Turning Point – Brunswick Baptist Church (March 2nd, 2008)

Shepherd’s Generosity

(John 10:1-10, Psalm 23; Acts 2: 42-47)

(Preached at Brunswick Baptist on April 13^th, 2008)

I can still see Robbin walking briskly through Hyde Park almost frantically searching for Hayley. Hayley was a young woman she knew who is a drug addict and was now living in Hyde Park in Sydney. This is just one image I took from the documentary about Oasis, a Salvation Army facility in Kings Cross which aired on the ABC on Thursday night showing us a little about the problem of youth homelessness. I can also see both the fear and joy on Dean’s face as he goes home to his mother after admitting his drug addiction. I can see the transformation of Beau who after a long stint in a psychiatric hospital after a marijuana induced psychotic episode is back living in his own place and looks healthy and comes across as very articulate.

For those of you who saw this documentary I am sure you too are in awe of the work done at Oasis. Let me just background the work – Oasis is a facility in Kings Cross which works with young people – helping them to find a place to stay, a way to beat their addictions, guidance, friendship, food and care. The people who work there don’t just sit behind their double glazed windows but come out onto the street to help deal with a drugged up young person and stay with them until the police or CAT team arrive, they take the young people out for a meal if that is what they need, they load up a truck and help them move house again, they walk the streets and the parks calling a young person by name, they are generous, they are patient, they are a constant in some of these young lives, they guide and support and they simply befriend these young people who have been excluded from most other places.

Robbin and Paul Moulds and all the staff at Oasis are good and generous shepherds for these young people. Having worked with young offenders who have had very similar stories and issues as the young people in this program initially I was bit worried about the simplicity of the help given at this place but as the program continued and we watched the young people come back again and again and the rapport they built with Paul and the staff I realised they were doing a very good job – they were just always available and didn’t let these young people down, they were a constant in their precarious lives and clearly they were accepted by these young people, and they were just so patient.

Our readings today are about shepherding – we have thought about Psalm 23 and the psalmist’s reflections on a God who is his shepherd, the one who gives rest and restores the soul, the one who guides, the one who protects and takes away any fears and the one who gives good things in abundance. The folk from Oasis seem to practice this too – they provide places of rest for the young people as they attempt to house them; they give them guidance; they provide protection and attempt to deal with the fears of the young people; and they give them food and goods so they might experience some of the goodness in life.

In our reading from John we see Jesus as the Good Shepherd and in the reading from Acts we see the early church acting as good and generous shepherds in their community. Again we can see how the folk from Oasis take these readings as yardsticks for their actions – they know their young people by name – these young people are people who have stories and hopes and dreams and unique and they share what they can to help them.

Let’s just think a little bit more about our readings today for they too should be our yardstick, our reference points for who we are in our society.

All of the readings for today – Psalm 23, John 10:1-10 and Acts 2:42-47 are all about generosity, abundant generosity, and the first two are about shepherds. God is described as a shepherd and Jesus describes himself as a shepherd. Shepherding is exacting, dangerous and skilful work, if we look at Psalm 23 we see the work involves providing the flock with food (good pasture), water (still waters), direction (right paths) and safety. Sheep apparently won’t rest until they are free from fear, friction, pests and hunger – much like people really! In the reading from John we notice something extra which is really important I think. Jesus in describing himself as the good shepherd talks about knowing the sheep by name and how they know his voice and respond to it. Shepherding is about relationship, it is lifestyle, it is, knowing the ones you care for and guide, intimately and I would add that knowing the names of the ones you nurture gives dignity.

Acts records the common life shared by those in the early church and if we look closely I think we see the church acting out the role of a shepherd. The early church met together to be taught, to pray, to share meals with glad and generous hearts, and they sold their goods to give to those in need. This too is a picture of nurture, protection, intimate relationships and the feeding of the bodies and spirits of each other. And they did it with gladness, in the same way that the shepherd's task is a lifestyle, the abundant love the early church had spilled over into all of their life. And the end result - was that they were joined by more and more each day. Their abundant love and the abundant life it resulted in was infectious.

Let us spend some time then reflecting on the attributes of a shepherd we have found in our readings from Psalm 23 and from John.

