View today's sermon on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDYR-rfiJJs

Psalm 23

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2     God makes me lie down in green pastures; God leads me beside still waters;

3     God restores my soul. God leads me in paths of righteousness for God’s name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long. 

Acts 9:36-43

36 Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. 37 At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter got up and went with them, and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40 Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. 41 He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. 42 This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 Meanwhile, he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.

John 10:22-30

22 At that time the Festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah,[c] tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me, 26 but you do not believe because you do not belong to my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, in regard to what he has given me, is greater than all,[d] and no one can snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”

May 11, 2025 – Mother’s Day – Fourth Sunday of Easter

Psalm 23, Acts 9:36-43, John 10:22-30

Rev. TJ Mack – Union Congregational Church of Hancock

I am privileged to have known a dear woman named Mary Bok. When I first met her she lived on the outskirts of Camden on a farm with a flock of sheep and a donkey named Jonathan and a dog named Surely. Of course I thought her dog was Shirley, S-H-I-R-L-E-Y but then I learned that when Mary’s husband Tony died she determined that she would get three dogs. She would name them Surely, Goodness, and Mercy and they would follow her all the days of her life. Mary had a beautiful sense of humor – and a great faith.

Another person of great faith and creativity is my friend John McCarthy. He was part of the  Moravian Church family that Pat and I belonged to in Madison, Wisconsin. Shortly after John heeded the call to attend seminary – in the midst of a successful career as a visual artist – John wrote a Mother’s Day sermon on Psalm 23. It was divinely inspired and it was simple. John wondered about substituting the word Mom in the text of the 23rd Psalm. 

My Mom is my shepherd, I shall not want. 

Our Mom’s provide… food, water, protection, comfort… 

It is unusual when a sermon can be remembered later on the day it is heard, or later that week, but decades later… it is remarkable when a sermon still resonates. 

We all need a shepherd. Some of us are fortunate enough to have a Mom that fits this mold. Birth Moms. Adoptive Moms. Foster Moms Chosen Moms. I pray that it is true for you, that there is at least one someone in your life that is, or was, life-giving and life-sustaining for you.

And that you are that someone for another. Birth Mom. Adoptive Mom. Foster Mom. Chosen Mom. 

Psalm 23 is one of the best known texts of our Holy Scriptures. 

Our three biblical texts that we heard this week all have interplay, although the connections are not necessarily obvious. In Psalm 23 we are brought back to the most basic of Sunday School lessons. Jesus is our shepherd. We know his voice. He knows our names. We are provided for, protected, nourished. We are not left alone to face the dangers of this world. 

This passage is in the hearts of so many of our elder generations. Memorized at an early age. Recited by heart. Prayed at funerals and memorial services our whole lives long. Maybe at some point we stopped hearing the depth of the promises if or when the words became too familiar.

In my study bible footnotes I am instructed that the words of verse 6: “Surely goodness and mercy…” can be translated as “Only goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life...” (You know what that means? My friend only would have needed to get two dogs!)

Also, I never realized until this week that in verse 3, the words, “God restores my soul.” can alternately be translated as “God restores my life.” Which is a lovely segue to our passage from the Acts of the Apostles.

This passage, presumed to be written by the author of Luke’s Gospel, may bring to mind our celebration three weeks ago when we so jubilantly proclaimed, Christ is risen! Christ is risen, indeed! This morning we read an account of another resurrection story. What? Why? Didn’t God, through Jesus, already prove their point? Perhaps Tabitha was used to quell the rising doubts of those disciples 2,000 years ago, and to quell our rising doubts. Doubts that are part of our human nature, which is to question that which we cannot fully explain. Or perhaps Tabitha was used to remind us that resurrection was not only for Jesus. Resurrection is for all of us. When we die it is not the end, it is a beginning. 

How was this possible? Our text points to the power of prayer. Now, I cannot promise you that your loved ones will receive this gift of physical resurrection if only you pray the way Jesus prayed, or the way Peter prayed. But I can tell you that I believe in the gift of spiritual resurrection for each and every one of us. I do not fully comprehend it, but I do believe it. 

Our third scripture for this morning, from the Gospel of John, connects us back to the 23rd Psalm and to Tabitha in the Acts of the Apostles. Again back to that early Sunday School lesson.  “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” And then, Jesus’ next words in this text testify to the promise of resurrection.  In verse 28 Jesus says, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.” So many of us have trouble believing this, internalizing this. Perhaps we believed it yesterday but not today. Perhaps we believe it now but will soon come to doubt it. Perhaps we think it is all just a bunch of malarky; a crutch for the weak. 

I suggest that we consider that believing is not as important as belonging. I tell you every week that it is okay to doubt. You are welcome here whether or not you believe in God, believe in Jesus, believe in the Holy Spirit. And I mean it. This scripture does not say what or if the disciples of Jesus believed, it says they belonged. When the religious authorities gathered around Jesus and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus responded, 26 … you do not believe because you do not belong…”  

One of my favorite theologians, Debie Thomas, wrote, “Sheep know their shepherd because they are his; they walk, graze, feed and sleep in his shadow, beneath his rod and staff, within constant earshot of his voice. They believe because they have surrendered to his care, his authority, his leadership, and his guidance. There is no belonging from the outside; Christianity is not a spectator sport.  Belong, Jesus says. Consent to belong.  Belief will follow.”

What do our three scriptures have in common this morning? Belonging. We belong to Jesus, our good shepherd. We belong in community with one another. We belong to God in this life and the next. 

Amen

Rev. TJ Mack – May 11, 2025