Easter 7 at the Methodist Church in Wingrave

13 May 2018

Reading—Acts 1:15—17;21—end

¹⁵ In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) ¹⁶ and said, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. ¹⁷ He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”

²¹ Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, ²² beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

²³ So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. ²⁴ Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen ²⁵ to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” ²⁶ Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

New Testament 1 John 5

⁹ We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. ¹⁰ Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. ¹¹ And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹² Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Gospel John 17

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

⁶ “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. ⁸ For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. ⁹ I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. ¹⁰ All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. ¹¹ I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. ¹² While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

¹³ “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. ¹⁴ I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. ¹⁵ My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

Sermon

How many believers—early church at start of Acts? Hard to believe only 120 people recorded by Luke who were listening to Peter’s address to them. Not just men—Peter refers to them as “Brothers and Sisters.”

How many Methodist chapels in Bucks does this represent in numbers? 6? Yet even after the momentous events of Easter—resurrection of Christ and his appearing to his disciples—gift of the Holy Spirit—Peter can only count 120 people to take forward the great commission given to the believers by Jesus himself. No wonder Jesus in today’s gospel passage prays earnestly to the Father for the followers he will leave behind after his ascension. It’s like we can listen in to what he prays:

¹¹ I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. ¹² While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

The gap left in the number of apostles by Judas Iscariot was also a first priority for the early church. The number 12 was important to the Jews in very many ways, but how were they to make up the number—who to choose—what qualities they must have—how to go about appointing them?

The background was one of crisis—which explains the priority given to strengthening the leadership.

1. They were frustrated that the resurrection of the dead did not immediately lead to the restoration of Israel—their hopes dashed with the death of Jesus on the cross [Emmaus]—they rose to the pinnacle of expectation on his resurrection. Jesus had told them it was not their business to know the place or the time—nor was it his but God’s own time.

2. The believers were forced to wait—no one likes waiting do they?—in the meantime God would deliver on his promise through Jesus to give them the Holy Spirit—but the longing for restoration never really went away—there was short term thinking—that led to a delay for many years writing down the gospels.

3. There was a leadership crisis—which explains the priority given over other matters to the replacement of Judas. For 3 years Jesus had led them—interpreted the scriptures—taught his disciples—resolved disputes—prepared them for the time when he would no longer be with them. Now they had to work out a transition—how would the group be directed?—who would lead them?

4. They had a short list of two men—Joseph Barsabbas known as Justus—and Matthias. They prayed to God for guidance on how to choose between the candidates—drew lots and Matthias was chosen.

To us today, this sort of recruitment looks like an act of desperation—Matthias does not appear anywhere else in scripture—but there is a tradition that he took the gospel to Cappadocia and the Caspian Sea region.

We know that the extra apostle in effect was not Matthias but Paul—so the choice may not have been for the best and the method of selection crude—but Paul’s vocation revealed by God on the road to Damascus was probably the single most critical factor in the spread of the gospel around the Mediterranean and Roman world.

What are we to make of the fact Jesus hand picked Judas as his disciple—yet after his treachery and betrayal the remaining believers cast lots for his replacement? Sin can appear to triumph and derail our hopes—but in the end we know that God’s will will be done—that is exactly what happened here. Despite the shared prayers of the believers—it was the Holy Spirit that overruled and chose Paul as the twelfth disciple—and the rest, as they say, is history—but the early church moved from only 120 followers to millions in the next 2 or 3 centuries, thanks to Paul the twelfth apostle and his boldness and leadership.

No wonder Jesus prayed for his disciples at some length—and continues to do so, as we offer our prayers to the Father through him.

Today’s gospel reading is actually only a part of the extended discourse by Jesus with his disciples that stretches from chapter 13 to 17. The most significant theme is that of ‘giving’ — mentioned 9 times in this chapter alone. Here are 6 in three verses alone:

⁶ “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. ⁸ For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. ⁹ I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.

Knowing we belong
Both God the Father and the Son are extravagant givers through grace—we are inheritors of the grace given to us through Jesus—and in this state of grace we are enabled to live. We have only to accept the word that comes from God, and believe in him. We are identified as belonging—we belong to Jesus

Knowing the Father’s name
Knowing his name stands for knowing all that God is and has done—if we wonder why we are enabled to know Jesus as Lord, it is because we have been given to him from the very beginning

Knowing the Word
⁸ For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.

