SPECIAL DAYS: Fourth Sunday after Easter

LESSONS: Psalm 23; Revelation 7.9-17

SERMON TITLE: Eternally True

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INTRODUCTION:

  1. Sequels seldom live up to the promise of the original.
    1. Sequel: 1. Something that follows; a continuation. 2. A literary work complete in itself but continuing the narrative of an earlier work.
      1. James Bond, 22 Movies
      2. Starring in order of appearance:
        1. David Niven
        2. Sean Connery
        3. George Lazenby
        4. Roger Moore
        5. Timothy Dalton
        6. Pierce Brosnan
      3. The last few rely more on special effects than plot.
    2. Have you considered the posibility that Easter is a sequel?
      1. Is the sequel as good as the original?
      2. Or because of time and distance we rely more on special effects than we do on good characters and plot structure?
    3. Have you considered the possibility that each Sunday is a sequel?
      1. Is the sequel as good as the original?
      2. Or because of time and distance we rely more on special effects than we do on good characters and plot structure?
    4. Have you considered that life is a sequel?
      1. Remember the children's bedtime prayer?


        2. Now I lay me down to sleep
        I pray the Lord my soul to keep
        If I should die before I wake
        I pray the Lord my soul to take

      2. Every night is like a death
      3. Every morning is a new beginning.
  2. How would you like to make every morning a great beginning to the day and to life.
    1. You could turn to secular sources.

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      2. ILLUSTRATION: the Goodenough Community at http://www.goodenough.org/

      Hello! You are visiting the Goodenough Community. We are about 100 people utilizing our relationships and organizing systems to further our personal development and accomplish our social agenda--to provide a model or demonstration community. (1)

      This urban, multi-residential, intentional learning community has been in operation for almost 30 years. We are continually gathering our learnings about encouraging human development, community-building, and developing interpersonal skills basic to a functioning democracy.

      We have learned the importance of balancing attention to human rights with the development of abilities that enable personal and social responsibility

      The purpose of the Goodenough Community is to create a way of life, a culture we share. By entering into this covenant we define our community and shape all our relationships. We agree to be accountable to each other for living this covenant.

      Goodenough Community Covenant

        As a member of the Goodenough Community, I commit to being the best version of my unique Self:

        By entering fully into life's experiences,

        By giving myself fully to the process of transformation through the expression of love,

        By trusting the good intentions of each one of us,

        By relating with respect and acceptance,

        By making and keeping my agreements with great care,

        By being constant through conflict,

        By honoring and respecting leadership in others as a method of developing the leader in myself,

        By taking responsibility for my significant role in the Universe,

        By acknowledging the inner and interconnectedness of all creation, thus making myself safe and at home in the Universe.

        So be it!

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      1. This sounds marvelous and it is.
      2. It is based on transformational psychology.
      3. Where is the power?
      4. Transformational psychology can help a great deal, but it may not, nor can it take you to the highest levels of growth proposed by Jesus Christ.
      5. I was serving as the chaplain of an adolescent treatment center, and among other spiritual activities leading AA's 12 Step program.
        1. A change in staff led to a bit of conflict with Bill W's concept of Higher Power.
          1. Bill W. in developing AA perceived the Higher Power as God as we understand him.
          2. In the new director's mind a hi8gher power could be anything at all, that is, anything that you decided it was to be.
          3. It could be a tree or a door knob.
          4. This gave new meaning to Higher Power.
          5. To be Higher, the power must be more powerful than you are.
        2. A power that has the ability and the means to help you engage in a spiritual transformation.
    2. What could you do with spiritual transformation?
      1. A sequel that would get a great review.
      2. A sequel on which one could build something solid and joyful.

MAIN BODY:

  1. In the Bible there are over 100 Names and Titles of Jesus Christ.
    1. Some names:
      1. Branch
      2. Bread of Life
      3. Head of the Church
      4. Lamb
      5. Messiah
      6. Prince of peace
      7. Rock
    2. Jesus also used metaphors to describe himself in relationship to us:
      1. I am the Vine
      2. I am like a Mother Hen.
      3. I am the Good Shepherd.

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    3. Which brings us to the 23rd Psalm

      4. Psalm 23 has become almost too familiar when it becomes a cliche as the following makes painfully clear.

      This was noted on a sweatshirt for sale at The Mall of America

      Though I walk through
      The Mall of America
      I shall Fear No Evil
      For with Time and Plastic in my Pocket
      There's Nothing to FEAR Anyway. (2)

    1. We do not need the sweatshirt version.
    2. We need the real thing.
  1. Psalm 23, (NRSVA)
    1. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.
      1. The Lord is my shepherd to the compassionate care and caving nature of Jesus Christ.
        1. He is the good shepherd.
        2. We are not sheep.
        3. The biblical images suggest that we may be:
          1. Sheep without a shepherd
          2. Like lost sheep
        4. However, a human being is more valuable than sheep
        5. The illusion is to the shepherd and not the sheep.
        6. I am not an animal, even though at times a human being may act like one.
      2. (John 10:10 KJV) The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
    2. [2] He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;
    3. [3] he restores my soul.

