’s people to God’s truth, and to curb the excesses into which the Corinthian Christians had fallen, St. Paul has to admonish this congregation, putting limits on the use of tongues in their worship services. He has to say that, whenever someone speaks in tongues, someone else would have to be present to interpret what had been said. In essence, St. Paul affirms the corporate nature of the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit….More than one person will be required in order for this gift of the Holy Spirit to be exercised. Paul’s understanding is right in line with the outpouring of the Spirit which took place at Pentecost, when we read that the Spirit “rested on each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit….”

So, we can affirm that Holy Scripture’s teaching is that the Spirit’s presence is both an individual and a corporate gift.

And this individual and corporate nature of the Spirit’s power and presence leads us to the next observation:

The purpose of the Spirit’s presence and working: For this part of our consideration, we return to I Corinthians….

Paul makes clear that the Spirit’s work is given “for the common good,” even though the Spirit’s presence is an individual presence.

As we analyze the various gifts of the Spirit, we see that they fall into some specific categories, gifts which:

1. Build up the community: Wisdom, the utterance of knowledge.
   
   
2. Strengthen the community: Faith, healing.
   
   
3. Demonstrate the Spirit’s power: Working of miracles.
   
   
4. Protect the community: Prophecy, the ability to distinguish between spirits, tongues and their interpretation.

Some final comments are probably in order:

When the Holy Spirit comes, His presence is noticeable: See the power with which the Holy Spirit’s arrival is noticed by those who heard the sound which was “like a mighty wind.” People were drawn to this phenomenon. Moreover, the Spirit’s alighting on each one present was noticeable, too, because of the great gift of the ability to speak in a language that each of these Galileans didn’t know. Likewise, in I Corinthians, many of the gifts that St. Paul enumerates will be observable manifestations of the Spirit’s presence, gifts such as healing, or the working of miracles.

Without the Spirit’s presence, the Church’s very life is dead: God’s people, the Church, cannot exist without the Spirit’s presence and working. Whatever schemes we may devise to build up the Church, whatever work we think we might undertake, without the Holy Spirit’s presence and inspiration, it will all come to nothing without that divine power. I am reminded of the verse which says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” That is most certainly true!

So, as we close, let’s return to the question with which we began…. “Does the Church spend enough time considering the Holy Spirit, and encouraging the Spirit’s presence and work among us?”

As we’ve seen, this is a question which has individual and corporate implications.

Without the Spirit’s inspiration, nothing that the Church ever tries to do will amount to anything.

Without the Spirit’s presence, the Church’s members cannot be built up in the faith.

Without the Spirit’s presence, the Church’s members cannot defend themselves against the (inevitable) assaults of the forces of evil.

The Spirit’s presence among us will be noticeable. It will be powerful. It will draw others into the Body of Christ. It will build up the Church, strengthen it, and defend it.

Do we spend enough time giving proper regard to the Spirit? Do we see the Spirit’s power among us individually and corporately?

7 Easter, Year B

"CONSECRATED"
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL; Sunday, May 24, 2009
Acts 1: 15 – 26; Psalm 47; I John 5: 9 – 15; John 17: 11b – 19

Consecrated…..

The word “consecrate” (or consecrated) appears in our gospel reading today, as Jesus says, “And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth.”

Have you been consecrated? If so, when? If so, for what purpose?

Let’s unpack this word “consecrate” (and its synonym “sanctify”) a little.[1]

We begin with the definition (as it’s found in Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary):[2]

Consecrate: 1. to make or declare sacred; set apart or dedicate to the service of God; 2. to make something an object of honor or veneration; 3. to devote of dedicate to some purpose; 4. to admit or ordain to a sacred office, especially to the episcopate (bishops).

Sanctify: 1. to make holy; set apart as sacred, consecrate; 2. to purify or free from sin; 3. to impart religious sanction to, render legitimate or binding; 4. to entitle to reverence or respect.

When we use the word “consecrate” in our Episcopal Church’s context, we usually use it with reference to the ordination of a person as a bishop. For example,
“So-and-so was consecrated to be Bishop of ____Diocese.”

All well and good: That’s one of the definitions Webster’s give us.