We are sanctified—made holy—we are sent into the world—belonging to God, knowing his name, and accepting the Word. Guarded and sustained in that Word we can know ourselves as disciple community—constituted in the power of Christ's death and resurrection and in the promise of his presence in the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Counsellor and Comforter—about which we may hear more next week—Pentecost.

Amen

Easter 2 at Wingrave Methodist Church

8 April 2018

First Reading—Acts 4

The believers share their possessions

³² All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. ³³ With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all ³⁴ that there was no needy person among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales ³⁵ and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

New Testament 1 John 1

The incarnation of the Word of life

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. ² The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. ³ We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. ⁴ We write this to make our joy complete.

Light and darkness, sin and forgiveness

⁵ This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

⁸ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ² He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Hymn 2

· Walk in the light 397

Gospel John 20

Jesus appears to his disciples

¹⁹ On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

²¹ Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ ²² And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.’

Jesus appears to Thomas

²⁴ Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’

But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.’

²⁶ A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’

²⁸ Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’

²⁹ Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’

The purpose of John’s gospel

³⁰ Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. ³¹ But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Sermon

Barely a month has passed since the snow, and my last visit. We spoke about Zeal—for Law, Wisdom, Temple as Body of Christ. This time—clear choice of Jesus appearing to disciples—giving gift of Holy Spirit—Thomas not present—told to believe, not doubt—which he does “My Lord and my God!”

You’ve heard this many times before—sermons on Believing Thomas—but as we are in the Methodist church let’s heed the words of John Wesley:

“If the preacher would imitate any part of the oracles of God above all the rest, let it be the first epistle of St John” (Sermons on Several Occasions).

Why did John Wesley elevate 1 John in this way? The clue is in the content. The first century was something of a honeymoon period for the early Christian gatherings—followed the ideal of holiness and unity—led by the Holy Spirit—a period of fresh revelations, miracles, and rapid growth in numbers. But it was also a time of differing beliefs, strife, and splits in the church over passionate differences in doctrine.

One of most controversial splits was between those who differed fundamentally over the person of Christ and the nature of the Christian life. These dissenters denied that Christ was ever really human—they followed the model of the ‘spiritual’ Jesus—Christ they believed was heavenly, sinless and wise—they thought that made them the same. This same split in doctrine has never gone away—the church tried to reconcile differing views by asserting Christ was fully human and fully divine—but over the centuries this ideal of the early church gave way to violence, torture and death—but that’s another terrible story in the history of religion.

The writer of 1 John—we’ll call him The Elder—fearing the effects of dissent and fracture—wrote his letter to set the record straight, as it were. He wasn’t criticising anyone, but making a passionate appeal for the believers to join in their relationship with both Father and Son. Surprisingly, over the generations, this letter has never held centre stage—nor did people tend to agree with Wesley about it’s importance—but here we are in the shadow of John Wesley, so I’ll continue with 1 John.

According to Luke, when Paul was in Athens, he was engaged in discussion with Greek philosophers who enjoyed new teachings. Some early Christians were more interested in special wisdom—revealed especially to them—in Greek they were known as Gnostics—after the Greek word for knowledge—a special kind of revelation that only they had.

John the Elder therefore opened his letter by a restatement of the incarnation. What he has heard, what he has seen with his own eyes, what was from the beginning, what he has held with his hands, in short what concerns the Word of life—these are the things he declares to those who hear of read his letter.

John the Elder avoids personalising the Logos—although the opening of his letter sounds like the opening to John’s gospel—so he restates what he has seen and heard without immediately declaring the personality of the Word (Logos). This news sounds new and fresh—and so the dissenters would be all ears—but the news is old news—no secret wisdom or special knowledge—unchanged from the beginning.

³ We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. ⁴ We write this to make our joy complete.

It sounds strange to our ears that John says the word he declares has been touched by human hands. The Greek word here means something closer to grapple, wrestle, or physically examine. It’s interesting that Luke uses the same word in reference to his resurrected body:

“Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” (Luke 24:39)

Instead of a new revelation of special wisdom, John the Elder’s hearers get the old, old story of Jesus and his love. This Jesus was a person, a human being. We cannot know Jesus—we cannot reckon with Jesus as risen and reigning Lord—we cannot do all this without engaging with the incarnation—the flesh and blood Jesus. We cannot do all this without Jesus’ early life on earth, the words he spoke and the things he did—and of course his death on the cross. All these are necessary before we can comprehend his divine nature, his resurrection, his ascension, and his salvation. Only then can there be fellowship for us with Christ as well as God the Father.

