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.

2024 Sun April 21

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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Voices on Good Shepherd Sunday

1. Br. James Koester, SSJE/

The good news is that we don’t need to be perfect. We only need to be found. We give thanks that the Good Shepherd continues to search for us, so that one day we will be found, gathered into his arms, and brought home.

2. David Lose – "God is Not Done Yet"

Amid Jesus’ discourse on being “the good shepherd,” what jumped out to me this time was Jesus’ simply but bold assertion that, “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.” Have you ever noticed that before? Or, more than notice it, have you ever given much thought to its theological and homiletical implications? 

What strikes me is that, quite simply, Jesus isn’t done yet. Despite his healings, despite his preaching, despite all that he had already done and planned to do, Jesus isn’t done yet. He still has more sheep to reach, sheep that are not in this fold. By extension, I’d suggest that God isn’t done yet, either. And this matters for at least three reasons. 

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Maximilian Kolbe – a caring shepherd among his people

From a sermon by Rev. William D. Oldland, "Jesus is the Shepherd and the Gate"  about Maximiliam Kolbe 

"His life exemplifies the role of a caring shepherd for his flock. His life is also a gate or perhaps a gateway through which we can see the effect of the incredible love of God. 

 "The priest’s name was Maximilian Kolbe. He was born in 1894 in Poland. His parents were poor. His father was a weaver. At an early age he had a vision. He had prayed to Mary and asked what was to become of him. In response Mary came to him in this vision holding two crowns. One was red and the other was white. The white one symbolized perseverance in purity and the red one meant martyrdom. She asked which one he would choose. He said he would accept them both. This decision shaped his future actions and would one day come true. 

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Good Shepherd.. in the movies

In the Old Testament, Shepherds are used to represent leaders of God’s people (see Isaiah 63:11; Jeremiah 23:2). Shepherds watch for enemies who might attack the sheep, and they defend them when necessary. They tend to sick or wounded sheep and search for and rescue lost or trapped ones.

In Christ’s teachings, shepherds love their sheep and try to earn their trust. The sheep know, love, and trust the shepherd above all others. A good shepherd will even die for his sheep. Christ contrasts the shepherd with the hireling, who deserts the sheep in times of danger because he does not love them.

There are movies where the main character exhibit this behavior.

One of Jack Nicholson’s early films was “One Flew over the Cukoo Nest” (1975). Randall McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) is sent from the state penitentiary to a mental hospital in order to be evaluated. McMurphy is promptly situated as the deviant who will challenge the establishment, embodied principally by the villainous Nurse Ratched. Randall demands to know what medication is being administered to him, attempts to teach fellow patients basketball and black jack, and instigates a futile campaign to have the schedule altered so that everyone may watch the World Series. His threat to the stability of the institution is finally acknowledged by the Board after he commandeers the hospital bus in order to take his disciples on a fishing expedition. The group gradually questions the hospital’s procedures. A violent uproar ensues, causing Randall’s beloved disciple “Chief” (Will Samson) to physically assault a ward who attempts to subdue McMurphy.

After the administration of corrective shock treatment to the dissenters, McMurphy begins to persuade the others to leave the institution, a premise they resist due to a lack of faith in their own capabilities to function on the outside.

In the concluding sequence, it is obvious that McMurphy has empowered at least one of his disciples to do what was once unthinkable. “Chief” hurls a limestone bathroom fixture through the window and escapes the hospital. The rush of water at the beginning of the scene can be linked to baptism.

Link to the last scene