Easter 4, April 26, 2015 (full size gallery)
This was a busy week with the Garden Week on Tues. April 21 and the Booth weekend in Caroline County focusing in on Port Royal on Sat. April 25. The ladies earned just under $1,400 on Tuesday and separately $250 for the tablet restoration.
Sunday was overcast, cool, rainy until the 11am service. We had 9 at 9am and 32 at 11am. One at 9am and three of those at 11am were visitors to the Booth tour events. Despite the weather the light colored new spring grass, winter wheat and new blooms were overwhelming.
This Sunday was Easter 4. The readings are here and the bulletins, 9am and 11am. It is best known as "Good Shepherd Story" based on the Gospel reading in particular. We remember the Good Shepherd as one who provides, protects, guides and nurtures among other things.
The sermon began this way:"Our job is to have enough faith and hope to long to see God bringing this kingdom to birth here in our midst, even if sometimes that kingdom only appears as a shimmering mirage on a distant horizon."
"This constant exposure to evil and its work in the world can remove our ability to see that God is still working to bring forth a kingdom of love here on earth… This constant exposure to evil can pull faith and hope out from under us, leaving us flat on our backs in helpless fear.So we have to look for God’s work in the world in order to keep from falling down and becoming helpless because of our fear and dread of evil."
She provided examples of God’s love at a coffee shop in Fredericksburg and a Taize service in Richmond where two monks spoke of Taize. Speaking of the Taize experience in France: " And the common thread was that they found that their hearts were open to God’s love in new ways and that they were actually experiencing God’s kingdom here on earth in this community of love and then taking that love out into their lives back home.
"As Christians, our first job is to never lose sight of the kingdom of God in our midst. And our second job, as Christians, is to see what it is that God is calling us to do to make God’s kingdom a living, breathing reality on this earth, here and now, and then try to do that thing. Even the little things we do are of monumental importance when it comes to making God’s kingdom present on this earth."
"Today’s scriptures comfort us with these beautiful images of the Good Shepherd, but the passages we’ve heard also challenge us—challenge us to live as if God’s kingdom is already a reality… John puts it so bluntly. “How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help?”
"Our food distribution is one example of God’s love visible in this little corner of Caroline County. Thank you for your ongoing support of time, and your contributions of food and money to support this ministry."
She referenced both events this week. "People got to hear that yes, we worship in this historic building, and our worship here then takes us out into the world to do God’s work, to make God’s kingdom of love visible."
Michael made his first appearance as Crucifer. We celebrated birthday for Barbara Segar, Holly Davis, Stanley Fields and Hugh D’Aguillar.
Catherine promoted the Village Harvest in both the sermon as an example of shepherding, making God’s kingdom visible and in the annoucements since the Village Harvest will be in the Community Give in Fredericksburg. It is a day of donations and support for the local area’s non-profits
Next week is the Parish retreat with 10 going. John Sellers will be the guest minister at 11am at St. Peter’s with Morning Prayer.
Commentary by Canon Lance Ousley of the Diocese of Olympia, Washington
The Good Shepherd is a powerful image of stewardship of and to the other. As I have reflected on these texts I have been struck by my thoughts of how the description of the Good Shepherd is one of ultimate hospitality. The idea of stewardship is integral with hospitality. To be hospitable, one has to believe one has something to offer the other; and one has to value the other for whom they are to offer hospitality. If you don’t think you have anything to share with anyone, why bother? Hospitality flows from our awareness of our blessedness, as well as the blessedness of others. (As a side note, this might point to some growing edges for congregations that don’t practice very good hospitality.)
When we look at the actions of the Good Shepherd as true hospitality it gives us the window into the root of the word from which we derive hospice and hospital. Hospice is a place and ministry of deep loving care, that takes away pain. It also is a place of peaceful rest for the weary traveler. Hospitals are places that seek to heal the sick and restore health and wholeness to the patient. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, seeks to do this for us, all of us, even to the point of laying down his life for each and every one of us. Obviously, Jesus knew he had something to offer us. But a good shepherd also understands the value of the sheep entrusted to his care, even all sheep. They provide many blessings of milk, food, clothing and shelter – essentials for the lives of many. The good shepherd seeks to cultivate this in his sheep and to nurture them with great care. Jesus also values us and believes we have something to offer for the benefit of many, too. Why else would he lay down his life for us?
Likewise, we are called out through our common baptismal waters, bread and cup, to be the presence of the Good Shepherd in the world. It is by his power that we can live into this reality and practice the ultimate hospitality of his love, being stewards of the blessings we have to give the world and stewards of the blessings others have to give, too.
Jesus doesn’t want us to practice the stewardship of the hired hand, but rather to steward the hospitality of the Good Shepherd. Isn’t that what it means to be the Body of Christ?