Claimed, gathered and sent

  This is the sermon I preached on Sumday, April 21 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The text was J ohn 10:11-18 . I like sheep. They’re so cute and warm and fuzzy. And in the Holy Land, they come in different colors! A bird's-eye view of a flock will reveal blue, red, or another hue on the sheep's back. This way they can be identified.  Today’s reading from the gospels says that Jesus is the good shepherd. The I AM Jesus is using is emphatic and could be translated as, “I, I am” (Rob Myallis, lectionarygreek.blogspot.com). Throughout John’s gospel, Jesus identifies himself as many things: 6:35 I am the bread of life 8:12 I am the light of the world 8:58 I am that I am  10:7 I am the door for the sheep (10:9 I am the door) 10:11 I am the good shepherd; lays down life; know voice 11:25 I am the resurrection and life 14:6 I am the way, truth and life 15:1 I am the true vine (15:5 vine) (Rob Myallis).  In each instance, he uses “I, I am,” for emphasis.  It’s intere...

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The gospel text is John 10:1-10. Did you know that sheep come with blue, orange and other colors on their fleece? In Bethlehem, this was one way shepherds could distinguish their sheep from others. They dyed the sheeps’ coats. During our time in Bethlehem, we observed the shepherds directing their flocks of sheep. Some gently and carefully led their sheep. Others drove the sheep, angrily hitting them with a rod. The good shepherds stood out.  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 looking for 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 separated and taken out to graze, the shepherd would call his sheep out of the combined flock by name. Each shepherd could identify his sheep. Can you imagi...

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...

This is the gospel text for the sermon I preached this morning at Grace Lutheran Church.              I have a story to tell you. It’s a true story about sheep and goats and a shepherd. In the 1980s I lived in Bethlehem, in the Holy Land. The sight of shepherds and their sheep was common in our neighborhood. From the balcony of my second floor apartment, I could look down into a field where one young shepherd boy frequently took his sheep and goats. This boy had formed a caring and playful relationship with his flock, with one of the goats in particular. If you watched them for any length of time on any given day, this is what you’d see—a miniature soccer game going on between the boy and one of the goats. The boy would throw or kick the ball to the goat and the goat would butt it back to him. This would continue for quite a while. This shepherd had a connection with his flock—sometimes dutiful, sometimes stern, and sometim...

I find myself becoming more sentimental about those no longer with us on this earth. I've been thinking about my brother Fred, who passed away in 1995. Since this past December, I've enjoyed a renewed relationship with my nieces and nephews, some I haven't seen since they were toddlers. This certainly brings my brother to mind more frequently. His children so strongly resemble him. My brother loved movies. As a little girl, I remember he had the movie sound track (yes vinyl lp) to Gigi. One of the stars was Maurice Chevalier , a suave, debonaire Frenchman. He was famous for songs such as Thank Heaven for Little Girls and I Remember it Well. I hadn't given the movie or songs much thought until tonight. We had an easy listening, elevator type music station on during supper. As I was cleaning things up they started playing "Gigi." It was an instrumental version and I started singing along. Before long I had tears in my eyes--tears of sadness for those time...