God is Light—we cannot have fellowship with Him without dealing with our sinful nature first. Justification by faith leads on to works—inspired and impelled by faith. God is Light. In Him is no darkness at all. So we must attend to sin. Not that we can make things right with God through our own power, but by grace. There cannot be light without darkness—but one banishes the other, however feeble is our reflected light from our personal fellowship with God the Father and the Son.

Salvation is not obtained by special knowledge, but by grace. This is the message of John the Elder:

⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

⁸ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Amen

Easter 3 at All Saints Marsworth

15 April 2018

Reading Acts 3:12—19

Peter Speaks to the Onlookers

¹¹ While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. ¹² When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? ¹³ The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. ¹⁴ You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. ¹⁵ You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. ¹⁶ By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.

¹⁷ “Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. ¹⁸ But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. ¹⁹ Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.

Reading 1 John 3:1—7

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³ All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

⁴ Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. ⁵ But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. ⁶ No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

⁷ Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

Gospel Luke 24:36—48

Alleluia, alleluia. I am the first and the last, says the Lord, and the living one; I was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore.

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

³⁶ While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

³⁷ They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. ³⁸ He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? ³⁹ Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

⁴⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. ⁴¹ And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” ⁴² They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³ and he took it and ate it in their presence.

⁴⁴ He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶ He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Sermon

Today’s gospel passage from the last chapter of Luke follows on from everyone’s favourite travel story—The Road to Emmaus. In Luke’s account, it is Sunday morning—as the day starts two women make their way to the tomb where Jesus has been interred. There they find the stone covering the entrance has been unsealed and rolled aside. Two men in dazzling garments announce to them that Jesus is risen.

Armed with these momentous tidings, the women go straight to the disciples and announce the resurrection. They are not believed—their tidings are judged to be no more than an idle tale.

Peter, however, runs to the tomb and finds it as the women had reported. Apart from confirming that the tomb is empty, Luke does not tell us anything about any conclusions Peter reached. At this point Luke’s narrative cuts abruptly to the account of the Road to and from Emmaus.

Two of the disillusioned disciples have decided to escape from the febrile atmosphere in Jerusalem and start walking the 13 miles home to Emmaus. They encounter, but do not recognise Jesus. They express their disappointment. They hoped that Jesus would be the one to redeem Israel, but Jesus explains how everything that happened was necessary according to Scripture.

The two invited Jesus to spend the night with them. During the meal, when Jesus blessed and broke the bread, their eyes were opened, and they recognised him, but he vanished from their sight. They rushed back to Jerusalem and reported to the gathered believers what had happened.

Jesus’s greeting was the first word the disciples had heard from him since the dark and terrible events of the weekend. The word was Shalom. Peace was what the disciples needed to hear. They were in hiding, fearing for their very lives after the leader of their fledgling movement had met his fate. Jesus’s appearing in their very midst, unaccountably, was accompanied by the reassurance that all would be well, despite every indication to the contrary.

Peace is a repeated theme in Luke—think of the angels in the fields, and the hymns of Zechariah and Simeon. But before their minds could be put at rest, the disciples needed assurance they were not seeing an apparition. Jesus showed them the marks of the nails in his hands and feet, but also demonstrated his ability to eat and drink—something phantoms could not do.

In our modern translation, it’s easy to miss Jesus claim to be divine:

Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

“It is I myself”—ἐγώ εἰμί in Greek—I AM is the name for God. After sharing the peace with his friends, Jesus gives his authority for the peace he shares with them. His credentials are nothing less than the assurance of God the Father. The news must have been startling to the band of disappointed, fearful, disciples who remained in Jerusalem, despite the likelihood they would be betrayed, arrested and killed themselves.

All this can be understood in fulfilment of Scripture. That was why Jesus expounded the law of Moses—effectively what had been written about him—to the disciples in the upper room as he had on the road to Emmaus.

All this is not for interest alone. The elaborate explanation is for a good reason. The disciples, as witnesses of Jesus, are now called to proclaim repentance for the forgiveness of sins in his name to all nations, a theme that will be traced further in Acts.

Both for the early disciples—and also for us—the message of Easter is the fulfilment of what God has been accomplishing throughout human history. The reality of Jesus is the reality of God’s plan revealed. This understanding moves the disciples forward to the future—no longer fearful and alone—but sure in the knowledge of the resurrection through their own witness of a physical Jesus who is very much alive.

Luke in his gospel account immediately follows this episode with a commission to the disciples—and of course the same exhortation to us:

⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Belief in the empty tomb is a prerequisite of every Easter day of our lives. What follows from this confession is our own commission—the same promise and the same assurance as was given to the disciples by the physical Jesus himself.

