Easter 4-C (May 2, 2004)

Today, this fourth Sunday of Easter, traditionally is know as Good Shepherd Sunday, because the readings always talk about Jesus as the Good Shepherd. But two problems confront us in 21st century America in terms of sheep and shepherds.

First, we don’t really understand the meaning and the symbol of sheep and shepherds, because we don’t have too many sheep or shepherds around in our everyday lives. Anyone here know a shepherd? I remember a funny story of a teenager from Germany who moved to the United States, and the teacher at her school asked the students to write an essay about their ancestry and roots. This young girl began her essay, “I come from a long line of German shepherds…”

Second, we think of sheep as docile, stupid, smelly, dirty animals – and so, who wants to be thought of as a sheep?

Nonetheless, it is good to stick with the images that are given to us by God in the Bible, even if they are images from bygone centuries and not the images we would normally use today. So please look with me on your handouts, where it says, “Attention, All Sheep! Beware of Wolves!” Today, I would like us to look at two things: First, God’s plan and vision for us; and secondly, some of the “wolves” and the obstacles that can block us from fulfilling God’s plan and vision.

How many would agree with the statement that nothing great happens without passion? Teams win the NBA championship because they are passionate about winning. Scientists discover cures for diseases because they are passionate about their research. Musicians attain excellence because they are passionate about singing or playing an instrument.

But how many would also agree that a lot of people in the world today – maybe even some of us, from time to time – lack passion? Life is on autopilot – without any zip. We’re existing, not living – running on a treadmill and getting nowhere. A lot of people are dead even before they are dead, if you know what I mean. Spiritually, we see this all the time right after Easter – churches are full during Holy Week and Easter Sunday itself, but then, in the weeks that follow, attendance wanes.

Our readings today tell us that God’s plan and vision for us is that we will experience a life of vitality and vibrancy and energy. God wants us to enjoy life, not just endure it. Now this doesn’t mean that there won’t be pain and suffering and trials and tribulations along the way – for the Christian life is not easy, and it often involves embracing the cross. But even in the midst of that pain and suffering and those trials and tribulations, God can give us inner strength, inner peace, inner joy – a supernatural energy that will give our lives zip.

Let’s look first at our gospel, from John, Chapter 10. Let’s read these first two verses on your handout together [Preacher should focus on boldfaced parts of the text]:

A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. – John 10:10

My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life,
and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. – John 10:27-28

And let’s also read the next verse, from our second reading, from the Book of Revelation, which also talks of Jesus as the one who was the sacrificial lamb who died on our behalf, but now is the shepherd who leads us:

The one who sits on the throne will shelter them. They will not hunger or thirst anymore, nor will the sun or any heat strike them. For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." – Rev. 7:15-17

One final verse from Revelation tells us that this good news of a life with zip and vitality is something God wants for everyone – from every nation, every people. It is not limited to just a few:

I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue.—Revelation 7:9

In fact, this universality is what we saw in our first reading from Acts of the Apostles – where the message of Jesus is starting to be shared with the gentiles, not just the Jews.

On your sheet is a question: Is Our Vision of God big enough? Do we really see life from God’s perspective, that God has the power to help us experience new life, that God has the power to help us transform our world and to build God’s kingdom of peace and justice, that God has the power to right the wrongs, that God has the power to help us overcome our own pain and difficulties – and that God uses us for his purpose? Do we have a vision of God that is big enough to include all peoples, all races, all nations – not just people like ourselves?

But on your sheet, it says next, “Beware of Wolves!” There are wolves out there that would convince us to be passive, to not take a stand when we see a wrong being committed, to not believe in a deep enough way that God really loves us with a passion and that God really loves other people – ALL other people – and that God really loves the world. Those wolves would try to rob us of our passion, our enthusiasm, our energy. Those wolves would rather have us living on autopilot, existing but not really living.

In our first reading from Acts, it says: The word of the Lord continued to spread through the whole region. The Jews, however, … stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their territory…. The disciples were filled with joy and the holy Spirit. – Acts 13:49-52

That last line particularly struck me. The apostles were being persecuted, expelled, beaten, spit upon, threatened with jail – yet they are filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. The wolves are attacking, yet these disciples are not overcome! And it is because they have the joy of God in their hearts that overcomes all sadness, all suffering. They are passionate about what they are doing. And this passion comes from God, from the Holy Spirit. They are not depending just on their own strength, their own energy, their own power. They are depending on God’s power.

Do we wake up in the morning and say, “Good morning, Lord!” – or do we wake up and say, “Good Lord, it’s morning”? Do we believe that we too can experience this same strength and energy and power from God in our own lives? Do we believe that God is so passionately in love with us that God wants to fill our lives to overflowing with passion, too?

