The Third Sunday of Easter

“Counting Sheep”

Acts 9:1-19a

John 21:1-19

Listen to this Sermon!

If you have ever suffered with insomnia, I’m sure you’ve tried all kinds of techniques to get yourself to fall asleep – drinking warm milk, or herbal tea, or reading a boring book, or coming to church and listening to Marty preach. Maybe you’ve even tried the time-tested method of counting sheep! Or, even better, heeding the advice of the Christian bumper sticker that says, ‘If you’re having trouble sleeping, don’t count sheep – talk to the Shepherd!”

That’s pretty cute, isn’t it?! But I’m not sure it’s a compliment to Jesus, implying as it does that, if you pray to Jesus, you’ll just doze off into la-la land!

And I’m not sure the idea would work either because if, instead of counting sheep, you were to talk to Jesus, what do you suppose Jesus would be doing?

COUNTING SHEEP!

After all, that’s what a Good Shepherd does, and that’s how Jesus describes himself! And the Bible is full of stories about shepherds and their sheep – like the parable in Luke 15 where Jesus asks, “Which of you, having one hundred sheep and one is missing, does not leave behind the other 99 to go and find the lost one?”

That parable of the lost sheep makes me ask “How would a shepherd who HAS a hundred sheep even KNOW one is missing?”

By COUNTING the sheep! That’s one of the important jobs shepherds do!

In fact, that’s one of the reasons shepherds in that day carried not only a staff, but a rod. Among other uses, the rod was used at night, when the sheep were herded back to the sheep pen. The shepherd held the rod close to the ground and made each one pass under it. That enabled the shepherd to inspect the sheep for any injury or disease – and to COUNT them! “96-97-98-99…OOPS, ONE’S MISSING!” the shepherd realizes in Luke 15.

So I think if, instead of counting sheep to fall asleep, you were to talk to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, what you’d run into is Jesus counting sheep! Because that’s what Jesus does.

And that’s a good way to think about what Jesus is actually doing in all the resurrection stories we’ve been reading during this season of Easter. Jesus has been raised from the dead. Jesus has left the tomb. What does he do next? He goes looking for lost sheep.

And there are lots of lost sheep out there in the post-Easter world. The Easter stories are all about Jesus going out to find lost sheep. And when you think about who those lost sheep were and what their lives were like, maybe you can see yourself among them!

There is Mary Magdalene, the woman who loves Jesus, but just can’t seem to find him because of her broken heart.

I think most of us who were born into Christian homes grew up loving Jesus. The stories we learned about Jesus and his love – the songs we sang – “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so! Little ones to Him belong. We are weak, but He is strong! Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so!”

Many of us grew up loving Jesus, but somewhere along the line, we lost sight of him. Maybe it was because we started having more questions than the church could provide answers. Maybe it was because of some hurtful experience or tragedy. Maybe its because of something going on in our life right now that weighs us down and troubles our soul. Maybe its just because we’ve gotten busy and don’t have time for God. We still love Jesus, and we sense we need him. But, for some reason, we just can’t catch hold of him - just like Mary Magdalene loved Jesus, but could not find him. She – and we – are like little lost sheep.

Then there is Peter, the man who denied Jesus three times, and was so overcome by guilt that he ran away as fast and as far as he could.

Guilt. Anybody here suffering with guilt? I’ll always remember the sister of a woman who was dying of cancer. The time was getting very short, and she asked me to pray for her sister. I said, “Betty, I will pray for her, but you can pray too. God will hear your prayers.”

And with that, Betty broke down into great big sobs and cried, “No! God would never listen to someone who’s lived the life I’ve lived and done the things I’ve done!”

Guilt. Many people run and hide from God because of some mistake they’ve made – some sin or sins they’ve committed. There are a lot of people in our world who – like Peter - struggle with guilt. Maybe you’re one of those lost sheep.

A woman who loves Jesus, but can’t find him. A man who sinned, and is guilt-ridden. And how about those two going down to Emmaus to escape the danger of Jerusalem? They were afraid of the consequences of standing up and being counted as Jesus’ disciples.

Have you ever done that – run away from doing what’s right, or from a responsibility you have because you’re afraid of what it will cost you? I’ll admit that one of the first things that went through my mind when I began sensing a call into the ministry nearly forty years ago was, “Do I really want to tie up every weekend for the rest of my life to go to church?” In retrospect, that’s not been a great sacrifice. In fact, it has been a great joy. But back in those days, it seemed like a huge commitment! And I know that many of you wrestle with this same sort of thing: “Do I really want to commit myself to the Good Samaritan Center? It might interfere with golf!” “Do I really want to give up some of my prime retirement years to serve in the church?” “Do I want to make commitments that may well require me to give up things I enjoy?”

