Preparation for Worship
For this morning’s worship, you will need two candles. In our tradition, we light two candles at the beginning of worship to represent the presence of Jesus. If you want to celebrate communion, have some food and drink to share. The type of food and drink does not matter for they are merely symbols which help us celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
The Worship of God
Light two candles in recognition of Christ’s presence. In our practice, one candle represents Jesus’ divinity and the other Jesus’ humanity.
Gathering for Worship
Passing the Peace
Say to one another, “May the Peace of Christ be with you.”
Respond by saying, “And also with you.”
Call to Worship
We gather here, listening for the voice of the giver and guardian of our lives.
God comes to us as a good shepherd, calling us by name.
We gather here, longing to follow in just paths of life.
God comes to us as a good shepherd, leading us in right ways.
We gather here to follow and praise God,
whose good and steadfast love abounds all of our lives.
Opening Prayer.
God who calls and leads us
we long to know your voice through the thick and the thin
we long to rest in your care for all our needs
we hold out our hands as a sign of our desire to hear you and follow you
Amen
Songs and Psalms of Praise
Song of Praise
Praise Him! Praise Him!
–original words of Fanny Jane Crosby
Praise him! praise him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Sing, O earth his wonderful love proclaim!
Hail him! hail him! mightiest angels in glory,
Strength and honor give to his holy name!
Like a shepherd Jesus will feed his people–
In his arms he carries them all day long.
O ye saints that live in the light of his presence!
Praise him! Praise him! Ever in joyful song!
Praise him! praise him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
For our sins he suffered and bled and died;
He our Rock, our hope of eternal salvation,
Hail him! hail him! Jesus the Crucified.
Loving Savior, meekly enduring sorrow,
Crowned with thorns that cruelly pierced his brow.
Once for us rejected, despised, and forsaken,
Prince of glory, ever triumphant now.
Praise him! praise him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Heav’nly portals loud with hosannas ring!
Jesus, Savior, reigneth for ever and ever,
Crown him! crown him! Prophet and Priest and King!
Death is vanquished! Tell it with joy, ye faithful,
Where is now thy victory boasting grave?
Jesus lives! No longer thy portals are cheerless.
Jesus lives, the mighty and strong to save.
A Reading from the Psalms
Psalm 23
–from A New Zealand Prayer Book| He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa
The Lord is my shepherd:
therefore can I lack nothing.
You Lord make me lie down in green pastures:
and lead me beside the waters of peace.
You revive my spirit:
and guide me in right pathways
for your name’s sake.
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil:
for you are with me,
your rod and your staff are my comfort.
You spread a table for me
in the sight of my enemies:
you have anointed my head with oil,
and my cup is overflowing.
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.
Prayers for Others. (Lift up in prayer world leaders, scientists, medical professionals, essential workers, advocates and caregivers.)
Celebrating Communion
Communion. (Bread and wine were common foods during Jesus’ day. As we celebrate communion at home, use common food and drinks you have. The type of food and drink is not what matters, but it matters that you remember Christ as you share, eat, and drink.)
A Reading from the Gospels, Mark 14:22-24. While [the disciples and Jesus] were eating, [Jesus] took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”
Share what you have to eat. Before everyone eats, have someone say,
“This food represents the body of Christ. As we eat, we remember Jesus.”
Share what you have to drink. Before everyone drinks, have someone say,
“This drink represents the covenant Christ made with us that our sins will be forgiven. As we drink, we remember Jesus.”
Prayer of Thanksgiving. Dear God, thank you for your abounding compassionate love. Thank you for guiding and leading us through these difficult times. Thank you for always being with us. Amen.
Song. End communion by singing a hymn. You may want to sing Amazing Grace.
Amazing grace how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I am found,
was blind but now I see.
The Gospel Lesson for the 4th Sunday of Easter
Listen to the gospel lesson and/or read below.
A Reading from John 10:1-10. 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.”
