| John 10:11-18 "The Family Business" |
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| Written by Rev. Denise Peckham | |
| Saturday, 06 May 2006 | |
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A husband trying to prove to his wife that women talk more than men, showed her a study which indicated that men use on the average only 15,000 words a day, whereas women use 30,000 words a day. She thought about this for a moment and then told her husband that women use twice as many words as men because they have to repeat everything they say. Looking stunned, her husband replied, "What?" Did you know at times Jesus felt he had to repeat himself? Jesus uses two words, “I am” or 'ego eimi (in the Greek) throughout the Gospel of John. · I am …the Light of the World - John 8:12 · I am…the resurrection and the life - John 11:25 · I am…the way, and the truth, and the life - John 14:6 · I am …the bread of life - John 6:35 · I am the gate – John 10:7 And from this morning’s reading…" "I am the good shepherd.” “I AM” are the very same self-defining words God speaks to Moses from the burning bush. “Tell them ‘I am’ has sent me to you.” Exodus 3:14 Jesus will use 'ego eimi’ 54 times in John's Gospel! Talk about repeating yourself! Jesus is identifying himself with Yahweh, God of the Hebrew faith. A God as life giver, healer, sustainer, and irony of ironies, omnipotent God as crucified savior. Our Lectionary reading comes from the Gospel of John 10:11-18. As you are able, please stand for the reading of the Gospel. 11 ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.’ Prayer: God, humble us we pray. Give us a heart willing to engage in holy conversation with your Spirit. In the name of the Good Shepherd we pray. Amen. Vs. 14 (egw eimi o poimhn o kalov), I am the good-shepherd. Stand alone, it’s a strange statement. Given the context it makes perfect sense. In Chapter 9 Jesus heals a blind man, who is then brought before the religious leaders; challenged, accused, and then summarily thrown out of the synagogue. This was not suppose to happen! It was the priest’s role to validate when healing had taken place, and to declare “clean” the healed person, thus readmitting her or him into temple and synagogue life. In this case, however, instead of declaring this healed man “clean” and readmitting him into communal life (which would have validated Jesus’ ministry), religious leaders pass judgment on the healed man, and thus the one who healed him. Why? Jesus broke Mosaic law by healing this man on the Sabbath. Exodus 20:8-10 8 Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. 9For six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work… You know it as one of the ten Commandments. The Gospels tell us Jesus and his Disciples regularly broke Scripture’s proverbial “Blue Law” by traveling, teaching, healing, and gleaning food on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-2). In at least one case, even inviting a person he had healed to engage in activity on the Sabbath (John 5:1-8). You can slice and dice this a thousand different ways but basically what you have here is Jesus violating a literal take on the 4th commandment. As one writer puts it, “Jesus attacked external obedience and human traditions which often obscured the spirit and intent of God’s commandments,” which Jesus summarized as “love God and neighbor.” Hmmm, Jesus violates scripture to do the loving thing? We’ll have to wrestle with that one for a while. By naming himself the “Good Shepherd” Jesus is claiming the Pharisees were NOT being good shepherds to the people they were to serve. In Ezekiel 34:1-10, the kings of Israel are referred to as bad shepherds who endanger and exploit the flock. God is the good shepherd who will rescue the sheep and place them in the protective care of “my servant, David,” a reference to a restored Davidic monarchy. P.668 Interpreters Bible Commentary IX. God's people are "the sheep of his pasture" (Psalms 79:13; 95:7), whose sin has caused them to lose their way (Isaiah 53:6; Jeremiah 50:6). The Apostle Paul writers in I Peter 2:25, "For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." What does it mean for the church to live as Jesus’ sheep? At the very least it means listening for Jesus’ voice and following him wherever he leads, even if it shoves you firmly outside of the mainstream! I am the Good Shepherd…WHO… Verse 15, “thn yuchn autou tiqhsin upper twn probatwn,” lays down his life for the sheep. With these words Jesus names his life vocation, literally his “voice calling.” There’s a wonderful story in Luke Chapter two, about a 12 year old Jesus who becomes separated from his parents while on a visit to Jerusalem. When he is finally located in the Temple, Mary chastises her son. His response in vs. 49? “Did you not know that I must be in my father’s house?” The Greek word used for father here is “pater” from which we derive the words “paternal” and “paternity.” In saying these words, the boy Jesus clarifies who his true ‘pater’ is, and how that relationship that will define his life’s vocation. Jesus reveals his life vocation to his Disciples in John 4:34, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his “er-gon”, his business. In “laying down his life” Jesus claims he is going about his “Pater’s er-gon,” his Father’s business. When