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St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD
May 11, 2025
Year C: The Fourth Sunday of Easter
Acts 9:36-43
Psalm 23
Revelation 7:9-17
John 10:22-30
The Duty of the Moment
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Today is the Fourth Sunday of Easter – we’re now deep into the Easter Season, but I don’t sense that our Easter joy is fading one bit!
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Yes, it’s still Easter, but today is also “Good Shepherd Sunday,” the day when we focus on a particularly beautiful and powerful image of Jesus:
Jesus the Good Shepherd.
Jesus the Good Shepherd who calls us each by name.
In today’s lesson from the Gospel of John, we back up before Easter, back to Jesus’ earthly lifetime.
And we hear a familiar and troubling theme, the conflict between Jesus and the group of people John simply calls “the Jews.”
Now, many of you have heard me say this before, but it bears repeating that just about everyone in the gospel - very much including Jesus and his first disciples - they were all Jews.
Later on, although we both grew out of the same root, there will be a split between Judaism and Christianity.
And because of that split, Christians will hear and read passages like what we heard today as a battle between Jews and Christians.
Not so.
And, tragically, this misunderstanding, this historical amnesia, has had horrific consequences for our Jewish elder siblings in faith.
The other thing about this kind of misreading of the gospel is that it conveniently lets us off the hook.
We might think, “See, Jesus is talking to ‘the Jews,’ not to us. Surely, we Christians hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, right?’”
We hear and follow the voice of the Good Shepherd.
Right?
Well, unfortunately, even just a quick review of our history or a glance at the news would suggest otherwise.
This past week, I’ve been reading a book by someone who definitely heard and followed the call of the Good Shepherd: Catherine de Hueck Doherty.
Her life story is improbable, almost as unlikely as a guy from Chicago getting elected pope!
Catherine was born into Russian nobility in the late 1800’s, and through difficult and too-complicated-to-explain-here events, she ended up opening houses of hospitality for the poorest of the poor in the United States and Canada, and the movement she started has continued to spread around the world in the years since her death in 1985.
Her story is fascinating and inspiring but I’m mentioning her today because there’s something that she wrote that I want to share with you:
“The duty of the moment is what you should be doing at any given time, in whatever place God has put you.”
I’ll say that again:
“The duty of the moment is what you should be doing at any given time, in whatever place God has put you.”
The duty of the moment. I love that.
And, when we really listen for the voice of Jesus the Good Shepherd, when we truly hear his voice, then we know the duty of the moment – and, with God’s help, we can fulfill the duty of the moment.
For Catherine de Hueck Doherty, hearing the voice of the Good Shepherd and fulfilling the duty of the moment required a commitment to prayer and worship.
Only when we’re deeply rooted in God, only when we allow God to take deep root in us, can we hope to do God’s will.
And, you know, one noticeable trend here at St. Thomas’ has been our increasing faithfulness to Sunday worship – and, actually, weekday worship, too. To my surprise and joy, our Wednesday service continues to grow.
And I hope and think that more and more of us gathering here each week helps us to hear the Good Shepherd’s voice, inspires us, with God’s help, to fulfill the duty of the moment.
Two examples:
Many of you know about – actually, an increasing number of you have participated in - Owls First, our afterschool enrichment program over at Owings Mills Elementary School.
In a time when public school funding is being cut, we – you – are fulfilling the duty of the moment by freely giving care and support and knowledge and skills to these children, deepening our relationships with people right here in our community, people who are not members of our church, people we might not have otherwise ever met.
And I know it sounds strange to say because we have so much green space all around us here, but, actually, Owings Mills has little room for recreation. So, we – you – have been giving these children opportunities for fun and exercise, the chance to learn how to work together.
And we can be pretty sure that the voice of the Good Shepherd has called us to this work: Owls First is bringing forth new life, continues to grow and expand, now including students from Owings Mills High School, and exciting conversations are just beginning with others who serve our children and youth.
Hearing the voice of the Good Shepherd.
Fulfilling the duty of the moment.
And the other example is what we’re calling Gilead House 2.
As most of you know, we’re rehabilitating a house to serve as a home for Afghan refugees.
Our own “house of hospitality.”
In a time when the national mood does not seem very welcoming to refugees from Afghanistan or almost anywhere else, we’re hearing and following the call of the Good Shepherd to welcome the stranger.
And – and this is important – we are fulfilling the duty of the moment through real sacrifice. The church has made a significant financial commitment for the restoration of the house and some of you have also contributed and, no doubt, will continue to contribute to the effort.
And the sacrifice is not only financial – offering this kind of hospitality is ongoing and costly – it’s not just, “Here are the housekeys. Good luck in your new home!”
No, once the first family moves in, we will continue to support them, care for them, in ways big and small.
And, yes, our sacrifice has made things a bit more challenging than they might have been for our soon-to-be Assistant Rector here, as she seeks a home as a close as possible to St. Thomas’.
But, as we prepare for the dedication ceremony next month, we can be pretty sure that we’re hearing and following the voice of the Good Shepherd, that we’re fulfilling the duty of the moment because Gilead House 2 is bringing forth new life, it’s counter-cultural, and it’s really costing us.
Hearing the voice of the Good Shepherd.
Fulfilling the duty of the moment.
So, it is still Easter.
But no matter the season, the voice of Jesus the Good Shepherd calls us, calls us to love and service, to especially love and serve the poor, the suffering, and the outcast.
We are called the fulfill the duty of the moment.
And as Catherine de Hueck Doherty said, the duty of the moment “must be done, because it is the duty of God.”
The duty of the moment must be done because it is the duty of God.
May it be so.
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Amen.
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