Guided by God - Good Shepherd Sunday

           This is Wolfsdale Chapel's anniversary 

 our readings will be Psalm 23 (sung version); John 10:1-10; Godly Play story of The Beatitudes

 

On this anniversary Sunday it is good to remember God’s guidance through the years and give thanks that the same God is with us to guide us today. How do we find God’s guidance for us in the years to come?

 

We have heard in John’s gospel how Jesus tells his followers that he is like a good shepherd.

Of course, he’s drawing on a very familiar Psalm, Psalm 23 where God, the Lord, is my shepherd.

 

This may be the Psalm we know best, probably because is our Christian faith it is impossible not to associate the car of God the Shepherd with the care of Jesus our Lord. Even without that connection, in its original Hebrew Bible context, it is a lovely picture of God’s care.


God is the shepherd who cares for us, his sheep.

He gives us a place to be safe; and pasture and water.

He guides us in the right paths.

He save us from danger – even when it feels like we are surrounded by trouble.

And so, the singer of the psalm concludes “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever”.

 

It is a very comforting psalm and is, rightly, well loved.

 

When Jesus takes this metaphor of God, the Lord, as our shepherd and applies it to himself, when he says “I am the Good Shepherd”, some of his listeners are confused at first.

But Jesus is saying three things:

That he is the one whose voice they should listen to,

That he is the gate – the way to get closer to God’s love

And that he is one with God – he is the shepherd of the sheep in earthly form.

 

And Jesus then says not only that people should listen to what he has to say, but that he has come so that all God’s flock might have life, and have it abundantly.

 

We are fortunate in knowing so many of the words of Jesus, and we know that what he says gives us good guidance for our lives – we probably don’t struggle to see Jesus as the good shepherd.

 

We’ve been reminded today of just some of Jesus’ teaching about God’s kingdom – the words of the beatitudes. These words teach us the values of God’s kingdom, what life in God’s love looks like, and how some of the world’s values might need to be challenged by the way we live as Christians.

 

Blessed are

The poor in spirit;

Those who mourn,

The meek

Those who hunger and thirst for what is right

The merciful

The pure in heart

The peace-makers

and

The persecuted

 

As we seek God’s guidance for this chapel for the future, we could listen to these words of Jesus and ask how we can act in ways which shows that we believe these beatitudes of Jesus.

 

If you feel we are too few or too weak to make much impact on the world, let me tell you an encouraging story.

 

This week I met a Baptist minister called Sally Mann, who has spent her whole ministry in the part of East London where she was born.

She has started a group called “Red Letter Christians” – people who try to live by the words of Jesus as closely as they can. (the ‘red letter’ bit comes from those Bibles where Jesus’ words are printed in red ink).

Her group of Red Letter Christians work to help the poor; they speak out against injustice, they listen to the weak and gentle. But they are not alone in doing that. They work with any groups who share their values, who want to build a world that looks more like God’s kingdom – even if those others wouldn’t necessarily turn to the words of Jesus to guide them.

 

Sally Mann says:

“We believe that there is an opportunity to present a Jesus-centred spirituality among those who share our commitment to stand for justice, peace and equity, but may never have heard the gospel”.

 

We have our own opportunities to do that, too – to follow the words of Jesus, to stand alongside other good people, and to share not only our own love, but the love of God with those who need us.

 

In April we had our last monthly ‘Compassionate Café’ at the Haverhub  in Quay Street in town – because the new Café there, Nessie’s, has started up “Nessie’s Natter” every Wednesday morning, between 10am and 12.30pm.

 

The new café owners recognised that some people who go into the café are lonely, or troubled, and want someone to talk to. 

So instead of duplicating that support in a separate, "church-run" café, any of us are welcome to call into the Nessie's at Haverhub on a Wednesday morning, to find the “chat table” and to share in the support being offered there. We will be there as followers of Jesus the Good Shepherd, offering support in his name, so that all God’s children may know life in all its fulness.

 

As we continue our witness here in Wolfsdale and wherever we are, we pray that God will guide us to be people of the kingdom, members of God’s flock, led by our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ.

 

Amen.

 

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