The Fourth Sunday of Easter | April 26th, 2026 | The Rev. Irene Tanabe

Have you ever been presented with an opportunity to try something new, or to change in some way and found yourself saying, “Nope. I don’t think so. Not going to do that. Just not comfortable doing that.”?

I can think of many times. Like the time I got asked by The Rev. Jerry Shigaki, a beloved priest in this diocese, “will you join my group to discern your call to the priesthood?” “Are you kidding me? Why would I do that? No thank you, I’m quite comfortable with where I am now.”

That was back in 2007. I was minding my own business, fairly comfortable with the way my life was going. I went from being a career public defender to being a “Judge Pro Tem” in Seattle. I was an appointed judge, and I would work when I was called in to cover for the elected judges when they were absent for whatever reason. I only worked if I wanted to work. I had lots of time off and a fairly stress-free work life.

Truth be told, the priesthood was the last thing on my mind. But even though I initially said, “no way,” I couldn’t forget about the invitation. A few weeks later, when I was asked again, I struck a bargain. Can I treat it as vocational discernment? I had been thinking about going back for more “meaningful” work, albeit not one that included a total upheaval of my home, family, and finances. So yes, being with a group of people looking at what kind of vocation would be suitable for each one of us sounded like a good thing. It took over a year of discernment, meeting 8 hours a month, and you all know how it turned out for me.

The reason I initially said “no” is that we humans are hardwired to stay within our “comfort zones.” You might have heard that term, “comfort zone.” Simply put, your comfort zone is a behavioral space – a type of mental conditioning – where your activities and behaviors fit a routine that minimizes stress and risk. It provides a state of mental security. The benefit is obvious: low anxiety and reduced stress. But like inertia, a person who has an established comfort zone will tend to stay within that zone without stepping outside of it.

To step outside the comfort zone, a person must experiment with new and different behaviors, and experience new and different responses which can be anxiety producing. It’s actually very hard to kick ourselves outside of our comfort zone; our natural tendency is to return to a neutral, comfortable state. I can say with conviction, if it wasn’t for the diocesan canon and my discernment group, and the good shepherd, there’s no way I would be here today.

 Yes, today is Good Shepherd Sunday. Jesus, the good shepherd enters the sheepfold and calls his own sheep by name and leads them out Now in ancient shepherding practices, the shepherd kept the sheep safe at night in a sheepfold. It would have been a cave, or a circular wall of stones topped by a barrier of brambles. There was a small opening for the sheep to pass through. Once the sheep were in the sheepfold, the shepherd laid across the opening. From this position, the shepherd guarded the sheep from thieves and bandits and was, in effect, the gate.

Now, the sheep were safe through the night in the sheepfold, but when morning came and it was time to lead the sheep back out to pasture, the passage we read this morning tells us it happened this way: “When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.”

What has been translated as “When he has brought out” is a very weak translation of the Greek verb that was used here. The verb is usually translated as “to cast out, drive out or to send out, often with a notion of violence.” It is the same word that is used every time Jesus drove out a demon, and it is the same word that was used when Jesus took a whip and cast out the moneychangers from the temple.

Now perhaps the weaker form of the verb works when a shepherd is getting his sheep out of the sheepfold. One can imagine the meek little sheep following the shepherd’s direction; all he has to do is pick up his staff. But Jesus isn’t talking about sheep here. In this passage, Jesus was talking to the Pharisees, who had just driven out the blind man that Jesus healed (and again, “driven out” is the same Greek verb I am talking about). And Jesus isn’t just talking to the Pharisees, he’s also talking to us.

Jesus knows what we humans are like and know what it’s going to take to get us out of our sheepfolds. He knows that to move us from our places of safety and comfort, he will have to drive us out. Some of us will get going with a little push. Then there are some who must be picked up and thrown out. I imagine there are even a few of us who must be dragged out, while kicking and screaming every inch of the way.

And why does he want us out of the sheepfold? Have you seen a bumper sticker that says: Life begins outside of your comfort zone? Well, Jesus said it this way. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. Life begins outside of the sheepfold. Life is in the pasture; the green pastures with still waters and valleys of the shadow of death. Yes, thieves and bandits and evil are out there, but there is food there, too. In the presence of our enemies, there is a table set with an overflowing cup to refresh us. God is the host, and we are his honored guest.

Yes, the 23rd Psalm that we read today is a description of abundant life, life in its fullness. The Psalmist assures us that God is present, and that we can trust in deliverance in the midst of evil. The deliverance is true, it’s real. The very abundance of life can never fit in our little sheepfold. Or in an upper room behind locked doors. Or in an empty tomb. And so, Jesus assures us, he will lead us out, he will show us the way. Listen for his voice. He will call you by name.

Our Lord Jesus Christ came, that we might have life, and have it abundantly. Will you dare to follow him out of the sheepfold you have created? Imagine where you might go, imagine how you might be. What would your life look like if you allowed yourself to be pursued by the goodness and mercy of God? What does abundant life look like for you?