Fourth Sunday of Easter 2026, rcl yr a
ACTS 2:42-47; PSALM 23; 1 PETER 2:19-25; JOHN 10:1-10
the sheep follow him because they know his voice
I wish I could feel a bit more confident in Jesus’s assertion that the sheep “will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.”
It may well be true in sheepherding—that any voices other than the voice of the one who cares for the sheep will sound suspicious. And that the sheep will only follow the voice of the true shepherd, the true gate for the sheep; the Good Shepherd that leads us into good pasture, and into the abundance of life; and that the sheep, that we would ignore the voice of the thieving stranger that intends to steal, kill, and destroy. I wish I could feel more confident in Jesus’s assertion that we “will not follow a [thieving] stranger, but [rather that we would] run from him.”
We are overcome by voices, aren’t we. Voices from social media, traditional media, and from the world of politics and the churches—there is no end to the number of voices competing for our attention. And we seem to have difficulty telling the difference between the voices of those who intend to lead us to green pasture, and of those who would lead us elsewhere; we have difficulty telling the difference between the voices
of those interested in the abundance of the life of others, and the voices of those interested in their own enrichment, the increased wealth of their friends, and their own self-importance.
This seems a particular challenge in our own day, because so many of the voices we hear often sound at first as though they are interested in our well-being and the well-being of others, only for us to discover, in time, that they were actually on the take from the start.
When I was away these past weeks, someone pretended to be me, and not for the first time, emailing some of you with the intent to defraud you; young men and boys are lured into the “manosphere” where they are taken advantage of in the form of bad investment advice and toxic masculinities that financially benefit the influencer (see the recent documentary by Louis Theroux, it’s worth your while); not to mention the even larger political manoeuvres of war that appear to be for the sake of freedom, but come with very suspicious-looking investment transactions bringing financial wealth to those in the know. And AI—I do hope for some degree of social benefit from it—but how often is it used to deceive our own eyes for the sake of political or financial gains that are not in the best interests of others.
These are the voices of thieving strangers, strangers with the intent to steal, kill, and destroy, and they are manifold—and we are so often fooled.
How, then, might we hear the voice of the Good Shepherd? How might we know, and learn to recognise, the voice of Jesus in the midst of so many competing voices?
When Jesus says “All who came before me are thieves and bandits,” he says it with some dramatic embellishment, meant for us to pay close attention. But it wouldn’t be fair to the voice of John, nor of Jesus, to be dismissive of, say, Moses and the prophets, or of John the Baptist. These are most certainly trustworthy voices to John and Jesus.
Instead, there’s a good chance that Jesus has Ezekiel 34 in mind here. Where Ezekiel prophesies against the bad shepherds, the false shepherds. And how does Ezekiel identify the bad shepherds? “Woe, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat; you clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatted calves, but you do not feed the sheep. You have not strengthened the weak; you have not healed the sick; you have not bound up the injured; you have not brought back the strays; you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them.” The result of this corrupt leadership, in Ezekiel’s words, is that the sheep become “food for wild animals,” scattered and hunted.
So we can find, here, some ways of learning how discern the good shepherds from the corrupt shepherds: partly, it’s through reading and rereading Scripture, where we find passages like this one in Ezekiel, or in rereading the gospels, listening to Jesus’s voice in the gospels that bear witness to who Jesus is, what he does, and what he says. We learn to listen by listening.
More specifically, though, with the help of Ezekiel 34, we can ask questions of those who would make some claim to be our shepherds, questions like: who will benefit from this message? Will it lead us towards the wealthy growing in yet more wealth? And will that growth in wealth be at the expense of the weak, the sick, the injured, and the lost?If so—these are the voices of the falseshepherds, ones looking out for their own well-being at the cost of vulnerable people; these are voices that speak as though they have the interests of others in mind, while in truth are only looking out for themselves, giving space for predation.
But if that voice is one that would lead us into life and the abundance of life, offering protection to the vulnerable, then we are hearing the voice of a good shepherd, and ultimately, the voice of the one Good Shepherd that Ezekiel looks for, the Shepherd who will banish all the predators from the land, and fill the land with blessing.
