Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 21 April 2024.
Depiction of the Good Shepherd by Jean-Baptiste de Champaigne (1631-81). (Source)
• First Reading: Acts 4: 5-12 (Peter and John before the Sanhedrin: ‘By what power or what name did you do this?’)
• Epistle: 1 John 3: 16-24 (His command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ and to love one another)
• Gospel: John 10: 11-18 (I am the Good Shepherd … lays down His life for the sheep)
They were full of their own righteousness, and wholly prepared to bring judgment – maybe harshly – on those summoned before them to give answer for themselves.
What they had done was wholly wrong and an example of this sort of thing must be made. The law could not be flouted with impunity.
And so the educated and articulate members of the bench girded themselves – possibly with some pleasure – to deal with these impostors.
By what authority …???
And then Peter came into it, like the wind filling a sail from just the right direction. Like a boat taking off into a plane, Peter was right into it.
He had known the infilling of the Holy Spirit and the same Spirit was with him now. The presence of Jesus was so close as to be almost palpable. How dare these people object to the healing of a cripple – whether on the Sabbath or any other day? A man had been released into the praises of God and these people were objecting?
More to the point, they were objecting to the name in which the man had been healed – the very same man whose death by crucifixion they had demanded. Stoning Him was not enough for them.
And now His name was being proclaimed, not just in words but in facts on the ground: a man, crippled for years, now walking and leaping and praising God.
Just in case the bench was not up to speed, Peter made it clear: salvation was of God and God alone. Not in the law. And it was in the Name of Jesus, that the man had been healed and in which they on the bench might also find personal salvation.
And there were no other options. And what was true then is true today despite the many varieties of religions, philosophies and doctrines on offer. Maybe for us, it is whether we need it at all.
Peter was indeed stirred up into eloquence by the Holy Spirit and not even the most learned on the bench could withstand him.
But then if we go back a bit to the gospel, Jesus is stressing something that Peter, in the lesson in Acts, was now drawing upon.
For Jesus was speaking of Himself as the Good Shepherd. Not just any kind of shepherd, working to contract and more interested in getting time at home than in protecting the sheep at all costs.
It was not just that Jesus was ready to give Himself for the sheep, but that He knew each of them intimately and by name. They knew His voice and would not heed imitators.
But the sheep were His and that ownership was deep, abiding and personal. This is stressed again and again in the gospels. The sheep are His, given Him by His Father and He will never let them go.
Others might see in them the possibility of advantage: to use them, exploit them, bargain with them as collateral for some cause or personal advancement. There to be used – but not served. Never honoured or cherished. Never safeguarded or shielded from attack, never strengthened so that they may also discern the holy from the exploitative.
The organization of the sheep was a social and political institution to be used for personal gain. And if they were no longer convenient then the sheep could be abandoned to whatever predator was at large.
Writing to the church, the apostle John also has some interesting things to say.
He is certainly looking for a faith that is worked out practically for those of the fellowship who are in need. Love is practical and seen on the ground.
But there is also something else, for he says that when conscience speaks out in condemnation, God is greater and knows everything. And so He moves to lead us away from those things that harm us.
And if our hearts are not condemning us, then this is in itself grounds for confidence in God. So whether we are listening to a troubled heart or not – God is always with us.
Like a shepherd – calling us, healing us, tending us, leading us into new pastures, with fresh food and water and shelter.
What we are commanded to do is twofold:
Believe in the name of Jesus Christ – His person, His work and ministry, His death and resurrection, His ongoing protection and comfort in the Holy Spirit.
And secondly to love one another. To find in one another that kinship which is beyond conventional loyalty or shared interest. To find in one another that common identity which is beyond class or education or occupation; certainly beyond race or culture.
And yes, it is to know the Peace of God which passes all understanding.
