The Sunday that has just passed is sometimes known as Good Shepherd Sunday. Our reading from John's gospel is Jesus telling his followers “I am the Good Shepherd”. We thought about that a bit at church reminding ourselves that the Good Shepherd who was prepared to die for us is an example of just how much God loves us.
Sunday just gone is also known as Vocations Sunday. Vocation is simply a word used when we think about God's call on all of us. I believe that God wants all of us to be his ambassadors in this world - acting for him, living for him, loving others because of him. But I think we are quite good at telling ourselves that we are not good enough, not important enough, not valuable enough to be used by God. But surely the references in the gospels to Jesus as the Good Shepherd challenge that way of thinking. The Good Shepherd searches for one lost sheep. The Good Shepherd dies for his sheep. These are an indication that we are important and valuable to God.
Maybe therefore we need to accept that we all have a part to play for God in this world. And I hope we can accept that these parts are all different because we are different. No less valuable, no less important, just different to other people. And God wants all of us to respond to his call and be his ambassadors on earth.
In the words of poet Gerard Kelly:
Fit me in somewhere
in this giant jigsaw, God,
somewhere in this work of art
you're working,
select a space my shape can fill
and with a puzzle maker's skill
let my contours find their fit without contortion.
Teach me which patch I am, God,
in the cosmic quilt you're quilting.
Show me where my square of selfhood is of use.
Let the colourful complexities
of the pattern that is me
find their purpose in the placement that you choose.
Show me my position, God,
in this group photograph.
Stand me where you want me to stand.
Put me next to who you will.
Make me stand, for good or ill,
precisely in the place your plan demands.
Tell me what I am, God,
in this body you are building;
a tongue to taste,
a nerve to serve,
an ear to hear.
Give me grace
to not be, gracefully,
the parts I am not called to be
and to play with elegance
the roles I'm given.
Fit me in somewhere
in this giant jigsaw, God,
somewhere in this work of art you're working.
Weave your wondrous tapestry
until the twisted, tangled threads of me,
surrendered to your artistry,
form an image that is beautiful to see.
Gerard Kelly “Spoken Worship: Living Words for Personal and Public Prayer”