As we gather, we recognize that we
live, work, pray, and play in the traditional,
unceded lands of the Cowichan Tribes and Coast Salish People. 
We continue to commit ourselves to
the work of reconciliation and relationship-building
with our First Nations neighbours.     

Call to Worship:

I am the good shepherd, says the Lord:
I know my own and my own know me. 

John 10.14

O, Come.   Let Us Worship.

Gathering:

Alleluia! Christ is risen. 
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia! 
May his grace and peace be with you. 
May he fill our hearts with joy!

Collect for Today:

O God of peace, 
Who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, make us perfect in every good work to do your will, and work in us that which is well-pleasing in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

The Proclamation of the Gospel:

John 10.11-18

Sermon:  The Ven.  Brian Evans

“Is Your Life a Metaphor of the Good Shepherd?"

A quote from Martin Luther King Jr:

"That power without love is reckless and dangerous, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love." 

Two directions for today.

1. Traditionally this Sunday is commonly referred to as ‘Good Shepherd Sunday.’

2. Second, today is also ‘Vocations Sunday’ in the Christian Church, a day for intentional prayers, inviting people to consider their for vocation in the  Church; their vocations for service in the Church. 

This Sunday invites us to focus on:

“Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?”

We answer in that question that comes from our baptismal services:

“I will, with God’s help.”  

In our diocese this year we have introduced a Licensed Lay-Readers program for worship: ‘Licensed Lay Leaders in Worship.’ 

My response: The church is beginning to place value in the laity; recognizing their leadership and setting them apart for ministry. 

Each of these: Good Shepherd Sunday – Vocations – Lay (Leadership) Ministry are about our life being a metaphor of the Good Shepherd. 

In the seventies, the United Church and the Anglican Church created a church school curriculum called: ‘The Whole People of God.’ 

At the same time, church organizations started to speak about ‘ministry from “The Whole People of God” and for the whole people of God.’ This has charted a path toward more lay leadership and the recognition of the ministry of lay people. 

Ministry from the kitchen sink to the pulpit! 

The image of the Good Shepherd on the front of our bulletin today illustrates for us, or reminds us of, our trust in Jesus. 

It shows how the risen Christ brings life, and thereby reminds us of the life we have to share with the world. This happens when we build relationships within community. Much of Jesus’ ministry was/is about building relationships. 

When we build relationships—we explore new relationships and discover mutual knowledge and love of others. The greatest example of this is the willingness of the shepherd to lay down his/her life for the sheep. 

This is what we see and experience in the life of Jesus.

I like the image that Jesus draws of the shepherd—Jesus—sleeping across the opening in the sheep-pen at night, to ensure the sheep are protected and protecting them from leaving the sheepfold. 

This is truly an example for us, and the role of the good shepherd we are called to live by in our lives. 

In 1 John 3. 16 we read:

“We know love by this, that he (Jesus) laid down his life for us – and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.” 

Love is an action verb. 

Real love is action, not just a feeling: it produces selfless, sacrificial giving. The act of giving is in giving oneself for another. 

My experience in the midst of what some would say we are living in a broken world: we all witness every day people showing examples of selfless, sacrificial giving. Witness giving without expectation of return. 

In verses 17 & 18 today, we witness these great examples of people laying down their lives for others. The writer in 1^st John illustrates for us just how in these words:

“Let us love, not just with words, but in action and truth.” 

When I read these words in 1^st John, my spirit begins to perform some self-examination.

I begin to ask myself – Have my actions shown clearly the generosity commanded of me in really loving? Then I ask, am I a metaphor of the Good Shepherd? Have I been a metaphor of the Good Shepherd? 

That question calls us to examine. Sometimes, it may even create the sense of being uncomfortable. At the same time, it’s comforting, for it gives us life. 

I am convinced: we all have moments in our life when we have not loved as we know our Lord would desire of us. This can give us a feeling of guilt; of believing we are not doing quite enough to please God. 

It is at those moments we may ask, or our conscience may ask: can we ever do enough? 

The truth is, I believe, we are already doing enough, by this very action of self-examination—for then, we have set our hearts on God’s love. 