Luke did not himself witness these things—he is in the same position as we are in that sense. Like the apostles we have to account for what we have done with the witness account we have just read. That is the big question asked of all of us.

You are witnesses of these things, says the Lord. I was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore. Amen

Easter 4 at Wing

22 April 2018

Reading Acts 4:5—12

⁵ The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. ⁶ Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. ⁷ They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: ‘By what power or what name did you do this?’

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: ‘Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹ If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, ¹⁰ then know this, you and all the people of Israel: it is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. ¹¹ Jesus is ‘“the stone you builders rejected,
    which has become the cornerstone.” ¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.’

Gospel John 10:11—18

Alleluia, alleluia. I am the first and the last, says the Lord, and the living one; I was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore.

¹¹ ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴ ‘I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not of this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷ The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life – only to take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.’

Sermon

Magic Persian carpet—2,000 years—Jesus tells Parable of Good Shepard. Not cosy pastoral fable with a message—not sitting on the grass with disciples as Jesus taught—background threatening investigation of lawbreaking by Pharisees.

Lawbreaking—John 8—Pharisees present to Jesus Woman taken in Adultery—long dispute follows—Jesus claims about himself—chapter ends with Jesus claiming in effect he is God:

⁵⁸ ‘Very truly I tell you,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I am!’ ⁵⁹ At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Chapter 9 continues theme of lawbreaking—this time Jesus himself—healing of Man Born Blind—on Sabbath Day. Pharisees investigate—interview man who was healed—under whose authority did Jesus do this?—chapter ends with accusation against Pharisees of spiritual blindness.

Chapter 10—opens with Good Shepherd—parable told at first against Pharisees—they are accused of being thieves and robbers—who do not enter gate of sheepfold but try to break in by climbing the wall. The Good Shepherd enters through gate—sheep recognise him—know his voice and feel safe. They run away from a stranger—they do not know his voice.

Pharisees do not understand—miss the point—parable is aimed at them. Thieves come only to kill and destroy—Jesus not only the gate keeper—also the gate itself. Not only does Jesus control the gate—he is the gate and the gatekeeper.

Sheep are dumb creatures—follow the leader—if rescued from snow drifts weighing down their fleece—tend to climb back again because the blanket of snow is warmer—easily stray into danger. How funny we so readily associate with the sheep when told this parable!

Christological reflection—Pharisees misunderstood—represented as wolves preying on sheep—or thieves and robbers. We need to understand what part we play—more important we use parable and other I AM sayings to learn more about Jesus—who and what he is.

Logos—John starts by a grand vision of The Word—creative force since before time itself—through who all things came into being.

Jesus uses I AM also in several parables to help our understanding:

· Vine and Branches

· Bread of Life

· Living Water

· Shepherd and flock

· Door of sheepfold

Easter—good time to get to know Jesus better through these images.

There is a difficulty for us in today’s parable—we understand little of sheep husbandry compared to Jesus’ hearers. Shepherds were universally mistrusted—badly paid with no incentive to confront danger—prone to theft of the sheep. So it’s interesting Jesus represents himself as the Good Shepherd. Scripture is full of images of God as shepherd of his flock:

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
    He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
    he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me. (PS 23)

The twist now is that Jesus is representing himself as Shepherd—but also as God in OT. If we reflect on the nature of Christ post Easter—what theologians call theological reflection—there are a number of questions that you may think come to your mind:

· What kind of flock are we? What kind are we meant to be?

· Jesus mentions another flock—they are not of this sheepfold—what flock is this and what has happened to them?

· What does it mean to be part of Jesus’s flock—protection from harm—access to the gate—being trusted and loved by the Good Shepherd—being fed and nurtured—knowing his voice and choosing to follow him—being rescued and valued if we repent after wandering off?

The Pharisees and others thought they were chosen by God—but Jesus tells them about only one flock and one Shepherd. We—through Christ—by God’s Holy Spirit—have the invitation to belong to this one flock. This is not the way we tend to remember the parable of the Good Shepherd. Too often the parable is recalled out of context—with a warm glow of satisfaction—whereas the truth is much grittier—born out of a dispute between our Lord and the religious authorities.

So this Eastertide—let us read anew one of the most familiar passages of Scripture—this time in a much more direct and grown up version—knowing our salvation depends on it—and not falling into the trap of the Pharisees, believing they are God’s elect—or that justification is necessarily by faith alone. Amen