We are a small Episcopal Church on the banks of the Rappahannock in Port Royal, Virginia. We acknowledge that we gather on the traditional land of the first people of Port Royal, the Nandtaughtacund, and we respect and honor with gratitude the land itself, the legacy of the ancestors, and the life of the Rappahannock Tribe. Our mission statement is to do God’s Will in all that we do.

Commentary

Abiding (John 15:1-8)

By Marek Zabriskie for the Bible Challenge

I have a small beautiful communion kit, which was given to me by a woman whose husband was a chaplain at St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire and later an Associate Rector at St. Thomas Church, where I serve. Her husband died long before I became Rector of St. Thomas, but his wife wanted me to have his communion kit. It was one of the most touching gifts that I have ever received.

Her husband was a wonderful priest with a great pastoral heart. When a death or tragedy occurred, he immediately telephoned and said, “Put a pot of tea on the stove. I will be right over.” He often brought this communion kit with him, which was given to him by another priest, who received it from another priest, who was the Associate Rector of Holy Trinity Church in Rittenhouse Square, where Phillips Brooks, the author of "O Little Town of Bethlehem" was Rector. Brooks was the greatest preacher that the Episcopal Church ever produced. He gave his Associate Rector this communion kit, which now bears the initials on it of all whom have owned and used it.

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Engrafted to Neighbors

You, then, are my workers. You have come from me, the supreme eternal gardener, and I have engrafted you onto the vine by making myself one with you.

Keep in mind that each of you has your own vineyard. But everyone is joined to the neighbors’ vineyards without any dividing lines. They are so joined together, in fact, that you cannot do good or evil for yourself without doing the same for your neighbors.

–Catherine of Siena 1347-1380 “Dialogue, The Vines That Are Tended by the Divine Gardener “

Lectionary, Easter 4, Year B

I.Theme –   The Good Shepherd

 Mafa – I am the Good Shepherd

“Jesus said, ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.’" – John 10:11,16 

The lectionary readings are here  or individually:

First Reading – Acts 4:5-12
Psalm – Psalm 23
Epistle –1 John 3:16-24
Gospel – John 10:11-18 

Easter 4 is traditionally called Good Shepherd Sunday. Today’s readings assure us of God’s constant, shepherd-like care. In his sermon in Acts, Peter preaches that salvation is to be found in Jesus Christ of Nazareth, crucified, but raised from death by God. The author of 1 John tells us that, because of God’s love shown in Jesus, we are now God’s children. In the gospel, Jesus explains how he, as our Good Shepherd, lays down his life because he cares for his sheep.

The image of the shepherd can be difficult to understand. The metaphor of the shepherd has at times been sentimentalized and at other times abused. 

Given that tension, what can we learn from today’s gospel? One of its most heartening aspects is the utter commitment of the Shepherd. Some of us might resent being diminished by the comparison to witless sheep. Yet all of us can respond with gratitude to a committed friend. The special people in our lives who know when we need a joke or a nudge, a compliment or a challenge; those who can both laugh and cry with us; those who give us perspective when we’ve lost ours: they are gift. To have as guide One who is the source and inspiration of all those gifts is blessing indeed.

We have been fortunate in our own day to see models lay down their lives for others. Martyrs in Central America and Africa are dramatic examples. Yet in unspectacular ways, ordinary people sacrifice daily for their children, their coworkers, their friends and relatives. Laying down one’s own life may be as simple as pausing to hear the leisurely unfolding of another person’s story when time pressures mount. Or it may be as complex as financing another’s education. But the surrenders we can observe so often around us prove that giving one’s life is both possible and practical.

A second noteworthy element is the lack of coercion exerted by the Shepherd. His voice is all, and it is enough. We often meet with resistance when we try to persuade another. We also witness the remarkable change that inner motivation can produce. Jesus knows well the drawing power of love and the strength of people driven by love.

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Visual Lectionary Vanderbilt, Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 21, 2024

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The SALT Blog for Easter 4, Good Shephard Sunday

Shepherdess with a Flock of Sheep, by Anton Mauve, c. 1870-88, Dutch painting, oil on canvas

1. This is the 4th week of Eastertide The gospel readings for the first three weeks were resurrection appearance stories; the next four weeks will explore Jesus’ teachings about living in intimacy with God.