From Psalm 23:

The shepherd restores my soul. (v.3)

The shepherd leads me in right paths (v.3)

The shepherd takes away fears as is present with me (v.4)

My cup overflows (v.5)

From John 10:

The shepherd calls the sheep by name and they respond. (v.3)

The shepherd leads them out, goes ahead of them and they follow. (v.4)

The sheep know the voice of the shepherd, in the midst of many voices they know the one they can trust. (v.4)

The shepherd (Jesus) has come so that they might have life and have it abundantly. (v.10)

The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (v.11)

The shepherd knows his own and the sheep know him. (v.14)

The relationship of the shepherd to the sheep is characterised by the provision of all that is needed for survival, by protection, by care, by trust, by relationship, and by the self-gift of the shepherd. The shepherd is attentive, compassionate, and watchful and takes risks on behalf of the sheep.

Our readings today present us with a challenge for our life together.

The challenge for us is to continue to discover how we might shepherd each other and those in our community. The shepherd's task is not just for God and pastors but for all the church. How might we provide safety, security, nourishment and rest for a hurting world? Do we know the needs and hopes of the people who live around us? With whom do we share our lives? What is the nature of our relationships with people beyond the church walls? What role might we play in ensuring that those in our community have abundant life? We are called to be like Jesus - we are called to be good shepherds, to show and practice shepherding love.

I remember when we began the work with asylum seekers we targeting the group in the community that were the most needy and vulnerable – single male asylum seekers. I think we can look at that work and be proud – from a very small beginning others have now joined us and we can be sure that work will continue and we all will continue to play a part. But what is next for us as we sit in the middle of Brunswick and think about our place in this community – for who else might we be good shepherds?

For who else might we be a voice? A voice that says we will love and protect you, a voice that calls on governments, on churches and the corporate world to act justly and treat people with dignity? Maybe it is people in Tibet or Burma or the Middle East? . Perhaps it is closer to home and we need to be voice and a safe place for indigenous people and see that the reconciliation process is not just talk but reality so that all in our nation might experience life in all its abundance.

How might we help bring rest and restoration to people caring for someone who has dementia or autism or mental illness? How do we ensure that no-one has to sleep in a park especially as the weather is getting colder? How do we help others who are paralysed with fear – fear of failure or success, fear for the future, fear of domestic violence, fear of rejection? How do we help those who cannot afford the rent, or the bills or food? How might we provide a place of safety and rest for those who need it?

These are the responsibilities for modern day shepherds in the 21^st century. To neglect the suffering and abuse of others is in reality to be a stranger, a thief or a bandit. Shepherding our community is the way we can proclaim the love of the good shepherd who came to bring abundant life.

The community of the early church offers us a model, a model based on the role of the shepherd. A strategy based on relationships and generosity. Faith in the early church meant sharing what they had based on the needs of others. Life together presupposed communication and generous hearts.

The experience of shepherds and of the generosity and goodwill of the early Christian community should inspire us to critique our materialistic and increasingly isolating lifestyles.

Abundant life comes when we offer hospitality to others and build relationships with others. It is in that context that life takes on meaning and joy. Abundant life comes with abundant generosity to, with and from others. May it characterise our life together in, with and for all who pass by our doors on Sydney road and indeed our entire community!

I would like to conclude with a prayer by Bruce Prewer – let it be our prayer for each other and also for those beyond these walls.

I believe I need a shepherd

Because I am sometimes timid and other times overconfident,

Because I often don’t know the best path yet pretend I do,

Because I rush into dead ends or lead others into hazardous places,

Because my brightest ideas are seamed with darkness,

Because the things I crave may not be what is good for me,

I need a shepherd

I believe in Jesus, the best possible shepherd;

His wisdom leads me to the optimum opportunities,

His word comforts me when I’m anxious or afraid,

His arm steadies me when I feel weary and heavy-laden,

His wounded body displays the cost of my rescue,

I believe in Jesus, the best possible shepherd

I believe that I do not find him but he finds me,

That I under his care by virtue of sheer grace,

The love he gives me is to be shared with others,

That he treasures my name and prepares a place for me,

That his fold transfixes earth and heaven,

I trust Jesus, the good shepherd.[1]