Acts 6:1-9; 7:2a,
51-60, Psalm 23, 1 Peter 2:19-25, John 10:1-10
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
“Very
truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but
climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the
gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him,
and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them
out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them and the
sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a
stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of
strangers.” Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not
understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, “Very
truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are
thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate.
Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find
pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I come that
they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
We live in times of
turmoil and uncertainty. One only has to look at the newspaper headlines or
watch the evening news to see that. The world is a dangerous place. We see
it in the visions of violence in the Middle East; we can see it locally in
stories of gang violence in Sacramento and Elk Grove. We see it in
the frustration of commuters driving to work on our highways daily. Our world is
still untamed and full of conflicts.
Jesus knew this fact
at least as well as we do, for his world was really no different from our
own. Many of the conflicts of his time and his land are with us yet today.
The human heart does not change so quickly or easily. The world still has
its share of “thieves and bandits” ready to snatch and scatter the flock, as
is made clear in today’s Gospel account.
The world of the
apostles and the early Christian church was also a world of conflict. The
disciples were under constant attacks by the established religious leaders.
They were arrested and beaten and intimidated in attempts to stop them from
spreading their stories. But even so they were successful in spreading their
message. As we read in Acts today “the disciples were increasing in number”.
But that success also brought its own conflicts, there were complaints of
favoritism as “the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their
widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food.”
What are we to do? How
are we to respond to uncertainty today? We can clearly see that the world
has not changed. Why even try?
There is a story told
about a wise man among the American Indians who was asked by his grandson
about the conflict and discord in the world. The elder reflected for a
moment and then replied, “My child, there are two dogs battling within my
heart. One is full of anger, hatred, and rage. The other if full of love,
forgiveness, and peace.” The old man paused, and he and his grandson sat in
silence. Finally the boy could no longer stand the suspense and asked,
“Grandfather, which dog will win the battle in your heart? The one filled
with hatred or the one filled with love?” The wise old man then looked at
his grandson and replied, “The one I feed will win.”
You see the conflicts
we experience are not truly on our streets, our neighborhoods, or even in
the lands far from us. The conflict is always fought out in the human
heart. The Indian wise man was right. Too many of us feed the dogs of anger
and hatred.
The early church
leaders responded to their internal conflicts, not by taking sides in the
matter and not by diminishing the importance of the needs of the Hellenistic
widows. I believe those early church leaders responded wisely in two ways.
First they recognized the needs of the people and secondly, they realized
their own limitations. How did they respond? They looked at a new way to
function as a church. They broadened the participation in the ministry and
leadership of the church to include seven additional people “of good
standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom.” These additional workers were
appointed the task of meeting those identified needs.
These early leaders
didn’t discard what was working. “The twelve” continued to focus on their
strengths which were identified as focusing on the Word of God. They found
others “the seven” who could use their own strong gifts to perform
additional services to the needy of the church. The church continued to
grow because the needs of the people were met.
This idea of sharing
the mission and ministry of the church is found in another of the epistles.
In Romans 12:3-6 we read, “God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For
just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the
same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually
members one of another. And since we have gifts that differ according to the
grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly.”
The church is here
characterized as the Body of Christ, present in the world today. Jesus
characterized himself in our gospel reading as the gate to God’s Kingdom. “I
am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out
and find pasture.” The Church today, representing Christ’s body, then also
functions as a gate.
What kind of gate are
we? You see gates can have many functions, some gates are to keep people (or
animals) out, some gates function to keep them in. Some gates can be
welcoming, others formidable.
Historically, St.
Paul’s has been an inviting gateway. This small parish has
encouraged a more active participation in a spiritual life for many. This
small parish has provided a welcoming environment for many seeking answers
to their doubts, for others seeking healing for injuries inflicted upon them
by other churches, or just injuries inflicted by the world itself.
This small parish has
been involved in the formation of a social services movement that has grown
and become River City Community Services – meeting the needs of the poor in
our community.
This small parish in
the past has been instrumental in the formation of other local Episcopal
parishes, some of which are now larger than we.
This small parish has
supported the spiritual growth and development of deacons. This small parish
has supported the spiritual growth and development of priests. This small
parish is even today supporting members searching within their own lives and
studying the opportunities for their own growth in God’s service.
The church was never
meant to be a closed gate. The church was never meant to be a closed
membership club. And the church most definitely does not function for the
sole benefit of its current members. The open gate means that this church is
for you. Even if this is the first time that you have entered this building,
no especially if this is the first time you have come into this community,
this church is for you.
What kind of gate are
we? What can we do to be better gatekeepers? This is a question that we at
St. Paul’s have been asking ourselves each year for the past three years as
part of our parish planning process. You see the direction of our ministry
and the success of our mission depends upon each of us. Your particular
vision of the future and your particular understanding of the needs of the
community are important in planning the direction of our parish.
In early summer
members of the vestry and leaders of various groups in this parish will be
invited to meet for a Long Range Planning Conference, as we have done each
of the past three years. This group will consider all the ideas presented
from each of you. Every person’s experiences are important. I believe that
each member of this parish has valuable ideas for the future of the church.
Available, starting today, is a simple questionnaire. I am asking each of
you to consider the question, “If resources were unlimited, what would you
like to see St. Paul’s parish doing over the next three years?” Your
answers, your fondest dreams of the future of St. Paul’s will be gathered
over the next four weeks and will all be thoughtfully considered at the
planning meeting.
The disciples of the
early church recognized the needs of the people and they changed the
structure and functioning of the church to meet those needs. We today need
to be made aware of the needs of the living church and community. Those
early church leaders increased the participation in leadership by appointing
those first seven, who are traditionally recognized as the first deacons of
the church. We at St. Paul’s invite and encourage your participation in
identifying needs and offering your suggestions and solutions for our
uncertain world.
There is a postscript
to the story of the Indian elder. “Two dogs are battling within my heart.
One is full of anger, hatred, and rage. The other if full of love,
forgiveness, and peace.”
“Which dog will win
the battle in your heart?”
“The one I feed will
win,” replied the elder. But then he continued, “My child feeding one dog or
the other is only part of the answer. The Great Spirit feeds each of us. It
is from the Great Spirit that we first learn to feed others at all.”
As we have been fed,
we must now feed others in Christ’s name.
Amen.