Scripture John. 10:11-18. CEB
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 When the hired hand sees the wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and runs away. That’s because he isn’t the shepherd; the sheep aren’t really his. So the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them. 13 He’s only a hired hand and the sheep don’t matter to him.
14 “I am the good shepherd. I know my own sheep and they know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. I give up my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that don’t belong to this sheep pen. I must lead them too. They will listen to my voice and there will be one flock, with one shepherd.
17 “This is why the Father loves me: I give up my life so that I can take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I give it up because I want to. I have the right to give it up, and I have the right to take it up again. I received this commandment from my Father.”
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Yesterday I attended the Annual Gathering of the Christian Church in Northern California-Nevada via Zoom. I was pretty excited to see that out of the 115 folks attending, five were from FCC Selma! I do enjoy attending those events in person because it gives me the opportunity to spend time one on one with friends and colleagues. It is strange to just see faces on my computer screen instead of seeing people in person. Or doing this (action) instead of applauding. I miss the hugs, and the time spent over coffee or lunch catching up with each other. But I also hope that when we can return to in-person events a video option will be available for the people who can’t take the time to drive three or more hours each way to attend the event, but still want to participate. You know, like we are doing here.
During the Gathering we heard an original song, “All things in time.” It spoke to what we are feeling and experiencing these days. There are so many things we cannot do because of COVID, but things have been changing quickly. I can pretty much guarantee that each week going forward will bring more change. This week we reached Orange Tier in Fresno County, which indicates moderate risk of infection. This week we learned it’s ok to be outside without a mask unless you are in a crowd. This week we got to have a piece of paper with the order of worship on it. (Please do not leave those in the pews. Take and throw them away with your communion cup on your way out.). In a few weeks, God willing, we will reach Yellow Tier, which indicates a minimal risk of infection. According to the most recent studies if you are fully vaccinated, it is safe for you to do lots of the things you did in the before times, including singing with other people who are also fully vaccinated . But it’s not kind or loving to do that when your friend in the next pew can’t, yet. We will get there. All things in time . . .
It makes me crazy to ask you all not to participate in worship - to not sing and not respond when responses would usually happen, to not pray the Lord’s Prayer. You see, I firmly believe that what we do while we are in worship is important, that it is not a spectator event or entertainment venue, but actual interaction with God. Worship takes effort. It should cost everyone some energy and emotion - like when Alfred raises his hands and weeps during a hymn, and when some of you close your eyes while we pray the Lord’s Prayer together, and when John Terry cries, and when the sound of our singing swells to the top of the dome because we are all so caught up in a favorite hymn . . . I hate that we are prevented from doing those things, right now. I hate that we can’t pass the communion trays from one to the other in the pews, actively serving each other as an act of worship. But at this particular time, it is what it is.
In a science fiction/fantasy book I read recently, a woman rancher in Australia got help fighting off evil vampires from a pack of lupine shape shifters (werewolves). (Don’t judge.) They defeated the vampires, saved the ranch, and proved they were the good guys! Since the rancher knew they were looking for a safe place to settle she offered them work and asked if they were any good at herding sheep. She didn’t understand why they were all laughing so hard they could barely stand up, until one of them finally pointed in the direction of the flock saying, “Sheep” and at himself saying “Wolf.” Good guys they might be, but they were still wolves. The flock was still not safe from them.
There was an article in the April 8th edition of Sojourners magazine by Adam Russell Taylor titled “It’s time to rethink American Churches,” in which he said (https://sojo.net/articles/it-s-time-rethink-american-churches.)
“… last week, Gallup caused a stir when it released new research showing Americans’ membership in houses of worship fell below 50 percent for the first time in the 80 years Gallup has been keeping track. According to Gallup’s data, in 2020, only “47% of Americans said they belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque, down from 50% in 2018 and 70% in 1999,” continuing a steady decline that started near the turn of the 21st century.
