Easter IV 04/21/24
The Still Point
A Time of Meditation and Reflection
The Fourth Sunday of Easter
... At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance...
T.S. Eliot, Burnt Norton
Peace on each one who comes in need;
Peace on each one who comes in joy.
Peace on each one who offers prayers;
Peace on each one who offers song.
Peace of the Maker, Peace of the Son,
Peace of the Spirit, the Triune One.
Alleluia! Christ is Risen.
The Lord is Risen indeed. Alleluia!
Opening Prayer
O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Gospel John 10:11-18
Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 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. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 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. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”
Poem: “Psalm 23” by Bobby McFerrin
The Lord is my shepherd, I have all I need,
She makes me lie down in green meadows.
Beside the still waters, She will lead.
She restores my soul, She rights my wrongs,
She leads me in the path of good things,
She fills my heart with songs.
Even though I walk through a dark and dreary land,
There is nothing that can shake me,
She has said She won’t forsake me, I’m in her hand.
She sets a table before me in the presence of my foes,
She anoints my head with oil,
and my cup overflows.
Surely, surely goodness and kindness will follow me
all the days of my life,
And I will live in Her house,
forever, forever and ever.
Glory be to our Mother and Daughter and to the Holy of Holies.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be world with out end. Amen.
Meditation
In the passage from the gospel of John for this Sunday, Jesus compares himself, indeed identifies himself, as the good shepherd. He does this by contrasting a "good shepherd" with a "hired hand." The good shepherd is willing to lay down his life for his sheep. The hired hand, when the sheep are threatened by a wolf, will flee in order to save himself, leaving the sheep to fend for themselves. Jesus emphasizes that this commitment to the sheep is based on a relationship with them: "I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. " For Jesus, as we learn from the gospels time and again, it's always about relationship!
It's also about community. And as we hear in the epistle for this Sunday, "We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us-- and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?"
The poem comprises the lyrics to a song by Bobby McFerrin, a multi-faceted artist who organically crosses over between different genres in his music. A personal paraphrase of Psalm 23 dedicated to his mother, it recasts the beloved psalm to focus on maternal love and suggest the feminine divine. This setting deepens and broadens the imagery and may help us understand our connection with God in new ways. It affirms Jesus's focus on relationship, while allowing us to imagine and feel that relationship in terms of mother and child.
Questions for Reflection
1. Do the images from the poem/paraphrase help you in imagining your relationship with God? In what ways?
2. Are there other images of relationship that for you capture key aspects of the gospel reading or Psalm 23?
3. What does (or would) it mean to you to be a part of a community of "good shepherds?"
4. You may wish to listen to one or more performances of Bobby McFerrin's Psalm 23 on youtube. Here are two:
A performance by the male vocal ensemble, Cantus, which leans into the song's similarity to Anglican plainchant.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91TbjlaS4kc&t=1sA multimedia interpretation that incorporates photos evoking powerful images from the psalm/song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9fzWq-d8jU&t=2s
Prayers
We bring before God someone whom we have met or remembered today
We bring to God someone who is hurting tonight and needs our prayer
We bring to God a troubled situation in our world
We bring to God, silently, someone whom we find hard to forgive or trust
We bring ourselves to God that we might grow in generosity of spirit, clarity of mind, and warmth of affection
We offer our thanks to God for the blessings in our lives
We name before God those who have died.
Gracious God, you hear all our prayers: those we speak aloud, those we hold in our hearts, and those prayers for which we have no words. Hear the prayers of your people, and grant them as may be best for us, for the sake of your holy name. Amen.
Accept our thanks for all you have done, O God. Our hands were empty, and you filled them.
May Christ’s holy, healing, enabling Spirit be with us every step of the way, and be our guide as our road changes and turns, and the blessing of God our Creator, Redeemer and Giver of life be among us now and remain with us forever. Amen.
Reflections this month offered by: Frank Nowell
Cover Image: The Good Shepherd, fresco, 3rd or 4th century, catacomb of Priscilla, Rome, Italy.