But do we lose some of the other meanings of the word “consecrate” when we apply it only to the ordination of bishops?

I think we do, and the loss of meaning of the word “consecrate” and its applicability to the wider mission of the Church – which is the Body of Christ, that is to say, the people who make up the Church - is the focus of this sermon today.

So, let’s explore this word a bit more.

But before we do so, we ought to pause for a moment to remember the context of today’s passage: It falls about in the middle of what Bible scholars often call “Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer”. This prayer, which occurs at the end of Jesus’ final teaching to His disciples, ends that discourse, and immediately precedes the beginning of His betrayal, trial, passion, death and resurrection. It is an extended prayer, for it occupies all of chapter 17 of John’s gospel account. Furthermore, Jesus’ prayer has three different foci: Jesus prays for Himself (verses 1 – 5); he prays for His immediate disciples (verses 6 – 19), and He prays for those who will come to believe in Him as a result of the testimony of His original disciples (soon to become apostles) (verses 20 – 26).

Now, we return to the matter of “consecrate”, “consecrated” and “consecrating”…..

Jesus says in the portion of His prayer that we heard today that He “consecrates himself.” Looking at the wider context in which this statement appears, we can see that He is referring to His coming betrayal, trial, suffering, death and resurrection. In John’s gospel account, this is Jesus “Hour”, that period of time stretching from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday morning, that period of time when Jesus is most in control. It is that period of time when the Son is “Glorified”, when Jesus reigns from the Cross.

And so, Jesus is “setting himself apart” for a specific purpose, the purpose of glorifying God in His suffering, death, and resurrection. This understanding fits with one of our definitions, given above.

But Jesus then continues His statement by saying that He is “consecrating himself” in order that His disciples might be “consecrated in truth”.

What might that mean?

The two words, “consecrate” and “truth” go together.

To understand the consecrating action, we must understand the business of truth.

To understand a bit about how “truth” functions in the Fourth Gospel, we should back up to John 1: 14, where we read, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” And now, in our passage today, we read, “Sanctify them in the truth, thy word is truth.” (verse 17)

So, then, the word that Jesus speaks has the power to make clean (sanctify/consecrate) Jesus’ disciples.

Outlined, the connection is:

1. Jesus, the eternal Word of God (see John 1: 1), comes, and brings to us the Word that He has heard from God the Father (see John 14: 24).
   
   
2. This Word, spoken by Jesus, the eternal Word of God, has the power to cleanse us from sin (remember that that is one of the definitions of the word “sanctify”). Hear Jesus’ words, recorded in John 15: 3: “You are already clean by the word I have spoken to you.”
   
   
3. Being made holy, we are now set apart. We are dedicated to a specific purpose, the purpose of going out into the world to share the word that we have been given by the eternal Word, Jesus Christ.

So, the answer to the second question, posed back at the beginning of this sermon, “Have you been consecrated?” is “Yes, we have been consecrated, all of us. We are ‘set apart’ for a holy purpose, the purpose of making God’s great work in sending Jesus Christ into the world known to those who do not know Him now.”
That’s our task!: To make known the word of God in Jesus Christ.

Since Jesus sent out His original disciples-now-become-apostles, we, too, become apostles,[3] for we are sent out, just as they were.

Now, we must turn to the first question, also posed at the beginning of this sermon, which is: “When were we consecrated?”

There are many possible answers: Some of them are:

1. At our baptisms: We say to the newly baptized, “You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ’s own for ever.”[4] So, in the waters of Baptism, we pass through the waters, following Christ in His death, and we are raised to a new life in Him, in a resurrection like His (see Romans 6: 3ff for St. Paul’s explication of this concept). Rightly so, Holy Baptism is often called “The ordination of the laity”, for in Baptism, a person is “set apart, dedicated” to God’s service. The waters of Baptism cleanse the person of the stain of Original Sin. That’s sanctification/consecration at work. But the individual is also claimed by Christ, and is commissioned to do things for the Lord. Cleansing and sending are two essential parts of the baptismal rite.
   
