Homily preached at the 18.00hrs Zoom Evening Prayer Service. (Login details on the St. Paul’s website) Fr. Leonard

Wednesday 6th May – Fr Leonard Dolan

 

On Sunday in our Anglican tradition the theme for the 4^th Sunday of Easter focuses on the powerful and well known theme of the Shepherd. This theme is always linked to one of the Sundays in Easter, and sometimes it spreads over two Sundays – it depends which year we are in because our Sunday readings are on a three year cycle. It is a great image of the Christ who is our chief pastor.

The metaphor runs through a lot of normal church language. We speak of pastors, the Latin word for a shepherd. Even the word congregation comes from the Latin greges meaning a sheep. When priests are ordained that same image is used of a shepherd/sheep relationship as we are exhorted to place the image of the Good Shepherd before us – the Bonus Pastor.

It is a beautiful teaching from Christ – I am the Good Shepherd.

In the Orthodox tradition the same Sunday has a different focus. The second Sunday after Pascha is the Sunday of the Myrrh Bearers των Μυρόφερων. This is also a very beautiful theme, and one that isn’t given enough attention in the Anglican tradition. It tells of those women who came to Joseph of Arimathea’s garden to tend the body of Christ in the tomb. This couldn’t be done on the day of the burial, because it was both Sabbath and Passover.

Each of the gospels supplies different details about these faithful women. In total there are 8 that the Orthodox tradition names – Mary of Magdala, Mary (the Theotokos), Joanna, Salome, Mary the wife of Cleopas, Susanna, Mary of Bethany, and Martha of Bethany. All women who had been close to Christ, who had ministered to him in life, or who had received from him a ministry of compassion. One of them had of course brought expensive perfumed gum to anoint Christ’s feet at Bethany, a sign that was used to foretell death, and which resonates with one of the gifts brought by the Magi to the crib of Christ.

Two scenes are brought to mind. In one it is the bucolic image of the shepherd and the sheep; in the other the garden scene of women bringing the spices and ointments necessary to tend Christ’s body, the last thing that could be done to honour an earthly life.

At first glance it may be a challenge to see how the two can be associated, but I believe they can. The word that can connect the two quite distinct scriptural passages is the word fragrance or smell. (Two Greek words to keep in mind are μύρον and οσμή. )

In his great Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium – the Joy of the Gospel – Pope Francis reverts quite a lot to the image of the shepherd and the sheep. He is aiming at priests and any church pastors, but actually it applies to all of us who are baptized, because we are all baptized into an active gospel ministry. In one place Pope Francis says, ‘In our world, ordained ministers and other pastoral workers can make present the fragrance of Christ’s closeness and his personal gaze.’ (Para. 169). Isn’t that a lovely image.

Elsewhere when he is exhorting us to authentic  ministry and witness he says this remarkable thing – the shepherd must have the same smell as the sheep. So if we are to minister effectively to the world as Christians we must have the same smell as the world. Sometimes that smell will not be so acceptable, of course. It means getting down and dirty at times. It may be the stink that Jesus was warned about after Lazarus had been dead 4 days in his tomb.

So we have side by side the sweet smelling fragrances that would dignify and anoint the body of the crucified Christ, and the authentic and worldly smells of the pastors and the sheep.

When he writes to the Christian church in Ephesus St. Paul says this, ‘Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering (οσμή) and sacrifice to God.’ Eph. 5, 1

Here in Ephesus, with its monumental temple to the goddess Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, a formidable background for Christian witness, with the incense constantly rising to the pagan goddess, Paul directs the Christian community to Christ, the fragrant offering and sacrifice rising to God.

As our evening worship closes, we are mindful of the opening prayer of the Franciscan Service Book.

‘Let my prayer rise before you as incense; the lifting up of my heart as an evening sacrifice.’ Amen.