Grazing with Jesus
NO 4/13/08 MW
Scene
The Gospel passage has traditionally been seen as a very important story, “Truly, truly, I tell you...” that is aimed at religious leaders. The basis for this perception is the entire ninth chapter of John is devoted to Jesus healing the blind man on the Sabbath and how much difficulty that caused for him and even the man who was healed. So, early interpretations focused on this being a warning to those who are leaders in Christianity: clergy, teachers, officers elected to care for the church and community.
Those who are given parts in this story are: The Gatekeeper – God, The Gate and The Shepherd – Jesus and The Sheep – Clergy, other church leaders and us – those called.
The Gatekeeper & Shepherd – A Special Relationship
It is God who opens and closes the gate and keeps the sheep safe. In fact, when we look at how people join the flock, Jesus tells us, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) and he also says, “All things have been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and the person to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (Luke 10:22) And again, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him to life on the last day.” (John 6:44).
The Gate and Gatekeeper Have the First and Last Word
I know that it is a disappointment to some and confusing to most of us because these scriptures fly in the face of most of what we have been taught all our lives about what we are supposed to be doing as Christians. It causes us to wonder what the Great Commission is all about if it isn't us who are to go out and make new Christians.
Look at the Scene from the Sheep Perspective
We are not going to be able to sit back if we are going to follow Jesus. The Triune God may well gather us in the first place but as is often said, “God accepts us right where we are but God does not leave us where we are.” This story tells us through action what we are to be about.
In the Sheepfold
When the sheep are gathered in the sheepfold they feel and are safe. It is like when we are in the church family. We are, as Jesus called those originally called, friends. A friend, in first century, would give his or her life for their friend – this is what Jesus did for his friends. He then goes on to tell the disciples that they are to love one another just as he has loved them. This would be the way that the world would know that they were his followers.
The Gathered Sheep
The gathered New Oregon UMC sheep are wonderful. We have a powerful spirit that joins the Spirit of our Lord as we worship, as we join together for other activities, and as we reach out to one another in our special needs. In the sheepfold we are an almost unique portion of the body of Christ in the world.
Mountain Lakes District Leadership Meeting
Thursday evening I had the opportunity to meet with our District Superintendent and that of the Cheaha District to discuss developing leadership in our district. Amy Bowers presented what her District is doing to develop new paths for equipping and challenging churches to grow more disciples. As I listened there was a realization that much of what they are proposing could be used in our church as well as the District.
At one point, the presentation provided a slide with the ways they propose to evaluate their effectiveness in meeting their stated mission. On their evaluation tool, I would score our church high on most of the list. We have improved attendance, we certainly have a creative outreach with a number of activities, especially, our annual mission trip and Happy Jack Knitting Circle, and we gladly support our District, Annual Conference, and United Methodist missions with our apportionments.
Gatekeeper opens the Gate!
God has called us and we have responded with a firm, “Yes!” The Gatekeeper opened the Gate and in we paraded. We are called and we respond and now we are together and enjoy the fellowship of believers and the love and care of one another.
Leaving the Sheepfold
There is, however, another side of this story as we have seen in scriptures for today. Jesus is the Gate and Jesus is the Shepherd. The Gate protects us from that which might harm us. The Shepherd, on the other hand, calls us to come out of the sheepfold and to go into that world characterized biblically as a world of wolves. The world is full of folks who would do away with us altogether – some very few would use violence and the others would use such subtle, even religious schemes, to lead us astray. Most would just tell us that the grass is greener on the other side of wherever we are at the moment. I believe the powerful Personal Abundance Theology is an example. Or, as we drove past the library in Rainsville, the marquee read, “You are the author of your life.” That is exactly the way our culture desires us to think. The Shepherd, Jesus, however, desires to be the author of our lives and calls us from the safety of the sheepfold for just that purpose.
We are called out to be about the business of the sheep. Most people see sheep grazing and don't stop and realize they are doing what sheep are called to do – their grazing results in a continuation of the sheep themselves and it is also necessary if they are going to produce wool. So, what may look like a rather lazy way of going through life is not that at all. The sheep are called out to do the work of sheep.
Our Work as the Lord's Sheep
Jesus calls us out of the safety of the sheepfold to graze with him in the world. We have a purpose to being Christian that is more than getting ourselves to heaven. We have a purpose as Christians that reaches much further than study and growth in knowledge about God, Jesus, the Spirit and the Church. Those things are important but they are not the purpose of being called out of the sheepfold.
The New Oregon Gap
There is, it seems to me, a gap between our call as sheep in the fold and the call of our call as grazing with Jesus. This gap is seen best in one single item of the Cheaha District, “Indicators of success in this vision...” The item is the number of Professions of Faith. We have grown in our membership numbers and I celebrate this and desire it continue. Our growth, primarily, has come from folks who are already Christians, coming from other United Methodist Churches or church of Other Denominations. I hope this continues as long as there is New Oregon UMC.
The Big Question
One of the goals of the Cheaha District, and I suspect our own district as well, is to develop teaching churches that will help struggling churches come alive. Taking advantage of that desire, I asked, “I would like to know who had the most Professions of Faith last year so I can come, and bring lay leaders, to learn from you. Another minister countered that I had asked the wrong question because the larger churches have the larger number of Professions of Faith but it's because they have more children of members being Confirmed. So, I rephrased my question, “Who, last year, had the largest number of 'unchurched' folks join their church.” There was a long silence but finally it was suggested that I get with Robin Scott at Guntersville First.
The Unchurched
Who are the unchurched? Where are we going to find the unchurched? What are we to do when we do find them? These are good questions and I going to venture some suggestions and we can go from there.
Who are the unchurched? Persons not involved in any church. I am not interested in attempting to pull men, women and children away from other churches. Even when they may not be active in their church they are still not the target. I'm talking about people who are not related to any church and perhaps have never set foot into any church in their entire lives.
Where are we going to find these folks? I suspect we can find them on this mountain and in the valleys surrounding us. My hunch is that nearly everyone in this sanctuary this morning could make a list of one or two people that you know have never darkened the doors of a church – some may have family members that fall into that category.
What do we do when we find them? I believe we have a lot of work to do in this area because there is not a simple, easy, answer to this question even though we seek one. We need to take the time to look at what others have done successfully. We need to look at ourselves to see if we can understand why we are not successful in this arena. We need to state our mission and how we are going to fulfill it and evaluate as we go along.
In the meantime, what can be done is to invite these folks to come worship with us. Even better, would be to ask if you can pick them up and take them home. Invite them to fellowship with you and with us even if they are not the kind of folks you prefer to socialize with – graze with others with Jesus.
Conclusion
Is the thought of this frightening? Remember how David wrote in the 23rd Psalm that God walks with us even in the darkest valley of threat – death. God is with us. Remember how Peter wrote that we may well suffer for our faith but that is okay because it is suffering for righteousness. Perhaps, most importantly, keep in mind that as we grow in our faith inside the sheepfold, we are provided with that which will keep us about the work of our Lord outside the sheepfold. As we meet with stray sheep and reach out to them our faith will also grow.
This is a process of growing disciples for Jesus rather than wool for clothing. We go about life as it looks like we are just grazing while we are actually about the business of Jesus by keeping Jesus always on our mind. This way God, not us, will add to our number those who need to be right here with us.
Let's graze with Jesus.