April 30,2023
“Sheeple of God”
Sermon by Rev. Trip Porch
April 30, 2023 Based on John 10:1-10
When I read passages of scripture like the one we read today. I always find myself wishing I was just a bit more familiar with animal husbandry and shepherding than I am. Because as a modern urban city dweller I always can’t help but feel I am bit out of touch with this image.
I mean Shepherding is so often used as an image in scripture and I never feel like I fully grasp the metaphor. Like when the 23rd psalm says “The lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, he makes me lay down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters… I don't know quite know what it means for sheep to find green pastures or lie down beside still waters. I mean I can guess, but I definitely don’t know it the way the rural agrarian farming authors of our scriptures would have known it.
I don’t know the way that sheep behave when you are trying to round them up as a flock and get them out of their enclosure. I don’t know how they respond to a threat like the one referenced in the scripture today. What happens when a thief comes to the enclosure in the night? How do the sheep behave? What is the shepherd’s role in that scenario?
And it definitely doesn’t help that Jesus takes on so many different roles in this sheep/shepherding image.
To start things off, though not in our passage, but at the beginning of the Gospel of John, Jesus is actually referred to as the lamb of God. This image of innocence, peacefulness, and also sacrifice.
But then in our scripture today calls himself not the lamb but the shepherd. And we understand what this image means. He is the one who, waking or sleeping, spends all of his time with the flock, stays with the sheep to keep watch, who provides for their needs, who guides them along the correct paths, and keeps the group together as they make the way out to the fields and back home. Who keeps everybody fed and watered.
But then in just a few verses after the scripture reading today Jesus changes this slightly and calls himself “the good shepherd” which is a particular kind of shepherd.
We’re told the good shepherd is willing to leave the flock behind when a sheep has gone astray. The good shepherd will go and look for them, and then if the sheep is danger the good shepherd will do whatever it takes to rescue it. As the scripture says the good shepherd “lays down his own life for the sheep”
And then finally here in our scripture today, yet another image, in the same breath that he refers to himself as the shepherd he says: I am the gate. I keep thieves and robbers and threats out. Any entry and exit to this sheepfold is through me.
Each of these is a nice layer to the shepherd image in its own right. Each description gives us a slightly better understand of who Jesus is not only to his disciples but still to us today. He is a shepherd, a guide to us on life’s path, who’s voice speaks to us particularly and differently than other voices in this world, who leads us to places of rest and renewal. And he is a good shepherd, who cares about the ones who are removed from the flock, or outcast even. The ones who are suffering, who are in danger. And he is the gateway for all of us, the whole reason any of us are here, because of who he was, because of the lessons he taught and how he lived his life that is a transformative message for each of us.
But since none of us are the gate or the shepherd in this image I want to spend a moment to talk about who we are in this metaphor, you and me, and all of us collectively… a flock of sheep. A group of individuals, yes, each of us with our own unique personality and temperament, but most often, experienced in the collective.
I learned something interesting about sheep this week. They are, as you might suspect, a herd animal. They spend the majority of their life in the group. They stick together, they live together, they travel together, eat together, the majority of their life is spent as a part of the whole. I mentioned earlier not knowing how sheep react when they are threatened. Well, I looked it up. As they are a herd animal, when sheep perceive something they find threatening they instinctually circle up. They close ranks, herd closer, and tighten in to protect themselves. It is their default defensive mechanism. It is their strength. They have power in numbers and if they stick together, no matter the threat, they will live on.
BUT, my brother and sister sheep, this herd mentality, this groupness, this great strength of ours to be in community can also be a weakness. Because sometimes, the flock can grow too tight, too closed off, too focused inwardly that it neglects what is going on outside the flock. Even if, as is the case today, the shepherd has brought new sheep into the group.
I’ve heard it said that in church life, especially in warm welcoming churches like ours, it is very easy for people to find the front door of the church. It’s easy for visitors to make their way in, to be greeted, to feel welcome. It’s even easy for visitors to get to a point where they decide to join the church, to become part of the flock. We sheep say, yes, we’d love to have you join, come and be a part of Christ’s sheepfold here at Indianola.
But while it’s easy for visitors to find the front door, once they are here most churches find it challenging to help new members find an inside door. The door to meaningful involvement in the life of the church, the door where people are included and fully a part of the life of the church. Or to continue with the sheep analogy, its often easy to welcome people into the flock but because we are so tightly knit together we tend to keep new arrivals on the edges and struggle to open up enough that we allow them to come to the center.
