Claimed, gathered and sent

This is Sunday's gospel text from The Message: John 15:1-8   The Message (MSG) 15 1-3 “ I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn ’ t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken. 4 “ Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can ’ t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can ’ t bear fruit unless you are joined with me. 5-8 “ I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you ’ re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can ’ t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to a...

This Sunday was Good Shepherd Sunday. The gospel was John 10:11-18 . Below is the sermon that I preached at St. Timothy's and St. Mark's. In the 1980s, my family and I lived in the Holy Land, in Bethlehem. We had the opportunity to observe many shepherds herding their sheep. Some gently and carefully led their sheep. Others drove the sheep, angrily hitting them with a rod. The good shepherds stood out. Throughout scripture, the image of a shepherd is a positive one. God, kings, Moses and other leaders are described as shepherds in their care of the people. A few minutes ago, we heard this imagery in the 23rd Psalm. In today’s gospel, we see the tender relationship of Jesus and his sheep. The shepherd initiates contact with the sheep. They don’t have to go off in search of a shepherd. He comes to them. Often, the sheep of more than one shepherd would be enclosed in the same pen. But in the morning, when it is time for the sheep to be s...