Fourth Sunday of Easter Year A
(Good Shepherd Sunday)
John 10:1-10 and Acts 2:42-47
The fourth Sunday of Easter is what has generally been called Good Shepherd Sunday. Several Passages talk about Jesus or God as a shepherd. In John 10 where Jesus refers to himself as the Good Shepherd. We can look at this passage as being about God being the shepherd and that we sheep are to be good followers. But it can also mean God’s relation with God’s church. God cares for us and looks after us in ways we can’t imagine, because God is in love with us; God has a relationship with us. A community that is loved by the God of the universe is called to care for one another- not because it’s something we have to do, but because it’s who we are. And when people see a local congregation living as a Christ-led, hospitable community, they will take notice.
Acts 2:42-47 says the church is called to be a place where we learn to be a follower of Christ. The church is a place where we have fellowship with each other, where we care and love each other. The church is a place where we realize that our material possessions are not the goal in our lives, but to use what we have to help those in need, especially those in our community, but also those outside of it. The church is a place where we come together and break bread in table fellowship together, realizing that it is Christ that calls us to the table regardless of who we are. The church is a place where we are happy in Christ and are generous to friends and strangers.
Come Sunday 