May 3, 2009 Message

1 John 3:16-24; John 10:11-18
“Life Laid Down” or “Church Camp and Shepherds”

What does church camp and the Good Shepherd have in common? And how are our images of camp like those of the Good Shepherd? Is it that both are rather “up close” and personal – and that in both we are able to discover God’s love first hand and learn we are never in this – whatever this is – alone.

1 John says, “(Jesus) laid down his life for us… (and we should do the same). Verse 23 is the ‘kicker’ – we “should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ AND love one another.” The author of of this letter doesn’t make it easy for its readers, does he? We learned last week we are to be like Christ and now this week he says we are to love one another. In 1 John 3:16-24 the measure of love is sacrificing oneself for another. It isn’t necessarily a literal death, but self-sacrifice in a much different way. Who is it we say we “love” but then live in a way that proves us liars and hypocrites? Is it strangers we sacrifice for or is it those we know best, our family and perhaps, our friends. Does that really make us like Christ who gave his life for all people, even those yet to be ‘brothers and sisters?’ When we follow God’s example we need to remember that what we do is not just for us but for others - even those who are not yet our brothers and sisters.

Both church camp and the Good Shepherd help us to find direction when our lives are in transition, when things seems to be changing, and the future appears uncertain. When you are younger, uncertain of where you are going – it’s good to be guided in the right direction, whether it’s at camp or under the watchful eyes of a ‘Good Shepherd.’ And we need to be able to trust that the One who started us on the pathway in the first place is with us on the journey, and can be relied upon to complete in us his good purposes for our lives. In that sense our experience at church camp and the Good Shepherd are very much alike. Christ’s love is experienced in both.

Both church camp and the Good Shepherd teach us what it means to be a Christian community. (“I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.”) His voice, Christ’s voice - the Good Shepherd’s voice, is the one we listen to, right? Anyway it’s the one that should lead us… if we are truly his. It is his way of living that becomes our way of living, right? It’s what we do then that defines us as Christians.

The readings today also challenge us to consider: What does it mean to be a Christian community? How do we know we're heading in the right direction? What's important and what's not? 1 John 3: 18 says, “…let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.” “All who obey (Jesus’) commandments (to love one another)… abide in him, and he abides in them.”

The author of 1 John is telling us to claim the gospel and apply it to our situation. He says, “Don't be afraid. Listen, little children, we know what love is, because Jesus defined it for us by laying down his life for us. That's the standard Jesus sets for us, that's where we find life.” It’s in the giving of our selves (self-sacrifice) for others – for our family and friends, and yes even for those yet to become our brothers and sisters.

And when we can do that - to actually go beyond talking about love to doing it. And when we do that we will be on the right track, won’t we? We will be living the way of Christ, following the lead of the Good Shepherd when our love puts others first. When that becomes our way to life, we become God's people.

Some would say that is what actually matters about being the Church - the connection between loving God and our caring for one another. We do it by being involved, by being, not just a collection of individuals looking out for ourselves but a community together looking out for one another. Nothing teaches that better, I think, than church camp.

Do you know what makes it all happen at church camp, when it does happen – campers experiencing and practicing God’s love for one another? It isn’t the campers. It isn’t the counselors. And it isn’t the food! God provides us with the Holy Spirit to make it all happen. And the Holy Spirit is a camper at heart! When people go to camp and get away from all the other things that fill up their lives, they often discover prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit to make us into different people – even people who can love one another… to be there for one another… to set aside the fears… and to trust in the Lord, the Good Shepherd who leads us in paths of righteousness where we can become a decent person, always, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Church camp and the Good Shepherd are where God’s love can be found, where selfless community is found, and where the power of the Holy Spirit is ever working to transform us. “And by this we know that God is with us.” Let us pray…