Follow the Shepherd – 1 May 2022 – Third Sunday of Easter

John 21:1–19

We who are caregivers need to be cared for. We need to remember that our minds, hearts, souls, and bodies need nourishing and feeding, too, because we are not the Shepherd. . . Only the true and only Shepherd can and does carry the lambs upon his shoulders. Only the true and only Shepherd can and does truly feed the lambs. Only the true and only Shepherd can lead and direct the lambs. And only the true and only Shepherd can and does love the lambs with a commitment and dedication that is unwavering and enduring.

With all of our imperfections, and like naked Peter on the beach, with our stumbling and fumbling, what we offer to the lambs is a witness. . . That’s what it means to feed the lambs and love the sheep.

We don’t own the lambs and we certainly ought not to pretend to be what we are not or what we are not intended to be. So, have fun in the kitchen, cooking for Christ’s little lambs, serving them with all the gifts God has given you, but knowing that you are not the Shepherd and you aren’t even the sole cook. After all, our risen Lord has made you both a guest at his table and numbered you among his precious lambs that need his tender loving care. –– Neal D. Presa

Acts 9:1–20

Following Jesus is not a one-time conversion that exchanges one set of beliefs for another, a logical choice to swap the old for the new and then maintain. Life, and faith, are usually messy and illogical. They bump us into others and break us open and call us out and plunge us in. Following Jesus means a life of calling, ever deeper, ever wider, ever more astonishing.

Sometimes Jesus calls us in surprising and dramatic ways that knock us down and blind us, wiping out what we thought we knew, and replacing it with a whole new perspective and direction, and sometimes Jesus calls us in very ordinary and simple ways that sneak up on us. . .

We are called, every day, to see Jesus in the face of others, in their suffering or their pride, in their need or their fear, in the eyes of the ones we love and the enemy before us. We are called to follow Jesus to the places we fear to go, to risk having our minds changed or our paths rerouted.

May we seek not to be Christians, but followers of Christ. May we follow the one whose love breaks down walls, heals broken hearts, builds communities, and calls people to forgiveness and reconciliation. May we live to serve the living God, to encounter the living Christ, to love the world in God’s name, and to live always in the hope of our calling. –– Kara K. Root

Revelation 5:11–14

[This text] grants us a glimpse of worship in heaven. What is the focus of heavenly worship and how can this be our focus in every liturgy? Since most of this passage is actually a song, how does music enhance our worship in more than aesthetic ways? What hymn could you use to illustrate a point in your homily? –– John Paul Salay

Neal D. Presa, pastor of the Village Presbyterian Church, Rancho Santa Fe, California, and adjunct professor of worship at Fuller Theological Seminary, was the Moderator of the 220th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA).

Kara K. Root is pastor of Lake Nokomis Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis. A certified Christian educator in the PCUSA, workshop leader, and spiritual director, she has written for Working Preacher, Patheos, Sparkhouse, and her blog on motherhood and ministry.

John Paul Salay is Loyola University’s Minister of Liturgy and the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA).

Homily Service 43, no. 2 (2009): 106–116.