May 3, 2009
(Fourth Sunday of Easter)

Green Blades Rising

Photo of The Rev. Carol Sanford by The Rev. Carol Sanford, Priest Associate

Acts 4:5-12  •  Psalm 23  •  1 John 3:16-24  •  John 10:11-18
(From The Lectionary Page)

As you might imagine, I’m not too thrilled to enter the pulpit on this Sunday of my departure from the Cathedral right after a gospel reading that includes the words, “The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.” I suppose I have been a hired hand of sorts, but I hasten to say that I care very much for the Cathedral sheep and I will miss you. That said, let us return to Holy Scripture.

I do love the image of the Good Shepherd. I had hoped to preach an eloquent and inspiring sermon on this beloved way of understanding our God as the one who guides, protects, sustains, comforts, risks and offers all that there is for his own. Instead, I have made a list. This is my list of some of the things that I want to be sure that you have heard from me before I leave. Most of them you have heard before, some you may not agree with, and none of the items on the list is new or original.

But here it is:

  1. This Cathedral, like the Episcopal Church, is alive and well. I know this not only because of the beauty of worship poured forth on Sundays such as this, but because of my privileged position in seeing what goes on during the week and behind the scenes. The number of hours put in, the level of true concern and the sheer dedication of Cathedral parishioners, staff, musicians and clergy are often unseen and unknown even by the beneficiaries, but I can tell you that they are inspiring and issue forth in everything from hand-knitted caps for tiny newborns in Haiti to our glorious Easter services.. In a place of this size there will be population shifts and disagreements and hurts and misunderstandings and I have seen all of that too, but, and this is very important, people who have been here for decades and for a few years and for just a few months and visitors from all over come regularly to this place to pray and work and worship together and it shows. Healthy life is neither static nor tidy. It is messy and often uncomfortable. One reason hearty sheep need a Good Shepherd is that they tend to be an unruly bunch and so, indeed, are we.
  2. Virtually every person in this space today has questions and doubts about God and our religious tradition, and that is ok. It is, in fact, more than ok. It is another sign of life. If you think that no one else but you has ever been angry about something in the Bible or has concerns about how our creed, a profession of faith compiled centuries ago, expresses anything of use in the modern world, let me assure you that you are not alone. What I want you to know is this: people of faith question and wrestle and fret and wonder and, yes, do not believe all sorts of things. We are not a dogmatic church. Come to one of our study groups, a priest or a deacon or a friend and talk about it. Argue. Pray. And don’t give up. You are Anglican. You are in good company.
  3. The basics of what we learn here are life-changing and simple and true, but they are not always easy to act upon. Think about a world where everyone truly loved one another and looked out for each other in the most basic ways, the ways of a shepherd for the sheep. There would be no wars, no fear of crime or violence on our streets or in our homes, food and medical care would be shared, and the earth would be honored and so would flourish. This is not describing a utopian political state but a state of Grace, God’s kingdom come. The fact that it is not here in completion makes our job of coming as close to it as we can no less important. And we are very important. We are God’s hands and heart in the world.
  4. We are all supposed to be who we are, not someone else and not who someone else thinks that we should be. This is because we each are members of the body of Christ and our individual selves are important if the whole is to work properly. Listen to the desires of your heart, the nudge of the Holy Spirit. If you have always wanted to write poetry, pick up your pen. If you love children and yours are grown or have moved away, volunteer to be with our children. You get the idea. Likewise, if some part of your life is troubling or pulling you away from happiness and freedom, pray for the courage to get help. Sustained damage to ourselves and others is a sure sign that we are off track. Bring all that you are and all that you have to God and be forgiven, restored and awakened to eternal life here and now. In Christ, with the Holy Spirit we become ever more who we are created to be. The surprise is that that is who we have wanted to be all along.
  5. God wants us all. The great thing about aligning ourselves with God is that the joy of life in our Creator is free and open to everyone. Things like age, education, ethnic and racial makeup, language, physical and mental ability, gender identity and sexual orientation make no difference at all in the heart of God. We spend so much of our lives trying to live up to some impossible digitalized image or hearing unhelpful voices from our past or succumbing to the idolatries of advertising and media rhetoric that many of us are exhausted or tempted to despair. God wants each and every sheep safe in the fold of her care. It often takes just a few moments of prayer or a quick glance at a favorite psalm to be reminded of green pastures and the still waters of peace and so regain our hope. We don’t have to do anything to be loved by God and gathered into eternal life. That part is done for us. What we may need to do is take some action that will keep us aware of what love is. It is most often by loving that we are able to sense the flow of God’s love through us, just as a child is not comforted by love coming from a toy bear, but by the love that he or she gives to it. In the great cycle of Christian life, God first loves us and we know that love when we offer it back to him by acting in love for others.

OK, that’s the end of my list for today. Before coming to Grace and Holy Trinity, I knew the items on my list to be true, except, of course, for the Cathedral-specific parts. What I didn’t know was how much you would confirm for me what life in God is all about. Some of us spend a lot of time visible up here in front, but I have been watching you as well. One reason that I am grateful for our religious tradition is that heady and exotic Trinitarian understanding of transcendent, unimaginable life and light lived out in and among us. I have seen that light and life in you. I see it in your eyes and in your actions and even in your unfulfilled dreams and intentions. I have seen and known here the very green blades rising that make up the pastures of God. It has been good to spend time in this place. As I go out from here I take you with me in love and gratitude to God for such abundance.

Alleluia! Christ is risen! [Amen]