This sermon was delivered at St. David’s by the Sea in Cocoa Beach on April 30, 2023 (Year A).
Episcopalians occasionally make headlines, for better or for worse, but often we are the punchline of very funny jokes. Here are a few:
- Robin Williams compiled a hilarious list of 10 reasons to be an Episcopalian and his number one reason was this: No matter what you believe, there’s bound to be at least one other Episcopalian who agrees with you.
- Why are Episcopalians lousy chess players?
Because they don’t know the difference between a Bishop and a Queen. - An Episcopalian is either a Roman Catholic who flunked Latin or a Presbyterian whose stocks paid off.
- Whenever there are 3 or 4 Episcopalians together, there will always be a fifth.
- And then my personal favorite: How many Episcopalians does it take to change a lightbulb? Here are several answers:
- Two. One to mix the martinis, and one to call the electrician.
- Ten. One to change the bulb, and nine to say how much they liked the old one better.
- Twelve. One to do the work and eleven to serve on the committee.
- Change the lightbulb?! My grandmother gave that lightbulb!
As a people, we do like things rightly ordered and administered, and we do love to imbibe. The scene of Christian worship in England during the first half of the 16th century was comical at best…and confusing and chaotic at worst:
The liturgy was said in Latin even though the people spoke English; 7 or 8 books were used during the service even though the people were largely illiterate; there were often dogs in worship and both the noise and smell of mass humanity were overwhelming. Attendance at worship was an obligation to fulfill rather than a forming, informing, and transforming experience for the Christian.
And then Thomas Cranmer entered the chat.
Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury first under Henry VIII and then under Edward VI, ignited a liturgical revolution and wholesale Reformation in England. The pump had been primed by the courageous efforts of John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, and Miles Coverdale, resulting in the printing of the Bible in English in 1539. Then there was the Litany in 1544, the first piece of liturgy in English. But in 1549, Cranmer produced the first Book of Common Prayer, entirely in English, condensing 7 or 8 books down to one. An English prayer book for the English people.
In his preface to the first prayer book, Cranmer stated his intention: that “the people (by daily hearing of holy Scripture read in the Church) should continually profit more and more in the knowledge of God, and be the more inflamed with the love of his true religion.”
The prayer book tradition, indeed the entirety of the English Reformation, was designed to form, inform, and transform Christians through the knowledge of God, an awareness of their sinfulness, and the acceptance of Jesus as savior and redeemer of the world. One of Cranmer’s most significant prayers appears in his 1552 prayer book. It is the General Confession for Morning Prayer and it begins:
ALMIGHTY and most mercyfull father, we have erred and strayed from thy wayes, lyke lost shepe.
We have folowed too much the devises and desyres of oure owne hearts.
This prayer delivers deep and profound truths about who we are and whose we are. We are children of the “Almighty and most merciful Father.” We have become lyke lost shepe because we have followed our own hearts rather than the ways of God. We are erred and strayed through our devices and desires rather than God’s desires. The prayer later identifies us as “miserable offenders” who have “no health in us.”
This type of heart-language cuts against the grain of our contemporary society. It has become all too common to observe religion being supplanted by a vague and formless spirituality which tells you to “follow your heart,” to “find your truth within yourself.” Some go as far as saying, “I’m spiritual but I’m not religious.” The rise of self help and self-centered spirituality shows us how lost we are. Jeremiah tells us that the heart is wicked and deceitful, so how can we follow the heart? Why do we choose to follow our heart or our gut rather than following Jesus?
The confession provides the key: we are lyke lost shepe.
All of us. You. Me. The person next to you.
Turn to the person next to you and tell them that they are wayward.
We are lost because we have wandered away from the shepherd.
Shepe and shepherd language is laced throughout the Bible. Shepe are mentioned more than 500 times in the Bible, more than any other animal.
In Luke 15, Jesus tells an interesting story about the vast and unrelenting love of God. He tells of a shepherd who has 100 shepe. The shepherd discovers that 1 of the 100 is missing and so he leaves the 99 to go rescue the missing 1. When, not if, shepe go missing, the shepherd will go on a search and rescue mission. He finds the one, puts it on his shoulders, and carries it back.
