Fourth Sunday of Easter - B May 3, 3009

Acts 4: 8-12 1 John 3: 1-2 John 10: 11-18

A newspaper article the other day caught my attention. It reported a rising interests in organizations which view themselves as “atheist,” ass having no belief in God. The individuals involved consider themselves top be what are called “secular humanists.” The article pointed out that these individuals were becoming more active in their approach, and were gaining an increased response and attendance at meetings. Rather than being isolated in the non-belief in God, they were joining together, speaking out and organizing more.

In a way, there is nothing new about “atheism” especially in a country such as ours which proclaims religious freedom, the freedom to believe or not believe as one chooses. But this is not something which is altogether recent or new, or simply related to more modern society. Even the psalms of the Old Testament make reference to those who do not believe in God.

Today, as person who do believe in God, and whose acknowledgment of God brings us together here and is the reason for our presence, we are presented with an image of God as “good Shepherd” and told, by St. Peter in the passage from the Acts of the Apostles we have heard, that it is in the name of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, that “we are to be saved.”

The image of the “Good Shepherd.,” it would seem safe to say, is far from our own experience. It would also be reasonable to conclude that such an image would readily be criticized by someone who denies the existence of God. But the qualities understood about a “Good Shepherd” - qualities used by Jesus and others as a way to describe the relationship between God and ourselves, are qualities not far from those experienced by many - even those who might declare themselves to be “secular humanists.”

It seems to be especially true that these qualities - and some might think that this is strange for me to say this - can be found in someone who cares for or owns a pet, particularly a dog. Although I do not, and do not intend to be, a pet owner or a dog owner, I can see and appreciate others who are pet owners and observe the those qualities that reflect our relationship with God that are found in the “Good Shepherd.”

Jesus describes a good shepherd as one who gives his life for his sheep, who knows and is known by the sheep, and who acts in service of those sheep. These same ideas can be appreciated and understood with regard to a pet owner, a dog owner. Such a person may not literally give up life for a dog, but bundling up on a cold, blustery winter day to take a dog for a walk seems to come close. Knowing and being known by one’s dog is probably the easiest quality to observe in the reaction of a dog in coming through a door or being called by name. And, as far as being of service to the dog, the time and effort given by an individual or a family - even friends and neighbors - in order care for and pay attention to the pet day after day, simply cannot be neglected.

If it is thought through carefully, the image of a Good Shepherd really is not that far removed from the experience of many. It is also an image which tells us something about ourselves, something which we like. It reflects qualities which we possess to love, to care for, to pay attention to, to devote ourselves, to someone else. These are qualities by which we give of ourselves for the benefit of others. In the case of a pet, it is to a creature that not only needs attention, but which flourishes with such attention. It often responds in an unquestioning and attentive way which, for good responds, wins the designation of being “man’s best friend.”

The selfless that is involved in the giving of time, effort and response, is the central idea of thought. It is selflessness which best describes an understanding of God., an understanding of the “Good Shepherd.” On the other hand to reject, to deny, to refuse to acknowledge the source of life and love that is God, which is basic to being an “atheist” suggests the epitome, the height, of selfishness, of a self-centered attitude and behavior. One might claim not to believe in God yet try to be a good person, behave in a good way to others. But there is an underlying hesitation or limit to this “being good” when there is a refusal to acknowledge the source, the basis, for that goodness, to deny the source, the basis, for love. To make such ana acknowledgment would be, for an atheist, the start on the slippery slope of selflessness which eventually leads to God.

The power of this name in which we are to be saved, the power of the name of Jesus Christ, arises from the message that the totality of his life with us reveals to us. It comes from the totality of God’s love and care for us that is seen in the image of the Good Shepherd. It is this power which allows us to be called children of God in the best sense. The power of this name, if we recognize it, if we acknowledge it, if we demonstrate it in the lives we lead and the choices we make is a continual process of growth and maturity, a true moving from self-centerdness to genuine selflessness.

It is this selflessness that reveals to us and allows us to experience in our daily living a true humanism, a true understanding of what it means to be a human being. It is as humans, and in our ability to love, that we can reflect, can be images - not perfect, but always struggling - of the true “Good Shepherd,” our good and loving God.