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Acts 2:42-47
Psalm 23
1 Peter 2:19-25
John 10:1-10
Collect of the Day
Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”(John 10:1-10)
Abundant Ministry = Abundant Life
The Rev. Dr. Bill Stroop
When I went to college, I looked at the catalog of courses and discovered that college education was like a smorgasbord for the mind and spirit. There were so many interesting courses to take, and so much to learn! I couldn’t decide what to major in, so I changed majors almost every term, trying on subjects and career choices like they were clothes from the sales rack at Old Navy. My parents, who had not attended college, did not have the wherewithal to pressure me into a career path, but because my friends seemed content settling into their fields of study, I decided that maybe I needed to settle on something too. So I chose a major. This particular field of study required externships, where I was to apprentice with a professional. The problem was that after working in that field for less than two months, I discovered I absolutely hated it. I couldn’t imagine a less satisfying career. So with less than two terms to go, I switched majors again.
I was lucky. I found out that that career was not for me. But others have found that although their chosen careers are in fact a perfect match to their likes and skills, the place of employment leaves a lot to be desired. This is a pervasive problem in the work place. Are you one of those people who might like the work you do, but do not like the workplace? If so, you are not alone. A recent Gallup poll has shown that 77 percent of American employees hate their jobs.[1] Dissatisfaction in the workplace costs employers more than $350 billion in lost productivity.
And what could be worse than not liking your work situation and feeling trapped by it by family and financial responsibilities? I know. Taxes! Have you got your taxes done? They are due Tuesday (sorry about that). There is no worse time to be unhappy with your job than looking at your W-2 forms and the 1040 form realizing that you have paid taxes on earned income from a soul-sucking, stinking job.
If you are one of those people who spends much of your time at work, and who has invested much of yourself in your career, the phrase “abundant life” from today’s gospel lesson might seem hollow. And when job misery spills over into the other aspects of our lives, and leads to health problems, depression, addictions, broken relationships, and a disconnection with God, life becomes oppressive, weighty, and hard. The phrase “abundant life” becomes laughable.
What is it that robs Americans of satisfaction in the workplace? You might think that things like job responsibilities, salary, and the possibility of advancement would be at the top of the list. But Patrick Lencioni, the author of The Three Signs of a Miserable Job, says that while those things are important, they are not the main things that determine job satisfaction. He makes the point that a well paid professional basketball player can be miserable in his job, whereas the janitor cleaning the locker room can be fulfilled by his work. What makes the difference between a miserable job and a satisfying one are the relationships formed in the work place – particularly the relationship between the boss and the employee. That’s what makes the difference between the dream job and the nightmarish one.
Lencioni has researched job misery as his career. And he has found that there are three critical signs that when they converge like the perfect storm, our job can become a vocational hell. And he must be onto something. His book, released late last year, quickly rose to the top of the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Business Week best-seller lists.
The first cause of job dissatisfaction is anonymity. People don’t feel fulfilled if they are not recognized. People need to feel that they are understood and that they are appreciated for their unique personality and talents. If people feel invisible – particularly if they are transparent to their bosses – they cannot love their job. They don’t need constant praise, just the sense that they are appreciated by someone in charge.
The second cause of dissatisfaction is irrelevance. If one does not feel a connection between what one does and the satisfaction of another person or the work group – particularly the boss – one does not feel valued. It matters to us to know that we make a difference.
The third cause of dissatisfaction has to do with how they are judged. People do not want their work judged subjectively by others because this can lead to office politics and posturing by others to curry favor or to sabotage. Rather, people want to be judged by how they measure up based on a set of agreed-upon criteria. And there are all kinds of measures that can be applied. Take the case of a bagger at the local market. How many bags he can fill in a given number of minutes is one measurement. But another might be how many times he engages with the customer and makes them smile, or how willing he is to help a customer to the car with their purchases.
We weren’t created to be miserable. We were made to enjoy a fulfilling and life-giving relationship with God and with others. We were created with purpose. The measure of “success” in life is about the amount of love we give and receive. Jesus said that he came so that we might “ have life, and have it abundantly.”
