1 John 3: 16-end; John 10: 11-18
Today, after our service, we will hold our AGM. This offers us an opportunity to look back at our life together as a church over this last year and to look ahead to the coming year. Where have we been? Where are we going? We might also want to ask, what holds us together as a church community? It is important to remind ourselves that we are not an English speaking club, neither are we simply a group of people with good intentions to help others and serve our community. Our identity is rooted in Christ. Our faith, our worship, our relationships, our mission are all rooted in Christ, Crucified and Risen. He is the centre of our life together.
Over Holy Week and Easter, we have been reflecting on Jesus' death and resurrection and celebrating this deep mystery and joy at the heart of our faith. We are now in the Easter season, but of course rejoicing that Christ is Risen does not mean that we forget all that goes before. The cross is not forgotten in the joy of Easter. In many of his resurrection appearances, Jesus shows his disciples his hands and his feet with the marks of the crucifixion still upon them. Jesus is the Crucified and the Risen One. Or, as we have it in our gospel reading this morning, Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life and who takes it up again.
The image of the shepherd and the sheep is used frequently in the Old Testament. We may think immediately of Psalm 23: 'the Lord is my shepherd', but there are many references in the prophets too. Ezekiel (chapter 34) describes God as the true shepherd in contrast to the false shepherds of Israel, leaders who do not care for their people. In our gospel reading today, Jesus takes up this image of the true shepherd, the good shepherd, for himself. Although there are parallels with passages in the Old Testament, there is one startling difference. Jesus emphasizes that, as the good shepherd, he 'lays down his life' for the sheep. This is repeated several times. Jesus' care for his sheep is revealed in his passion and death; he loves them to the uttermost.
In contrast to the hired worker who runs away when he sees the wolf coming, the good shepherd cares for and protects his sheep even at the cost of his own life. He will die to save them. So we know that the abundance of life we have in Christ comes through his death on the cross. He has laid down his life for us.
There are two characteristics of the good shepherd here in John's gospel. The first is that the shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The second is that the shepherd knows the sheep and they know him. Just as the Father knows the Son and the Son knows the Father, so Jesus, the good shepherd, knows his sheep. He knows them with a total, self-giving love. When we read the gospels we see how Jesus knows his disciples; knows their strengths and weaknesses, their faith and faithlessness; and he knows them in love. Jesus knows each one of us in that same way, and he calls each one of us by name. We may feel rather daunted by the thought that we are known utterly; it may leave us feeling exposed and ashamed. But the one who knows us utterly is the one who loves us utterly, even to the point of laying down his life for us.
The one who knows us and loves us in such a way will never abandon us, but will go on loving us to the end. We are all called, each one of us, to trust the Good Shepherd, to hear his voice, receive his love and follow him.
If we seek to follow the Good Shepherd, this will also affect our relationships to others. Jesus does not only speak of his knowledge and care for each individual sheep. The picture he uses is not of isolated sheep, but of sheep that are part of a flock. Our relationships with one another should reflect the nature of the shepherd we follow. If Jesus is the one who lays down his life for us, how should we treat each other?
This link is made explicit in our reading from the first letter of John. 'We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us – and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.' (1 John 3:16). If we want to understand what love is and how we should relate to one another, we need to look to God rather than try and work it out for ourselves. Jesus' self-giving love for us is where we start. We don't need to try to define what love is – love is defined by Jesus. Love is not an abstract principle. Love comes from God and we see that love concretely in Christ crucified. He lays down his life for us. The meaning of the verb 'to lay down' also carries the meaning 'to lay aside'. Jesus is the one who lays aside his status, his power, and finally his life, in order to serve us humbly. We may think of Jesus laying aside his robe and stooping to wash his disciples' feet. Jesus is Lord, the exalted Son, the Risen One who has triumphed over death and sin, but he is also the one who lays aside his status to serve us and give his life for us. He is the servant Lord. If we are to follow such a servant Lord then we need to be willing to lay aside our status, our ego, to serve others.
David and I recently participated in a leadership course and one of the phrases that struck me was that churches need to be 'low ego and high trust communities.' Christian leaders need to be servants, rather than clinging on to their own status or doing things to fulfil their own sense of identity and self-importance. It was suggested that leaders with a 'low ego' in this way build up 'high trust' within the community; conversely, leaders who are obsessed with their own status are likely to build an atmosphere of anxiety, competition and lack of trust in the community around them. The style of any leader affects the whole community. This is a big challenge to any Christian leader! Not just to me as Chaplain, but to any of us who take on roles of leadership: as churchwardens, members of council, or as leaders of a group or activity within the church. We want to be a 'low ego and high trust community.' To be such a community, we seek to model our lives and our relationships on Jesus.
We follow the servant Lord, who laid down his life for us. There is a costly element to the Christian life; we are called to deny ourselves to follow him. The joy of the resurrection, and the promise of victory over sin and evil does not take that away. Following the triumphant Risen Lord, also means following the servant Lord who laid down his life for others. Perhaps laying down our life seems a rather grand and unobtainable concept. But John in his letter brings this down to earth in a very practical way. He speaks of providing practical help to a brother or sister in need. 'How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help?' (1 John 3:17).
It is interesting that this passage combines faith in Christ with practical action. The two are related. 'This is his commandment', John says, 'that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another.' (1 John 3:23). Belief and action. The more we truly know and trust the Lord we follow, the good shepherd who laid down his life for us, the more we will seek to model our relationships and our behavior on him. Right beliefs and right behavior are inter-related. Both are important for the flourishing of the life and mission of the church. The Marks of Mission of the Anglican Communion, which we have been reflecting on recently, include worship and teaching and action and service.
We are each one of us as individuals called by name to follow Jesus, the Good Shepherd, and we all need to grow in faith and love as we hear his voice, receive his love, and follow him. We are also called together into the church; we are all members of the body of Christ, sheep belonging to the same flock. That is the basis of our life, our unity, and our purpose. And the abundant life Christ gives us is also for others. We are not to be a closed community; a sheepfold with a locked gate on the inside. In our gospel reading, Jesus speaks of 'other sheep'. He says: 'I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So that there will be one flock, one shepherd.' Let us make sure our life as a church is always outward looking, as we share our knowledge of the Good Shepherd with others. We are called to both unity and mission, and to model every aspect of our church life on the low ego, servant heart of the Lord we follow.
So as we hold our AGM today and reflect on our church, its faith and life, ministry and mission, relationships and service, let us remember that everything starts with God's self-giving love for us in Christ. Christ Crucified and Risen, the Good Shepherd who lays down his life and takes it up again, is the foundation of our lives, as individuals and as a community. May the one who knows us and loves us, and lays down his life for us, be the pattern for our relationships with one another and our service to those beyond our fellowship. Amen.
Helen Marshall