This is the homily given at St. John’s, Huntingdon,
Pennsylvania by Fr. Gene Tucker on Sunday, May 12, 2019.
“WHERE IS OUR FOCUS?”
(Homily texts: Psalm 23 & John 10: 22-30)
Each
year, as the Fourth Sunday of Easter rolls around, our attention is directed to
our relationship to the Lord in His role as our shepherd. So, this Sunday is
informally known as “Good Shepherd Sunday”. The designation of “Good Shepherd
Sunday” is a development which came about as the result of the design and
adoption of the Book of Common Prayer, 1979.
The
imagery of God being the shepherd of His people resonates throughout the Old
Testament. The most familiar passage which expresses this relationship is Psalm
23, which begins, “The Lord is my shepherd”. Quite appropriately, Psalm 23 is
appointed for use on this day.
But
as familiar as the image of the Lord as shepherd is (I am reminded of the old
painting which shows Jesus carrying a lamb or sheep on His shoulders), the
truth is that many of us, today, have little practical experience with sheep,
or with those to tend to and care for them. The extent of our exposure to the
business of raising sheep is limited, I would guess, to our passing by a field
where sheep are grazing.
But
the biblical imagery of the Lord as shepherd and His people as sheep is quite
apt in a number of ways.
To
begin our reflection on the reality of God as shepherd and us, His people, as
sheep, let’s step into the world of shepherds and sheep.
We
should begin by looking at the basic relationship of sheep and their shepherd.
The
obvious observation to be made is that, without the shepherd or someone to tend
to them, sheep could easily find themselves in a lot of trouble. I am told that
sheep aren’t all that smart. And, in addition, they are curious animals who
don’t seem to have a keen sense of danger. Consequently, they tend to need
constant supervision. In a time and in a culture where there weren’t fences to
corral the sheep, like in biblical situations, the shepherd’s job is a
continuous one, consisting of being able to provide for the sheep’s need for
food and water, but also entailing the task of being able to keep them out of
trouble, or when they get into precarious situations, to extricate them from
them. The shepherd’s job, if we can summarize it, has to do with providing for
the sheep, and to protect them, not only from their own lack of intelligence,
but also from marauding animals like wolves.
The
shepherd’s relationship to the sheep in his care is one of continual focus. The
sheep, even though they may not realize it (given their lack of sense) must also
focus on the shepherd. Without the shepherd, the sheep would soon cease to
exist as a flock. Without sheep, the shepherd has no useful purpose. Perhaps it
wouldn’t be too far off the mark to say that the shepherd and the sheep exist
for one another’s benefit.
The
shepherd as some tools that are essential for caring for the sheep. They are
named in verse four of Psalm 23: The rod
and the staff.
When
it comes to the shepherd’s tools, many of us are familiar with the shepherd’s
crook, that stick that has a pointed end and also a curved end.[1] The
pointed end can be used to prod the sheep, while the curved end can be used to
rescue a sheep or lamb that’s gotten into trouble.
Less
familiar is the rod, mentioned in verse four of the twenty-third Psalm. The rod
was a short stick, often made of very hard wood, and sometimes equipped with
some sort of an expanded end. Its purpose was to protect the sheep, for it
could be used as a club to strike marauding animals.
The
relationship of sheep and their shepherd has to do with focus.
Returning
to our relationship of shepherd and sheep, we can say that the Lord’s focus
upon us is constant and continuous. The Lord guides us and protects us (as
Psalm 23 says, “Your rod and your staff, they comfort me”).
But
what of our focus on the Lord?
Like
sheep, we are forgetful. Like sheep, sometimes we don’t act as though we have
much intelligence or awareness of the trouble we are capable of generating.
Like sheep, we need the Lord’s prodding, as well as His rescue.
All
this comes down to a matter of focus.
In
the midst of our busy lives, where is our focus? Do we focus on the day-to-day
business of living, setting ourselves to the accomplishing of those very
necessary things that we must accomplish in order to move forward, all the
while forgetting to focus on the Lord? If so, then danger might be ahead.
The
antidote to that danger is a purposeful refocusing on the Lord. We do this with
our presence at worship here this morning. Worship[2] is at
the heart of what the Church does. Worship is the very most important thing the
Church does, for by hearing God’s word read and proclaimed, and by our
participation in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, we are reminded of who we
are, and whose we are.
We
maintain our focus on the Lord by regular reading of Holy Scripture, and by
maintaining an active prayer life. We maintain our focus on the Lord by
associating with Christians regularly, for, as we’ve said the past two Sundays,
it’s awfully hard to “soar like an eagle if we hang around with turkeys”.
Our
focus on the Lord enables us to go out into the world, proclaiming by word and
action the Good News (Gospel) of God in Christ.
Gracious
and loving God, assist us by the power of the Holy Spirit, to maintain our
focus on you.
AMEN.
[1] Bishops carry such a stick, called a
crozier. Sometimes, the crozier resembles the staff of a shepherd in a field
quite closely, being made of wood, while at other times, it is adorned with
precious metals and even jewels, its connection to a shepherd’s staff
consisting of its basic shape.
[2] Worship isn’t entertainment! Worship, done
properly, remembers that God is the audience for what we do together in
worship. The focus is on God, not on those who are in attendance.
