Good Shepherd – Holy Cross Episcopal Church

Acts 9:36-43Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

Revelation 7:9-17Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

John 10:22-30

Sheep metaphors arenâ€™t what immediately come to my own mind when I think about my life, but mulling over this passage from Johnâ€™s gospel, I realize that a lost sheep is exactly what I feel like a lot of the time as a priest in the Church today. And what Jesus in the gospel has to say to me is welcome comfort. So maybe it is for you too.

We live in a hard time to be committed Christians, faithful Church members. The climate of the culture is against us. We have dozens of other claims on our time. In coming to church on Sunday, most of you are choosing not to do something else â€“ particularly if you bring your kids, because sports and dance and sleepovers pay no attention to Sunday being church time. You may also very well be leaving your spouse or children at home, because in many families not everyone is a church-goer.

Acts 4:5-12Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

1 John 3:16-24Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

John 10:11-18

Halfway through Jesusâ€™s earthly ministry, his journey from the shores of Galilee to Jerusalem, he asks his disciples a pivotal question: â€œWho do you say that I am?â€ You may remember that St. Peter blurts out the answerâ€”â€œYou are the Christ, the Son of the living God.â€â€”what is called the Confession of Peter. I say this is a pivotal question in the gospels, because it begins to prepare the disciples for what is ahead: for the crucifixion and the resurrection. â€œThe Son of Man must suffer, and be crucified, and on the third day rise from the dead.â€

But the question can be turned around: Who does Jesus say that we are, each of us? Here, too, it is pivotal. For how we answer has everything to do with how we go through life, with all its challenges, its deaths and resurrections. It has everything to do with our discipleship.