Fourth Sunday of Easter – morning
Sunday 22nd April 2018
Easter 4 – morning
Acts 4. 5-12
John 10. 11-18
Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs
“By what power, or by what name did you do this?”
Jealousy comes in many forms and you can just sense the resentment and envy seeping out of the rulers and the elders and the scribes can’t you. – “who gave you the right to go around healing people?!” Peter and the others lacked qualifications and breeding, they didn’t have the right paperwork (and we have all learned this week how dangerous it can be not to be able to produce the right paperwork for the Civil Servants when they demand it!)
But what Peter and the other disciples had in abundance was a sense of calling – a vocation from God himself.
Following the death and then resurrection of their great friend and teacher, Jesus, they too felt compelled to spread the word of all that God was doing and had done in Jesus of Nazareth. They were excited, they were enthusiastic, they were newly emboldened. They stopped caring about the inevitable arrests that would come. They stopped worrying about suffering a painful death at the hands of the Romans! These things were still very real possibilities, but they no longer preoccupied and paralysed the disciples, because they had seen death defeated, rolled back, and denied. They were witnesses not just to the death of Jesus, but to the living Christ. And that made all the difference. And God’s call was clear and unmistakeable.
Today is (amongst other things!) nominated as Vocation Sunday. A day when we are all encouraged to listen hard and consider what God may be calling us to do here and now.
We are not, on the whole, facing persecution or danger from an alien state. We have delegated the healing of the sick to the medical profession on the whole (although a few prayers can never do any harm and may make all the difference!) We have a welfare state that – in theory at any rate – looks after the poor and the destitute. So how can we respond to God’s call?
Well there are examples – within this congregation , of people who have spotted the needs of others around them and responded with love and compassion. We would not have half the organisations and activities in this lovely village if it were not for them. And the loving character that Jesus showed the world should be reflected in the lives of those who are his followers.
You cannot sit by and say, “What a wonderful life Jesus lived, I could never live like that”. If you try, God in Jesus will share with you his Holy Spirit to help you. You cannot leave it to the Vicar, or the Reader, or the PCC or someone else. Remember the Lord’s Prayer: the kingdom of God will not come until everyone is doing God’s will – which is for us to love one another and to listen for his call and act on it. In Biblical times, shepherds did not work alone – think of the Christmas story: there might be a shepherd and a group of under-shepherds, or a group of independent shepherds who joined together for company, protection and flexibility. Jesus calls us all to be his under-shepherd, loving other people in practical ways, and especially the disadvantaged, the poor and needy or those who are in other ways on the edge of society and community.
Remember Jesus said he has ‘other sheep who do not belong to this fold.” We cannot just be inward looking, caring for ourselves – however nice the person sitting in the pew alongside you seems to be. (and I am sure they are!)
The Jews who first heard his words were shocked to think that God was interested in anyone who was not one of the chosen race – the jews themselves. And we can be equally prejudiced. We know very little, most of us, of the growth of Christianity in other countries – which is one reason why it is good to have Moses with us this morning!; we want to reduce the number of poor foreigners entering this rich country – even when they are fleeing violence, persecution and war at home. We give relatively small sums to overseas aid charities, and resent government support for other countries when our own standard of living is going down a little. Remember we are the under-shepherds. We have a common vocation; a common calling from God. We should be willing to make big sacrifices to build one flock – one humanity diverse in its beauty and variety, under the one shepherd who is God and Lord of all. Amen.