Many of us can be found on that road to Emmaus, running away from responsibility. And in even more significant ways than those just mentioned.

I was so impressed this week with Michael Welner, a forensic psychologist who appeared on “Good Morning America!” to talk about the Virginia Tech tragedy. Despite the interviewer’s repeated attempts to get Welner to say that there was some benefit to be derived from airing the videos of the sick young man who committed the crimes, Welner stood firm and said, "If anybody cares about the victims in Blacksburg and if anybody cares about their children, stop showing this video now.” He added something like this, “All you’re doing is immortalizing this man’s sickness and his crime, and giving it to some other sick person out there who’s going to want to immortalize himself, too.” And despite several attempts by the interviewer to get him to say there was some redeeming reason for showing the videos, he kept saying, “You need to take them off the air and stop showing them.”

I doubt this man will ever be asked to appear on ABC again! And I doubt any of the networks will have the integrity to just stop showing the videos because, after all, it’s ultimately not about doing what’s right, but about ratings…and money. Sometimes people don’t have the courage of a Michael Welner to stand up and do the right thing because they’re afraid of what it will cost. I know that’s true for me. How many times have I heard someone speak a racial epithet and kept my mouth shut for fear of causing a stir, or not being liked? How many times have I failed to stand up for peace – for justice – for the values of God’s kingdom because it was safer to stand up for the false values of man’s kingdom? Like the two disciples running away from their responsibilities, some of us are lost sheep.

The woman who loved Jesus but can’t find him; the man who denied Jesus, and was overcome by guilt; two disciples avoiding the cost of discipleship – and Thomas - the doubter.

Some of us have lost Jesus because of doubt.

I don’t know about you, but the faith I had as a little kid is not sufficient for me anymore as an adult. I suppose I once thought of Jesus as a sort of Superhero who would step into difficult situations and make them better for me– usually by some demonstration of miraculous, superhuman power. “Jesus, I really need you to help me pass this Physics test I didn’t study for!” And all I had to do was to call upon Jesus, and he would go into a phone booth, and change into his SuperRobe, and come flying to my side to save the day.

And then my grandfather died. I had called upon Jesus, but the Superhero was nowhere to be found. I think that was the first time I ever doubted God. Many people I know struggle with the same thing. These days, they’re much less fascinated with whether or not Jesus really walked on water – or the Israelites crossed the Red Sea – or Noah actually had an ark and put in pairs of every living creature, including termites. Those things matter to them a whole lot less today than the questions that affect their lives – “Why do bad things happen to good people?”; “Why did my loved one die?”; “Why do I have cancer?”; “If God is a loving God, why does God allow the evil we experienced this week at Virginia Tech?”

Many of us struggle with doubt – just like Thomas. And in the struggle, we get lost. Lost sheep.

There are lots of lost sheep out there in the days following Easter, just like there are lost sheep today. And Jesus is counting them – every last lost one – and Jesus goes out to find them. He finds Mary weeping in the garden outside the tomb, and Peter out fishing in Galilee, and the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and Thomas – the Doubter – in a locked room deep in the bowels of Jerusalem…

…and Jesus finds YOU!

In your heartbreak, in your guilt, in your lack of integrity, in your doubt, Jesus has found you! That’s the claim of the Easter Gospel! You’ve been found by the love of God! The risen Christ is right there in the very garden, or on the shoreline, or the Emmaus road, or the locked upper room of your life! He is not “out there somewhere” waiting for you to find him, but rather right HERE waiting for you to simply open your heart to the news that you’ve been FOUND!

Can you believe that today? Do you dare say it out loud? “I’ve been found!” Say those words with me! “I’ve been found!” And take those words with you this week, and when you awaken in the morning and go to bed at night, whisper them as your personal statement of faith. “I’ve been found!”

And then, there’s something important Jesus wants you to do.

At the end of each of the resurrection stories, Jesus gives his “found” sheep a crucial assignment. It is beautifully described at the end of today’s Gospel lesson. Having found Peter, Jesus asks, “Do you love me?” “Yes, I love you, Lord,” answers Peter.

And here’s what Jesus says:

“Feed my lambs. Take care of my flock. Feed my sheep.”

The job of every Christian and every church is nothing more or less than counting sheep, and when some are found to be missing, going out to find them and bring them home.

We are in the business of bringing Christ’s redeeming love to those whose hearts are broken, those whose guilt is overwhelming, those who can’t muster the courage to do what is right, and those whose doubt is greater than their faith.

Our job is to do for others what Jesus has already done for us.

Our job is the ministry of counting sheep!