Sheep with a Beat
May 03, 2009
Rev. Susan Gilbert Zencka
Frame Memorial Presbyterian Church
Texts: Psalm 23, John 10:11-18, 1 John 3:16-24
Every year, the fourth Sunday of Easter season is Good Shepherd Sunday – the scriptures include 1/3 of the tenth chapter of John’s Gospel, in which Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd, and usually we read the 23rd Psalm.
Sheep and shepherds seem pretty important to the Bible. They are often present in incidental ways – as when Moses was tending his father-in-law’s flocks and he saw the burning bush and heard God’s call to him, or when shepherds were watching their flocks by night and suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared before them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid…peace on earth, good will to men.
The prophet Ezekiel used the image of a shepherd to contrast with a ruler who does not care properly for the people of God.
But the most enduring image for most of us comes from the 23rd Psalm –
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.
Last week I was away at a week-long conference called CREDO, which is offered by our Board of Pensions, which administers our health and pension benefits. The mission of CREDO is “To provide opportunities for clergy to examine significant areas of their lives and to discern prayerfully the future direction of their vocation as they respond to God's call in a lifelong process of practice and transformation.” CREDO is an opportunity for ministers to step away from the busy pace of life and find a foundation upon which to embrace wellness – we had time to reflect upon the questions that are at the heart of everyone’s life in God: “Who am I? Who is God calling me to be?” Each of us was given the opportunity in lectures, individual consultations, small group work, private reflection, worship and prayer to reflect on our health, our finances, our vocation and our spirituality – and during the week we each developed goals for ourselves. CREDO is about identity – who am I?; discernment – who is God calling me to become?; practices – what are the steps that will lead me there?; and transformation – letting God transform us through this process: a lifelong process of change.
Early on in the week in a plenary on health, we were shown some statistics on wellness, for the general population …and for ministers in the CREDO program. Ministers didn’t fare well. We are less well than the population as a whole. We are fatter, have higher blood pressure, more problems with cholesterol and triglycerides, as well as higher stress levels, and lower exercise levels. To quote from the movie Apollo 13: “Houston, we have a problem.”
The prophet Isaiah reminds us that “All we like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way….” Sheep stray, and so do we. I remember vividly the sermon I heard preached by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, recently retired pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Dr. Wright was preaching at the Festival of Homiletics, one of the pre-eminent preaching conferences offered each year. It was 2002, long before he would become infamous as Barack Obama’s pastor. And he reminded us that sheep stray. Sheep get lost, he said, six feet at a time because they can’t see very far, and they don’t think ahead much. He explained that sheep just wander off a little at a time. Oh look at that patch of grass over there…Six feet. Is there some grass behind that bush? Six more feet. How about behind that rock? Six more feet…and pretty soon they’re lost. And what made Reverend Wright’s example memorable was the way he walked away from the pulpit as he told us.
Well, no one plans to be unhealthy either, but it happens, a little at a time…just like with sheep. I was not overweight when Carl and I got married. When we were dating, we often went running 3-6 miles in the morning, and I would go swim a mile in the afternoon after work. But little by little, I became unhealthy. Working at a grocery store…sure is nice to have a pecan Danish during my morning break each day. Six feet. [Susan is walking away from the pulpit, out the back door and around the church during this…re-entering the sanctuary near the end of the paragraph – all still heard through the portable microphone.] Pregnant and eating for two, the nausea’s better if I stay full, and the heartburn in later pregnancy is really soothed by ice cream. Six more feet. Working as an accountant during the day I just want to spend time with the baby when I get home…no time for exercise. Six more feet. Two more babies, and many more excuses. Six more feet. In ministry, can’t turn down the desserts at the potluck, it would be rude. Six more feet. And there’s no time for exercise – people will think I’m not working enough. Six more feet…the boys sure like it when I make them cookies….Six more feet. help! I’m lost! And fat. And my triglycerides are high, and my blood pressure’s going up! No one plans to be unhealthy, but a little at a time, it happens to many of us.
