WEBVTT 00:00:05.929 --> 00:00:08.689 Kia ora and welcome to the St. Francis Church 00:00:08.689 --> 00:00:11.490 Sermon Podcast. We're so glad that you've joined 00:00:11.490 --> 00:00:14.789 us. Our prayer is that as you listen, you would 00:00:14.789 --> 00:00:17.690 encounter God's presence, be refreshed in your 00:00:17.690 --> 00:00:20.429 faith and equipped for everyday life with Jesus. 00:00:21.070 --> 00:00:24.129 As a church, we are learning to faithfully follow 00:00:24.129 --> 00:00:27.739 Jesus by practicing His way at His pace. For 00:00:27.739 --> 00:00:30.760 more info about who we are and what God is doing 00:00:30.760 --> 00:00:36.500 among us, head to stfrancis .co .nz. Grace and 00:00:36.500 --> 00:00:45.359 peace. Morning, everybody. Several years ago, 00:00:45.460 --> 00:00:49.159 I went to Queenstown on the South Island, and 00:00:49.159 --> 00:00:52.479 my most vivid memory was when I went to the other 00:00:52.479 --> 00:00:55.700 side of the lake to see a shepherd rounding up 00:00:55.700 --> 00:00:59.679 his sheep. And I've been a city boy all my life, 00:00:59.799 --> 00:01:02.259 so I was intrigued by the special connection 00:01:02.259 --> 00:01:05.140 that there was between the shepherd and the sheep 00:01:05.140 --> 00:01:09.859 that he was caring for. In today's reading, Christ's 00:01:09.859 --> 00:01:12.019 presentation of himself as the good shepherd 00:01:12.019 --> 00:01:16.140 would have had a special resonance for him. He 00:01:16.140 --> 00:01:20.040 was from the line of David, a shepherd. He would 00:01:20.040 --> 00:01:22.719 have been told by his parents that among the 00:01:22.719 --> 00:01:26.140 first people to greet his birth were the shepherds. 00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:31.620 In describing himself as the good shepherd, Jesus 00:01:31.620 --> 00:01:35.200 presented to his listeners and to us a model 00:01:35.200 --> 00:01:40.760 of leadership. And Jesus contrasts with the person 00:01:40.760 --> 00:01:43.900 for whom leading or shepherding is just a job, 00:01:43.980 --> 00:01:48.519 who cares nothing for the sheep themselves. And 00:01:48.519 --> 00:01:51.099 so Jesus points to the trap that we can fall 00:01:51.099 --> 00:01:55.659 into, that leadership can become routine, detached. 00:01:56.650 --> 00:02:02.189 and superficial. And Jesus presents two key qualities 00:02:02.189 --> 00:02:06.810 of leadership. One is the leader as servant. 00:02:08.150 --> 00:02:13.870 Jesus says, I came that they may have life and 00:02:13.870 --> 00:02:17.870 have it abundantly. The good shepherd lays down 00:02:17.870 --> 00:02:24.610 his life for the sheep. The second quality is 00:02:24.610 --> 00:02:29.030 to recognize and cherish the individual worth 00:02:29.030 --> 00:02:35.889 of everyone in our care. Jesus calls his own 00:02:35.889 --> 00:02:41.469 sheep by name and leads them out. When he has 00:02:41.469 --> 00:02:45.530 brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them. 00:02:46.009 --> 00:02:50.050 And the sheep follow him because they know his 00:02:50.050 --> 00:02:55.139 voice. I think it's unlikely that any of us here 00:02:55.139 --> 00:02:58.460 today would actually be shepherds to real sheep 00:02:58.460 --> 00:03:02.020 out in the countryside. But we are all called 00:03:02.020 --> 00:03:05.259 to be shepherds in the symbolic sense of serving 00:03:05.259 --> 00:03:11.020 and caring for others. We have a duty to shepherd 00:03:11.020 --> 00:03:14.139 our individual lives so that the life can be 00:03:14.139 --> 00:03:17.960 as best as it possibly could be. We're also called 00:03:17.960 --> 00:03:20.740 to be shepherds to those, especially the vulnerable, 00:03:21.580 --> 00:03:26.060 who are placed in our care. Could be our children, 00:03:26.300 --> 00:03:32.379 our grandchildren, our friends, our neighbours, 00:03:32.620 --> 00:03:39.479 classmates, pupils, parishioners, patients at 00:03:39.479 --> 00:03:43.939 the hospital, clients, customers, work colleagues. 