The last thing we are going to do this morning is look at eight wolves – eight passion busters that can rob us of a sense of God’s energy and power. I need eight kids to help me – each is going to get a balloon. [Have kids grab a balloon and sit up front. After each Passion Buster is explained, pop one balloon]

First, we look at two emotional passion busters:

1. An Unclear purpose. We live life more by default than by design. We’re just drifting. Does that rob us of energy and enthusiasm? You bet! So let’s pop that balloon!
2. Second, an unbalanced schedule. This is a really important passion buster, a real wolf in sheep’s clothing. We’re too busy. We’re stressed out and always on the run. Anyone here relate to that one? It can even happen in church. At Mini-Retreat 101, I always tell my version of the little ditty, “Mary had a little lamb, it would’ve been a sheep, but then it joined its local church and died from lack of sleep.” Spiritual burnout, even when we are doing good ministry! Or greed – we are working, working, working, double shifts and triple shifts and two and three jobs, but not because we absolutely have to, but because we are trying to keep up with the Jone’s, or we’ve bought into the American myth of materialism that tells us we need to have this and we need to have that. Or insecurity – our self-esteem and our self worth is all tied in to a sense that we need to work, work, work. Is this a passion buster? Do we need to pop this balloon?

Next are two relational passion busters.

1. Number 3: Unresolved conflict. We’re angry, bitter at someone, jealous or unable to forgive. But all that negative energy saps us, and doesn’t affect the other person. To forgive someone is not to admit that they were right and you were wrong. It’s not to allow someone to continue to mistreat you. But it is letting go of the anger so that anger does not control you. It is turning it over to God and moving on with your life. Do we need to bust that passion buster?
2. Number 4: An unsupported lifestyle. This is another really important one. We are so busy in our lives that we don’t have quality time with other people, so they can support us spiritually. But we need that support. That’s why in this church and at the Valley Missionary Program, we so strongly encourage people to join a small faith community or, for our teens, to join a youth group. We need the support of others, spiritually – and Sunday morning alone won’t cut it. I’ve seen this happen so often – the first sign of spiritual unhealthiness, when people stop coming to church and stop staying involved. They go adrift spiritually. It’s like a hot coal in a fire – but when you take that hot coal out of the fireplace and set it aside all by itself, the flame goes out. Or in prison, what is the worst type of punishment, short of the death penalty? Solitary confinement. We are not meant to journey through life alone, spiritually. So let’s bust that passion buster, shall we?

Now, finally, we have four spiritual passion busters:

1. Fifth, an unexamined life. We’ve already talked about that. Existing, not living. Not slowing down enough to ask the really deep questions: Why am I here on this earth? What is God’s purpose for me, and am I doing my best to fulfill that purpose? Shall we bust this one?
2. Next, the undernourished soul. We don’t feed enough spiritually. I always tell people, If you only ate one meal a week, what would happen to you? You’d be very hungry and probably starve to death. One spiritual meal a week on Sunday is not enough. We need to be praying each day and reading God’s Word in the Bible and growing spiritually through small faith communities or classes or retreats or mini-retreats or spiritual reading or listening to Christian music – lots of ways. Shall we bust this passion buster?
3. Number 7 is unapplied truth. This is a very important one. Too often – and I think we Catholics are really guilty of this – we listen, but we don’t do. We’re like sponges soaking it in on Sunday morning, but nothing we learn here is of any value whatsoever, unless we put it into action and into practice. Adelai Stevenson, a famous politician who ran for President back in the 1940s, said: “I live in a sea of words, where the nouns and adjectives flow, where the verbs speak of actions that never take place and the sentences just come and go.” How sad! Shall we bust this passion buster?
4. Finally, Unexpressed Faith. Part of doing is passing on what we’ve learned. Invite someone to church with you on Sunday. Use this little handout not just as garbage at the bottom of the bird cage, but to engage someone in a conversation about God. “This is what we talked about on Sunday!” In the Holy Land, there are two bodies of water – the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. The Sea of Galilee is teeming with life because it has a stream that feeds it constantly, and it is constantly letting water out at the other end, because its water pours out into the Jordan River. But the Dead Sea is just as its name implies – dead – because it only has the Jordan River flowing into it, but nothing that leaves it. Spiritually, if all we are doing is taking in, but not giving out, our lives are dead, spiritually.

Let me conclude with a story. Last week, I was at a stewardship conference, where I heard this story. Stewardship simply means that we are thankful for God for all that He has given us, and out of that gratefulness, we are generous in giving back of our time and talent and treasure. It is a way of life, a spiritually. So this man in Africa had been learning about stewardship. He was a fisherman, and he came to the parish priest and said, “Here is my fish – this is my offering to the church this week.” The priest was amazed and grateful, and said to the man, “This must mean you caught ten fish this week, and this fish represents your ten percent.” “No,” said the man, “This is the first fish I caught. Now I am going to go out and try to catch the other nine.”

Would you say this man was passionate for God? He gave the very first fish, before he had even caught any others. He trusted in God and was no doubt filled with God’s joy and God’s energy.

God is passionate about us and loves us and wants what is best for us. Are we equally as passionate about him?