April 26, 2026 (Fourth Sunday of Easter - Good Shepherd Sunday) - Bishop DeDe Duncan-Probe

Come, Holy Spirit, give us ears to hear you and courageous hearts to respond. Amen.

Well, I don't know if it's a shadow foreshadowing, but that clang you heard was my crozier falling and breaking. So anyhow—but you know, I kind of feel good about it, because some of my colleagues have had three or four croziers that have broken. I've had that one for ten years, so I feel kind of like that wasn't so bad.

But anyway, it is a joy to be with you and to be your bishop. But I'll tell you, on this Shepherd Sunday, what a joy to talk about Jesus being the Good Shepherd. It is an image that I think is deep within us in some way. Whether you are a shepherd, know a shepherd, have never met a shepherd, or haven't even seen a sheep lately, there's something about this imagery of Jesus being our shepherd that is comforting—especially in these times when there's so little that is comforting, in a time when there's so much happening in our world that's driving us apart—to talk about us coming together in safety.

Now, this passage—it would be wrong to talk about this passage and not name that for centuries, for a long, long time, it has been used in an anti-Semitic way. It has been talked about as if the Jewish people failed. But I want to talk instead about more the true meaning of it, to talk about what it is that happens in our lives when we affirm Jesus as our shepherd.

That when we turn our eyes to Jesus instead of all of what the world offers us—I mean, what the world wants you to know, right, is you're not enough. If you were taller, skinnier, smarter, faster, stronger, whiter—we have to name white supremacy and racism—if you were different, you would be okay. And so somebody can sell you something or help you with something so that you could be acceptable.

And those things that have gone before, those messages of negativity and exclusion and dehumanization and the weary beating down of the human condition—those are wrong voices. In the voice of Jesus, we are all blessed by God and honored, and the grace of who we are is God's beloved people.

God creates you, sustains you, and delivers you. God delights in you.

Think about God delighting in who you authentically are and how wrong the world's voices are.

And this gate—we often think about it as keeping out. And in this passage, it seems to talk about keeping out, even though it talks about the gate opening either way. But when we walk through the gate and become part of what God is doing, we are in a safe space. God is our shepherd.

And I think even before we walk through the gate, God is walking with us. You may remember a time in your life when you weren't aware of God at all, or where you thought that was for somebody else, but then you had this sense of something—that God is always with us, calling us, healing us, redeeming us, sometimes when we don't even know it.

And in people around us, seeing one another—the goodness of God in others.

I was reminded recently of a time in my life where I was in the hospital, and I was very nervous about something, and I was praying and I was reading scripture, but it just wasn't quite connecting. And then a dear friend came to the hospital and walked through the door. And as soon as I saw her face, all my anxiety and all my fear just went away. That connection with another person who cared about me, that connection with somebody who saw me for who I am.

And I wonder for you if you've had that experience before—if you've had someone see and recognize who you are, and if you have felt your belovedness, your goodness, if you have felt that you are a whole person, that God loves all of us.

In this time, with so much that's happening in our world, we need to know the goodness of God.

Recently, I had the honor of going to the Holy Land in January, and I bring greetings from our siblings there. And we need to remember and pray for them, because all that we hear in the news is not the story—the faithfulness, the kindness, the generosity. It is humbling to meet people in Ramallah, to go to a church, and the first thing they said to us is, “We thought y’all had forgotten us. We thought you had forgotten us.”

We are all called to remember—to be called to the memory of knowing God loves us and loves all of us.

Now, today, we are here for this wonderful opportunity to talk about Jesus being the Good Shepherd. And what does that mean for you? Think for a moment in your own life. What does it mean that God is your Good Shepherd? What is that like for you? Is it something that's easy to access? Is it something that means comfort? Or is it something that calls you into a larger understanding of who you are?

In this moment, we're going to have what are called pastoral offices, because I'm here and I'm very happy to get to confirm and receive—and walk with people—as in your ministry. This is the fruit of your ministry. This opportunity to raise up and to confirm and receive people into the kingdom of God—people who bring with them all the blessedness of who they are and are now part of this community, and inhabit and bless this community with their journey.

People who are confirming their baptismal covenant to be full partners with you in ministry and faith.