   
2. When we dedicate/rededicate our lives to a specific ministry/mission: Wisely, the Book of Common Prayer provides for a service in which a person is commissioned for a specific ministry. Entitled “A Form of Commitment to Christian Service”, it may be found on page 420. Anytime we undertake a new ministry, or recommit ourselves to a ministry, we are “reconsecrated” in the sense that we are “set apart for God’s purposes” as we carry out this ministry.
   
   
3. When we undertake the liturgy of Reconciliation: Though we’ve been claimed as “Christ’s own forever” in the Sacrament of Baptism, we are still prone to the temptation to fall into sin. That’s why we confess our sins regularly as part of our corporate worship. But sometimes, the extent of the sin is so great, so pervasive, that the rite of The Reconciliation of a Penitent[5] is required to allow a “repurifying” effect to take place. The sorts of sin we have in mind here are those that are sometimes called “besetting sins”, sins that obscure our relationship with God to the point that ministry and witness to God become ineffective.
   
   
4. When a person is set apart for ordained ministry: As we said earlier, this is the most common association we Episcopalians make when we think of “consecration”. Yet, as important as the ordained ministry is to the Body of Christ, the Church, we would do well to remember that the first Order of the Church is the laity. It can’t be said too emphatically or clearly: The first Order of the Church is not the bishops! Nor are the “real Christians” only those who are ordained. The Church’s witness and ministry would be so much more effective if its lay members regained their place of importance by claiming their rightful place as “consecrated ones” who are set apart for the work of God.

So, in closing, we might reflect on this question: “How well are we living out our consecration vows, made to the Lord?”

Those vows include the ones we made at our baptisms. They include those promises we have made to serve the Lord better, living out the gospel day-by-day. They include those unique and special ministries which we undertake. They encompass our work as lay members of the Body of Christ (remember that the ordained also continue to do the work of the laity, as well, for that work is never forgotten or left behind upon ordination), too.

May God cleanse us from sin, and purify us for His service.

May God commission us anew for His work in the world.

AMEN.

__________________________________

[1] The Revised Standard Version (RSV), which we use most frequently in our public reading of Holy Scripture, uses the word “consecrate”., while the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) uses “sanctify” (as does the Authorized Version). In the Greek, these words are the same word that appears a verse earlier (verse 17), where Jesus says, “Sanctify them in the truth, thy word is truth.”
[2] These are parts of the definitions which appear in my edition of Webster’s, the ones that seem to apply best to the context of our gospel reading.
[3] The word “apostle” comes from the Greek, where it literally means “ones who are sent”.
[4] Book of Common Prayer, 1979, page 308.
[5] See page 447, Book of Common Prayer.

6 Easter, Year B

“CONNECTED TO GOD’S LOVE, EMPOWERED BY GOD’S LOVE”
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL; Sunday, May 17, 2009
Acts 11: 19 – 30; Psalm 33: 1 - 8, 18 – 22; I John 4: 7 – 21; John 15: 9 – 17

We begin this morning with a question: “Is love an emotion, or is it a powerful force?”

Now those of you who know me, should know that whenever I pose a question that has the word “or” in it, the answer I am looking for is, “Yes!”

In truth, love is an emotion. In fact, in our society today, we might often think of love first and foremost as an emotion, and even perhaps as emotion only. Emotion is the first word that’s probably associated with the word love.

Consider, however, the power of love: We celebrate romantic love in our popular songs, in our stories and movies. There’s a whole genre of novels dedicated to the power and attraction of romantic love. These novels celebrate the lengths to which a person will go to be with the loved one. That’s the power of love, romantic love.

But what about the sort of self-giving love that we see in the person, work, teaching, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s Son and our Lord? What about that power?

It’s an awesome power! Look back at our readings from the Acts of the Apostles, which we’ve been reading Sunday-by-Sunday in this Easter season: The powerful and mighty acts of those early Apostles is chronicled for our benefit, for our information, for empowering us as the Holy Spirit empowered them in those early days following the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Church at the great feast of Pentecost.[1]

So let’s look at love’s awesome power. We have before us this morning Jesus’ powerful teaching about love, about abiding in God’s love, about the work that we will do as we connect with – and abide in – God’s love.

