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April 17, 2005 Fourth Sunday of Easter Commentary by Bruce G. Epperly

See also: [2008][2002]

Acts 2:42-47
Psalm 23
I Peter 2:19-25
John 10:1-19

In some quarters, this Sunday is known as Good Shepherd Sunday. Psalm 23 is joined with Jesus’ description of the sheep, the shepherd, and gate to the sheep fold. (John 10:1-10) Threat is all around. Enemies abound. The night is dark. Strange noises terrify. But, we are safe because the Divine Shepherd will guide us to green pastures and safe haven. The realism of the scriptures cannot be denied. The life of faith, the quest to follow the Holy Adventure, is fraught with peril. We cannot avoid the dark night or the valley of death, but must go through them, trusting the presence and protection of God.

Shepherds of One Another

Acts 2 presents the vision of “the body of Christ,” embodied in a living, breathing community. Who knows how long this “beloved community” (Martin Luther King) lasted? But, for a few short weeks, early Christians affirmed their unity as Christ’s children in thought, word, and deed.

Recently, Dorothy Butler Bass, author of The Practicing Congregation, has described intentional communities of Christian practice. These communities practice what they preach–-they live simply, seek justice, pray regularly, worship ardently, remember the Sabbath, and practice the spiritual disciplines. Although they are liberal or mainstream in theology, they have allowed their faith to permeate the totality of their lives individually and corporately, and their churches are growing!

The Jerusalem church was an intentional community. They realized that the drama of Pentecost had to be embodied in everyday life. Mystical experiences and tongue speaking must be grounded in what the author of Acts describes as “teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayers.” From the integration of theology, friendship, and spiritual formation arose life-transforming actions-–“all who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all as any had need.” This was truly a miraculous community--“awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles.”

Now, as progressive and process Christians, we seldom have room for miracles in the traditional sense of the word. But, according to Acts, miracles are not supernatural interventions, but the result of divine-human partnership and synchronicity. What would happen if we individually and communally aligned ourselves with the divine passion or aim through worship, prayer, and service? I suspect that mighty power would be released and lives would be transformed--body, mind, spirit, and relationships. In our current economic and political setting, the quest for justice and the willingness to sacrifice for the vulnerable would be miraculous and might be catalytic in nature. If, as the prophet Amos threatens, social injustice and neglect of the vulnerable leads to a famine of hearing the word of God (Amos 8:11 -13), then attentiveness and care for the vulnerable might awaken us to God’s whispered word. (Suchocki). New energies would be released as “God’s politics” (Wallis) became our criterion of value and behavior.

Quotidian spirituality--he discovery of God in dinner with friends, a healing touch, a phone call, or a visit to the soup kitchen--is the result of our commitment to experiencing God in the ordinariness of life. If all life arises and returns to the Divine, then each moment is a call to do something beautiful for God and an opportunity to give thanks for God’s moment by moment presence.

Divine Shepherding

It is difficult to hear Psalm 23 with new ears. Perhaps, you can imagine being surrounded by what is most fearful to you and then discovering that God has placed a circle of love and protection around you. You hear the threats, see the faces, feel your vulnerability, but know that you are ultimately safe. Authentic faith embraces the reality of threat, knowing that God’s love is stronger than death and fear. The infinitely resourceful God is providing what we need most when we need it most. Divine protection may come through a quiet whispered word of insight, a friend’s embrace, a group of fellow pilgrims, or  a sense of your own power and courage to continue despite all that stands in your way.

John 10:10 is one my favorite passages and has been central to my understanding of God: ”I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly.” God wants us not only to live, as Whitehead says, but to live well and then live better. God is truly on your side, but God is also on everyone’s side. God wants all creation to have abundant life.  While we are often cross purposes, God still presents us with the vision of the peaceable reign, the world of shalom, in which all creatures live in harmony. In light of today’s readings, we can only have abundant life in the context of a shepherding community, that is, a community of faithful and intentional companions who live by a vision of wholeness and justice, and practice this vision on a daily basis. With whom can you embody this vision of divine abundance? How can your congregation live out healthy community that embraces the world?

Resident aliens?

The author of I Peter begins this passage with an admonition, “beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul.” We progressive Christians seldom use such terms as the “world” in derogatory ways, nor do we think of ourselves as “aliens,” living apart from the world. Part of the progressive spirit is the celebration of the gifts of science, art, culture, psychology, and education. We rejoice in the goodness of the earth, sexuality, and friendship.

But, perhaps we would do well to remember that culture is ambiguous and government often unjust. Although we celebrate God’s universal revelation and the continuity of Christ and culture, we may need to emphasize those places where we are called to confront the injustice, cynicism, manipulation, and materialism of our culture. We may need a dose of Bonhoeffer from time to time to remind us that although grace is free (and, we believe, universal), it is never cheap.

Today, I believe we need to articulate progressive Christian practices in both the personal and political spheres. We need to rise up as one voice in opposing the torture of Terri Schiavo by those who stand for life as long as it is fetal or comatose! We need to say “no” to the American empire even though we continue to pray for the president! We need to simplify our lives in order to save the ecosphere, protect the Anwar range, and lessen our temptation to go to war for Middle Eastern oil! We need to raise a voice against those whose fixation with sexuality leads to restricting the rights of gay and lesbian persons who simply wish to love each other in committed relationships! We need to challenge the culture of death perpetuated by millions of abortions, capital punishment, nuclear weaponry, and refusal to allow persons to die peacefully by our commitment to create an alternative culture of life.[1] We need to re-claim the word “pro-life” from those who use it cynically, manipulatively, and ambiguously. Perhaps, better, we should call ourselves “abundant life progressives” and then live this out in the social order!

While we may question the narrowness of the “resident aliens” approach of Stanley Hauerwas and William Willamon, nevertheless, we need to create our own “prophetic alternatives” to the sexist, racist, chauvinistic, materialistic, and death-filled culture in which we live. This may call us to question the scriptural counsel to “accept the authority of every human institution,” including the emperor and his governors. No doubt, the author of the epistle was seeking to minimize persecution of Christians by Romans. Today, as members of the majority, we need to “question authority.” While we are called to pray for our leaders, we are also called to “picket”--to let our light shine by calls to congress, political activism, and solidarity with the vulnerable and oppressed in our nation.

Today, we are called to recognize our unity with all God’s children everywhere, not just suburban, upper middle class, middle class, or American children. In a relational world, we all stand together. Our joys and sorrows are one. Our experiences shape one another. We are called in our economic and political power and education to articulate a prophetic alternative, a healing community, as we seek to be God’s shepherds in our time, as we seek to be abundant life Christians!

Bruce Epperly is Director of the Alliance for the Renewal of Ministry, Continuing Education, and associate professor of practical theology at Lancaster Theological Seminary. He is the author of God's Touch: Faith, Wholeness, and the Healing Miracles of Jesus, Mending the World: Spiritual Hope for Ourselves and our Planet (with Louis D. Solomon) and the forthcoming The Call of the Spirit (with John B. Cobb, Jr., and Paul Nancarrow).

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