The story of Jesus as the Shepherd and the gate for the sheep is all about relationship, and that includes good relationships in the workplace. At the end of Chapter 9 of John’s gospel, Jesus and the Pharisees become engaged in verbal combat over Jesus’ healing on the Sabbath of the man who had been blind from birth. The blind man confesses his faith in Jesus, and Jesus castigates the Pharisees for caring more about Jesus’ healing on the Sabbath than about the man himself. The Pharisees come across like the ultimate bad boss who doesn’t even know the blind man’s name. In today’s gospel, Jesus draws upon the vocational metaphor of the shepherd to counter the legalistic oppression of the Pharisees.
First century sheep herding was anything but a glamorous job. It was boring moving the sheep from pasture to water, and back again day after day after day. It was harsh, living in the open, pounded by bad weather. It was dangerous, having to deal with all kinds of predators including thieves and bandits. And the pay was terrible; shepherds were among the poorest of the poor. And yet, it is into this miserable vocation that Jesus metaphorically placed himself. He described himself as a good shepherd who cared for the sheep so much so, that the sheep knew his voice. They were not anonymous to the shepherd. This is in sharp contrast to the oppressive religious demands and posturing of the Pharisee bosses who seemed to care more about rules and observances than the lives of the people.
There is no anonymity in God’s kingdom. God calls us by name in the womb; God knows each one of us. Jesus makes that point by showing that the abundant life is dependent on knowing and being known. Jesus thoroughly understands the fact that human beings need to be valued by those in authority, and not treated like just one of thousands of dumb sheep, doing what we are told. We do not get up every morning to go to work. We get up to live our lives. An abundant life embraces a larger and more complete vision of life and our place in the world. In becoming incarnate and walking and dying with us, Jesus shows us how human God can be, and how very much he wants us to know God, and God wants us to know that we matter, not only to God, but to God’s work on this earth. Jesus showed us that we also matter to each other. We have been charged with modeling and sharing the abundant life in Christ Jesus with other human beings. Remember, in John’s gospel Jesus says, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” (Jn 20:21)
Finally, in the eleventh verse of this chapter, Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd, willing to lay his life down for the sheep. Jesus describes this as part of his vocation – it is part of his ministry. The work that we do – all of us, whether we are bosses or employees, or whether we do not work outside the home at all – should view our life’s work as ministry. That is, we should look at what we do as work in service for others. Viewing our life in this way is a huge step toward understanding and living the “abundant life.” The abundant life is an outwardly focused one; about giving not receiving. In the work place, it means measuring by godly standards, not earthly ones. For Christians, it means using Jesus’ life as our standard of measurement. We should ask ourselves, “How well did I represent Jesus today?” “How does what I do with my colleagues, friends, and enemies, reflect the ministry of Jesus?” “How much did what I do today move the Kingdom of God closer to reality?”
Being a disciple of Jesus is not an easy task. Our human nature, and the concerns of daily living get in the way. But by looking at our lives as acts of ministry, we can truly begin to live life more abundantly.
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Those who had been baptized devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. 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, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
1 The LORD is my shepherd; *
I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures *
and leads me beside still waters.
3 He revives my soul *
and guides me along right pathways for his Name’s sake.
4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I shall fear no evil; *
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those
who trouble me; *
you have anointed my head with oil,
and my cup is running over.
6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days
of my life, *
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
It is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. 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. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
[1] Patrick Lencioni. The Three Signs of a Miserable Job. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007. Data and information can be found on line at http://www.tablegroup.com/books/signs/. Information for this sermon was adapted in part from Timothy F. Merrill (Exec. Ed.). “Three Abundant Signs of an Abundant Life.” Homiletics20(2):57-61, 2008.
The Mission of Trinity Episcopal Church is to be an open and diverse Christian family dedicated to serving God and all creation by fostering spiritual growth through worship, prayer, education, service, stewardship, and celebration. |
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Copyright © 2008, William G. Stroop - All Rights Reserved.
10 April 2008
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