To illustrate the awesome power of love, I’m going to use an incident which occurred to me while bicycling to the office last Friday morning: As I passed over the railroad crossing on Main Street, I heard the sound of the lead locomotive on an Evansville Western Railway train as it made its way west past the great old station there on Main Street.

Never one to pass up the opportunity to watch a train go by, I stopped and parked my bike east of the tracks as the crossing lights and gates came down on Broadway. The lights on the head end of the locomotive shone brightly as I could hear the deep tones of the throbbing of the diesel engines in the locomotives. Then, the ground began to vibrate as these two locomotives approached. The engineer waved to me as he passed, and I waved back.

Then it occurred to me: The love – the power – that God the Father has for God the Son, is like these two locomotives, hitched together……It’s as if – when the Father decided to send the Son to be one of us – that he said to the Son, “Come on, we’ve got work to do!”[2]

And so, the Son, permanently “coupled” to the Father, comes in the power of the Father, to do the work that the Father does, and which the Son does also. That’s John’s understanding of the words and work of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

We can see this connection in the opening statement of today’s gospel, when we hear Jesus say, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.” You see, the Father and the Son are connected by the powerful bond of love.[3]

But now, the text moves along, encouraging us to “couple up” to the powerful bond of love which binds the Father and the Son together. In a sense, what happens is that Jesus invites us to couple ourselves to the powerful force of Father and Son much like a railroad car would accept the coupler of a locomotive. Thus, the power of the Father and the Son becomes our power as well, and we are able to transmit that power of love to others.

Next, the text moves to a demonstration of God’s love in the self-sacrifice of the Son for the welfare of others. Returning to our railroad image, we can illustrate this self-giving outpouring of power in the work a locomotive is made to do: A locomotive isn’t much use sitting in the yard or in a museum. A locomotive that sits but doesn’t move can be an object of admiration and study, but its central purpose isn’t present with us as a source of power to move trains. No, its very purpose is to move other objects from Point A to Point B. In so doing, its entire purpose is to seek to do something outside of itself. So it is with Jesus Christ, whose highest purpose is to come among us, demonstrating His connection to God the Father, for the benefit of moving us from Point A to Point B spiritually.

In typical fashion as we find it in the Fourth Gospel, now the text adds yet another dimension to this understanding of love as a powerful force: We see that we are not only connected to the Father and the Son through the bonds of love, but in becoming connected in this way, we are now an intimate part of the team which will apply the moving force of God’s love, for the force of God’s love moves through us as we transmit the love to which we’ve become connected to others who will join in the heavenly train that stretches down through time.[4]

Jesus puts it this way, “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends…”

We might pause here for a moment and look at this statement more closely. The word in Greek which is usually translated “friends” might better be translated as “those who are loved”, or “loved ones”. The Greek word is philoi, coming from the verb phileo, which is one of the Greek words meaning “to love”. So, the translation would be better, I believe, if it read, “But I have called you ‘loved ones’.” The implication is that we are now an integral part of the “power team” of God, drawing our power to do God’s work from God the Father, through God the Son, to us, for the benefit of others.

(Notice that it’s God’s love, made know in Jesus Christ, that becomes our power….we can do nothing without God’s guidance in the continuing presence of the Holy Spirit, in God’s continuing love for us, in our continual abiding in God’s love. The power we wield is not our power….it’s God’s power.)

One more point needs making: The initiative was God’s in the beginning, and it is God’s initiative now. Notice that Jesus says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you….” Much like a pair of locomotives that back into the siding where a waiting car sits, God comes to us, seeking us out, establishing a connection with us in the Incarnation of His only Son, Jesus Christ. Without God’s initiative, we can do nothing. We’re as helpless as a powerless railroad car. We need God’s power and God’s love.

Finally, then, the question arises: “What fruit will we bear, what work will we do?”

The answer is that the fruit we will bear will look like Christ’s fruit, our works will bear the stamp of the works and words that He did and taught.

For the Lord’s work consisted of putting others before His own. His highest calling, His highest purpose is to come among us to connect us to God.

