Preached by Michael Cheuk
May 3, 2009, Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year B
John 10:11-18
“I am the good shepherd,” Jesus said. Now, for those of us who are followers of Jesus, if Jesus is the good shepherd, then the implication is that we are the sheep. Since we no longer live in an agrarian society, most of us have do not know that much about sheep. But as I learned more about sheep this week in preparing for this sermon, I’ve come to the conclusion that we church-goers have a couple of intriguing similarities with sheep.
First of all, sheep generally have a strong herding instinct that leads them to congregate in a flock. But when sheep are anxious or stressed, they are quick to panic and flee, which often makes shepherding a difficult task. People can be similar to sheep in this way. Sometimes, people separate themselves from the flock because of inner hurts and personal struggles. Perhaps it is because they don’t feel a sense of belonging. Perhaps they feel like they are being judged. Sometimes, people separate from the flock because of a family squabble or a pending divorce or a child getting in trouble with the law. Sometimes it is due to their anxieties and disagreements about the direction the church is heading. Many times it is due to disillusionment regarding the church’s leadership or bureaucracy.[1] And so, these sheep flee the flock, some to seek answers on their own while others flee to find greener pastures.
Secondly, sheep are also known to be very food-oriented. Here, I don’t just mean that when churchgoers get together, there’s usually food involved! When sheep graze in a pasture, they often go from one clump of grass to another. It’s not hard to see how a group of sheep could get lost by gradually drifting away from the main flock just by wandering from one tuft of grass to another. Recently, the Pew Forum on Religion conducted a survey of 2,867 people among both former Protestants and former Catholics who are now unaffiliated with church, and what they’ve found was that more than seven-in-ten say they just gradually drifted away from their childhood religion.[2] It’s not like these folks intentionally decided to fall away from church and their faith. It’s just that as life happened, they concentrated on a tuft of grass called school. Then they focused on the next tuft of grass called career. Then a clump of grass called marriage. Then children. Then grandchildren. Then retirement. According to a 1996 Lifeway study, 19 percent of the formerly churched “simply got too busy to attend church,” and 17 percent said “family/home responsibilities prevented church attendance.”[3] And so, they drifted away from the flock, and after a while, they no longer felt the need to return.
Now, before I go on any further, I want to be clear about something. As I’ve been describing the drifting sheep this morning, I’m sure many of you are thinking of people who are not here in worship this morning, people who have drifted away from Farmville Baptist Church. It’s easy to get the impression that I’m preaching about them, and to feel good about ourselves for being the faithful sheep. But our Gospel lesson does not let us off the hook that easily. For you see, the criteria for being a faithful sheep is not staying close to the flock, the criteria is to know the shepherd and to hear and follow the shepherd’s voice.
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me,” says Jesus in verse 14. In verse 16, Jesus also says, “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” Bible scholars have spilled a lot of ink over what Jesus might have meant about “the other sheep that are not of this sheep pen,” but from the perspective of the sheep-that’s us-I think that at the very least, it means “our flock”-whether we take that to be our local congregation, or our Baptist denomination, or our Protestant tradition-is not the only flock who knows and listens and follows the voice of the good shepherd.
The danger, you see, is not drifting away from the flock. The danger is drifting away from the good shepherd and failing to listen and to follow his voice. Therefore, I believe that it is possible to be faithful churchgoers who attend Sunday School and worship every Sunday, participate in Wednesday night programming, and serve diligently on committees, and still drift away from the good shepherd. I believe it is possible for whole congregations to get so busy doing things managing the church and organizing programs that they drift away from the good shepherd and lose their ability to know and follow the shepherd’s voice. When congregations drift away from the good shepherd, they are vulnerable to becoming distracted by other voices that call them to follow the latest ministry fads or to copy what other churches are doing because they are drawing in the crowds. When congregations drift away from the good shepherd, those flocks are vulnerable to being preyed upon by the predator wolves of unhealthy conflict, power grabs and paralyzing apathy that can destroy a congregation. Now, it is possible that a flock can survive for a long time wandering aimlessly going from one clump of grass to another, but it will no longer thrive because it has lost its way for it can no longer hear and follow the shepherd.
During the past several months, I’ve shared with you how I’ve sensed myself drifting spiritually from Jesus the Good Shepherd in the busyness doing so many things for the church. And I think it is fair to say that members of our Spiritual Transformation Journey Initiating Leadership Community have felt the same way about their own spiritual journeys. When Ken Copeland, Crystal Cupp, Don Kyper, John Slade, Doris Weaver, Elizabeth Whiley and I went on Spiritual Journey retreat in a couple of weekends ago, one of the most important things we learned about the Spiritual Transformation Journey was that this is a journey to rekindle our first love for God. And the good news is that Jesus our Good Shepherd has already been at work seeking us, calling us, and gently guiding us with a shepherding love to lead us back into His presence.
