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At our service of thanksgiving for the Coronation of Kings Charles 3, later this week, a young representative of the Princes trust will read a prayer, attributed to the navigator and explorer, Sir Francis Drake, begins thus:

Dis­turb us, Lord, when

We are too well pleased with our­selves,
When our dreams have come true,

Because we have dreamed too lit­tle,
When we arrived safe­ly,

Because we sailed too close to the shore…

It’s a prayer about the adventure of life, asking God for courage to dream ambitious dreams, in order to achieve new and challenging things.

I’ve been listening, on BBC Sounds catch up, to Tom Gregory’s book ‘A Boy in the Water’ on becoming the youngest person to swim the channel, at the age of 11. So young.  Looking back, he gave an honest insight into the challenge and to the years of physical and mental training. He now appreciates, looking back, the risks involved, and the anxieties his parents carried for him.  The role of his coach, who had been completely trustworthy coach, had been key.

When Jesus describes himself as the good shepherd, this became, and remains to this day, one of the most loved and relatable images of God in the scriptures. The metaphor of the Good Shepherd, speaks of safety and trust and also of adventure.

Let’s start with safety.

Jesus ‘The good shepherd’ is comparing himself to bad shepherds who neglect the sheep, and to thieves and bandits who come to steal and kill.  The good shepherd will lay down his life to protect the life of his sheep. And each night he gathers the flock into the safety of the fold.

this image of Jesus is found in an early Christian tomb.  Perhaps dating back to a time of persecution when the young church came into conflict with the Roman empire, and Christians suffered persecution, as Christians are still persecuted in many places across the world today.  The Good Shepherd who gathers, and keeps us safe, answers our fundamental human longing for safety.

And Jesus says that the sheep follow the shepherd because he calls them by name.  Jesus knows each of us individually, and by our name.  He is echoing the words of God in Isaiah, (43:1) ‘I have called you by name, you are mine’. There’s something special about our names isn’t there? Someone I know received a certificate and her name was written beautifully on it in calligraphy, and she found it deeply touching, to see her name, written with such care.  The good shepherd knows the sheep by name and he calls them and keeps them safe.  They trust him. These are profoundly significant things.

And there’s more, because there’s adventure.  And adventure is so much more possible when we have a good shepherd to trust, like the 11 yr. old boy who swam the channel with his trusted coach.

The Shepherd leads the sheep out to find pasture. There are dangers out there, but the shepherd watches over them.  They can feed, and the lambs can jump and play and run around.  In and out of the fold, to and fro, the shepherd leads the sheep in, for rest and safety, and out, for food and adventure.  And in this to and fro, safety and adventure, gathering and dispersion is found a pattern for abundance of life.

The gathering of the sheep-fold is often understood as representing the church[1],  gathered by the call of Christ for worship and fellowship.  And the Church seeks to live up its sacred calling to be a place of safety, welcome and trust.  Now, I’m still asked sometimes ‘why must we have safeguarding?’ And I’m still challenged, ‘Why, when we volunteer do we have to do training and then renew our training?’

And this is the reason: that every church gathering and every church building, represents the love of God, trustworthy and boundless and in which every single person matters.  This is our calling.  Its our sacred task to be a place in which everyone is safe and everyone is important.  It’s a matter of the deepest shame and regret that churches have not always been safe places for children and vulnerable adults, and that anyone can be vulnerable, and at any age, to exploitation and the abuse of power.  When this happens its a terrible betrayal. Churches must be safe places and safe gatherings.  Keeping one another safe is the task of the whole church, so safeguarding training is a requirement here and safeguarding practices are in place here so that we can do our very best to be a place of safety and welcome for everyone, as the good shepherd intends his church to be.  I know we want that too.

We want everyone to experience the love and care of the good shepherd because its the most wonderful thing. At baptism we become part of his flock, with all the security and adventure that this offers.

You may remember  a few years ago when the papers ran with a story about the Archbishop of Canterbury’s parentage.  We were told that the man who had brought him up was not his natural father.

And in response to this Archbishop Justin wrote a really beautiful statement, with deep appreciation of his mother, and he said, ‘I know that I find who I am, not in genetics, but in Jesus Christ. And my identity in him never changes.’  Secure in this identity we can have courage to face whatever happens in life.

Those who hear the call of the Good Shepherd are invited to follow Jesus both into the safety of the sheepfold, and out into the adventures of life, with courage and confidence.

Drakes’ prayer ends with these words

We ask You to push back
The hori­zons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

In the security of the love of the good shepherd we may all face the future, with strength, courage, hope and love.

[1] Archbishop William Temple, Readings in St. Johns Gospel  1947