4th Sunday of Easter – May 10, 2025

On this Sunday, we focus on shepherds, lambs, and sheep as the image of the divine-human relationship. It also happens – through an oddity of the lectionary calendar – that today is Mother’s Day. And while I don’t normally celebrate Mother’s Day in church because there are people who have mothers who shouldn’t be celebrated, I do want to draw a connection. Today, we give thanks for mothers – or perhaps better stated, the women who have shaped our lives spiritually and intellectually, if not biologically. Whether living or deceased, we give thanks for our good ancestors (or good ancestors in the making) who have provided guidance and inspiration and provided a direction for our lives.

While we hear a lot about shepherds, lambs, and sheep, the themes for today are mortality, miracles, and the large scope of salvation. Today’s readings are filled with possibilities and questions. How can we navigate the miraculous resuscitation of Dorcas in this age of scientific method? Can faith not only move mountains but also raise the dead? What gives us the power to confront the inevitable, necessary losses and challenges of life? What enables us to journey through the valley of the shadow of death, when there is no way around it and to live with our fear, terror, panic, and anxiety, knowing that God has the final word and the good shepherd will guide our path home? Is salvation as limited as the Gospel suggests and yet as infinite as the reading from Revelation asserts? Can grace overcome our unbelief?

The reading from Acts is reminiscent of a Gospel reading about Jairus’ daughter. The two pieces of scripture were likely used in tandem by early Christians to demonstrate the mighty scope of God’s power, active long after Jesus ascended. Jesus promised that we can do greater things, and Acts puts that promise into practice. Like Jairus’ daughter, Tabitha (Dorcas) is presumed to be dead and then awakened with a word from the healer, Peter. In this story, Peter is following in the footsteps of Jesus, performing marvelous acts through the power of God. It’s a marvelous story… but what does it mean to us? I mean, in our lives, the dead don’t just come back to life, especially those who have been dead for significant lengths of time and called “brain dead.” We don’t expect such miraculous events when we pray for healing. It’s not that we lack faith by recognizing the finality of death. We simply can’t defy the predictable laws of nature through our prayers or our faith. And honestly, I don’t think that we’d want zombies amongst us, even if they might come back to life to answer our prayers. Yet, we still pray, knowing even when there cannot be a cure there can be a healing – a sense of peace and wholeness which comes from trusting God in life and death and beyond.

Now, to be clear, miracles – acts of power that transform cells and souls – do occur. Our prayers can help to tip the balance between health and illness, life and death. Our prayers can aid in recovery from illness. But our prayers and their impact appear to occur within an orderly universe, which both limits and inspires. Still, we can pray boldly, trusting God, while  recognizing that some diseases reach a point in which death is the only expectation and the best result. And then, we must pray for healing, a sense of peace and wholeness with God, when a cure is no longer possible.

Although Peter raised Tabitha to life, eventually she died, as did all the New Testament characters. We may pray for a cure but healing is that for which we yearn. We need to trust that nothing – not even death or disability – can separate us from the love of God.

Psalm 23 reminds us that our trust is in God, not in a worry-free life. Peace is the result of God’s presence in all seasons of life, not just in times of apparent success. The writer affirms that he will fear no evil, despite the reality of threats. He knows that he must go THROUGH the valley – not around, under, or above – and live with his fears, successfully journeying because of his confidence in God being with him. God makes a way where there is none; God provides us comfort with what cannot be changed but simply must be endured. Psalm 23 is a source of great consolation to those who reach the end of their efforts. God is with us. Aware of God’s presence, we can find wholeness during the inevitable crises of life. While there isn’t always a cure, there is healing. Healing is the experience of God’s presence – that sense of peace and trust that God is with us even in the darkest valley. It’s the opportunity to trust God’s love when what we face can no longer be fixed or escaped.

The author of Revelation gives us a peek into heaven. He describes the angels, the divine parent, the Lamb of God, the victorious Christ. And – like those who have had near death experiences – he discovers that all the tragedy, terror, and trauma will be healed through the power of God. Those who have died may be lost to us, but they are not lost to God. Because God will wipe away every tear, heal what is broken, and bring wholeness to our wounds. Heavenly hope does not turn us away from the world, but enables us to live courageously when all hope seems to be gone, for no loss is final in light of God’s everlasting love. God’s grace is simply more generous than our limited perspectives, offering salvation even to those who have turned away from God.

John’s Gospel reveals Jesus – and unity with God – as the source of our confidence. Jesus reveals God’s nature to us, and calls us to be his own. Jesus’ sheep are ultimately safe, and their safety lies in their acceptance of God’s vision for them and the world. As much as this passage appears to separate those who hear and those who don’t and exclude those who don’t from God’s love, I’d argue that it isn’t exclusionary. No one is excluded from God’s love, but we experience this love only when we accept the path of Jesus. God gives grace to all, but some may turn away. When we listen to the shepherd’s voice, we are home regardless of our life circumstances. So we are ultimately being urged to wake up and realize that we are in God’s hands, with the option to follow God’s way.

Eternal life is an ongoing thing. And with it, we see surprising bursts of insight. When we experience ourselves in relationship with Christ, we live on earth as if it were heaven. We may still make mistakes. We may still feel anxious. We may still lose our way. But when we listen for and hear God’s voice – like a beloved parent guiding us – we know that we are protected on our journey because Jesus is our companion every step of the way. We can face life and death – and our fears about whatever it is that concerns us – with courage and hope that inspires us to action modeled by Jesus. AND we can trust that there is more beyond our mortal power to change.