All we like sheep have gone astray….None of us really likes thinking of ourselves as sheep, but there are some similarities.
The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name's sake.
Amazing that we are like sheep in some of this – what kind of healthy critter needs to be made to rest? Apparently sheep have to be made to lie down, and often so do we. We are so busy – and it is a cultural problem, because it doesn’t end at the end of work. Most retired people I know are extremely busy, and still stressed.
Those of us who went to the CREDO program were not identified as people with problems. We were randomly selected mid-career pastors. Each of us identified goals, and some of these goals are in areas other people had identified as our strengths. Most people want to strengthen their strengths, as well as correcting their flaws. The three goals I discerned when I was at CREDO will make me a better pastor, and a healthier person. Without going into too much detail, the three areas I chose to work on are not news to me, or probably to you either. You probably know from observing me, or from listening to me, that these are areas that I need to work on, or that are at the center of my vocation and spirituality. So I have made goals, and now that I am back from my conference, the hard work begins: living out the goals, letting God transform me through these changes. My goals are (1) to become well, and particularly to improve my fitness which should include losing weight; (2) to become a person who lives out of a deeper prayer life, and (3) to develop organizational methods that work for me.
I’m going to let God make me a person who shall not want – a person who is really well. I’m going to let God lead me beside the still waters and restore my soul – as I deepen my prayer life. I’m going to let God lead me in right paths – I will find ways to organize my desk and my study at home so that they are better work environments for me.
I’ve discussed these goals with my liaison to the personnel committee, and we’ve agreed that it will likely take the summer to figure out the implications for my schedule and the way I work. I’m grateful to the Board of Pensions for the CREDO conference, and I hope you all will be supportive of the changes I am trying to make to become healthier. As one of my small group members said at the conference, “Of course, if change were easy, we would have made these changes already.” That’s right. Change is not easy. All of us know that, whether we have had change forced on us or whether we’ve chosen change – a job change, a health change or a relationship change – change is always hard. I thought about whether or not to share these things with you all – after all, it seems a little self-centered to take up so much of the sermon talking about the changes I want to make in my life. Further, there is some real vulnerability in sharing some of this. But I know that many of you also want to make changes, and I want you to know that I understand how difficult it is to do that. And each of us is a work in progress, and I want to be clear with you that I am very much under construction. I’ll be getting well six feet at a time, too. Finally, like everyone else, I need support from others.
Wellness is not a solo act – it is impossible to be completely well without healthy relationships and the Bible understands that too. Our faith isn’t just about us and God, but it is also about how we live in community. This is why it is part of our church work to foster relationships among our members – fellowship is part of life in the worshipping community. John reminds us of this in his letter that we read from this morning: “How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.” We are connected to one another, and those connections are integral to our lives. We cannot separate our care for one another from our faith – our lives are a whole, including our words, our actions, our relationship with God, our care of ourselves, and our care for others. Last week three members of our community – Susan Barrett, Dan Dieterich, and Jeremy Higgins – gave their own testimony about their understanding of stewardship and care of the earth. I’ve read them and they are quite moving. They will be available in the rack by the back staircase where my sermons usually are, as well as on the webpage.
The Presbyterian Church adopted a policy statement in 1988 that makes the connection between our own health, and our stewardship of creation. It reads: “Each person has a moral obligation – a private and public duty – to value and care for his or her own health and the health of the community. We hare stewards of God’s creation.” Our health, the health of the community, the health of creation – our faith is lived out in the particular ways that we care for ourselves, each other, and the earth. Incarnation is one of the key theological concepts of our faith – and it’s not only about how God was incarnated among us as Jesus Christ. It’s also about how our faith is incarnated in our living. One of the key questions for Presbyterian Christians is “How then shall we live?” How does our faith make a difference in our lives and the lives of others?”
We welcome this morning to our worship two young women who are studying at UWSP, in part because of the gifts people at Frame made to the Thailand Project two years ago. Fongtip and Aor have been in Wisconsin since August, and the funding for their next year is not yet secured. Frame’s commitment was for the first year, to help provide the seed money for the program. It is still not clear whether the program will flourish, but it is abundantly clear that Fongtip and Aor are flourishing – their being here is partly because people at Frame took seriously the mandate to care for a brother or sister in need. We are part of each other. We belong to each other.