And so I ask you to look at your bulletin for a minute where it says Baptismal Covenant. Anyone who knows me isn’t surprised that I’m just asking you about this. I think the baptismal covenant is how we resist and how we’re resilient in a world that dehumanizes, harms, and is so intent on tearing down.

The baptismal covenant are the promises and the commitments we're making to who we will be in God. And it's a covenant, like a marriage or any other vow we take, that has substance to it.

So we start off talking about whom we’re making the vow with—that we’re in a sacramental relationship with God the Father, the creator of all, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

And then, because we’re in that covenantal relationship:

Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in the prayers?
Will you be the people of God and continue this mission and ministry with Peter and James and John?
Will you be the living embodiment of the people of God today?

And we say, “With God’s help, we will.” Because we need God’s help for these things.

And then when we’ve said that we will be the Church of God, we ask for forgiveness of our sins.

And I want to talk—this is where our gospel today, the reading, and this baptismal covenant dance together a bit.

What does it mean? What is the evil of this day?

Think for a minute about the evil of this day. I think one of the evils of this day is our certainty that we’re right about everything. Just ask us—we know they’re wrong, we’re right.

We’re human right now—we’re probably all in conflict with somebody. And if those people would just change their mind, we could get along fine. It has nothing to do with us. It’s not because we’re wrong—it’s because they’re wrong, and they have the wrong idea, right?

Our certainty about our rightness at times is our biggest evil.

Because what we need to know is that we are sinners saved by grace, and that it’s more important that we learn to get along and we stand up for people who are being harmed than it is that we’re right. Our rightness is what gets in our way of God’s goodness.

And so we’re called to lay that down.

And that can especially be where we think we’re not good enough. I talk with so many people right now who feel like they’re inadequate or not enough, or if they were just different, or if something were different about their life, that they could really follow Jesus then.

And that is wrongheaded thinking.

You have all that you need to be all that you are, because God is all that you need.

And so this baptismal covenant we make—it builds on itself. So we’re going to lay those things down that get in our way of living for Jesus. And then when we’ve done that, then we can be an example of God.

Then we can really get embarrassed. Have you ever done this? You call somebody and you’re thinking of them and you say, “I’ve been praying for you.” And then as soon as you say the words, you think, “Oh boy.” You feel kind of like maybe you shouldn’t be saying these things—but to tell people you’re praying for them or that you care about them, to be positive in a world that values negativity.

The world thinks that greed is good and revenge is sweet, and we’re about forgiveness and healing and restoration and peace. It can feel awkward at first.

And only when we are repentant and willing to take that risk—only when we live as people of God—can we then seek and serve Christ in all persons. Only then can we honor the true dignity of one another, because only then are we ready for it.

And so every day we get up and we start over, and we begin again. And we say, today—today is the day. Today I’m going to focus in on loving others, to serve Jesus and one another. I’m going to write the letter. I’m going to advocate for the change. And I’m not going to live in fear anymore.

Fear has us bound, so much so that we’re afraid to speak.

And so my prayer for all of us is that we will, in fact, speak—speak up and talk about God, our Good Shepherd.

And so what does it mean that God is the Good Shepherd of your life as it is today—with the challenges you’re facing, with the things that are happening for you in your life?

What would it be like if today, instead of being afraid—if instead of being afraid—we had that confidence that Jesus is with us?

We are all called to seek and serve Christ in all persons, to love one another, and to be agents of love.

And sometimes that means saying no. Sometimes it means standing up and being in a space and saying, “Enough is enough.” To believe that God in us is greater than the challenge before us.

And so, dear friends in Christ, I want to affirm in this moment that we are called to be God’s people with our Good Shepherd—to be guided by the love and mercy of God, not the greed and the revenge of this world; to be guided by the belovedness of God, not the racism and hardheartedness of this world.

And those places within us that need healing—that we hold those before God and in vulnerability with one another—that all of us will be part of this ongoing mercy and grace and healing of God in this time.

My prayer is that we will be the Church. I think the world is waiting for us to stand up and to know who we are and to be who we are.

May we be the Body of Christ. May we follow our Good Shepherd, and may we know resurrection and the power of God’s resurrection in this time.

Amen.