I talked with my dad before Christmas he confided in me that he was considering shutting down the family business. My dad runs a family-owned printing business in So. California. There just hasn’t been enough work to justify keeping it going. At one time my dad’s dream was that I inherit the family business. And I know it disappointed him when I entered Seminary but he eventually accepted that my call was to a different sort of work. Our vocation, our “voice calling” is defined by our relationship with Jesus. Says Romans 8:17, “We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.” You and I have inherited our “Pater’s er-gon,” the family business. Our Mission Team went to New Orleans on Family Business! We arrived the day after Easter; moved into our digs at Gretna UMC; and checked into the West Bank Relief Center to get our “marching orders.” Al and Debra Carey’s aging home is located in a low-income area of Jefferson Parish that flooded after the levies gave out. We spent our week sheet rocking, tape and bedding; making small repairs and changing out the light switches and outlets. It was hard work and for several of us, the first time we had ever hung and mudded sheetrock… Lets just say I spent a lot of time “working” the closets! So if you ever need a “closet” tape n bed man, I’m your guy! After the floodwaters receded, FEMA placed a trailer in their front yard for the family to live in while their home was rebuilt. Their insurance company refused to pay anything on the damage because they had no flood insurance. A contractor came out and estimated labor and supplies at $45k. That was more then the Careys paid for the house. I believe in democracy! The United Methodist Church’s polity is democratic! But our economic model of supply and demand is fundamentally flawed if it justifies exploiting people, especially the poor. Greed is not good, and it will ultimately suck the humanity and character from our nation. The Carey’s had no way of affording $45k in repairs. So when Debra Carey learned that the Louisiana Conference of the UMC was coordinating volunteers to help with recovery efforts, she applied. The Carey’s are good people and I am so glad God sent us to them on family business! You know it’s easy to judge people when you don’t know their story or share in their suffering. The notable absence of the Carey’s grown son, Dexter left us wondering, “Where’s Dexter? Couldn’t he help?” As we worked we discovered a number of prosthetic legs in one of the bedrooms. When Dexter was a teenager, he was helping a friend push his car off the road when a driver slammed into the back of the car crushing one of Dexter’s legs. He’s never gotten over the loss of his leg, his mother told us. We also told us that Dexter was working two jobs to support his family. I remembered something the volunteer coordinator had shared with us the first day. “These families are doing all they can to survive. Just working a job, being there for family, and trying to maintain some sense of stability takes all they have. There’s just nothing left.” One of the highlights of our trip was our visit with Rev. Lester Shaw, pastor of Payne Memorial AME church, the church we worked on last November. This church lost all its furnishings in the flood. I handed him a check for $1800, funds HC raised at our Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras celebration and one of the wood bowls turned from cedar recovered on our last trip there. Even now, 9 months after the levies failed, homes within a 2 block radius of the church are still unlivable. Despite this, Payne Memorial held its 1st worship service since Katrina in their sanctuary on Easter Sunday, one day before our arrival. What a joy it was to visit with Rev. Shaw and to hear the good things that God is doing in the life of his church. As we completed our work, Newspapers reported that additional bodies had been discovered. Jesus said, “…the wolf snatches and scatters …so I lay down my life for my sheep.” Whether its doing Amigos or working to raise public awareness of the genocide in Darfur, or feeding the homeless at Austin Street or teaching Sunday School, we are on Family Business! Jesus’ “Do you love me?” waits for our, “Yes Lord.” His response is a simple, “Then feed and tend my lambs.” (John 21:17) I received a letter from Kathy Powers, Volunteer Coordinator for the Westbank Relief Center of the Louisiana Conference of the UMC. In it she writes: What a wonderful gift of service you and your team have provided to both the United Methodist Westbank Relief Center and to the families we assist. To be a part of improving the living conditions of families who have been affected by Hurricane Katrina is to be an angel of mercy. The changes made in their homes now allow those families to be safe, secure, and sanitary. Thank you for your energy, expertise, and willingness to serve. Without you we could not help these families. Your support of the United Methodist Westbank Relief Center is a blessing to us and to those that we serve. Your team exemplifies the servant attitude that Jesus Christ came to Earth to teach. We look forward to seeing you again. In His Name, Kathy Powers Volunteer Coordinator Handwritten on the bottom of the letter are the words…Come back soon! |
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