Acts 2:42-47; 1 Peter 2:18-25; John 10:1-10

In today’s reading from the Jesus Tradition, Jesus himself tells us in a pastural metaphor that as his disciples we follow him, the one we know, and that we don’t follow (and we run away from) anyone else, the one we don’t know. Jesus goes on to remind us in John 10:10b that in the one we know is abundance of life; a life that is long in years and broad in substance; we might say poetically that it’s a life of fatness. To this life Jesus himself is the gate, he tells us; not only the good shepherd who is the carer and leader of Psalm 23 (echoed in John 10:9), but the way of entry and exit for the sheep (a forecast of John 14:6-11), and the way of access to the sheep. Jesus himself is our open-armed door steward and host; he’s also our crossed-armed door security and  bouncer. Good folk and good times inside, baddies outside.

When we turn to our story from the Christian Traditions this morning, we discover that The Revised Common Lectionary asks us to begin at 1 Peter 2:19, probably because twenty-first century, Developed, Western World readers don’t like any reference to slaves. Nonetheless they are those to whom Peter wrote, and we benefit by remembering it. Honestly, I’m disappointed that the compositors of the Lectionary thought that way: Jesus is the good master, kind and gentle, never harsh, and that is a point worth making when we think of the earthly, worldly alternatives many of us have found in authority figures; be they past or present employers, supervisors, ranking officers, schoolteachers, clergy, or parents. Jesus himself suffered, (let’s name it as abuse), Jesus was abused by the leaders of his day, and Peter commends his quiet forbearance and perseverance as the example of Christ, the way of the good shepherd. Serve well every person in authority, and if you are mistreated by her or him, think first of Christ who being in very nature God, as Paul writes in Philippians 2:5, was executed for blasphemy, and of The King of Kings executed for treason. By all means weep, sticks and stones and names do hurt, but don’t act surprised when wolves attack the flock because that’s what wolves do. That’s why young David need to be skilled with his sling, so skilled he “rocked Goliath to sleep” as Jonathan reminded us of two weeks ago. If you have strayed, return, says Peter; if it wasn’t a wolf but your own stupid sheepiness that caused you to find yourself alone where the wild things are, just come back to the voice you hear calling your name. Jesus is a good master and a good shepherd, home is always safest, even if you stuffed up by straying.

So what does home look like? What is life inside the sheepfold, life in the employ of the good master and lord. Luke tells us in Acts 2:42 that it’s fellowship: prayer, sharing meals, listening and talking together, and celebrating the activities of discipleship, including welcoming home the returning strays and welcoming in the lost and afraid. The result of this life and witness was that awe came upon everyone. Awe! It wasn’t just fun or cosy or social or warm, or all of those words but with “and” between them, (fun and cosy and social and warm); it was awe-full, full of awe! “They” were dumbstruck by wonder; “they” grew in number daily as more and more people came to see and know and feel and stay.

When was the last time you were dumbstruck by wonder in the gathering of disciples? Stunned to heart-bursting silence in church, or in Bible Study? In Acts 2 it was not only a common experience it was normative! Two thousand years ago I might have asked you “when was the last time you were bored in church” and you would have found it as difficult to remember as you just have with the question I did ask. Now I ask when the last time was when you were ecstatic in fellowship, and you wonder “what does he mean, that’s never happened”.

In September and October 2022 I was part of a Life and Witness Consultation at Kaniva and Serviceton. You’ll hear more about that concept over the next couple of months before Presbytery sends a team to conduct a similar Consultation here. Anyway, at Kaniva and at a meeting of the consultation team with the combined church councils, there was a conversation about how we might attract more people to church and then hold on to them once they started to attend. One of the consultants, speaking in farmer-terms, gave us a great image; he said that in small farms you keep your livestock in check by fencing your paddocks. Sheep can’t wander off if there’s posts and wire in the way, cattle might need barbed wire and heavier posts, but the principle is the same. The trouble with that is, you need constantly to ride the boundaries and repair the wire and posts; and even a comparatively small farm can have fifty or one hundred kilometres of boundary and internal fencing, especially where there are crops as well as livestock. We all nodded; yes, fences keep stuff in and other stuff out, cue Jesus and the sheepfold of John 10. Larger farms however, said the consultant, not like those in the Wimmera but perhaps like those in the Northern Territory, don’t work like that. You cannot adequately fence a farm when your farm is bigger than the country of Luxembourg; so what do you do? How do you keep your stock where you want them, and away from where you don’t want them? You dig waterholes.

This is the missional thinking of a writer named Michael Frost, (whom the Life and Witness consultant name-dropped), among others. I’m only going to name-drop Frost as well, and then move on, but as we are about to enter our own consultation and will ask the same question, I mention him in case any of you want to read-up in your own time.

So, waterholes; what’s the story there? Simply, you don’t need a fence if you’re providing what the stock need. Sheep won’t wander off if there’s water close by, and cattle the same. Feed out hay and you’re set. As well as that, and moving between livestock management and Christian mission, waterholes attract. Dig a dam and birds will come, and kangaroos, and perhaps a stranded motorist. As a local church we don’t need to worry about losing people if we are caring for them; they will choose to stay, choose to commit, choose to invest time and talent, and choose to bring their friends. We might also pick up strangers who wander in with wonder at all of the happy fuss they cannot walk past. Rev Mat Harry said that eighteen months ago. Dig a proverbial waterhole and we won’t have to manage our backdoor and the people who want to leave, instead we will have to steward our front door and the people flocking to join.

What then is a proverbial waterhole for a church? Digging a few dams on an outback station is obvious, you do what it says in the sentence. What does a local church actually do? Well, you do what it says in the sentence; “the sentence” in this case being Acts 2:42, 47, namely devote [our]selves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers…. praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. Is that going to work? Well, when the Christians of Jerusalem did that in the thirties and forties anno Domini, day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. I reckon it’s worth giving it a crack, what about you? What about you? Do you think it’s worth giving it a crack?

So, where do we go? Well, John 10:10b as we read earlier, and I hope you can now see is a summary of all that God has promised to the brave amongst us in all that we have heard today, is abundant life. Not, “hang on by our fingernails against grim death and financial insolvency” life, but abundance; enough and more than enough in money and grace and energy and support and upholding in love for a life beyond our capacity to count. This good shepherd of John 10, the kind and gentle master of 1 Peter 2 will lead us to water and quiet pastures, where the wise Uniting Church (through its council) will dig spiritual wells for the spiritually thirsty people of the Northern Grampians. Furthermore, this same good shepherd will also offer a face-full of fast-flung rocks to any thief, brigand, wolf, or Goliath who dares to threaten God’s precious flock. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain in committing ourselves to Jesus and his direction; his way and his instruction.

Oh, precious LORD, let awe come upon everyone. Amen.