Unlike the “hired hand” CEOs that we’ve heard so much about lately, who bail out on their sinking companies with golden parachutes, Jesus our good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Here, Jesus was talking about the cross on which He willingly died for the sake of rescuing us from the consequences of our sin. No one took Jesus’ life from Him; He laid it down of His own accord. Out of a shepherding love, Jesus freely chose to pay the price of our drifting away so that death is not our final destiny. And on Easter Sunday, Jesus took up His life again in a glorious resurrection so that we too, might live in a newness of life.
This newness of life-spiritually, emotionally, physically, and institutionally-with our loving Shepherd is what the Spiritual Transformation Journey is all about. And it is exciting! I love the way Doris Weaver expressed her feelings about this journey in our May newsletter that you can read on our website. Doris writes, “I feel that the journey on which we are about to embark as a congregation is going to be a very uplifting experience. It will be a journey on which we will not only grow closer to God but closer to each other. As we turn the planning of our mission completely over to God, our vision will clear, our bearings will be sharper and our hearts happier. Excitement grows . . . let’s get started!”
So how do we get started? Ken Copeland, another member of our leadership community gives the answer when he wrote in our May newsletter: “The spiritual transformation journey that Farmville Baptist has now begun urges our entire congregation to pray first and then see what God leads us to do. We were reminded that in order to hear from God, we have to be still and listen. Transformation will commence when we first seek God’s will.”
The way that Farmville Baptist will be still and listen to the voice of our good shepherd is through the formation of prayer small groups of three individuals called “prayer triplets.” In the coming weeks, I encourage any and all who would like to participate in a prayer triplet to contact the church office. It is only when we intentionally quiet down the noise and block out the distractions of our lives to be with Jesus that we will have a chance to hear God and experience His shepherding love.
Right now, I want to do something different. I want to lead you in a guided prayer exercise so that you might experience what it is like to be still and listen for Jesus’ shepherding love. I’d like for everyone in the sanctuary and those listening on the radio to be still and close your eyes.
In the midst of the silence, concentrate on your own breathing.
Breathe in. Hold. Breathe out.
Breathe in. Hold. Breathe out.
Imagine yourself in a green pasture, surrounded by budding flowers under a deep blue sky.
Breathe in deeply the fresh air filled with the fragrances of lilac, honeysuckle, and roses.
Breathe in. Hold. Breathe out.
Feel the cool, gentle breeze caressing your body and hear the rustling of newly spouted leaves.
See a gentle stream nearby, the rolling hills in the distance, and the cotton-candy strands of clouds in the sky.
Now hear a gentle voice behind you, quietly calling out your name.
Turn around, and you see Jesus who looks at you with compassionate eyes and a warm smile.
Jesus tells you that He knows that you are burdened with many things, distracted by many demands, anxious about many matters. He asks you to hold out your hands, and to name and place any worries, any distractions, any hurts, anxieties and to-do lists onto your open palms.
Jesus then tells you to follow him, and he walks slowly to the nearby stream.
Jesus kneels beside the stream, and asks you to do the same and to place your handful of burdens into the clear, still waters of the stream.
Feel the refreshing coolness of the water as it covers and surrounds your hands.
Feel the weight of your burdens lifted from you as they are carried away by the water.
See your burdens sink and dissolve into the bottom of the stream.
Tell Jesus what you are thinking and feeling right now.
Hear the words of Jesus speaking straight into your heart: “My child, I love you. I have laid down my life for you. Spend time to be with me, to know me, to hear my voice.”
Respond to Jesus’ invitation.
It is time to come back now. Say goodbye to Jesus for now.
Concentrate on your breathing.
Slowly open your eyes.
* * * * *
The Spiritual Transformation Journey is first about BEING with Jesus, before DOING the work of Jesus as we commence in the journey of BECOMING like Jesus. We don’t know exactly where the journey will take us, but we do know that if we be with Jesus, and hear and follow the voice of our shepherd, Jesus’ shepherding love will lead and guide us every step of the way. Will you come on the journey? Amen.
[1] http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/article_main_page/0,1703,A=155366&M=150036,00.html
[2] “Faith in Flux: Changes in Religious Affiliation in the U.S.” The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life (April 29, 2009). http://pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=409
[3] http://www.christianpost.com/church/church-growth/2006/10/survey-reasons-why-people-leave-the-church-15/index.html
