Homily on the Good Shepherd: Pastor Dawn

"...The good news that Jesus of Nazareth lived so fully into his humanity that the divine was seen in, with, through and beyond him, is once again calling us into a new way of being in the world. That Jesus of Nazareth lived so fully, loved with such abandon that his contemporaries were able to see the divine in him represents a giant leap forward in our human development. Where humanity was obsessed with its own survival and individual human beings could not see beyond their own needs, Jesus steps into the human consciousness and embodies a new way of being in the world, a way of loving that enables Jesus to see beyond his own survival to risk loving so deeply that injustice perpetrated on the lest of humanity, cannot be ignored but must be resisted, a way of loving that enables Jesus to have the courage to resist injustice not with violence but with love, even if the very act of love might get him killed. A way of loving that inspired in Jesus such tenderness for those he loved that he was willing to give his life, his whole being to that love. A way of loving that enabled Jesus not to flee from the wolves that threatened those he loved but to resist the temptation to seek only his own survival, to step in and stand up to the forces of evil and injustice. A way of being human that understood the consequences of loving fully and deeply and trusted that the love itself could not die. A way of being human that lives on in the love we continue to share with one another.

Jesus of Nazareth’s life and death have the power to call us into a new way of being human, a way of loving that no amount of injustice can destroy; a love that will never die. Jesus was a giant leap forward in human evolution and the power of the love which Jesus embodied is, was and ever more shall be holy, sacred, divine; a love that continues to live in, with, through and beyond all those who embody the love that Jesus embodied. You will know the power of Jesus followers in the love, which they embody; a love beyond our abilities to comprehend, a love that lies at the very heart of all that is and ever shall be. A love that continues to call us to live more fully and deeply into the wonders of our humanity. A love that has the power to transform our baggage into life-giving compassion for one another. A love that reveals the power, grace, and immensity of the One in whom we live and breathe and have our being. A love that made the gospel-storyteller that we call John think of a Good Shepherd who loved so deeply and lived so fully that her own survival was assured by that love and so she was free to give her life to love; never abandoning her beloved even in the face of great danger. A love that even death cannot overcome. A love that lives, in, with, through and beyond us. A love that is, was, and ever more shall be Holy, Divine, Life-giving. Interpretations will come and go, but LOVE will live Beyond the beyond and Beyond that also."

https://pastordawn.com/2018/04/17/the-sheepskin-baggage-we-bring-to-the-text-sermon-for-easter-4b-john-10-2/#more-11132