[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Finding Pasture

[Joe Parrish]

 Forwarded:

 


 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Frank Fisher <f.fisher.obl.osb at comcast.net>
To: SBA <SBA at SBAbbey.com>; sermonshop.sermons.topic <sermonshop.sermons.topic at ecunet.org>; PRCL-L <PRCL-L at LISTSERV.LOUISVILLE.EDU>; propertalk.topic <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org>; midrash <midrash at joinhands.com>
Sent: Fri, May 13, 2011 4:45 pm
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Finding Pasture


Here's my draft for Sunday using the Acts, Psalms, and John pericopes. 

PAX,


__

Frank R. Fisher, Obl OSB
www.ffisher.net
Interim Pastor
First Presbyterian Church of Kewanee, IL
www.fpckewanee.org
Elmira United Presbyterian Church
www.elmiraunited.org

aka

Brother Oscar Romero
Oblate of St. Benedict's Abbey
Bartonville, IL
www.SBAbbey.com


"When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so
that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice."-Cherokee proverb


_________________________

Baaaaaaa!
Baaaaaaa!

Your lips form those sounds
as you busily graze
 on the bright green spring grass.
For you're a sheep;
a four hoofed one
who busily follows your shepherd
across the gently rolling hills and valleys
of your corner of Judah.

Not too much in the way of thought
crosses your mind as you graze.
And that's just as well,
for our mind really isn't capable
of too much thought.
You know how to eat.
Your shepherd has no question about that at all.
For the way you gnaw plants
down to their very roots,
has him constantly leading you onward
in search of more fields
of green grass.

You also know how to follow.
The particular cry your shepherd makes
during your daily journeys
sticks readily in your mind.
And when ever you hear it
you gulp down a last bite of grass
and your little legs churn mightily
as they carry you after that sound.

It's a very good thing you do know
your shepherd's cry
and you know how to follow it.
For your only other talent
is getting lost.
Getting lost is actually
what you do best.
Your shepherd knows that
and always keeps an eye on you.
But even with his constant attention
you find ways to wander off.
Then,
when you're good and truly lost,
you panic.
And you throw yourself to the ground
in utter terror
while your impassioned bleats
proclaim your predicament
to everyone within earshot.

When do you manage to get lost,
your shepherd finds you.
He's a good sort.
That is,
he's good for a shepherd.
Most humans
wouldn't want to deal with him.
The nicest thing they'd call him
 is smelly.
But then they'd go on
to list his other features.
He's,
to put it mildly,
a bit of a thief.

Since he's always away on the hillside
he doesn't properly take care of his family.
And his morals are quite suspect.
In short,
like every other shepherd,
he's not considered to be
a member
of polite society.

But you like him anyway.
At least you like
where he leads you.
And after he's had a long day
keeping track of you
and the other sheep,
you're happy to follow his cry
back to the sheep fold.
On the way there
you meet lots of other flocks
with lots of other shepherds.
They're all part
of one big family.
And at night
they gather all their sheep together
where they can defend them
in the darkness.

During the night
the most important shepherd of all
is the gatekeeper.
And like you know your own shepherd's cry
the gatekeeper knows
his own shepherds.
When he sees them
he opens the gate
and lets them in
to a place of safety.
And he carefully guards against anyone
who might sneak over the walls
to harm you in the darkness.
Thanks to the gatekeeper
you
will come in
 to safety in the darkness
and go safely out in the light
to be led beside waters still
and pastures green.

Baaaaaaa!
Baaaaaaa!

Your lips form words
that may so some
seem somewhat like those sounds
as you busily graze  on the feast 
set before the Jerusalem community today.
For you're a sheep;
a two legged one,
who busily follows your shepherds
across the gently
 and not so gently
rolling hills and valleys of your life.

You've known many shepherds in your life.
Over the years
you've followed the cries
of wild eyed prophets
whom you eventually decided
were simply wildly insane,
scheming priests
whom you found to be in league
 with the Roman oppressors,
and traveling miracle workers
whose miracles
you discovered
mostly benefitted their purses.

For a long time,
it seemed,
you'd never find a shepherd
whose cry you could trust;
a shepherd
to whom you'd entrust your life;
a shepherd
who could truly lead you
toward green pastures
and still waters.
Then one day
you saw a commotion in the market place.
There were so many different people milling about
you thought at first
you'd discovered a riot.
But you saw no fear
on the faces of the crowd.
Instead
their expressions
were ones of rapt attention.
So you edged closer and closer
to see what all the excitement was about.

When you reached far enough into the crowd
to see what was happening,
you discovered a group of men and women
who were talking to the crowd.
They all seemed to be speaking
 in different languages.
That seemed a bit odd to you.
For they were obviously not wealthy
or highly educated.
But if their language struck you as strange
their message seemed even odder.

They were talking about a Galilean Jew
named Jesus of Nazareth.
This Jesus,
they proclaimed,
had been betrayed by the priests,
crucified by their Roman allies,
and after three days
resurrected from the dead
by the power of the Holy One of Israel.
At first you turned to walk away.
In fact you tried to leave the crowd many times.
For their words seemed to you
more empty cries
from evil shepherds
who were after something for themselves.

Yet there was something about their words
that made sense to you.
They rang true in your ears.
And you saw them perform signs and wonders
without demand for anything in return.
So you followed the crowd
as these people moved away
to where they were staying.


In a short time
you realized you'd found your shepherds;
shepherds who told you
how Jesus was the gatekeeper;
the gatekeeper
who protected sheep like you in the darkness of life,
and in the brightness of day
let them out
to graze beside green pastures
and drink safely from still waters.
You were baptized.
And you sold all that you had
and joined their community
where everything was held in common.
Everyone among you
and around you
received what they needed for life.
Day by day,
 you spent much time 
with your sisters and brothers in the temple,
you broke bread with them at home,
 and ate food with them with glad and generous hearts,
praising God
and having the goodwill of all the people.
 And day by day the Lord added to your  number
those who were being saved.

Baaaaaaa!
Baaaaaaa!

Your lips form words
that may so some
seem somewhat like those sounds
as you busily anticipate grazing  on the feast 
set before you at lunch time today.
For you're a sheep;
a two legged one,
who busily follows your shepherds
across the gently
 and not so gently
rolling hills and valleys of your life.

Over the course of your life
here in your community of believers,
you've followed an astounding variety of shepherds.
The cries of some of your shepherds led you truly,
and some did not.
For a little while
you've lived with the one standing before you today;
one who's more comfortable being called
a sheep wearing a sheep bell.
For he knows
he too is simply a sheep
like everyone
who seeks the Gatekeeper
of all sheep and shepherds. 

Now
you've come to the place
where work has begun
toward seeking the shepherd,
or sheep with a sheep bell,
who will lead you into the future.
Know this though
as you search,
the Gatekeeper has a woman or man,
who will lead you
in the Gatekeeper's ways.
There's one
who will lead you
as you search for the neighbors
 you're called to serve.
There's one
who will lead you
as you worship God
and break together the Gatekeeper's bread.
There's one whose cries
will lead you to pastures green
and waters still.

And to find that one,
seek first Jesus
the Gatekeeper.
For in Christ's fold
you will find yourselves held closely
in the midst of darkness.
And in Christ's fold
you will find the way to pasture
where life will be truly abundant.

To God alone be glory.

Amen.




 
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