Gallup identifies several different sources of this decline, most notably an increase in the percentage of Americans who do not identify with a specific organized religion. But the change is also a result of more Americans who do identify with a religion saying they do not belong to a particular house of worship. Much of the change is generational — 66 percent of U.S. adults born before 1946 belong to a house of worship versus only 36 percent of millennials — yet the last 20 years have also seen a doubling in the percentage of older generations (silent generation, baby boomers, and Generation X) with no religious affiliation.”
The number of people who identify as Spiritual but not religious continues to grow. I identified that way for some 25 years. Understand that for many of those people, as for me, what they mean is they believe in God, and even Jesus but reject organized religion, reject church, preferring a personal relationship. Often that rejection stems from childhood experiences, or from their perception of the Church as bigoted, hypocritical, judgmental, rejecting instead of welcoming. Inhospitable.
The wolf shifters in that book I read were good people. They fought against evil to protect the innocent. They were willing to stay and work to help the woman rebuild her ranch after the damages that were done to it in the fight. They just weren’t really good at guarding sheep because . . . wolf. A wolf can’t be trusted with a flock of sheep. That’s just a story, of course, but the threat to the flock that is the church is real. So who are the wolves?
The wolves in our lives, in the lives of congregations, are whatever separates us from the flock - whatever draws us away from love, whatever adds to the fragmentation of society. Some of the wolves that draw us away from church might be good things . . . In the 1960s and 70s people my age left the church in droves because the church - or at least the manifestation of church they knew - would not speak out in favor of civil rights or against the war in Vietnam. They saw hypocrisy in the call to love one another over against acceptance of racism and colonialism and heterosexism and all those other isms. That view of the church is still driving people away, still separating folks from the flock. I was devastated not all that long ago when a young woman stopped attending a 12 Step Meeting that I was attending when she learned I was a Christian minister, because she is a lesbian. She thought that I must hate her because of my Christianity, and no longer felt that she could share openly in the meeting without being judged. I really hate when that happens. But it’s not all that uncommon. Not every congregation is willing to stand up and say “All means ALL.” We know this, because we have members who are here today because we say All means ALL and mean it.
The flock needs a shepherd, and we know our shepherd is Jesus. We know Jesus will watch over us and protect us whether or not we are part of a congregation. But the flock also needs to be a flock, to be together, to be a community. The wolves in our lives are whatever separates us from the flock, whatever draws us away from our community of faith. Some of those wolves are less overtly threatening than others. Maybe Sunday is our only day off and we really need to rest. Getting up and going to church just feels too much like work. We’ll skip just this week…and the longer we skip “just this week” the easier it gets to stay home and before long we’re only showing up at Christmas, Easter and Mother’s Day. Oh, we still get the newsletter and all, but it has been awhile since we got those welcoming smiles and hugs or felt really connected.
Sometimes the church itself isn’t as hospitable as it might be. Hospitality is a lot more than a hug or smile, or coffee hour after worship. Hospitality is about being truly welcoming and making sure everyone knows they are valued. If I work on Sunday, or have to take my children to soccer on Sunday mornings, or have no one to watch my beloved elderly family member on Sunday, and the only time church stuff happens is Sunday, I might not feel all that valued. Hospitality is lacking. If the goal is to keep the flock safe and together, connected to the shepherd and to the rest of the flock, those people also need to have a time for worship, for Bible study, for fellowship, for community. Livestreaming or watching later on YouTube is good, don’t get me wrong. But additional worship and community opportunities during the week make it clear that every sheep is valued - the 99 and the one. The ones in this sheepfold and all the others.
We are Disciples of Christ, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world. Anything that contributes to that fragmentation pulls us away from the Shepherd, away from the safety of the flock, away from the guidance that helps us remember to love one another. As Disciples of Christ, our goal is to welcome all to the Lord’s Table, into the community of faith, just as we were made welcome.
Our challenge then, as Disciples, is to listen, really listen, to the voice of our Savior and Shepherd, to open our ears that we might hear him, and thus discern God’s will for us. Our challenge is to let the Shepherd lead us, to keep us safe from the wolves of the world, to teach us to love one another as he loves us.