In the synoptic gospels, Jesus comes ashore after crossing the Sea of Galilee and he sees the large crowd of very hungry people. The gospel writers tell us that Jesus “had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like shepe without a shepherd.”
We see this in 1 Kings 22 when Israel is “scattered on the mountains, as shepe that have no shepherd,” in Ezekiel 34 when the people “were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My shepe were scattered;”, and Zechariah 10 when the people “wander like shepe…afflicted for lack of a shepherd.”
Why were they lyke shepe without a shepherd? Because their shepherds had long abandoned their posts! The shepherds of Israel, that is, the priests and religious leaders, had taken to getting fat off of the flock rather than tending to it.
Sadly, it has become all too common for pastors, priests, and preachers to describe shepe as being dumb animals. I would like to dispel you of that notion!
Scientifically speaking, shepe are not dumb. In fact, they have been shown to demonstrate high marks of intelligence, memory, and sociability. The issue with shepe is not a lack of intelligence but an inherent vulnerability. Shepe are utterly dependent upon their shepherd for food, shelter, and protection. Sometimes shepe think that they know best, venturing beyond the rest of the fold, and once separated they are highly susceptible to predatory attacks, to falling over, or getting lost for good.
But what happens when the shepherds refuse to do the job? The flock suffers! They go every which way, they go “astray.” As we consider our own waywardness, we could attempt to blame bad shepherds. Certainly Israel lamented about this during the time of the Kings, but we cannot. Why? Because YHWH told his people through Ezekiel that he would be their shepherd, that he would strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bind up the injured, bring back the strays, and seek for the lost. He would be their Shepherd, taking over the role that the priests and leaders of Israel had neglected to fulfill. He would be their Shepherd and they would be his shepe.
So when Jesus comes along and has compassion on the shepherdless shepe of Israel, he tells them that he is the Good Shepherd. He is both fulfilling YHWH’s words in Ezekiel and letting the people know that they are no longer without a shepherd. He will provide green pasture, fresh water, safe grazing, security, nourishment, and flourishing. He will protect the weak, the sick, the injured, the strays, and the lost.
Friends, we ARE the weak, the sick, the injured, the strays, and the lost.
Jesus says, “I am the gate for the shepe.”
As in, he is the only way into the fold.
As in, he is the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father but through him.
As in, there is no other name under heaven and on earth by which people will be saved.
Shepe have to enter the shepefold through the gate and he is the gate. The gate is not designed to keep shepe out, for all people are welcome to become part of the flock through Jesus. Rather, the gate was about protecting the flock from outside threats. A good shepherd would let his flock sleep or rest in a cave and he would lie down across the mouth of the cave to prevent attackers and predators from entering. The role of the shepegate was protective, sacrificial, and loving rather than any form of arbitrary judgmentalism.
Once in the shepefold, shepe find rest, food, and tender care. Peter echoes this in 1 Peter 2:25 when he describes the finished work of Christ’s cross and our sinfulness. He says, “For you were going astray like shepe, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.” By the wounds of Christ we have been healed. Our errant ways have been realigned by the Shepherd. The Righteous One became sin so that sinners like you and me might become the righteousness of God.
But he is also the shepherd. He says, “I am the Good Shepherd,” a direct reference to YHWH’s language in Ezekiel 34. As both gate and shepherd, he is the only way in and he is the one who leads, sustains, and tends the flock. And he will lead his flock out into green and verdant pastures. There they will feast upon the lush food provided by their shepherd. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters.”
But there is a problem: we are creatures who are easily distracted, easily swayed, easily separated from the rest of the flock by following too closely the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have been led astray because we lead ourselves astray! We are distracted by our hopes, our longings, and our fears. We are distracted by a shiny new toy, the latest “must-have” technological gadget, the balance of our bank account, or the things that keep us up at night. And when we are distracted we drift away from the rest of the flock and from the shepherd.
Let me give you an example.