And we belong to God. Two years ago, when I was in Tanzania, I noticed something about the sheep and goats there. They all had shepherds. You’d see even a small flock, and there would be a shepherd. Here in the U.S., I don’t think I’ve ever seen a shepherd. We have fences. Perhaps that’s why so many people think religion is about guidelines instead of relationship. Perhaps that’s why it’s harder for some of us to relate to a God who cares for us, who tends us like a shepherd, who comes after us when we’re lost, and tends our deepest needs.
The Ibu people of Nigeria say that if you put your ear to the ground, you van hear the steps of the cricket. If we put our ear to the ground of our being, we can hear the steps of God in our lives. Listening for God is more like listening for the beat of our lives…so I will be slowing down, running less, sleeping more, eating well, building routines of prayer, exercising, listening more, and hoping to be well enough to be a sheep with a beat, jamming with God, grooving with you….imagine if we all listen for God enough to be a flock with a beat! Over the next year, the Session has voted that we will be undertaking a strategic planning process at Frame. In many ways it will be like my CREDO program – It’s about Frame’s identity – Who are we as a congregation?; discernment – Who is God calling us to become together?; practices – what are the steps that will lead us there?; and transformation – letting God transform us through this process: a lifelong process of change.
Just as the CREDO process is about helping me to discern priorities and identify practices that will help me be a healthier person and pastor, the strategic planning process will help us as a people of God discern our priorities and identify how we want to be together. The identity and discernment pieces will be our strategic planning process, and we will have fun together – we will likely choose to improve some of our strengths and work on some of the areas that challenge us, just as I did at my conference. One of the essentials of this process, as in good jazz, is listening – listening to each other and listening for the beat.
And as we listen deeply, to God and to each other…soon we, together, will be sheep with a beat, jammin’ with God, and moving together. Amen.
Frame Memorial Presbyterian Church
Texts: Psalm 23, John 10:11-18, 1 John 3:16-24
Every year, the fourth Sunday of Easter season is Good Shepherd Sunday – the scriptures include 1/3 of the tenth chapter of John’s Gospel, in which Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd, and usually we read the 23rd Psalm.
Sheep and shepherds seem pretty important to the Bible. They are often present in incidental ways – as when Moses was tending his father-in-law’s flocks and he saw the burning bush and heard God’s call to him, or when shepherds were watching their flocks by night and suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared before them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid…peace on earth, good will to men.
The prophet Ezekiel used the image of a shepherd to contrast with a ruler who does not care properly for the people of God.
But the most enduring image for most of us comes from the 23rd Psalm –
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.
Last week I was away at a week-long conference called CREDO, which is offered by our Board of Pensions, which administers our health and pension benefits. The mission of CREDO is “To provide opportunities for clergy to examine significant areas of their lives and to discern prayerfully the future direction of their vocation as they respond to God's call in a lifelong process of practice and transformation.” CREDO is an opportunity for ministers to step away from the busy pace of life and find a foundation upon which to embrace wellness – we had time to reflect upon the questions that are at the heart of everyone’s life in God: “Who am I? Who is God calling me to be?” Each of us was given the opportunity in lectures, individual consultations, small group work, private reflection, worship and prayer to reflect on our health, our finances, our vocation and our spirituality – and during the week we each developed goals for ourselves. CREDO is about identity – who am I?; discernment – who is God calling me to become?; practices – what are the steps that will lead me there?; and transformation – letting God transform us through this process: a lifelong process of change.
Early on in the week in a plenary on health, we were shown some statistics on wellness, for the general population …and for ministers in the CREDO program. Ministers didn’t fare well. We are less well than the population as a whole. We are fatter, have higher blood pressure, more problems with cholesterol and triglycerides, as well as higher stress levels, and lower exercise levels. To quote from the movie Apollo 13: “Houston, we have a problem.”