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      1. (John 10:11-16 NRSV) "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. [12] 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. [13] The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. [14] I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, [15] just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. [16] 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.
      2. He provides a way to turn around and go back.
      3. So that you and I may go forward.
    4. He leads me in right paths for his name's sake.
      1. (Matthew 16:24-26 NRSV) Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. [25] For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. [26] For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?
    5. [4] Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil;

      Ellen Bergh, "What Lies Ahead?" Upper Room, writes about an experience she shared with her fellow passengers.

      Amtrak's Coast Starlight train was filled with excited passengers, craning their necks to enjoy the Oregon scenery as the train rolled through green forests. A shining lake gleamed through the trees, and cheerful conversation filled the air. (3)

      Suddenly, the light, airy feeling was gone, like a candle blown out in a draft as they entered a tunnel. Expecting the sun to reappear quickly, Ellen was uncomfortable as it became even darker.

      The happy sounds were a thing of the past. Everyone sat in awe of the inky blackness. The longer they traveled in the tunnel, the harder it was to remain calm without any visual cues to reassure them. Even the movement of the train seemed to fall away into pitch darkness. When they came out of the tunnel, laughter and relief filled the compartment.

      "My life in Christ is like that unforgettable train ride," Ellen reflects. "Events may plunge me into darkness where I have no clues to sense the Lord's presence. Yet I can trust God is with me even when I can't see what lies ahead."

      1. Dark tunnels, valleys of shadows.
      2. They are different, yet the same.
      3. We will walk through the darkest valleys, but we need not fear.
        1. (John 8:12 NRSV) Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life."
        2. This is enough light to dispel the fear.

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    6. for you are with me;
      1. (Hebrews 13:5-6 NRSV) Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you."
      2. [6] So we can say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?"
    7. your rod and your staff-- they comfort me.
      1. You have heard of spare the rod and spoil the child.
      2. This is a proverb that has been greatly misunderstood.
      3. The rod and staff are two parts of the shepherds crook.
      4. Jesus provides the means by which we might be protected.
      5. (Ephesians 6:11-13 NRSV) Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. [12] For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. [13] Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
    8. [5] You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
      1. We do not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
      2. (John 6:35 NRSV) Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
    9. you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
      1. Jesus Christ provides healing for the soul.
      2. Robert Schuler has a favorite expression:
        1. Turn your scars into stars.
        2. This is what Christ helps us to accomplish.
    10. [6] Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
    11. and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long.

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CONCLUSION:

  1. I recently read a sermon about though and through.
    1. There is only one letter difference between the two words.
    2. But what a difference that one letter makes.
    3. Though I walk, God will see me through.


      4. Donald J. Shelby realtes a story which takes place in Nyadiri.
      An African grandmother brought newborn triplet grandchildren to a mission babyfold in Nyadiri. (4)

      Their mother had died in childbirth and the grandmother was superstition-ridden, fearful of the terrible revenge which she believed evil spirits would wreak upon a multiple birth.

      She had named the babies,

      "Why were we left?"

      "How shall we grow?" and

      "What will make us happy?"

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  2. Here are the three fundamentally spiritual questions of our time
    1. The theological question ("Why were we left?").
    2. The economic question ("How shall we grow?").
    3. The sociological question ("What will make us happy?").
  3. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
    1. Do we really need anymore than this?
    2. Look at the end result in Revelation 7:9-17 (NRSVA)


      3. 9After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. 10They cried out in a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!" 11And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12singing, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen." 13Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?" 14I said to him, "Sir, you are the one that knows." Then he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. 16They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; 17for the Lamb at the center 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."

1. http://www.goodenough.org/

2. Sweatshirt for sale at The Mall of America, Quoted in Homiletics, May 7, 1995, The Six Longest Short Verses in the Bible. Used with permission.

3. Ellen Bergh, "What Lies Ahead?" Upper Room, September/October 1993, 65. , Quoted in Homiletics, May 7, 1995, The Six Longest Short Verses in the Bible. Used with permission.

4. With thanks to Donald J. Shelby. Quoted in Homiletics, May 3, 1998 The Importance of Being Earnest, Used with permission.

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