00:03:45.620 --> 00:03:49.939 This ANZAC weekend, we remember all those good 00:03:49.939 --> 00:03:53.180 shepherds who offered, and in too many cases, 00:03:53.280 --> 00:03:57.580 sacrificed their lives for us, for our country, 00:03:57.740 --> 00:04:01.780 the common good. One of the most memorable films 00:04:01.780 --> 00:04:06.419 that I've seen is the film Hacksaw Ridge. It 00:04:06.419 --> 00:04:09.419 tells the true story of the American Desmond 00:04:09.419 --> 00:04:14.379 Doss. Desmond's mother raised him as a devout 00:04:14.379 --> 00:04:20.339 Christian. In 1942, after Pearl Harbor, He entered 00:04:20.339 --> 00:04:24.199 military service as he had to, but he refused 00:04:24.199 --> 00:04:27.579 to carry a weapon into combat because of his 00:04:27.579 --> 00:04:32.819 belief in the sanctity of human life. In 1945, 00:04:33.139 --> 00:04:37.740 he served in Okinawa against the Japanese. Among 00:04:37.740 --> 00:04:41.279 his many acts of bravery, he single -handedly 00:04:41.279 --> 00:04:45.660 rescued around 75 men who would otherwise have 00:04:45.660 --> 00:04:50.209 been left to die in the field. And when he reached 00:04:50.209 --> 00:04:53.970 each of those men, he would call out his name, 00:04:54.189 --> 00:04:59.069 and they would recognize his voice, even when 00:04:59.069 --> 00:05:03.209 they couldn't see him. His faith drove him to 00:05:03.209 --> 00:05:08.009 love them, each of them, without reserve. Having 00:05:08.009 --> 00:05:12.129 rescued one after another, he kept praying, Lord, 00:05:12.329 --> 00:05:19.680 help me get one more, just one more. In my own 00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:23.360 far less heroic life, I think of the times when 00:05:23.360 --> 00:05:27.980 I've had to exercise leadership. I reflect there 00:05:27.980 --> 00:05:30.379 were times when in the face of competing pressures, 00:05:30.620 --> 00:05:35.639 I simply wanted to get the task done. But I also 00:05:35.639 --> 00:05:38.920 found that people responded best when I took 00:05:38.920 --> 00:05:45.920 the time just to be there for them, to encourage 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:51.670 and support them. as individuals. And my job 00:05:51.670 --> 00:05:54.250 was much more fulfilling and beneficial when 00:05:54.250 --> 00:05:58.550 I did so. And I've been the beneficiary of good 00:05:58.550 --> 00:06:01.870 shepherding from very dear people in my family, 00:06:01.990 --> 00:06:07.290 in my workplace, and thank you, in this church. 00:06:08.810 --> 00:06:14.750 Pope Francis said, all family life is a shepherding 00:06:14.750 --> 00:06:20.870 in mercy. Each of us, by our love and care, leaves 00:06:20.870 --> 00:06:25.550 a mark on the life of others. Each of those who 00:06:25.550 --> 00:06:30.170 live with us merits complete attention, since 00:06:30.170 --> 00:06:35.009 he or she possesses infinite dignity as an object 00:06:35.009 --> 00:06:40.930 of the Father's immense love. And as we now listen 00:06:40.930 --> 00:06:43.850 to a song about the Good Shepherd, let us rejoice 00:06:43.850 --> 00:06:47.300 in the presence of Christ. the good shepherd, 00:06:47.480 --> 00:06:50.800 and all those good shepherds that he has sent 00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:55.800 in our way. And let us take heart for the times 00:06:55.800 --> 00:06:59.439 when we have been good shepherds to others, serving 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:01.699 them and caring for them.