We are being pursued.
Relentless.
Tenacious.
Pursuit.
The Shepherd is following us.
Most of the time the shepherd walks very slowly, quietly, graciously.
Other times the shepherd moves like lightening, rod and staff striking with explosive force, making a way that is safe.
Nothing stops the shepherd, nothing, even death, even the grave is crushed, setting the captives free.
The Shepherd.
Relentless.
Tenacious.
We are being pursued.
This is one of the great images of God, the Shepherd. Fierce, tender, in pursuit, single minded in purpose, the sheep will live, the sheep will eat and drink, the sheep will be found, the sheep will be guided.
The Shepherd, presiding over the people, over the heavens and the earth, striding through the cosmos, charging the gates of hell, bursting from the tomb…giving life, the Shepherd of life itself.
The fourth Sunday of Easter, today, is always Good Shepherd Sunday, we hear some of the scriptures that speak of the Shepherd, especially the 23rd psalm.
It embodies the heart of this parish, the window above the altar, the shepherd, the image chosen for Grace, a picture of the One to whom we belong.
That image is etched, branded into the memory of everyone who has belonged to this parish, the image of Grace, The Shepherd, finding the lost sheep.
The image of relentless pursuit.
We belong to the Shepherd, we can trust the Shepherd with both our living and our dying.
The Shepherd is all we need, the over flowing cup.
Goodness pursues us.
Tender mercy pursues us.
Loving-kindness pursues us.
The deeper we dig the hole, the farther the mercy reaches out to bring us home, there is no escape, there is only the Shepherd.
There are three versions of the 23rd psalm in the Prayer Book, the current translation that we said/ sang together earlier in the liturgy.
There is the King James Version, the one we most often hear at funerals.
Then there is the oldest version, my favorite, from an earlier English translation of the Bible called The Kings Bible.
It is found at the top of page 476 in the Red Book of Common Prayer.
Please turn there.
Let’s say this together:
The LORD is my shepherd; *
therefore can I lack nothing.
He shall feed me in a green pasture, *
and lead me forth beside the waters of comfort.
He shall convert my soul,*
and lead me forth in the paths of righteousness for his Name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; *
for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff comfort me.
Thou shalt prepare a table before me in the presence of them that trouble me; *
thou hast anointed my head with oil, and my cup shall be full.
Surely thy loving-kindness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; *
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.