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Shepherding Community

December 11, 2023

1 Corinthians 1  |  Psalm 18:1-6, 18-20  |  John 10:11-18

The themes of division and community thread through both 1st Corinthians and today’s Gospel. Today, as in long ago Corinth, we are all too familiar with the instances of division. Paul focuses first on our part in contributing to the schisms that part us from each other and ultimately in our life as a church. It seems much easier to parse out differences than do the work of finding our common ground or (on my!) embracing the opportunities raised by seeing things from another perspective. He moves on, however, to the metaphor of the one body made of many parts or many talents, emphasizing the importance of our gathering together. In doing so, we become known to each other and find grace in the differences. Together, we learn to reflect on the vastness of God’s love and compassion, and to be part of that beautifully diverse, complex, and yes, sometimes messy whole of believers and partakers of the good news. I love the hymn God has no Body, the words of which are attributed to St. Teresa of Avila. Consider a portion of what this hymn conveys:

Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,

Yours are the eyes, you are his body.

Christ has no body now but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks

compassion on this world.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

Maybe you, like me, have read the story of the good shepherd and reflected on how Jesus laid down His life for us, how he is always there for us no matter how we might stray. But, as I again read through Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, I came around to how we are called to be good shepherds. Jesus asks us to love God, to love others as ourselves, to serve others, to live out the good news in all we do, and to be thankful in all things. Mindful of this, we can give witness to the myriad of multi-talented good shepherds at St. Luke’s and in our lives. The teachers in Godly Play, the clergy who open our hearts and minds to God’s word, the ushers who welcome us to worship, the men and women who serve lunch and dinner and deliver food to our neighbors, the quiet people who visit, call, or simply touch base with those in need, the musicians who so beautifully lift up our prayers, the folks who sort, organize, plan, and attend to the day-to-day but necessary details of our programs, the worker bees who beautify and maintain our campus, the families who gather, share, and worship together, our own families, friends, and neighbors who are there in times of joy and sorrow…we are blessed by their example. Clearly, there are countless good shepherds in our lives, and I pray I am counted in their number. Together, we are in Christ and Christ is in us and what a beloved community that is!

Deborah Collins