“The King of Love my Shepherd is”

If you are a liturgical geek like me, you might recognize the beginning line of hymn 645 from The 1982 Hymnal (Music: St. Columba), which is a metrical paraphrase of Psalm 23.  The 4th Sunday of Easter, in addition to being our International Sunday, is also referred to as “Good Shepherd Sunday”, as our lectionary highlights that metaphor Jesus uses in the Gospel according to John. While the phrasing of this hymn reminds me of Yoda (the Jedi Master from Star Wars whose syntax was backward to English-speaking ears), I like the description of my shepherd being the “King of Love.”

Being a shepherd is hard work in the midst of mind-numbing boredom.  While I am sure most shepherds rather be bored than dealing with crises of lost or stolen or murdered sheep, there is little to recommend the vocation.  And yet, as John invites us to imagine, God willingly takes on the role of shepherd in our lives, guiding and supporting us on the Path, especially in the midst of danger, grief and suffering.  God does this not because of duty or obligation, but because God loves us.  While it doesn’t fit the tune, we can even take that image a step further and just say that LOVE is my Shepherd, because love isn’t just something God does, LOVE is what God is.  It is God’s very nature to tend and care for us, even when we have gone astray.

Lest we get too complacent in our Easter celebration (focusing on the joy rather than our neglect of our relationship with God), the other side of “Good Shepherd Sunday” is understanding that we are the sheep in this metaphor.  It is not a flattering comparison, as sheep are not known for their problem-solving skills, or really for any level of intelligence. They get lost easily, sometimes not even knowing all they need to do is turn around.  

It is a helpful reminder to us that, in comparison to God, we are like sheep, simple in our understanding of how Creation works.  We need God’s loving presence to keep us on the right track, move toward working with God to create God’s Realm on earth as it is in heaven.  Imagine asking a flock of sheep to do that!  It seems ridiculous – and that, of course, is the point.  We can only accomplish this task with God’s love and support, like the “rod and staff” mentioned in the Psalm. 

I love that our International Sunday coincides with Good Shepherd Sunday this year.  “My cup is running over,” writes the Psalmist, and it is a great way to describe the abundance of food and love that is offered each year to acknowledge and celebrate our unity in diversity.  We are so blessed at St. Barnabas to know and care for each other because we are brothers and sisters in Christ.  And we have the great opportunity to learn from each other about our different cultures and the food we love.  We are not a melting pot.  We are a great banquet table groaning with all that is and can be laid upon it. This is God’s table and all are invited to it.

Come and share the love, for our God is the Good Shepherd and we are God’s sheep.

In Christ,

Rev. Valerie+

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