The prophet Isaiah reminds us that “All we like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way….” Sheep stray, and so do we. I remember vividly the sermon I heard preached by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, recently retired pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Dr. Wright was preaching at the Festival of Homiletics, one of the pre-eminent preaching conferences offered each year. It was 2002, long before he would become infamous as Barack Obama’s pastor. And he reminded us that sheep stray. Sheep get lost, he said, six feet at a time because they can’t see very far, and they don’t think ahead much. He explained that sheep just wander off a little at a time. Oh look at that patch of grass over there…Six feet. Is there some grass behind that bush? Six more feet. How about behind that rock? Six more feet…and pretty soon they’re lost. And what made Reverend Wright’s example memorable was the way he walked away from the pulpit as he told us.
Well, no one plans to be unhealthy either, but it happens, a little at a time…just like with sheep. I was not overweight when Carl and I got married. When we were dating, we often went running 3-6 miles in the morning, and I would go swim a mile in the afternoon after work. But little by little, I became unhealthy. Working at a grocery store…sure is nice to have a pecan Danish during my morning break each day. Six feet. [Susan is walking away from the pulpit, out the back door and around the church during this…re-entering the sanctuary near the end of the paragraph – all still heard through the portable microphone.] Pregnant and eating for two, the nausea’s better if I stay full, and the heartburn in later pregnancy is really soothed by ice cream. Six more feet. Working as an accountant during the day I just want to spend time with the baby when I get home…no time for exercise. Six more feet. Two more babies, and many more excuses. Six more feet. In ministry, can’t turn down the desserts at the potluck, it would be rude. Six more feet. And there’s no time for exercise – people will think I’m not working enough. Six more feet…the boys sure like it when I make them cookies….Six more feet. help! I’m lost! And fat. And my triglycerides are high, and my blood pressure’s going up! No one plans to be unhealthy, but a little at a time, it happens to many of us.
All we like sheep have gone astray….None of us really likes thinking of ourselves as sheep, but there are some similarities.
The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name's sake.
Amazing that we are like sheep in some of this – what kind of healthy critter needs to be made to rest? Apparently sheep have to be made to lie down, and often so do we. We are so busy – and it is a cultural problem, because it doesn’t end at the end of work. Most retired people I know are extremely busy, and still stressed.
Those of us who went to the CREDO program were not identified as people with problems. We were randomly selected mid-career pastors. Each of us identified goals, and some of these goals are in areas other people had identified as our strengths. Most people want to strengthen their strengths, as well as correcting their flaws. The three goals I discerned when I was at CREDO will make me a better pastor, and a healthier person. Without going into too much detail, the three areas I chose to work on are not news to me, or probably to you either. You probably know from observing me, or from listening to me, that these are areas that I need to work on, or that are at the center of my vocation and spirituality. So I have made goals, and now that I am back from my conference, the hard work begins: living out the goals, letting God transform me through these changes. My goals are (1) to become well, and particularly to improve my fitness which should include losing weight; (2) to become a person who lives out of a deeper prayer life, and (3) to develop organizational methods that work for me.
I’m going to let God make me a person who shall not want – a person who is really well. I’m going to let God lead me beside the still waters and restore my soul – as I deepen my prayer life. I’m going to let God lead me in right paths – I will find ways to organize my desk and my study at home so that they are better work environments for me.
I’ve discussed these goals with my liaison to the personnel committee, and we’ve agreed that it will likely take the summer to figure out the implications for my schedule and the way I work. I’m grateful to the Board of Pensions for the CREDO conference, and I hope you all will be supportive of the changes I am trying to make to become healthier. As one of my small group members said at the conference, “Of course, if change were easy, we would have made these changes already.” That’s right. Change is not easy. All of us know that, whether we have had change forced on us or whether we’ve chosen change – a job change, a health change or a relationship change – change is always hard. I thought about whether or not to share these things with you all – after all, it seems a little self-centered to take up so much of the sermon talking about the changes I want to make in my life. Further, there is some real vulnerability in sharing some of this. But I know that many of you also want to make changes, and I want you to know that I understand how difficult it is to do that. And each of us is a work in progress, and I want to be clear with you that I am very much under construction. I’ll be getting well six feet at a time, too. Finally, like everyone else, I need support from others.