Reflection “Jesus is the Gate” from Tonya
Listen to Tonya’s reflection and/or read below.
During the great quarantine of 2020, I’ve been hearing strange sentences in my house like “Tonight’s the last night until November that you can go tarantula hunting.” and “There’s a creeper about to blow up my house.” and “How many bells did you get for that fish?” None of these things make sense unless you know the girls are playing Animal Crossing or Minecraft.
It is the same with the gospel passage for this morning. It does not make sense, unless you know that Jesus is saying these things to interpret the healing that has just taken place. John 10:1-10 is just a small part of a larger story that begins in chapter 9.
The story goes like this. Jesus and his disciples are walking along and they see a man who has been blind since birth. The disciples want to know why this man is blind. Who in the family sinned for God to cause the blindness. Did the parents or the man, himself? Jesus clears up their misunderstanding, “No one sinned. This man was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.” Then Jesus gives the man the ability to physically see. Yep, this is that healing where Jesus takes some dirt and mixes it with his spit to make some mud, then spreads it on the man’s eyes, and then tells him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. Of course, his eyes gain sight.
Do you recall how the people reacted? Everyone wants to know how it happened. They were astounded that this man who could see was the same man they had known all their life to be blind. How did this happen? The man told them. He said, “A man named Jesus made some mud, spread it on my eyes, and then he told me to go wash in the pool of Siloam. So I did. And now I can see.” People were in an uproar over the change. Some refused to believe it was the same man. Others were offended that a man named Jesus could do such a thing. Others were mad that such a work had been done on a day when religious people were supposed to rest. So they interrogated the man’s parents trying to get the story straight. Out of fear of exclusion, his parents deflect by saying, “Go ask him; he is a grown man and can speak for himself.” So they call the man back a second time. He tells them he has no idea how it happened, but it did and Jesus is the one who did it. They refuse to believe. You see, they think Jesus is a sinner. They see him breaking rules. They think he doesn’t do things the way that he should. This new ability to see, it surely could not have come from God. So they drove the blind man, well, the man who had once been blind, they drove him away, throwing him out of the house of worship.
Jesus heard that the man had been driven out, so he looked for him and found him. [Ooooo, one sheep cast out of the flock and the Good Shepherd goes out to find him.] Jesus talks with the man helping him understand that he, Jesus is the Son of Man, the very Son of God. Jesus helps us remove the obstacles that keep us from seeing God in the world. And for any who might fool themselves into thinking that there are no obstacles hindering their sight of God, God gives them sight to see how blind they really are. It is a blessing of judgment, helping us to judge our understanding of God, helping us to see more clearly so that God’s work might be revealed in us when God chooses.
With this story swirling in our minds, now we can better understand what Jesus is teaching us in chapter 10. The first five verses list a cast of characters: a thief, a bandit, a shepherd, the sheep, a gatekeeper, a gate, and a stranger. Jesus uses these characters to paint images: someone with ill intentions climbing over or under the fence to get into the pen of the sheep, the blessing of hearing the voice of someone you love, the affirmation of being called by your own name, the pleasure of following someone you completely trust, and the image of running away from the calling voice of strangers.
Need someone to follow, who will take care of you, never shun you, lovingly chase you down when you wander off or when others won’t let you in? That’s me, Jesus says. Need someone to find you when you get lost, who knows your name even though you are one of millions, billions. That’s me, says Jesus. But they didn’t get it. Maybe they were not used to herding sheep. Maybe they had grown up in the city and didn’t have a clue about livestock. I sure don’t. I have only raised puppies and kittens. They didn’t understand, so Jesus gives them another angle from which to look.
Twice Jesus says, “I am the gate.” Now Jesus has already said “I am the light of the world.” And Jesus will go on to say, “I am the Good Shepherd.” Light to brighten the darkness. A good shepherd to lead us in the right way. And here a gate to provide welcome, protection and provisions.
