Easter 4C April 25, 2010 The Rev. Gene B. Manning Acts 9:36-43, Ps 23 Rev. 7:9-17, Jn 10:22-30

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1 Easter 4C April 25, 2010 The Rev. Gene B. Manning Acts 9:36-43, Ps 23 Rev. 7:9-17, Jn 10:22-30 You know that feeling of sitting in a classroom, a business meeting, a committee meeting, or a lecture and you have a burning question; one you are dying to ask but are afraid for fear you might appear inadequate or people will look at you funny. So you hope someone else will ask the question for you. Often in such cases the answer raises even more questions. Jesus, how much longer will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly. Don t beat around the bush, no nuanced answers, no ambiguity, just tell us. And He does. The Father and I are one. There is the answer. Plain, simple, direct. Or is it? It seems to prompt more questions, more confusion. According to John s Gospel, Jesus arrives at the Temple for the festival of the Dedication, Hanukkah as we know it. The place is a buzz with the faithful who have come to give thanks to God for the reclaiming of Jerusalem. They have come to commemorate an important time in their history. This festival recounts the events that occurred some 200 years ago (168BC) when Syrian-Greek soldiers stormed the Temple and worship was given over to the god of Zeus. It was Judas Maccabeus who mounted a revolt and regained and purified the holy Temple for the worship of the one true God. 1

2 So on this day the Temple is a glow with lighted lamps in remembrance of that time of great suffering and in celebration of their great victory. Jesus makes his way through the portico of Solomon and is confronted head on by a group of the Temple s most faithful who seek to know his identity. His teachings and his deeds throughout Galilee and Judea have raised questions and suspicions. And they want answers. Tell us, they say. Who are you? They do not like Jesus response. To them it is blasphemous. In fact so much so they pick up stones to stone him and attempt to arrest him. What is it about his answer that insights such hostility? Well, there are several things that give rise to their anger. You see, the temple has been the center of God s activity, God s holiness, God s righteousness and this is the very festival to proclaim that. For Jesus to say he is one with God means the locus of God s dwelling place has shifted. No longer is it to be found in the Temple but now it is in the person of Jesus. He goes on to tell them that his works constitute public evidence that he bears the mantle of the Messiah. He heals the sick, restores the broken, gives sight to the blind. These are the things that testify to who he is. But Jesus is quick to tell those gathered in the portico that his work is only possible through God, the One who sent him into the world. Jesus shares fully in God s work. It is God s divine initiative through Jesus that bids God s people to hear and to follow. Then there is that hope that the Messiah would be the one to free Israel from the Roman oppression. The people who crowd around Jesus want a clear and concise answer. Instead Jesus is evasive and cryptic. 2

3 The people want him to speak with authority about weapons and strategies; instead he talks about guiding and leading sheep. The role of the Shepherd is actually a powerful messianic image in Israel s collective history, but obviously not what they want to hear about on this day. They fail to see the power and might of the great Shepherd of the sheep. Jesus claim of leadership is so astounding. He is clearly not the one they are expecting. Who are we expecting? I wonder if on this day, each of us might be so bold as to ask, Jesus, who are you as our Good Shepherd, our Messiah? All of us probably hold images of the Good Shepherd whether from Sunday school posters of old, paintings by a master artists, hymnody, or visions formed from the hearing of familiar psalms. But how do we take our images of the Good Shepherd and live daily into the reality of the Good Shepherd? Sitting on the window sill in my office is a gift given me several years ago by a child. It is a beautiful white ceramic statue of Jesus. Over his shoulders is draped a lamb who he no doubt has rescued from the the dark and shadowy thicket and brought back to safety. The view out my third story window is of the busy intersection of 8 th and Commerce. I often glance out the window as I talk on the phone looking down where cars and buses pass one another hurrying to their next destination. Where our homeless wander down the sidewalk wondering what is next. Where men and women walk to work carrying their present and often heavy burdens. Where students from Hume Fogg High School roam with friends during lunch hour questioning the ways of the world. Where strangers go unnoticed feeling the emptiness of the day. 3

4 What does it mean to look out into the world through the care of the Good Shepherd? To hear his voice above the hustle and bustle of our days? We have been told. It is, to know, to believe, to trust that each of us is called by name. Each is held in the loving hands of God and to remember no matter how difficult the path becomes it is our Shepherd who goes before us. As the Psalmist tell us: Our Lord leads the way. Gives us rest. Guides us through to still and calm waters. Comforts us. Relieves our fears. Prepares God s table of new life before us. Anoints us as God s own forever. Brings us to our eternal salvation. God sent the Messiah, our shepherd, into this world to bless us, to bring order to our disorder, to heal our pain and suffering to redeem our brokenness to reconcile us to God. And our Lord asks us to view the world and each other through these same mighty acts of blessing. As you and I look out into the world God bids us to look through the embrace of the Good Shepherd. Walk alongside the men and women who you know are carrying burdens. Extend a hand of love to the one wandering the streets looking for rest. Reassure the young person you meet that they are a beloved child of God. Invite a stranger to dine here at our Lord s table. 4

5 How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly. I have told you, says our Lord. Open your eyes to see open your ears to hear. You will find me on the street corner, at the bedside, in the waters of baptism, in the eyes of a child, through the pain and the suffering of this world, in the love you have for each other, in your joys and your celebrations. You will find me here at God s table through the bread and the wine, the Body and the Blood. But if you are not sure, Don t be afraid. Just ask. What better time than now, in this Easter season, this season of resurrection to ask our risen Lord, the Messiah, to be known to us. 5