Sunday Sermon - 11 May
I grew up on a hobby farm about an hour north of Toronto, just outside of a small town near Mount Albert, Ontario. On this hobby farm we had chickens and goats, horses and yes, we even had sheep. I have to say that, of all of the barnyard animals, our sheep were the (how shall I say this) “least smart” of all of the animals on the farm. I’m not saying this to be mean, these sheep were off the charts when it came to doing dumb things, things that would put their own lives at risk.
We fed them quality hay, we kept them in a nice field with lots of good clean grass and clover, but for whatever reason, they felt the grass was always greener on the other side of their fence. The horses, they didn’t try to escape. The goats, they never tried to escape. But the sheep were constantly trying to escape, and they never made it. They kept getting caught or tangled in the fence, so much so that my Dad ended up making them this weird looking triangular collar out of pieces of 1X2 wood so that they couldn’t get themselves stuck. We had one particular sheep, so ‘not smart’ that we named him ‘Ding Dong’.
I thought that maybe our sheep were unique, you know ‘special’, and that other sheep tended to be smarter than our poor herd. When I asked some farmer friends, they said nope, sheep are just not that bright. In fact, even in the book Animal Farm, Orwell portrays the sheep this way. They are one of the only animals that aren’t fully literate and they can’t remember the 7 commandments of the farm revolution so instead, Snowball, one of the pig leaders, just teaches them to remember this simple mantra: “Four legs good. Two legs bad.” From then on, they constantly kept repeating it at inappropriate times: “Four legs good. Two legs bad.”
You can imagine my conundrum as a relatively young, good, church-going boy, whenever Jesus referred to his followers as sheep. Not gonna lie, I felt a little offended. Okay, maybe a lot offended. Today, the day we call ‘Good Shepherd Sunday’, was the pinnacle of my offence. On this day we celebrate being God’s sheep and Jesus our Shepherd. As a result, I was never a fan of the Fourth Sunday of Easter. Quite honestly, I haven’t really thought much about this in many years, until preparing for this sermon today.
As I prayed and prepared for this homily I learned that today, Good Shepherd Sunday, was also designated as Vocations Sunday. In 1963, Pope Paul VI designated this Sunday as Vocations Sunday and the Church of England and all Anglicans, the United Church, Methodist Church and most Christian denominations, followed suit.
Vocations Sunday is a Sunday when we pray for those who are called, or have a sense that they are being called, to some form of ordained ministry. It is the world day of prayer for vocations, following Jesus' instruction from Matthew 9:38:
“Therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.”
So now I have a real conundrum. It’s Good Shepherd Sunday, a day I have historically had an issue with, and Vocation Sunday, a day when I feel prayed for and supported because of my vocation, my call to serve God as a shepherd for Christ. Needless to say, this week, I prayed for understanding, asking for guidance, and I realized that I’ve always been a shepherd, literally as a farm boy and now figuratively as a priest.
After a bit of research I’ve learned that sheep are not ‘less smart’ than the other barnyard animals despite their reputation for being so and their odd behaviour and impossible-to-understand choices. In fact, apparently animal behaviourists have concluded that sheep have a similar IQ to that of cows (I’m not sure that’s saying much… but so be it). They can manoeuvre through mazes and remember the route, they can recognize and remember human and fellow sheep faces, they are socially acute and form strong lasting bonds with their lambs. Lambs can even recognize their mothers by both sight and sound.
What sheep also are is incredibly vulnerable. In fact, they are considered some of the most vulnerable of farm animals. They may be the easiest ‘catch’ for predators compared to other livestock, with little to no ability to defend themselves. Sheep are not aggressive like goats who have both a flight and a fight instinct. Sheep, for the most part, only really have a flight instinct and most of their predators, like coyotes, are much faster than them. Sadly, we learned this the hard way on our farm and did lose some sheep to coyotes and wild dogs.
Once I learned this about sheep, things about this Sunday started to make a little more sense.
The 23rd Psalm - The Lord is my Shepherd. The psalm speaks of green pastures, still waters, right paths, and comfort in dark valleys. It ends not in fear but in assurance - an assurance that Jesus keeps us safe.
In Acts, we meet Tabitha, also known as Dorcas. She is described as a disciple, full of good works and acts of charity. She cared for widows. She sewed clothes. She used her hands and her heart to bless those around her. She was a protector and a caregiver. When she died, her community grieved deeply. The widows she cared for stood beside Peter, holding the garments she had made, bearing witness to a life, a vocation, lived in service. Peter prays, and God restores her to life. The miracle is not only about the resurrection of Tabitha but the resurrection of hope, of generosity, and mercy in the community - when God restored their protectorate, their shepherd, he restored their faith and fulfilled Peter’s vocation as a miraculous leader for Christ.
In our Gospel, Jesus explains how he is our Good Shepherd, we hear him and follow him. He protects us, he saves us, gives us eternal life. No predator can take from us the life he promises.
What is also interesting in our readings today is the duality of Jesus. For Jesus is not only the Good Shepherd, but is also the Paschal Lamb. John’s Revelation reminds us of this: “For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
In God’s human form He, as a vulnerable lamb, gave himself over to the predators to die, for us. He sacrificed himself for the safety and salvation of all of the other sheep in His herd. As the resurrected Christ he is the glorious saviour, our protective Shepherd leading us to safe and still waters.
As the human, Jesus is our sacrificial lamb. As the Divine, Christ is our Shepherd.
So here we are today, on this Good Shepherd and Vocation Sunday, giving thanks to Jesus as our shepherd, praying for those called to ministry and reminded of our responsibility as followers of Christ to protect and care for the vulnerable in our world.
This is the Salihi Family. Abdul Ali, Eidma, Shaqaeiq, Shamsullah and Shakrullah. They are Afghani refugees currently displaced, living in Pakistan because it is unsafe for them as Hazaras to live in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and it is increasingly dangerous for them to remain in Pakistan as well due to heightened anti-Hazara persecution.
The Salihi family are currently walking in the shadow of death and after consultation with our Wardens and Treasurer, and after a meeting with the sponsorship team and AURA, the Anglican United Refugee Alliance, we have agreed to be the supporting parish for their refugee settlement plan to Canada.
I have invited the AURA leader Marin and the members of the sponsorship team, including Ezat, Abdul Ali’s brother, to join us one Sunday to present more details about the Salihis, and to teach us more about the systematic persecution of the Hazaras and how we as a parish family can help. I’m happy to report that Ezat and some team members have accepted the invitation and will be joining us on May 25. If anyone has any questions about our support for the Salihis, I am happy to talk with you after the service.
On this Good Shepherd Sunday, on this Vocation Sunday, we are reminded that we as a Church are the embodiment of Christ in this world. We share Jesus the Christ’s duality. As people we are our Lord’s sheep, cared for by the Saviour we follow. As Christians we are our Lord’s shepherds called to tend to, care for, serve, protect and save the vulnerable sheep, like the Salihis, in our world.
How blessed are we to have the privilege of serving our Lord and each other in this way?
Thank you, and thank you God, for showing us the way.
Amen.