Sermon - My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me.

Jorge Cocco Santángelo, The Good Shepherd, 2017

A sermon given during Sung Holy Communion at St Olave Hart Street at 11am on Sunday 11th May 2025 (Easter 4, Year C) based on readings from Acts 9.36-end and John 10.22-30. The service was followed by the Annual Parish Meeting.

“My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me.”

After this service, we will gather for the annual meeting of this parish. A time to look back on the year past and look forward to the year ahead. 

It’s a moment for some very necessary formal business. Many people have been working hard behind the scenes for several months to prepare all the minutes, the electoral roll, accounts and reports. From my time as a churchwarden - part of which was also during a period without a Rector - I know how much work is needed by so many people to get everything prepared and printed in time. So a huge thank you to everyone who has been involved in arrangements for the meeting here this year.

On Thursday I assisted at a special service to mark the eightieth anniversary of VE Day, where we were joined by the Archdeacon of London. He asked me to pass on his thanks to all of you who contribute to the life of this parish in so many ways. 

It is amazing to think that on that first VE Day – only eighty years ago - just the arches and the tower of this church were standing, amidst the rubble of the City of London and the Port beyond. And look at it today.

A monument to the community spirit that the King spoke about on Thursday, which was so vital in rebuilding not just this church and this city, but our nation. A communal spirit at work that is almost miraculous and has acquired legendary status. 

While the formal business of today’s annual meeting is absolutely vital, it also offers us the opportunity to reflect on what it means to be this spirit-filled community of people who have promised to follow Jesus faithfully - in the here and now. What does it mean for us to be this church today? What does it mean for us individually and together as a community to be agents of God’s transforming love in the world? 

The scriptures this morning provide us with ample inspiration.

The Acts of the Apostles offers an insight into the early church as our forebears sought to listen to the voice of Jesus through the work of the Spirit, after his resurrection and ascension.

The short passage from Acts we hear today is rich in detail on what a small group of Christians who gathered in the port town of Joppa thought what Jesus was saying in that moment - and where his voice was leading them.

The account opens with the death of Tabitha – or Dorcas - about whom all we know comes from these few sentences. Tabitha was not the only woman to be a follower of Jesus, but is the only woman mentioned in the New Testament to be named as a disciple. 

Perhaps she was a sort of Clothworker – or maybe a Clothier would be a more accurate guess. The truth is, we know nothing about Tabitha’s position or status in the community - which modern-day guild she might have belonged to, for instance. All we are told is of her good works and acts of charity; her compassion for the marginalised. One way she expressed this, it seems, is by making tunics and clothing that she distributed to the poor and those in need, especially to widows.

After her death, which seems to have deeply affected the church to which she belonged, all the widows that Tabitha had served had come to pay their respects, gathering around her body laid in an upper room. 

The church sends two of their number to seek out the apostle Peter, who they have heard is staying in a nearby town. ‘Come to us without delay’, they plead. 

We don’t know what they expected him to do. But the fact that they decided to send for him might suggest that Tabitha’s compassion was something shared by the wider community – perhaps they sought help and guidance from Peter to minister to the great multitude now gathered to mourn her death? Again, we can only guess. 

Peter arrives and, sending the crowds outside of the room, kneels down and prays next to Tabitha’s body. And, in a scene that reflects the raising of Jairus’s daughter by Jesus - described in the gospel of Mark - Peter raises Tabitha from the dead. A miraculous act that led to people from all over the region to come to believe in the power of the Risen Lord.

In this short passage we glimpse a Christian community that cares for its own members as well as those beyond the church, opening its doors to all. A people following Jesus by reflecting the example of his loving service to the poor, the marginalised and those who mourn. We see a commitment to prayer and trust in the power of God to work beyond our understanding. And, we are told, that by following Jesus in this way, the faithful increased in number. The church grew. 

In our gospel reading, Jesus reiterates this truth of our faith - our identity as a church - at a broader scale. That his followers may be known by reflecting Him in their lives as he reflected the will of God in his.

While walking in the colonnades of the temple, a popular meeting place at the time, Jesus is questioned by a crowd who are sceptical that he is the Messiah. He replies:

“I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep.” 

And, he continues:

“My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.”

Jesus’s followers are those who actively hear and respond to his call. People who respond to the knowledge that we are known - we are loved - by God. 

And because none of us can predict or control the work of the Spirit – how we may hear the voice of Jesus today - our task is to make space for and be ready to respond to others when they encounter it.

To use all the assets at our disposal to reach out to make connections to those who live, work and visit the streets of this great City beyond these rebuilt walls. To open our doors and be ready to receive with open arms those yet to hear the still small voice, those nudged through the door by it and those who burst in like a whirlwind driven by a dramatic revelation of God’s love.

The fellowship group that Alex established, the service of Choral Evensong that Colin and the choir lead and the refreshments afterwards, all offer new ways to share our living faith with others. As do our more established activities – our community choir, concert series, work to support the homeless and of course our regular weekly services.

In our gospel reading, Jesus was speaking in the context of conflict and scepticism about the Good News he embodies. Many of us have grown up in a similar age. But things are changing. At our Tuesday lunchtime service this week, a young professional working nearby told me how he had been reading the writings of C.S.Lewis and had begun to consider becoming baptised.

He is not the only one. Nationally, there is now talk of what is being called a ‘Quiet Revival’. An renewed openness to exploring the call of the Holy Spirit emerging now amongst younger generations who have not been raised in Christian families. News that flies in the face of the narrative of decline that is peddled by so many – including some within the church itself.

There is so much here in this place to share with those who are called in this way, and so much we can learn from them. As together we grow this family of faithful agents of the Spirit at work in this City.  A collective act that has the potential to be even more miraculous and legendary than the rebuilding of this church eighty years ago. 

Of course, with more time and resources there is always more that can be done. So let us pray earnestly for that Quiet Revival to continue and for each of us to play an active part in it. Beginning by listening again for the voice of our Good Shepherd, who called each of us here. And giving thanks that we are.

“My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.”

Image - JorgeCocco Santángelo, The Good Shepherd