The Lord’s work showed that there were no limits to His seeking us out. His love for us and for the world is limitless. His love for us stretched even to the Cross, where He prayed for His executioners, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

For, dear friends in Christ, God’s love is the all-powerful force which can move people spiritually from their isolation and helplessness into an intimate relationship with God, made possible through the person, the words and the work of Jesus Christ, God’s only-begotten Son, and our Savior.

By coming to belief in Jesus Christ, God’s love becomes our possession. Empowered by God’s love, we do the works that Jesus did, and we say the words that Jesus said, always seeking God’s welfare and others’ welfare ahead of our own.

May the Church, the body of believers throughout the world, remain in God’s love, be marked by the signs of love which are the proof of God’s presence among us, and may the Church be a haven of God’s love in the midst of an often loveless world.

AMEN.
_______________________________

[1] Celebrated 50 days after Easter, this year on Sunday, May 31st.
[2] Don’t I sound like a character from the series “Thomas, the Tank Engine”, where the locomotives talk to one another?
[3] Theologians often describe the unity of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as a unity of perfect love.
[4] See John chapter 17, often subtitled by biblical scholars “Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer” as Jesus prays not only for His original disciples, but for all those who will come to believe as a result of their testimony, love and work. This is a good illustration of the “train of believers” which stretches down through time.

5 Easter, Year B

"ANOTHER COUNSELOR"
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois; Sunday, May 10, 2009
Acts 8: 26 – 40; Psalm 66: 1 – 8; I John 3: 14 – 24; John 14: 15 – 21

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor….”

In this Easter season, we’ve been privileged to look at some of the ways the risen Christ is present with us. Last Sunday, for example, we looked at John chapter 10, where we read that Jesus is “the good shepherd”, who draws the flock together, gives His life for the welfare of the flock, and who serves as the gate to the sheepfold.

And, it should be noted, we have also been privileged to be reading in this Easter season from the Fourth Gospel, for John’s gospel account is so rich, so unique in its perspective. (It’s my firm conviction that the Church ought to be reading lots of John, for his perspective and rich theology – which affirms Jesus Christ’s divinity and unity with the Father – will serve as a wellspring of knowledge about God’s acting in the person of Jesus Christ for God’s people until the Lord comes again.)

Today, then, we examine in our gospel text how Jesus is present with us in the continuing work He did and the words He taught us as “another Counselor” is given to us to assist us in this work/word.

As we turn to the gospel text, we should begin by examining the word which is translated in the Revised Standard Version (RSV) as “Counselor”: The Greek word which is rendered “Comforter” in the Authorized Version (AV)[1] is parakletos. This word has several connotations to it, including “comforter”, “counselor”, “helper”, and “advocate”. This Greek word serves as the basis for its rendering in English, “Paraclete”,

Biblical scholars have long noted that the word has legal implications. In the ancient world, a parakletos would serve as a counselor (we would use the term “attorney”) in a legal proceeding.

As you can probably tell, Bible translators have struggled to contain the various meanings of parakletos, but no one English word can do that properly. Hence the various renderings of the words in the translations we have available today.

For the purposes of this examination of the text in front of us today, I will lean toward the legal aspect of the term.

Recall with me that John has a looping writing style. That is to say, Jesus’ words are presented in such a way that there is a development of thought as key concepts are repeated, with new aspects of the basic thought being folded into the narrative as it goes along. (One of my seminary professors noted that such a technique tends to erase any notion of time, which would be quite consistent with John’s theological outlook, emphasizing as it does Jesus Christ as the eternal Word of God, one with the Father, who existed from the beginning and before time.)

This looping writing style is present in the narrative with respect to the Counselor. Jesus repeats the teaching about the coming of “another Counselor” a little later on in chapter 14, beginning at verse 26, where we read, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”[2]

And now, let’s turn our attention to the idea of the Holy Spirit as Helper, Advocate, and Comforter. For the Holy Spirit is all these things.

But the Holy Spirit is also Counselor, who, like a legal counselor, connects received truth to our daily lives.

Let’s look at that idea for a moment….In a legal proceeding, one of the tasks a Counselor (remember that this is a term which is applied to attorneys) would undertake would be to apply the law to a person’s life situation. An attorney would counsel the client about the law, and about the law’s application to the client’s life.