Wellness is not a solo act – it is impossible to be completely well without healthy relationships and the Bible understands that too. Our faith isn’t just about us and God, but it is also about how we live in community. This is why it is part of our church work to foster relationships among our members – fellowship is part of life in the worshipping community. John reminds us of this in his letter that we read from this morning: “How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.” We are connected to one another, and those connections are integral to our lives. We cannot separate our care for one another from our faith – our lives are a whole, including our words, our actions, our relationship with God, our care of ourselves, and our care for others. Last week three members of our community – Susan Barrett, Dan Dieterich, and Jeremy Higgins – gave their own testimony about their understanding of stewardship and care of the earth. I’ve read them and they are quite moving. They will be available in the rack by the back staircase where my sermons usually are, as well as on the webpage.
The Presbyterian Church adopted a policy statement in 1988 that makes the connection between our own health, and our stewardship of creation. It reads: “Each person has a moral obligation – a private and public duty – to value and care for his or her own health and the health of the community. We hare stewards of God’s creation.” Our health, the health of the community, the health of creation – our faith is lived out in the particular ways that we care for ourselves, each other, and the earth. Incarnation is one of the key theological concepts of our faith – and it’s not only about how God was incarnated among us as Jesus Christ. It’s also about how our faith is incarnated in our living. One of the key questions for Presbyterian Christians is “How then shall we live?” How does our faith make a difference in our lives and the lives of others?”
We welcome this morning to our worship two young women who are studying at UWSP, in part because of the gifts people at Frame made to the Thailand Project two years ago. Fongtip and Aor have been in Wisconsin since August, and the funding for their next year is not yet secured. Frame’s commitment was for the first year, to help provide the seed money for the program. It is still not clear whether the program will flourish, but it is abundantly clear that Fongtip and Aor are flourishing – their being here is partly because people at Frame took seriously the mandate to care for a brother or sister in need. We are part of each other. We belong to each other.
And we belong to God. Two years ago, when I was in Tanzania, I noticed something about the sheep and goats there. They all had shepherds. You’d see even a small flock, and there would be a shepherd. Here in the U.S., I don’t think I’ve ever seen a shepherd. We have fences. Perhaps that’s why so many people think religion is about guidelines instead of relationship. Perhaps that’s why it’s harder for some of us to relate to a God who cares for us, who tends us like a shepherd, who comes after us when we’re lost, and tends our deepest needs.
The Ibu people of Nigeria say that if you put your ear to the ground, you van hear the steps of the cricket. If we put our ear to the ground of our being, we can hear the steps of God in our lives. Listening for God is more like listening for the beat of our lives…so I will be slowing down, running less, sleeping more, eating well, building routines of prayer, exercising, listening more, and hoping to be well enough to be a sheep with a beat, jamming with God, grooving with you….imagine if we all listen for God enough to be a flock with a beat! Over the next year, the Session has voted that we will be undertaking a strategic planning process at Frame. In many ways it will be like my CREDO program – It’s about Frame’s identity – Who are we as a congregation?; discernment – Who is God calling us to become together?; practices – what are the steps that will lead us there?; and transformation – letting God transform us through this process: a lifelong process of change.
Just as the CREDO process is about helping me to discern priorities and identify practices that will help me be a healthier person and pastor, the strategic planning process will help us as a people of God discern our priorities and identify how we want to be together. The identity and discernment pieces will be our strategic planning process, and we will have fun together – we will likely choose to improve some of our strengths and work on some of the areas that challenge us, just as I did at my conference. One of the essentials of this process, as in good jazz, is listening – listening to each other and listening for the beat.
And as we listen deeply, to God and to each other…soon we, together, will be sheep with a beat, jammin’ with God, and moving together. Amen.