It is in these moments we hear the reassurance of God’s love speaking to us, for God’s love is increasingly stronger than our guilty conscience. 

If we are in Christ, he will not condemn us. 

I invite each of us to, first, examine the many ways we pursue truth; the many ways we witness truth in our surroundings, each and every day. 

Then, second, I invite each of us to take a moment and reflect on the many ways we, ourselves, have engaged in the love of others—both in the church, and in the wider community. 

For ancient Israel, sheep were their life. They provided wool, milk, meat, and economy or currency—all the essentials of life. Sheep symbolized divine blessing and demonstrated the interconnectedness of all creation. 

Remarkably to this day, this sense of economy continues, even in the suggestions by some that we could do without the economics of agriculture on our very being. 

For us as “CHURCH,” we need to see our lives and our livelihood as a metaphor for being the “GOOD SHEPHERD” in our understanding of how interdependent we are on this “FLOCK” that we gather with on a regular basis. 

Parish leadership often hear ‘how the parish should do this,’ or ‘do that, ‘or ‘how come this’? or ‘how come that’? At the same time, parish leadership needs to take everyone into consideration and every action into consideration. 

Yes, Jesus is the epitome of The Good Shepherd.

AND, I want to say to each of us today, we too, are the personification of being good shepherds. Over life, we hear different examples of how this is experienced. One new example I have learned in the past few years, “It takes all kinds of bugs to make a garden.” 

There is a great work of poetry by Wendell Berry, with the title ‘The Wild Geese.’ The last few lines go like this:

‘And we pray, not
for new earth or heaven, but to be
quiet in heart, and in eye
clear. What we need is here.’ 

Amy McCreath has set the last line to an easy and moving chant. At worship, we will join in sharing that little chant, “What We Need Is Here.”

As we repeat that, we come to recognize: just as that V-shaped flock of geese form a pattern in the sky, but they also realize that together, in community, they have all that they need.       

Let us give thanks to God on this Good Shepherd Sunday in knowing that all we need is here.

Thanks be to God,

Amen.        

Let Us Pray

Rejoicing that Jesus is risen, and love has triumphed over fear, let us pray for the Church, the world, and all those in need of good news. 

Shepherding God,
Gather you church whenever we wander from you and one another. Empower our church in ministries around the world to worship and serve alongside global companions as equal partners and coworkers in the gospel.  
God of grace,
Hear our prayer.

Nurturing God,
Preserve the health of biomes and ecosystems. Inspire scientists, researchers, conservation organizations, and all people entrusted with the task of caring for creation, that we may be better stewards of the world around us.
God of grace,
Hear our prayer. 

Almighty God,
Lead nations and communities to share resources, cooperate in solving conflicts, and listen to the wisdom of Indigenous peoples. Help all those with power to share it and use such power for good.
God of grace,
Hear our prayer.  

Loving God,
Protect the very young and the very old, those living without housing, victims of domestic abuse, and all who live with chronic illness or compromised immune systems. Guide communities to actively care for people who are vulnerable.

In our parish this week, we especially pray for: Gail C.; Sue G.; John R.; Sheila S.;  and those on our hearts, naming them now aloud, or in the silence of our hearts.
God of grace,
Hear our prayer. 

Gracious God,
Help this and all communities of faith to listen for your voice. Call us away from things that distract us from following you. Invite us to more deeply love and serve people who are lonely, isolated, and on the margins.
God of grace,
Hear our prayer. 

Living God,
We give thanks for our ancestors in faith. Strengthen us to share the good news in our own day. 
God of grace,
Hear our prayer. 

Into your hands, most merciful God, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your abiding love; through Jesus Christ, our resurrected and living Lord.   Amen.

As our saviour taught us to pray, we say:

Our Father,
Who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as in heaven.  Give us today our daily bread.  Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us fom evil.   For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever.  Amen. 

We offer this worship in the name of Jesus Christ who has redeemed us by his blood, and has given us a glimpse into the holy mysteries of life; because we know that God can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine; and so, we give him the glory that is due his name.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

And may the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you, and remain with you, for ever.  Amen.