Similarly, Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Another word for “law” is “commandments”.

The Holy Spirit comes as Counselor, the one who connects God’s truth, God’s law, God’s commandments, which come to us through Jesus’ teachings (remember that Jesus is the one who is sent from the Father, who “does nothing on his own authority, but speaks as the Father taught him”)[3], and in Jesus’ works (deeds).

In so doing, the Holy Spirit, the Counselor, continues Jesus’ own work as Counselor. For Jesus comes to us to show us the Father, saying “He who has seen me has seen the Father.”[4]

Jesus shows us the nature of God by words and by works. God’s love is seen in Jesus’ teaching, and in His miracles.

Jesus’ works, His miracles, are the focus of chapters 2 – 12 of John’s gospel account (often nicknamed by biblical scholars, “The Book of Signs”).

The two aspects of Jesus’ word, His words and His works, are inseparable. We cannot consider one without the other.

And so, the Holy Spirit comes, sent from the Father by request of the Son, to “teach us all things”.[5]

The Holy Spirit will act in the same role as Jesus has, standing alongside us as we are guided by that same presence that Jesus provided, He who comes to show us the Father, to demonstrate God’s love by words, and by deeds (which include the supreme act of love, His death on the cross). For, you see, by implication we see that Jesus is also a Counselor, one who connects God’s truth to our daily lives.

So the Lord continues to be present with us in the person of the Holy Spirit, the Counselor.

And the Lord is present with us when we keep the Lord’s commandments, acting in accordance with His deeds and His words, demonstrating the kinds of self-giving, self-emptying love that He did.

As we do so, we enter into the unity of the Father with the Son, and with the Holy Spirit. That unity is confirmed by our words and our actions.

May the Church be blessed to show by our declarations and by our actions the love of God, and His continuing presence in our lives.

AMEN.
_______________________________________________

[1] Also known as the King James Version (KJV)
[2] Jesus repeats this teaching in John 15: 26 – 27, and develops it further in John 16: 4b – 15.
[3] John 8: 28
[4] John 14: 9b
[5] John 14: 26

4 Easter, Year B

"LOOKING AT THE GOOD SHEPHERD"
A sermon written by The Rev. Gene Tucker, and read by Lay Worship Leader, Barney Bruce, at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL; Sunday, May 3, 2009
Acts 4: 23 – 37; Psalm 23; I John 3: 1 – 8; John 10: 1 – 16

“I am the good shepherd.”

In case you’ve noticed, but are wondering, let me confirm that this Sunday is informally known as “Good Shepherd Sunday”.

The hymns chosen for this Sunday, as well as Psalm 23, make the conclusion a certainty.

In addition to the hymns and the Psalm, we hear this very familiar passage of John’s gospel account, which bring us Jesus’ statement, “I am the good shepherd” (heard not once, but twice, in verse 11 and then again in verse 14)….Jesus really wants us to get the point that He is the good shepherd!

You may have noticed that I’ve lengthened the gospel reading for the day, beginning at verse one of John, chapter 10. The reason is that it makes good sense to begin by hearing Jesus’ entire teaching about shepherds, flocks, sheep folds, and false leaders (called hired hands in this passage).

Jesus’ discourse is given in response to the actions of His adversaries, the Pharisees. For the Pharisees (in chapter nine) have just questioned Jesus’ actions in healing a blind man.

For their failure to see God at work in the healing of the man born blind, Jesus lumps the Pharisees in with the hired hand who seek only their own interest, and not the interest of God’s people, the flock.

So, now that we have set the stage for today’s teaching, let’s look at the ways Jesus examines His role as the good shepherd for the people of God, God’s flock. We will do so in the order in which our Lord examines the idea in the text itself. And, as we go, we will note some of the connections to other passages in John’s gospel account, for there are many connections to other parts of this gospel:

The authority of the shepherd: Jesus takes on His accusers, the Pharisees, right from the beginning of the teaching…..Saying that the one who does not enter by the gate of the sheep fold is a “thief and a robber”, we see that Jesus brands as false the leaders of his day, who use stealth to gain control of the flock. Thus, they do not hold their authority by proper means nor by proper actions.

