4 Easter Day/Year C Sermon/May 11, 2025 Acts of the Apostles 9:36-43; Psalm 23; John 10:22-30 (Rev Julie Platson)
Opening Prayer (Collect of the Day - 4 Easter)
O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Today’s gospel reading always makes for a good discussion…There’s always the questions and concerns about how we hear God’s voice…some say...that they haven’t actually heard their name spoken….some say, they don’t know if they’ve ever heard God’s call in a clear and audible way…some ask…how do we know it’s the Good Shepherd calling our name…how do we know whose voice it is we hear and not our own thoughts and ideas speaking to us?
When we get to the end of the discussion…there is never one clear answer…it seems as though the Lord call us each by name…in a variety of ways…but it is the one voice that is behind the call that we strive to discern…Jesus said… “The Father and I are one.”
Several years ago, in a book study during Lent, one of the participants shared a video with us, with a shepherd calling his sheep….we could hear him calling them…but it seemed like quite awhile before they started coming…but little by little they came running to the shepherd…a few of them…then masses of them…
I couldn’t help but wonder…if there were other shepherds not too far off, who were also calling for their flock…how would the sheep know which voice to follow?
Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.”
The Jewish authorities gathered around Jesus in today’s gospel reading said to Jesus, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered, “I have told you and you do not believe.”
“I have told you, plainly”…I imagine Jesus saying to them…
Just last week, in our gospel reading…Jesus asked Simon (Peter) – three times…
"Simon, son of John, do you love me?"
And each time, Simon (Peter) answered him…"Yes, Lord; you know that I love you."
Jesus responded to Simon (Peter) three times, plainly…
"Feed my lambs."
"Tend my sheep."
"Feed my sheep.”
I would say, that’s speaking pretty plainly…
Sometimes, we have a way of complicating things pretty well. Someone could be standing right in front of us, telling us and showing us something…yet we still don’t “hear” what is being said. It doesn’t sound familiar, it doesn’t make logical sense, it’s not what we’ve known before….so we don’t “hear” what’s being said.
The Good Shepherd’s voice is not always “heard” with our ears…or understood through “seeing”. It goes much deeper than that.
Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.”
We’ve heard similar words before…
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
We have a Good Shepherd among us, always…His Name is Jesus…and He calls us each by name…
The Good Shepherd’s voice is a voice that dwells within us…When we make it a daily practice to quiet ourselves long enough, to just “be” in His presence and listen for the voice who speaks to us…we will begin to recognize it, and hear his call to rise up and follow where he is wanting to lead us…
Therein, lies the challenge these days...how do we quiet ourselves…how do we open our ears, our eyes, our minds, and our hearts to hear what the Spirit is saying to us…How do we get past all the distractions?... the worries, the concerns, the unbelief, the busyness of daily life…
How do we get past all the beautiful distractions in Sitka?… the mountains, the trails, the ocean, the fishing, the birds, the animals, the beauty of the night skies and the long days of sunlight…We can get pulled in so many directions…
But are these really distractions?…or perhaps in those distractions…the troubling ones and the beautiful ones, nestled deeply within…the voice of the Good Shepherd is calling out…
The sea calls out to many… there are those whose fishing work provides food for many of us, whose work provides food for those children in the schools, who perhaps have only one meal that day...could that be the voice of the Good Shepherd calling out: "Feed my lambs." Take care of the young ones, and the vulnerable, among you.
The trails and the wooded areas that surround us in Sitka, beckon many to walk among the trees, the birds, and the animals… could that be the voice of the Good Shepherd calling out: "Tend my sheep." Take care of this beautiful creation…take care of one another…
The music that is played and sung throughout the year here, in a variety of forms, with a variety of instruments, and with a variety of voices…brings abundant joy, and often healing, and peace of mind and heart…could that be the voice of the Good Shepherd calling out: "Feed my sheep." Love one another, be hope-bearers, joy-bringers…
Jesus is the Good Shepherd...do you hear him calling? Will you rise up and follow him, and go wherever he leads you?
All we need in this life can be found in following him and trusting him to show us the way of walking in love with one another…the Lord, who is our Shepherd…
He will lead us to a place of rest and quiet, when the day feels too full…
He will revive our souls, gives us hope again, and guide us in the way we should go…
He will walk with us through the hills and valleys, he will keep us safe, he will comfort us in times of trials and fear…
He has prepared a special place for all of us, at the feast…with overflowing abundance…
And surely His goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives, and we will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. Amen.
Prayer/Music after sermon: “You Hear the Lambs a-Cryin” (LEVAS II - #110)
You hear the lambs a-cryin’ hear the lambs a-cryin’,
hear the lambs a-cryin’ O Shepherd, feed my sheep.
1 My Savior spoke these words so sweet,
O Shepherd, feed my sheep.
Sayin (Simon) Peter, if you love me, feed my sheep."
O Shepherd, feed my sheep. Refrain
2 O Lord, I love thee, thou dost know;
O Shepherd, feed my sheep.
O give me grace to love thee more.
O Shepherd, feed my sheep. Refrain