John’s into a community food drop-off center. I spent time this week working with our Outreach Ministry to turn St. And the voice of the Good Shepherd says, “feed my sheep.”Īnd that’s what I am now inviting you to do. People who have never had to use food pantries before are lining up for groceries. But one of the great needs to emerge out of this pandemic, here on the South Shore and all over the world, is the issue of food scarcity. Now, I’d argue that physical needs are spiritual needs. But she wrote, “Staying at home is wonderful - when you have a home, with electricity, and food, and a job, and access to the internet, and are computer literate.” And that streaming worship, while important, assumes “that everybody is in a safe and comfortable home setting, and, therefore, the only need to be met is a spiritual one.”
#So sayeth the shepherd watch online
I read an article this week in a British church publication with a pretty damning headline: “YouTube sermons will not feed the hungry.” Now, the context was different, as it was written by the Vicar of a small, impoverished, mostly elderly parish in London, many of whose members are unable or unwilling to watch online services. But this voice doesn’t just soothe, it also challenges. So it is the voice of the Good Shepherd that keeps us bound to one another that keeps us safe as we collectively walk through the valley of the shadow of death that keeps us connected as one flock. And by hanging on every word of the one who guides us through turbulent times, whatever that looks like for each one of us. We stay connected by listening to the voice of the Good Shepherd who calls us each by name, wherever we may be. The voice of Jesus is the connective tissue that binds us together and keeps us together and holds us together.
Through the marvels of technology, yes, but primarily through our faith. Our life right now is not a parable of lost sheep, but of sheep temporarily distanced from one another.īut this community remains connected. We have all wandered away - not on purpose - but because of circumstance. The voice of Jesus gathers and builds up, rather than scatters and destroys.ĭuring these times, it’s hard not to think of us as anything but a scattered flock.
#So sayeth the shepherd full
Jesus’ voice is not full of division, but love. Jesus’ voice is not full of judgment, but forgiveness. Jesus says, “He calls his own sheep by name…and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.” Jesus’ voice is not full of bluster, but invitation. And certainly not what Jesus had in mind when he said, “I am the Good Shepherd.”īecause Reverend Bubba makes this all about his voice, rather than Jesus’ voice.
And the call and response used by Reverend Bubba whenever he makes a point is, “So sayeth the shepherd” and his followers all reply, “So sayeth the flock!”Īnd even though this is a cartoonish caricature of conservative religion, this is not a particularly helpful model of ministry. Reverend Bubba Flavel brings his flock to meet with the beleaguered principle to pressure the school into shutting down the production.
Two thumbs down! But there’s a scene that I can never get out of my head on Good Shepherd Sunday.īecause when the students of the Angel Beach High drama club decide to stage “An Evening With Shakespeare,” a group of fanatically religious citizens object on the grounds that the works of Shakespeare are both obscene and profane. It’s trashy and misogynistic and full of stereotypes. And I certainly don’t recommend this as an appropriate family bonding quarantine movie. Now, I never thought I’d reference Porky’s II in a sermon. I think my hesitation over this imagery, if I’m honest, goes back to the 1983 film Porky’s II. And sometimes the lines get blurred, which can cause great spiritual damage. I mean, we are all of us together a flock, and clergy may play a unique role in the community, but Jesus is the real shepherd here. That he protects and revives, watches over and consoles.īut I’ve always been a bit wary of the idea of the pastor as the shepherd of his or her own flock. Especially in times of trouble, there’s something deeply comforting about knowing, at the very core of your being, that Jesus cares for and tends to your very soul. Like many of you, I’ve always loved the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. John the Evangelist in Hingham, Massachusetts