But continuing on a little further, we notice that real shepherd of the sheep enters by the proper means, by the gate. And, this shepherd is allowed to hold his position because the watchman allows him to assume it. Presumably, here, Jesus is the shepherd because God the Father has sent Him to fulfill this role. God the Father probably equates to the watchman.

Echoing God the Father’s trust in Jesus, we read these words elsewhere in John, “The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.” (John 3: 35)

A shepherd who leads the flock: In our own culture, we are used to seeing images of shepherds who drive their flocks. In ancient times in Palestine, just the opposite was true: shepherds led their flocks.

Thus, the shepherd precedes the flock, a theme which will be taken up again in chapter 14, where Jesus says, “I am going to prepare a place for you, that where I am, you may be also.” (John 14: 2b – 3)

Shepherd and flock know each other: The next thing we notice is that shepherd and flock know each other. Jesus says, “He (the shepherd) calls his own sheep by name and leads them out….and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” (John 10: 3b, 4b)

Jesus underscores this “mutual knowing” again in chapter 17, where we read, “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they (all believers – the flock) know that you have sent me.” (John 17: 25)

Jesus is the gate: Jesus now turns the image slightly, saying, “I am the gate for the sheep.” (verse 7)

Earlier, He said that He was the shepherd because He had entered by the gate. Now, He builds on His earlier statement, saying that He Himself is the gate to the sheep fold.

“I am the way, the truth, and the life,” we read in John 14: 6. This statement is quite similar in its understanding to the idea here, “I am the gate”.

Jesus makes clear that He is the way by which the flock leaves the fold, seeking pasture.

The shepherd lays down his life for the sheep: Jesus now contrasts the good shepherd’s actions with those of the hired hands….The good shepherd puts the flock’s welfare ahead of his own.

The hired hand does just the opposite: he runs away at the presence of danger.

The selflessness of the good shepherd contrasts sharply with the self-centered, selfish actions of the false shepherd, who is “in it” only for his own betterment (money).

Jesus mourned the spiritual condition of the Jewish people. In Matthew 9: 36, we read that “When He saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Other sheep, not of this fold: Jesus now says that He has “other sheep, not of this fold”.

Jesus seems to be looking ahead here…..Quite likely, those “other sheep” are the non-Jewish people to whom the gospel will be taken in years to come.

Most likely it’s the gospel’s spread to the Gentile world that is in view here, especially when we remember that Jesus also talked about “leading the sheep out of the fold”.

Two final comments are worth making here, before we leave this text:

Sheep and shepherd exist for each other: The images of sheep and shepherd are ones that go together.

Without the shepherd, there would be no flock. Without sheep, there is no need for a shepherd.

The flock will be gathered by the shepherd, and so there will be “one flock, one shepherd” (verse 16)

Jesus will pick the theme of “one flock” up again in chapter 17, where we hear Him pray, “My prayer is not for them (the original disciples) alone. I pray also for those who will believe through their message, that all of them may be one.” (John 17: 21)

The shepherd is a servant – leader: The image of God as shepherd to His people is an ancient one. In Psalm 80, verse one, we read, “Hear, O shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock,”, and in our Psalm for today, we begin with “The Lord is my shepherd.”

And yet, in biblical times, a shepherd was a lower – class person, a person who engaged in an occupation that wasn’t highly thought of.

We forget that aspect of shepherding, don’t we? The shepherd is part of the “servant class” of society.

The image of Jesus as the shepherd who gathers the flock and leads them, is combined with the image of the shepherd who serves the flock, even to the point of sacrificing Himself for the flock.

Jesus is the leader of the flock, and yet is its servant.

Jesus is the shepherd who leads by the authority of God the Father, who enters by the gate that the watchman opens.

Jesus is the gate by which the flock leaves the sheep fold. Jesus is the “way, the truth, and the life”.

Jesus is the point-of-unity for the flock. Jesus’ leadership makes the flock’s existence possible.

Thanks be to God, the sender of the good shepherd, Jesus Christ.

AMEN.