Gospel Reading: John 10:1-6, 22-30 (adapted)
“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
22 At that time the Festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Mother/Father’s name testify to me, 26 but you do not believe because you do not belong to my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father/Mother, in regard to what they have given me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of the Father’s/Mother’s hand. 30 The Mother/Father and I are one.”
- Since I’ve been at Lyndale, we’ve had a few interesting things happen around welcoming visitors:
- We have one newer visitor who sometimes attends by Zoom. But recently, he came in person after a long absence,
- Naturally, he went to the sanctuary he had gone to the last time he came to worship in person.
- But as he sat in worship, he noticed that the people didn’t look familiar.
- Finally, he realized he was worshiping with First Christian!
- Luckily, I caught him afterward and we laughed about the mistake.
- We have one newer visitor who sometimes attends by Zoom. But recently, he came in person after a long absence,
- Recently, I got a message on the church’s phone machine from someone who claimed to have visited us on Easter Sunday.
- Before they spoke into the voice mail machine, they sang an entire verse of Amazing Grace into the machine
- then they went on to say they had not felt welcome in our church and would never be back.
- We’re a small church, and I usually remember if there’s a new face in the crowd; I was pretty sure this person had not visited Lyndale on Easter Sunday, or I would have remembered them
- Maybe they had gone to another SpringHouse church?
- Or maybe they thought they were calling another UCC church—LynnHurst, maybe?
- Or maybe they came looking for us and just never found our sanctuary, and that was why they didn’t feel welcome!
- Then there was the story of my friend, Liz
- I invited Liz to come to the Lament Writing event on Good Friday.
- I tried to warn her that we are not easy to find in the building
- When she got here, she parked twice in the lot because she wasn’t sure which spaces she was allowed to park in
- She came inside and didn’t know where to go, but luckily she ran into Rick, the custodian, who told her “upstairs and to the left”.
- She got upstairs and saw the big Gathering Space and all the closed doors and couldn’t remember: was it left or right?
- She went back downstairs and found Rick and he walked her up
- But she made it!
- I tell you these stories because, for those who have been part of Lyndale a long time, from Bryant Street to SpringHouse, from sanctuary to sanctuary, it’s probably easy to forget that your flock has migrated from place to place!
- You may have forgotten what it’s like to be the lost sheep, to be outside the gate, trying to figure out how to get in, or if you even want to get in!
- I once did a sabbatical during which I visited churches as a stranger and learned a lot about all the barriers to welcome and belonging:
- architecture was a big one! Especially the location of doors and windows!
- But also things like where ushers were located, what was printed in the bulletin,
- and how people engaged with me before worship, during the passing of the peace, and during coffee hour!
- Finding welcome in a local church takes a lot of guts and patience!
- Today is Good Shepherd Sunday in the Christian calendar:
- We hear the 23rd Psalm on this day, by tradition
- And in every year of the lectionary, we hear a reading from John 10 with its shepherds, sheep, thieves and the mysterious gatekeeper who decides who gets in and who is kept out.
- These sayings speak of leadership and followership;
- of belonging within a “flock”
- and of predatory behavior that threatens to separate us from each other
- It makes Jesus sound protective, even a little “territorial” about his followers;
- And to be fair to the Pharisees, they also felt protective toward their faith community! They were wondering if Jesus was an imposter or a false prophet they needed to warn people about or if he was he real deal.
- All this brings to mind the predatory side of religious life that we see in things like
- the prosperity gospel,
- sexual abuse of children and women,
- and now, Christian nationalism—
- Forces that use and abuse the trust of faithful people
- There is all that, for another sermon maybe; but today I want to focus on those barriers to belonging that we (well-meaning people of faith) have some control over at Lyndale.
- It is precisely because there are predatory forces out there that people need to find places of trust and belonging and integrity
- And I know you try to be one of those places!
- But every church needs to regularly examine the practices that keep our doors open to the newcomer looking for genuine welcome and belonging.
- So, I’ve already mentioned issues you are aware of: your limited parking, the multiple churches, the rotating locations for worship
- But there are more subtle obstacles to belonging in every local church
- It’s tough because some of the factors that make Lyndale who you are, which you love, can also be barriers to new people seeking belonging
- You’re open to different theologies, beliefs and practices
- You believe that political activism can be an expression of religious practice
- Your language aims to be inclusive of all gender expressions
- You have a conversational, almost familial style of worship
- And there is the expectation that members of your flock will be pretty highly literate and educated
- These are things that make you who you are,
- They might turn some Christians off; but would also attract others
- So, a local church may say we want to be “radically inclusive”,
- but in reality, we are all little sub-cultures of mutual attraction:
- We gravitate toward the same core values, the same political beliefs, the same taste in music
- We want to find and include sheep who look like us;
- People who have the capacity to navigate the gates we set between them and ourselves
- We gravitate toward the same core values, the same political beliefs, the same taste in music
- Recently, I’ve combed through your membership and friend list at Lyndale.
- With Cali’s help, we did some categorizing of active members who participate or at least give to Lyndale on occasion;
- and then looked at names of those we haven’t seen or heard from in a few years;
- I wrote to a number of people:
- a lot of paper letters came back, suggesting you have a mobile congregation!
- we found phone numbers disconnected
- Quite a few emails went unanswered
- We learned about some of these people by asking active members who know them personally
- And we got some interesting responses!
- One asked in an email: What church is this again?
- A few had heartfelt stories of moving, finding new churches, life changes, even longing to return to Lyndale if only they could…
- This kind of digging into your membership list exposes the realization that we cannot, do not reach and include everyone; no church can, as much as we would like to;
- Barriers and fences, the gates sometimes go unlocked, and sheep get lost
- And there are those invisible gatekeepers of various kinds who keep people in and shut people out
- I will be sending some of these names to the Council this week–people who may need further outreach or to be let go of.
- I would encourage the Council and others to look at these names,
- To give thanks for the ways Lyndale touched their lives, and they touched yours, even if they’re not active anymore.
- God sends people to and through your church family for a reason!
- Think about why people who have drifted from your flock:
- Is it appropriate to reach out in caring to some of them?
- Is it appropriate to let some go with trust that God is caring for them in new ways and places?
- And for you, what can you learn about the movement of people through your fellowship;
- What have they taught you about what it means to belong or not belong at Lyndale?
- During Eastertide and Pentecost, we will hear scriptures from the early Church that remind us of what it actually means to be the Church.
- I would conclude today reminding you that the Church is not just a place where we belong because of sameness/likeness;
- It is where we belong because of who we are following—
- It’s the Shepherd who unites us.
- The shepherd’s way of including, protecting, challenging us
- And it’s our job to be sure that everyone we encounter is invited to still waters, to green pastures, to anointing oil and a big ever-expanding table, where people who don’t always think or look like us are still trying to follow the same shepherd we are, the best they can.
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