We took the boys to do some shelling in Fernandina Beach right after Easter. Shelling in our family is very much an every-person-for-themselves-activity. We were hunting for shark’s teeth. For the first few minutes we were all working in the same area. I put my head back down, stubbornly intent upon finding treasures. When I lifted my head up 15 minutes later…I discovered my family a quarter of a mile down the beach! Can you believe that?! I wasn’t trying to lose them or be lost by them, but in my stubborn effort to find a needle in a haystack, they had wandered off.
I had followed too much the desire of my own heart…
You could blame my lack of intelligence at this point, but I’d prefer to say that my stubbornness led to my vulnerability.
We have the Good Shepherd, the greatest shepherd of all time, and still we make the decision to do what we think is best, to do what is right in our own eyes, to follow our hearts, and when we look up from grazing too long in the wrong pasture we discover that the flock is nowhere in sight.
Friends, we are shepe who have no power in ourselves to rescue ourselves; we are shepe who are utterly vulnerable to the ways of the world, to the lies of the Devil, and to the self-centeredness which plagues fallen humanity. Our spirit is willing but the flesh is weak! We commit our hearts to the Lord anew every Sunday and then we wake up on Monday and discover just how fickle and frail we have become.
If only Jesus had provided the ways, means, and hope of abiding in him!
The Collect asks God to grant us three things: 1. Hear the Shepherd’s voice; 2. to know him who calls us each by name; and 3. Follow where he leads. The Good News of the Gospel is that Jesus is constantly searching for his lost shepe, teaching them how to live in his flock. And even when we wander off the ranch, Jesus is there to bring us back into the fold, either on his shoulders or with his shepherd’s crook. The most humbling thing about this whole shepe-shepherd enterprise is that Jesus invites lost shepe like us to share in his shepherding ministry. He employs us as under-shepherds within his flock, helping other sheep to thrive and flourish within the green pastures he has prepared for us.
Fr. Doug Coil loved to tell me that we aren’t under-shepherds but rather we are sheep dogs, always bounding about the outskirts of the flock, making sure they go in the right direction. 😉 I think his description is just as apt and poignant.
It is true, we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves. We cannot go on a search and rescue mission for our own souls, despite what new age spirituality might tell you. We are wholly dependent on the redeeming love and saving grace of the Holy One. Once in his fold, however, we are given certain activities which transform us more and more into his likeness, teaching us his voice and aligning us with his purposes. We see these prominently on display in Acts 2:42: the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers.
These are the priorities of the church:
- The earliest Christians submitted themselves to the apostles’ teachings. The foundation of the Church’s life together was the teaching of the apostles which flowed from the teachings and ministry of Jesus. This meant sermons, this meant the public reading of Scripture. This meant exhortation and instruction. This means Sunday morning worship, men’s Bible study, Wednesday night Bible study, women’s ministry. Why? Because we all lyke lost shepe have gone astray and we need to follow God’s desires rather than the devices and desires of our own hearts.
- They were committed to each other in fellowship. As I said two weeks ago, it is impossible to be a Christian alone. Part of being a shepe is being a member of the flock…and the flock is supposed to be known by its love for one another! This means coffee hour, men’s breakfast, women’s brunch, Pentecost picnic, Friday Friends, and all of the other fellowship opportunities we provide. To truly be the flock we need to know the Shepherd and the other sheep!
- The breaking of bread here means Eucharist. Pure and simple. Luke is using the same language he was using in his gospel. To be a Christian is to be a Eucharistic person. We gather every Sunday to partake in the Eucharist where we are called by the Good Shepherd to come and participate. Through the Eucharist, we are formed as the body by sharing in the body.
- Finally, the prayers. This language is interesting, and I could go on and on, but I won’t. Right now, it means that we need to be a people of prayer. We need to pray privately and we need to pray together. We need to go on prayer walks through our neighborhood; we need to pray for the church and the world; we need to pray for the harvest. Shepe flock together through prayer…are we praying??
Friends, you are shepe of the Good Shepherd. He calls us by name to follow him into his green pasture. May we know his voice when he calls.
All we lyke lost shepe have gone astray, but praise be to God that the Good Shepherd’s mercy is more, his forgiveness is stronger, his grace is amazing, and his love is unrelenting.
Amen!
Porter C. Taylor 