Pew Sheet, April 21st 2024. The 4th Sunday of Easter
The 23rd Psalm is probably the most popular and most-used Psalm in the Christian Psalter today. There is seldom a funeral for which it is not requested by family members, and it is the default reading within the liturgy for any who do not know what other readings to choose in saying farewell to a loved one. For centuries, it has given comfort and reassurance to those in distress; and it has a unique place in the hearts of any who have even the most rudimentary of church backgrounds or the merest of faith in the God we profess. The words of the Psalm contain some of the most beautiful imagery, not only of the iconic pastoral scene depicted in many church windows and paintings up and down the country (including that next to entrance to the Memorial chapel in our own church which I urge you to look at today), but of the eternal and enduring promises which God makes to us all both in life and in death. The Psalmist reminds us that God our shepherd will lead us and to protect us, walking beside us in times of peace and adversity, to comfort us and to feed us, to bless (anoint) us, and to provide us with a place of rest and tranquillity all the days of our life, and beyond it. No wonder then, that so many bereaved families find it comforting, and even the most sceptical I suspect, derive some hope from the words it contains.
Jesus draws upon this image in the deeply pastoral cultural and agrarian context of first century Palestine not only to remind his listeners that Yahweh – God the Father is their shepherd, but that Jesus is too, because he and the Father are indistinguishable from one another; and he has been sent by the Father to shepherd the flock which the Father has given him. The passage is also notable because Jesus tells his predominantly Jewish listeners that he has also been given sheep in other folds to tend to, one of the first indications that he has come to lay down his life not only for God’s ‘chosen people’, but for the peoples of the whole world who will listen to his voice when he calls them. Jesus also makes clear that he does so with the authority of the Father, something which Peter reiterates when telling the assembled members of the Jewish Sanhedrin or governing council just weeks after Jesus’ crucifixion at their behest, that the one whose life they discarded as meaningless and disposable, an inconvenient nuisance, is indeed the capstone or cornerstone of God’s plan of salvation for the whole world, and for them too if only they would acknowledge it as some of their number, Nicodemus invariably did.
In his first epistle, the apostle John reiterates this when he writes that Jesus laid down his life for us, just as the Good Shepherd lays down is life for his sheep because he knows us all by name and loves us, just as a good shepherd knows and loves each of the sheep in his care and would willingly lay down his life for them. He is no ‘hired hand’ as the religious leaders of Jesus’ day were, who cared more for themselves than for their flock, which is why we too, should love one another as he loves us, and following where he leads us.
Collect
Risen Christ,
faithful shepherd of your Father’s sheep,
teach us to hear your voice and to follow your command,
that all your people may be gathered unto one flock,
to the Glory of God the Father.
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.
Acts 4:5-12
The next day their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander; and all who were of the high-priestly family. When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders. If we are being questioned today because of a good deed done
to someone who was sick and are being asked how this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.
This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; and it has become the cornerstone. There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”
1 John 3:16-end
We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?
Little children, let us love not in word or speech, but in deed and truth. And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us, for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God, and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.
And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.
John 10:11-18
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takesit from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.
Please pray this week for:
Those mourning the loss of loved ones, and for all engaged in bereavement care in our community. For David, Colleen, Eugene, Charlie, and all the team at Heritage, for Daphne, Alan, Didier, and Fr Anton; and the staff of our local crematoria, that the emotional burden they carry as a result of dealing with others’ grief on a daily basis may be assuaged by the knowledge that they walk on sacred ground in all that they do, and do not labour alone.
This Week’s Events
Monday
Bell ringing at 7.30pm in St Laurence. Contact Jan on 07835 461361.
Tuesday (St George the Martyr, c304 AD)
Zoom Morning Prayer at 9am followed by Lent course. ID: 748 9970 4493
Password: Trinity or contact Didier on [email protected]
Daytime Bible Group (2nd and 4th Tuesdays) contact Paula: 07722 808 988.
Evening Home Groups, contact Jo on 07803 942 687.
Wednesday (Mellitus, Bishop of London, 624 AD)
Morning Coffee from 10.00-11.45 in the St Laurence Rooms.
Midweek Holy Communion at 12 noon, St Laurence Church.
Friday
Junior Choir at 6.30 pm followed by full Choir Practice at 7.30pm. Do contact Derry on [email protected] if you would like to join in this term.
Pastoral Care
Call 07305 271 148 or email [email protected]
Volunteers Urgently Needed
We are seeking someone to represent the parish as a School Governor at Winslow CofE Primary School. Please speak to George or Steve if you are interested in this varied, interesting, and satisfying role on our behalf.
We are also seeking additional helpers to lead or assist with our children and young people’s work from time to time in the Sunday Vestry Club. All necessary support and training will be provided. Please speak to Jo Anderson if you might be able to help. Likewise, if able to help provide refreshments after Sunday services, or to meet and greet people as they arrive please speak to Chris, George, or Judy.