I think it’s because we are little bit afraid. Because new sheep are innately going to be a bit different from the flock we have established here. Those new sheep have different backgrounds, different ideas. Their joining the flock doesn’t mean conformity to the group. Their unique presence means the flock is going to change a bit. They may challenge the flock to wander to a new watering hole rather than the old faithful one we’ve been returning to for years. Life together is messy, it involves change, it involves growth and compromise, and give and take. These new sheep may even butt heads with us a little bit as they become more fully a part of this community. And I believe this is a good thing.
Dear flock, I think what is important for us sheep to remember is that it is the voice of our shepherd who has lead these new sheep here. It is Christ is who has opened the gate and welcomed them in.
So let’s not tighten up and keep these sheep on the fringes. But let us trust the guidance of our Good Shepherd and welcome our sisters and brothers fully into the center of this flock.
Amen.
WE GATHER IN AWE AND PRAISE
PRELUDE Come, Christians, Join To Sing arr. Samuel Metzger
INTROIT “i thank You God “ Lloyd Pfautsch
WELCOME Rev. Trip Porch
*CALL TO WORSHIP
One: We come to worship the risen Christ.
All: Praise to Christ, the good shepherd!
One: Alleluia, praise to Christ, the gate!
All: Alleluia, praise to Christ, the lamb!
One: Alleluia, praise to Christ, our savior!
All: Christ is risen still! Alleluia!
*HYMN NO. 411 “God is Here, Today” DIOS ESTÁ AQUÍ
*PRAYER OF CONFESSION
God of community, you call us to a world radically different from what we are used to. You ask us to lay aside our ideas of “mine” and “yours.” You show us a life where goods are shared, where all are loved, and faithfulness is shown through generosity. But we cling to our possessions, trusting them more than we trust you. Forgive us, merciful God. Help us to truly believe in your just and peaceful realm and to work to make it so.
*ASSURANCE OF PARDON
*RESPONSE OF PRAISE 591 “Halle, Halle, Hallelujah!” HALLE, HALLE
*PASSING OF THE PEACE
One: The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all,
All: And also with you.
WE LISTEN FOR GOD’S WORD
ANTHEM Sing to the Lord a New Song Robert Lau
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
SCRIPTURE John 10:1–10 I assure you that whoever doesn’t enter into the sheep pen through the gate but climbs over the wall is a thief and an outlaw. The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The guard at the gate opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Whenever he has gathered all of his sheep, he goes before them and they follow him, because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger but will run away because they don’t know the stranger’s voice.” Those who heard Jesus use this analogy didn’t understand what he was saying.
So Jesus spoke again, “I assure you that I am the gate of the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and outlaws, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief enters only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came so that they could have life—indeed, so that they could live life to the fullest.
One: Holy Wisdom, Holy Word All: Thanks be to God
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE Parker Wilkinson
SERMON Rev. Trip Porch
*HYMN (see insert) “Shepherd me, O God”
All sing refrain, soloist sings verse 1, all sing remainder of hymn
WELCOME OF NEW MEMBERS
Ryan Bieryla, Jessica Riviere, Caleb Stripes, Julia Swanson, Jessica VonZastrow
With joy and thanksgiving we welcome you, for we are all one in Christ. We promise to love, encourage, and support you, and walk alongside you in your journey of faith. Join with us at Christ’s table and help us work towards creating God’s vision of peace, love and justice which is good news for all the world. Welcome Sisters and Brothers in Christ!
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
TIME OF OFFERING Piano Sonata No. 8 “Pathetique” 2nd mvt. L. v. Beethoven
*OFFERTORY RESPONSE 609 Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow LASST UNS ERFREUEN
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God, all creatures high and low.
Alleluia, alleluia
Praise God in Jesus fully known:
Creator, Word, and Spirit one.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Text: Brian Wren, 1989
*PRAYER OF DEDICATION
Holy God, you lead us to still waters and green pastures, you set a table for us, and our cup overflows. Bless these gifts that we gladly share, that they may offer the same comfort and restoration we have felt from you our shepherd, to those who are suffering, neglected, or lost, Amen.
*HYMN NO. 300 “We Are One in the Spirit” THEY’LL KNOW WE ARE CHRISTIANS
TIME OF COMMUNITY SHARING
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
CONGREGATIONAL RESPONSE 300 “We Are One in the Spirit” (verse 1 only)
POSTLUDE This Is My Father’s World arr. Sunghwan Kim
Acknowledgments: Unless otherwise indicated, all texts and music are printed and broadcast under OneLicense.net license #A-702452
Worship Leaders
Pastor - Rev. Trip Porch Liturgist – Mary Rebekah Fortman Children’s Message – Parker Wilkerson
Music leaders
Chancel Choir Director of Music – Christopher Dent Assoc. Director of Music – Ariel Alvarado Organist – Sunghwan Kim