A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Easter
The Rev. Patricia A. Gillespie
Acts 6:1-9; 7:2a,51-60
Psalm 23
1 Peter 2:19-25
John 10:1-10
Yesterday our youngest child had his eighteenth birthday. Friday night, just before midnight, teasing me, he said, "Hey, Mom, I've only got seven minutes left to commit a crime for which you'd be held responsible."
I suppose there were jokes and laughter about not letting him out of my sight till midnight. But what happened inside was tears. Tears because we know now what kind of unspeakable crimes 17-and-18-year-old children are capable of. Tears because I'm terribly proud of "my little boy, " who gives every sign of becoming -- indeed, of being -- a kind and compassionate man. Tears because it could have been our son, or any of our children or yours, in Littleton this week. Twelve children and a teacher, going about the usual business of high school. Dead now. Two lost children committing unspeakable crimes. Dead now. Countless other children, teachers, parents, left with gaping wounds and hollow grief.
"Hey, how many minutes left now for a child's crime? and who is responsible?" Are the parents of the children with guns responsible? Or do we blame violent movies or rock music or lax gun laws?
Do you hear the question underneath all the questions? "Why did God let this happen?" The question echoes through the centuries, through scripture and history. The question rings through the pain in our own lives. Why? Why does a good God allow innocent suffering?
The law holds parents responsible for the crimes their children commit. When my loving and compassionate son drives into another car, we know who is responsible for seeing that the bill gets paid: I am. Even if it's paid with his money, I am held accountable. That's how the system works. The parent is held responsible for the actions of the child.
So, blaming God makes some sense. God is the responsible parent. Just as the Good Shepherd is responsible for his flock, God is responsible for the world. Just as a Good Shepherd protects the flock, a good God should protect innocent children. But then we hear today's first reading and we see innocent Stephen stoned to death. Why, God?
We hear today's second reading: "For it is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly.... For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps." It sounds as if innocent suffering is expected and maybe even good. Why, God?
We hear today's gospel: "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." And it seems like some kind of sick joke. Bloody bodies in the high school library doesn't look like abundant life.
What kind of gift has God given us anyway? Abundant life? Jesus came that we might have it. But there's a hitch. In creating us in God's image, God created us free. God gives people the freedom to choose. To choose (in the garden of Eden) paradise or knowledge. To choose (in today's gospel) to listen to the Good Shepherd or the thief. To choose abundant life or destruction and death God gives us the freedom to choose.
And once God gives people freedom, The all-powerful God limit's God's own scope of action. God freely gives up some of the power that could make the world good. We regular-type parents know how that works. It's part of preparing our children to be adults – we give them freedom to make some choices, even some mistakes, on their own. We allow them to take risks, knowing that sometimes they will stumble and hurt themselves. We set them free ... and face the truth that we cannot always protect our children from pain. Children get offered guns. Children get shot. Children get offered drugs or alcohol. Children get hit by cars. Children kill other children.
Why does God let this happen? Where is the good parent? Where is the Good Shepherd guarding the sheep? God is not a shepherd who locks up the sheep. The Good Shepherd frees the sheep and then calls to them. And the sheep are free to answer to the shepherd's voice or other voices: thieves' voices that steal and kill and destroy.
It is for us to choose which voice to follow. And the choice is not always easy. It's harder to hear and distinguish the voices when we're shouting, "Why, God?" This dynamic is part of what I think Peter is writing about in today's reading. He's not writing to tell us that innocent suffering a good thing. He's telling us how a Christian lives when evil does happen. Asking the "Why?" question can keep us focused on the violence and evil instead of God. But Peter is reminding us that evil must not be allowed to determine how we see reality: that we are to keep our focus on God. He's telling us to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd instead of the voice of the thief.
And if we're worried about recognizing the voice, there's a hint in the gospel about how to distinguish the voice of the Good Shepherd from the voice of the thief. The Good Shepherd knows his sheep. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. The thief, the voice of death, does not know the sheep by name. The thief does not recognize individuals The thief's voice of death speaks to nameless ones in impersonal prejudice and group stereotypes.
The Shepherd, on the other hand, knows his own by name and speaks their names with love:
And when we listen for his voice and follow, we may hear part of the answer to our question. "Is the Parent responsible for the crimes of the children?" Perhaps not "responsible" – God didn't kill those children any more than I wrecked my son's car or the one he hit. The parent is not "responsible," but "accountable." Even though the parent may have done nothing to make the suffering happen, it is the parent who sees that the accounts are settled. And the same Parent who gave us the freedom to choose has balanced our accounts for us. Jesus paid off everyone's debts – yours, mine, and theirs -- once and for all time. Yes, even those accounts with long lists of unspeakable crimes.
Through all the sin and all the suffering, in our freedom and in our debts, even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, God is with us. All we need do is listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow to the green pastures of abundant life.