Think about it, one of the main purposes of a sheep gate is to keep the sheep together. During the night, the gate provides protection, keeping the bandits and thieves away, keeping the sheep in. During the day, the gate opens so the shepherd can come in and then lead the sheep out to pastures where they may graze. At night or in day, the gate works for the well-being of the sheep. Jesus is that gate.
The religious who drove away the man born blind were supposed to be shepherding the sheep. They were supposed to be taking care of God’s people. But they had become more like bandits and thieves. They were more interested in gaining and maintaining power and authority than taking care of the sheep. They desired to be a gate that kept sinners out and only a select few into the flock.
Jesus denounces their authority when he says, I am the gate for the sheep. Again Jesus says, I am the gate that provides salvation, safety, and pasture. I am the gate that provides life abundant.
Here’s one of those images of Jesus that many have used to build a religion of exclusion. They make Jesus out to be a gate that keeps sinners out and lets only a select few in. And that is exactly what Jesus is preaching against when he says, “I am the gate.” Jesus is not exclusive. Jesus is welcoming. Jesus is inviting. Jesus genuinely cares for each and everyone of us. John put the good news down in words to read and hear so that we might know that God loves the world, not a tiny part of it, not a select few, but God loves the entire world. Jesus is the gate, letting the world in during the dark of night, and leading the world out to pasture during the light of day. Jesus is the gate, our gate, that brings abundant life.
Questions for Reflection:
- Do you have a gate at or near your home? If so, for what is it used?
- What about the two gates at the church, where are they located and what is their purpose?
- How is Jesus like a gate?
Prayer of Thanksgiving. (Offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God.)
Affirmation and Blessing
Song of Faith
We Shall Walk
We shall walk through the valley and the shadow of death
We shall walk through the valley in peace.
And if Jesus himself shall be our leader,
We shall walk through the valley in peace.
We shall meet our brother in the valley of peace
We shall meet our sister in peace.
And if Jesus himself shall be our leader,
We shall walk through the valley in peace.
There will be no sorrowing there.
There will be no sorrowing there.
And if Jesus himself shall be our leader,
We shall walk through the valley in peace.
Sending Out
When the community is a shepherd,
then no one will want.
Imagine everyone having
a safe place to lie down,
water to drink,
education to restore the soul,
and a meaningful path
of work or retirement –
for God’s sake, God’s sacred.
There are many dark valleys
of illness, loss, depression,
addiction or fear,
but when there are companions –
with a walking stick of guidance
and a staff of assistance –
then there is comfort.
Imagine the community’s table set
with the kind of generosity
that changes enemy into friend,
the greatest honor anointing a stranger
and every empty cup
of the most vulnerable overflowing.
Surely, then our breaking bread
and all our prayers
will mean something,
and our neighbors’ goodwill follow.
No one will worry as much about
personal God’s-house-dwelling,
as the community’s hospitality to others –
Day by day by day by day
and all our lives long.
Closing Song. In our tradition, we close worship by singing the first verse of Blest Be the Tie. Mindy starts us each week, and so she does today as well.
Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love.
The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. Amen.
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Credits: The Call to Worship and Opening Prayer is from Seasons of the Spirit™ SeasonsFUSION Lent • Easter 2020, Copyright © Wood Lake Publishing Inc. 2019. Used by permission. Praise Him! Praise Him! was written by Fanny J. Crosby and the music was played by Kendall on the steel pan & djembe. Psalm 23 is copied from A New Zealand Prayer Book – He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa and used with their permission. Amazing Grace was written by John Newton and played by Aidan on the piano. The gospel was written by John and read by Ally. The spiritual We Shall Walk was arranged by Tim Sharp and sung by Laura, Ally, and Mindy. The Sending Out is a poem written by Maren C. Tirabassi published in SeasonsFUSION. Used by permission. Blest be the Tie was written by John Fawcett (1782) and sung by Mindy. Permission to podcast / stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE with license #A-724755. All rights reserved.
Cullowhee Baptist Church 
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