2. Many early followers of Jesus would have been familiar with describing the promised messiah as a caring and skillful “shepherd”: Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel each use such language, and likewise, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah contrast the divine shepherd with “worthless shepherds” who neglect, exploit, and scatter the flock. For listeners today, Psalm 23 (this week’s psalm) is likely the best-known reference to God as a shepherd, with the “rod and staff” evoking the hazards of the wilderness: the rod is for fending off wolves and lions, and the staff for rescuing sheep trapped in thickets or crevasses.

3. In the phrase “good shepherd,” the Greek word translated as “good” (kalos) means not “morally good” but rather “real and proper” or “true,” as in, “I am the true shepherd” or “I am the genuine shepherd.”

4. The goal of the true shepherd’s work is to give the sheep abundant life. For John, Jesus’ death makes possible this surprising chain of events, this grand reversal and ever-opening entrée into “abundant life.” It’s for the sake of this chain of events, and ultimately that abundant life, that “the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” And what is “abundant life”? According to John, it’s a life of love and intimacy with God . To give the sheep this vibrant fullness of life, Jesus is willing to lay down his own.

5. Both Jesus and Peter frame the crucifixion as an enactment of the psalm’s ancient choreography: a stone is rejected, but it then becomes the cornerstone (or “the keystone”) of an even greater edifice. For Peter, that edifice is the community of the church — and similarly, for John, the fact that Jesus is rejected and killed ultimately makes possible his resurrection, ascension, and the birth of that community. Unbeknownst to his killers, Jesus’ death is just the first act in this larger drama.

6. Beneath and throughout all of this is the dynamic of an ever-expanding circle of salvation. The Jewish messiah, Luke and John and the whole New Testament insists, will also welcome Gentiles ( Jews + Gentiles = everyone!). Jesus ascends and “will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32). In this week’s passage from John, Jesus puts the same theme this way: “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold” (John 10:16). Precisely who these sheep are is left unspecified; that’s the shepherd’s business, not ours. The practical effect of this teaching for us today is that we dare not imagine anyone to be outside of God’s love and care (even those who reject Jesus!); as Jesus himself hints, in the end the flock may well include “all people” (John 12:32).

What is a Good Shepherd ?

John 10:1-20

  • He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out (v3)
  • When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice (v11)
  • A willingness to lay down his life for the sheep (v11).
  • Personal knowledge of the sheep (v14). I know my sheep and my sheep know me
  • A missionary heart for other sheep (v16)

Psalm 23

In this passage, God is described as a shepherd who cares for his sheep. The speaker of the psalm (presumably David, the author of many of the psalms) identifies himself as a sheep who is under God’s care. Here are some of the ways in which God is depicted as a shepherd in this passage:

  • God provides for his sheep’s needs (“I shall not want”), leading them to green pastures and still waters where they can find rest and refreshment.
  • God guides his sheep on the right path (“he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness”), correcting and restoring them when they go astray.
  • God protects his sheep from danger, even in the midst of the darkest valley (“though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me”).
  • God provides comfort and sustenance in times of hardship (“thy rod and thy staff they comfort me”; “thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies”).
  • God promises to care for his sheep always, and to welcome them into his house (“surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever”).

Another passage in the Old Testament where God is depicted as a shepherd is Ezekiel 34. In this chapter, God rebukes the leaders of Israel for their failure to care for their people and promises to be a shepherd to them himself. Here are some of the ways in which God is described as a shepherd in Ezekiel 34:

  • God seeks out his lost sheep, rescuing them from danger and bringing them back to safety (“I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away”).
  • God provides for his sheep’s needs, giving them food and water and protecting them from predators (“I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel”).
  • God cares for his sheep’s physical and emotional well-being, healing their wounds and strengthening the weak (“I will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick”).
  • God judges between the strong and the weak, ensuring that justice is done and that the vulnerable are protected (“I will judge between cattle and cattle, and between rams and he goats”).
  • God promises to be with his people always, watching over them and bringing them to a place of safety and abundance (“And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods

The Good Shepherd in our hymns

“The Good Shepherd” – Jorge Cocco

The hymns today speak of the qualities of the Good Shepherd

1 Savior, like a shepherd lead us . Author  Dorothy Ann Thrupp (1779-1847) speaks of Jesus as guardian of us in our lives,  keeping away from sin and coming after us when we go astray, freeing us in the process. She calls upon Jesus help us do His Will in general

Thrupp compiled several hymnbooks for children. Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us appeared unsigned in her Hymns for the Young, published in 1836, but is commonly attributed to her.

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