This takes discernment, and even perhaps a bit of argument from time to time, as we discern the voices we hear, both in the church and in the world; and perhaps we can take some solace in the fact that Jesus does say—with some confidence!—that we will know the sound of his voice, and that as we know the sound of his voice, the we will run from the voice of the predators.
May it be so for us, for the sake the world God so loves.
I’m going to change gears a bit for the last bit of my sermon. Today (being called Good Shepherd Sunday) is also often a moment to reflect on vocations, often ordained vocations. I think St. John’s is doing quite well with priestly vocations—just look at the last page of the bulletin! (Though if you do feel a tug towards priesthood, perhaps we should have a chat?) Today though I’d rather speak briefly about other vocations—the baptismal vocation of each of us for ministry—and our diaconal vocation.
On baptismal vocation—to me, it’s a good thing to see so much of our ministry here at St. John’s as lay-led. (I’d just highlight though a few places where you might find a place to exercise your ministry: Parish Visitors could use some more people to do visits; Altar Guild could use a few more hands; and we will soon need someone to coordinate our readers and those who pray the Prayers of the People as André steps down in the coming weeks. You might be the one we need.)
I would like to plug though, with some special intention, the Community Kitchen Co-op. This is, at the moment, the umbrella for St. John’s involvement and support of food security and community food-sharing in our region. Many of you have come to the community dinners, but its work goes well beyond that, taking a creative approach to food security both through teaching cooking and acting as a food distribution hub. I would like to see this grow, and be even more well-supported by us. It is very much a way that we can take part in the ministry of the Good Shepherd, and to be a voice calling us, and others, into the safety and security of green pastures.
It’s also, though, a diaconal ministry. Anglicans (as with so many other things) have our own way of ‘being a deacon’; it’s partly liturgical, and includes preparing the altar and reading the gospel. But it is also a vocation of reaching out into the world—the key Biblical text for us is the one where deacons are described as ones chosen from the community to devote themselves to the distribution of food—hence, for us, the eucharistic ministry of the deacon in serving at the altar, but a vocation that also takesshape in care for the world, especially the food security of those who are neglected.
Now the church can have a diaconal ministry (like the Community Co-op) without a deacon. But it does make me wonder, what if we had a deacon who would serve the church at the altar, and our community more broadly perhaps through the co-op? Someone to energize each of us in our own ministries of service? It is certainly worth your prayers, and mine.
For now, though, let us give thanks for the Good Shepherd, and for the opportunity to grow in his ministry—let us give thanks for the voice that calls each of us into good pasture; let us give thanks that there is one we can trust, that there is one who calls us not into death and destruction, that there is rather one who has defeated death that we might have an abundance of life—the Jesus who is chosen by the Father to be raised from the dead, that we might live the life of the Spirit now, and in the world to come.
Angus Sinclair was appointed Director of Music of St. John the Evangelist on February 1, 2023. Having graduated in 1981 (Honours B.Mus.) in organ performance from Wilfrid Laurier University, he went on to distinguish himself as a church musician, recitalist and accompanist touring in both Canada and the UK. For over 40 years Angus has served parishes and congregations throughout Southwestern Ontario as director of music. He experiences his present appointment to St. John’s as a welcome homecoming, both spiritually and musically.
As our parish musician, he provides both support and leadership so that a variety of parish programs can find musical expression and attract participation. When our handbell choir is in season, he is one of our ringers. At parish dinners, he provides popular piano music for the guests to dine by. For both worship services and concerts, he will rehearse and accompany vocal and instrumental soloists from our congregation on piano, organ, or even accordion.
Angus Sinclair was appointed Director of Music of St. John the Evangelist on February 1, 2023. Having graduated in 1981 (Honours B.Mus.) in organ performance from Wilfrid Laurier University, he went on to distinguish himself as a church musician, recitalist and accompanist touring in both Canada and the UK. For over 40 years Angus has served parishes and congregations throughout Southwestern Ontario as director of music. He experiences his present appointment to St. John’s as a welcome homecoming, both spiritually and musically.