Sermon; Easter 4B; John 10:11-18
Happy Easter, everyone.
If you remember, last week was the final resurrections story we will hear this Easter season. Today, and the next three Sundays, we will hear pre-crucifixion stories from the Gospel of John. Again, why the Lectionary did this instead of using all of the post-resurrection stories given to us is anybody's guess. But as long as we're guessing, maybe it has to do with the difference between belief and faith.
Last week I preached on the difference between those two things: belief and faith. Do you believe in the resurrection of Jesus? Yes. Do you have faith to live into resurrection? Ummm . . . Do you believe the bridge is there? Do you have faith to step out into the unknown? So maybe the first three weeks of the Easter season are stories about belief, while the next four have to do with living a resurrection faith.
For those who don't know, most of today's gospel passage is also one of the appointed passages for funerals. It is also my most favorite funeral passage on which to preach. It's my favorite because at funerals you get a wide swath of people – some Episcopalians, most not; most Christians, some not – who need to hear that God loves them.
“I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold,” goes a long way toward the inclusivity of God's love. This is a traditionally orthodox way of interpreting this passage – that Jesus will call those we do not know to be part of his flock. That is also easy to believe – that through the power of Jesus Christ other people will be brought into his fold and every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, for ever and ever, amen. That, as I said, is easy to believe.
But if we are to live with resurrection faith, then we need to see this passage in a new way. We need to see this passage in a way that challenges us and scares us, but in a way that offers a new, changed way of living. We need to see this passage in a way that asks us if we are willing to put our belief in action and step out in faith into the abyss.
In looking at this passage in a new way, we need to remember that we are the body of Christ. As Teresa of Avila said,
“Christ has no body but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the
eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which
he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”
I would add to that: “Yours is the mouth which speaks his words of love. Yours is the mouth which calls people home.”
If we are the body of Christ on earth, then we must also be the good shepherd who calls those other sheep who do not currently belong to this fold. And if that's the case, then we must ask ourselves, “Who are those who do not belong to this fold?”
There are a multitude of ways to look at who doesn't belong. One way is to see the other as not like us. Homeless people and people of color have been and continue to be driven out of neighborhoods through both overt and covert methods because they are not like us and don't belong. It's obvious that poor people are not like us and don't belong in certain parts of the city. This country and, honestly speaking, the Episcopal church to which we belong, has had a history of racism and misogyny as we have defined who is not like us and doesn't belong.
Over the course of this past year we have seen COVID disproportionately attack people of color and the homeless. We have also seen that people of color are more often killed by police than are whites. I bring this up because the homeless and people of color are those we most often see as not belonging.
We are the body of Christ on earth. We are his hands, his feet, and his eyes. We are the mouth of Christ who speak his words of love and calls people home. We are the good shepherd. At least, we should be.
In this role of Christ on earth, are we willing to speak to those who don't belong to this fold? Are we willing to talk with those who don't belong to this fold to let them know that, yes, they do belong? Are we willing to bring them into this fold so that there will be one flock?
This is resurrection faith in action. This is seeing the power of the resurrection at work in the world. This is stepping out into the abyss of the unknown. This is exactly what the disciples were afraid and doubtful of.
Resurrection faith calls us to live differently. Resurrection faith calls us to be transformed. Resurrection faith calls us to live as how things should be, not as how they are. Resurrection faith is exactly what we are afraid and doubtful of.
We are the body of Christ on earth. We are his hands, his feet, his eyes, and his mouth. What happens if people who we think don't belong begin showing up? What happens if people of color start filling the pews and choir? What happens if Spanish speaking people begin showing up and asking for liturgy and hymns they understand? What happens if homeless people begin using our parking lot as a campground? Will we begin incorporating music they find worshipful? Will we create a bilingual service? Will we build permanent shelters or install port-a-potties? Are we willing to give up some of what we think is normal to incorporate those who we think don't belong? Are we willing to lay down our lives so that there will be one flock?
This is the thing about resurrection faith: it is different and it is scary. Resurrection faith changes us from who we are into the body of Christ. Resurrection faith demands we lay down our lives for others. Resurrection faith compels us to speak to those whom we think don't belong and bring them into the fold.
This is the season of resurrection. May we put our belief into action, step out into the abyss, and live into a faith-driven life of transformative resurrection.
Most importantly, let us be not afraid.
Amen.