The Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee



The Fourth Sunday in Easter, Year A, May 15, 2011, The Church of the Good Shepherd Brentwood

“The LORD is my shepherd; * I shall not be in want” (Ps. 23:1).

Easter is a season that goes on for 50 days, sometimes called “The Great Fifty Days”, that begins with the Day of Resurrection and ends with the Day of Pentecost. One way of thinking about this is that during Easter we recall an event so powerful that one day of celebration won’t contain it. When God raises Jesus Christ from the dead there is such tremendous joy that it spills over from Easter Day and works itself into the fabric of the days and weeks that follow. We keep saying and singing, “Alleluia,” an Easter word that means “Praise the Lord.” Another way of thinking about these 50 days is as a time of reflection for the Church, a season in which we ponder the enormity of what has happened and what it means for us. The Early Church called this a time of mystagogia, education in the mystery of faith that we talk about in the Eucharistic Prayer (“Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.”): a time in which the new Christians thought and prayed about what had taken place within them through Baptism and Communion. It was a time of going deeper. During Easter, we still reflect on the new life that has been given to us through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

A word that can help us reflect is “abundance,” as in our Gospel today, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (Jo. 10:10). Notice how the theme plays out in our readings. In Acts we have a picture of the life of the early Christians, a group who share what they have, all their possessions. The Church in Jerusalem had all things in common, Acts tells us; and “Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts” (Acts 2:46). Generosity is a sign of abundance; or we might even say that generosity leads to abundance. The wisdom of the world says that abundance leads to generosity, but there’s a problem there, as sometimes the most generous people are not those who give from their surplus but directly from their generous hearts, creating abundance where the rest of us might see scarcity. Sometimes the most generous people don’t even have a surplus! But still, there’s enough to go around. Acts certainly locates generosity in the heart, makes it a function of the generous heart.

And then there is our Psalm. “The LORD is my shepherd; * I shall not be in want.” In many ways the rest of Psalm 23 is a celebration of abundance: green and well-watered pastures, a table groaning under the weight of food and a cup that overflows with drink. The word for “anointing” is rooted in the idea “make luxuriant,” another image of abundance; and here we should be thinking of the champagne poured over the victorious athlete’s head. Again, some might see that as wasteful, but here in the Psalm it is a sign of joy and victory and fellowship with God. We shall not be in want. The Psalmist’s hope is to dwell in the abundance of the Lord’s house forever.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is a sign of God’s abundance toward us, a sign of joy and victory and fellowship with God. Our God is not stinting when it comes to his gifts. God has been generous with us in giving us all that we need by giving Jesus Christ to die for us and rise again from the dead: giving us not only life itself but new life as well.

What would it mean for us to live abundantly, to have abundant life, as it says in the Gospel? That’s a good question for us to take away today, and we ought to reflect on it wherever we can be conscious of God’s abundance toward us: sitting in the backyard relaxing, spending time with family and friends, or even this morning at worship. But in this Easter moment of abundance, of lavish generosity in the life of the Church, I think the table is set for us already.

Good Shepherd’s “Spring Fling” celebration was a sign of abundant community life, at least as I experienced it yesterday; of the generous heart that rejoices in fellowship and friendship, a connector to our apostolic origins. Those who are being confirmed today are entering into the green and well-watered pastures of Christian community here in this Church, a place where relationship can flourish with each other and with the Risen Lord. It’s time to uncork the champagne! But the source of the abundance is Jesus Christ himself, who has prepared this table for us today, who feeds us with his Body and Blood, the sacramental signs of abundant life that overcomes death. Don’t forget: He came that we might have life, and might have it abundantly.

- The Rt. Rev’d John Bauerschmidt, Bishop of Tennessee

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