Fourth Sunday of Easter B - Br Andrew

Andre-Rublev's Saviour

   Homily preached by Br. Andrew at Blaxland on Sunday 26th April 2015:

Fourth Sunday of Easter B

Readings

First :  Acts. 4:5-12
Second: 1 John 3:16-24
Gospel:  John 10:11-18

"Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture says the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:1 NIV)

Jesus begins by identifying himself as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Straight away we can determine that there are bad shepherds who don't lay down their Iives’  for the flock in their charge; their names are mentioned in our first reading, they were Annas, the  High Priest Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the rest of the high priest's family. They knew no one's name nor even whether there were any other converts waiting anywhere for guidance.

Politics and history aside, Spiritually the Jewish church had been entrusted into the care of the  tribe of Levi and the House of Aaron since the time of Moses until the Messiah should come. Here now, clerics hired  by God were allowing the Flock of Israel to be fed to the wolves of Rome for the sake of Mammon, and for political security, had put aside any pretenses of looking or acting like shepherds. When the master himself returned they had him crucified and the small flock scattered. Note, Jesus says that he laid down his life and he took it up again.

 Daemons and men can do whatever they will to work out their wickedness but God's will over rides everything. This was a special love between the Father and son that Jesus could willingly lay down his life because it was his to give for us.
Having given and received his life Jesus returned to his disciples where he told them to stay in Jerusalem until power from on high should come upon them. And that Power will be the Holy Spirit whose coming we celebrate at Pentecost.

Our first reading is a prime example of how true disciples of Christ, shepherds in their own right behave with compassion toward those in their care. I find Peters words hilarious "If we are being held to account today for an act of kindness to a cripple" How many of us have been in trouble with church authorities for an act kindness?

For Peter and John it proved to be a prime opportunity to witness to the Sanhedrin and to try once again to Drill truth into concrete skulls it is in the name of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit that this man walks. You rejected Him, you crucified him and he rose from the dead and it is through His Name that is the only way under heaven by which you can be saved. Did they care at all or just at another type of sheep rustling?

I am here in this Parish because of hireling’s clerics who even breed their own wolves to keep all the sacrilege and injustice in the family, so to speak. Many of us might say that the church of today, hasn’t moved far away, in principles from the Jewish church that money and power and status, fear and prejudice all serve to caste out the weakest sheep and the weakest shepherds.    Where is the light?
The light lives in the love of Jesus, and when we feel this love we see the light that the darkness cannot extinguish. In his Epistle John speaks of this love.   Love with a capital L is that Christ laid down his life for us and that we ought to do likewise. How scary is this, I wanted light and love not self-sacrifice.

John speaks here not of the ultimate self-sacrifice of Maximilian Kolbe but of the loving-kindness and concern for Christians and non-Christians alike. Fulfilling one another's needs and discovering that the Love of Christ makes all things possible!
John continues by reminding us to exercise our Christian conscience, whenever in doubt, and to remember the two great commandments.

It sounds a little simplistic and perhaps unreal when we overlay the Gospel and Epistles over the events of today's world but we need to remember that the Scriptures were given to us in a vacuum excluding the reality of the times, they are intended to be spiritual guidance to be adapted to every Era. Scripture is not complex but does have context, a little exploration of the world beyond the Scriptures helps us to find our own context.
Come to Bible Study.

4th Sunday of Easter - Br Andrew

Andre-Rublev's Saviour 

Homily preached at Winmalee on Sunday May 11th 2014

Fourth Sunday of Easter Br. Andrew

Here is something to think about:

In his “The Axioms of Religion” professor E. Y. Mullins’s: sates that "Whenever a church interposes between the child and the Father, through sacrament, through human priesthood or hierarchy, through centralized government, through authoritative oligarchies of any kind in spiritual affairs, it ceases to conform to the kingdom of God, and becomes a juvenile court or orphanage instead.” 

This quote, in its turn appeared in a pamphlet written by a Baptist by the name of Carolyn D. Blevins entitled “The Priesthood of All Believers”
http://www.baptisthistory.org/priesthood.htm

The Priesthood of All Believers

I Peter 2: 1-10


Today I shall be focusing on this verse from our second reading 1 Peter 2:9;
9 "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."

Jesus has given us the gift of new life, as a priest offering his ultimate sacrifice, he sacrificed his life for us and he chose us, His believers to be priests. 
When we think about a priest, we tend to think of some one who believes in a Eucharist wherein the elements of bread and wine are somehow changed into flesh and blood.
We are a Non-denominational Sacramental Community but the Sacrament does not reside on the Table or in the beliefs of the one leading the service but in the heart and Spirit of those remembering Jesus through it.  

So for us being members of a royal priesthood, being priests has far more meaning than perhaps it does for members in the more traditional denominations, because the Sacrament is within our relationship with the Father rather than in a Doctrinal statement, place, person or ritual. Our priesthood sits within our relationship with the Father and with his Word the Lord Jesus

We are a community of Priests each ministering and shepherding one another not because of any special training, but because Jesus says we are; and through the Holy Spirit has given us various gifts to use to do so. Our priesting is an everyday sacrifice of joyful praise and service as we take up our various joys and burdens each day. We are always priests, not just on Sunday and we do have the Good shepherd to help us.

Let’s examine the Gospel now and see how the Master does it. 

Gospel John 10:1-10

Even in Palestine today several flocks of sheep may be sheltered in the same fold for some short time. A gate man – one of the other shepherds will sit at the entrance to the fold to guard it and will allow the other shepherds to enter. When that shepherd takes his sheep out of the fold he has a special call for them and all the sheep follow him, he has given them all a name and they come when they are called and the shepherd knows instantly whether any are missing. They will run from a stranger.

Jesus is the doorway both into and out of the fold and we wait his bidding before we come in or go out and we trust him to lead us to good pasture and fresh water. Jesus knows us by name, so intimately that he knows when we are distracted and out of full communion with him in our Relationship with him. Whenever we become so seriously lost as to miss curfew then Jesus who instinctively knows our absence knows just where to find us and comes and does so.

As priests in his new kingdom we need to practice our shepherding, getting to know those with whom we interact, the special words that will draw them to God through our Priesting. Their bolt holes when times are bad; the kinds of nourishment they need; to know our own limitations; to recognise when a relationship with Jesus is faltering and with prayer, practise and consultation with other priests pray out what might be done or not.

Jesus’ disciples didn’t understand the analogy but we are to Jesus as our fellow community members are to the sheep and the sheep need their shepherd. Greater than this:
Since we are all members of a royal priesthood, what is very interesting about this concept is that each one of us is both Shepherd and sheep – we are all Christs and all in need of Christ at one and the same time. Like a neatly woven sheep fold pulling together to keep ourselves safe from the robbers and daemons who would wrench us apart.
Priesting is a vocation we are called to, if necessary 24/7, there can be no Roster, whenever we find ourselves called, we priest & Shepherd.

 In celebrating Liturgy; priests such as Sr. Agnes finds pleasure in the Prayer Table, Lee as Parish Secretary, Ashley our fund raiser, Stephen our Mr. Music. .. We all serve each other in our various ways, we are a fold of shepherds & sheep sometimes each one of us is at once Shepherd sheep and priest-

At our lowest & most fearful we are only sheep- & if we have learned well at the Master's feet; we will know our own voices.

I feel we have an interesting time ahead.