God of All

Isaiah 45:1-8  Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their robes, to open doors before him--and the gates shall not be closed:  I will go before you and level the mountains, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron,  I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I surname you, though you do not know me.  I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides me there is no god. I arm you, though you do not know me,  so that they may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is no one besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.  I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the LORD do all these things.  Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation may spring up, and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also; I the LORD have created it.

Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, ended the exile of the Jews and helped them rebuild their temple. Isaiah marvels at how, although he did not worship God in the Jewish way, this foreign ruler was known to God: “I call you by your name, I surname you, though you do not know me...I arm you, though you do not know me”.

 God is not bound by our religious boundaries. Although we might want to designate some as “friends with God” and others as “strangers to God”, God’s sovereignty is such that God can choose to know anyone. Just as God knew the Persian King Cyrus, so God can choose to know the Muslim, or the Hindu, or the person of no recognisable faith at all. Let us who follow Jesus get beyond our need to place labels on people, and offer the same loving acceptance to everyone – irrespective of their culture, religion, sexual orientation or nationality.

 

Sixth  Sunday of Easter

Chosen by God
Scripture reading taken from A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants p.173

 

 

Count your Blessings

Isaiah 63:7-9  I will recount the gracious deeds of the LORD, the praiseworthy acts of the LORD, because of all that the LORD has done for us, and the great favour to the house of Israel that he has shown them according to his mercy, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. For he said, "Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely"; and he became their saviour in all their distress. It was no messenger or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

As I read the words of Isaiah 63:7 I am challenged to ask of myself: how often do I give thanks for the blessings in my life – and how often do I complain about the things that do not go my way? I ruefully answer that it is easy to allow 'complaints mode' to overshadow the gratitude for my life. Right now I am far away from home in Birmingham, England. It is cold (5 degrees after sunrise), and grey, and I am missing my wife. See how easy it is to slip into complaining!

So here is my invitation: let us choose to “recount the gracious deeds of the Lord” as a spiritual discipline for this week. Here is my observation on the “deeds of the Lord”: In addition to the facts of my life supplied above, I am working alongside a wonderful colleague who inspires me and brings out the best in me; I have been offered an opportunity to share a week with some of the finest Christ followers I know; and I am invited to a dinner tonight that promises to be entertaining and loads of fun.

Now it is your turn........

 

So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Refrain:
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Johnson Oatman, Jr., 1897

 

Sixth  Sunday of Easter

Chosen by God
Scripture reading taken from A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants p.173

 

 

‘Nuf Said

1Co 13:1-13  If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.  Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;  it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.  It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.  For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end.  When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.  For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.  And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

 

Fifth  Sunday of Easter

Love is the Sign
Scripture reading taken from A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants p.167

 

 

Following other gods.....

Deuteronomy 7:6-16  For you are a people holy to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on earth to be his people, his treasured possession.  It was not because you were more numerous than any other people that the LORD set his heart on you and chose you--for you were the fewest of all peoples.  It was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath that he swore to your ancestors, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who maintains covenant loyalty with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,  and who repays in their own person those who reject him. He does not delay but repays in their own person those who reject him.  Therefore, observe diligently the commandment--the statutes and the ordinances--that I am commanding you today.  If you heed these ordinances, by diligently observing them, the LORD your God will maintain with you the covenant loyalty that he swore to your ancestors;  he will love you, bless you, and multiply you; he will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock, in the land that he swore to your ancestors to give you.  You shall be the most blessed of peoples, with neither sterility nor barrenness among you or your livestock.  The LORD will turn away from you every illness; all the dread diseases of Egypt that you experienced, he will not inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you.  You shall devour all the peoples that the LORD your God is giving over to you, showing them no pity; you shall not serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.

This passage represents all that is difficult about the Old Testament writings: it seems to suggest that God ‘plays favourites’ with humanity. Some are ‘a people holy to the Lord’ and others are designated to be 'devoured' by them. Here is a limited theological understanding that turns God into a monster who urges his followers to 'show no pity'. Jesus comes as the necessary corrective to teach about a God who wants his 'holy people' to love their enemies, and to do good to those who persecute them.[1]  

That said, let us not overlook the important commandment in the passage: you shall not serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you” (Deut 7:16). In other words – beware of those things that would distract us from a single minded obedience of God. Anything that takes us away from God’s call on our lives is a 'god' that ensnares us. This can even be good things like our work, sport, house maintenance, or a favourite hobby. Once this becomes more important than a faithful following of God, then it is to be abandoned.

 

 Challenge:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Helen H. Lemmel, 1922

 

Fifth  Sunday of Easter

Love is the Sign
Scripture reading taken from A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants p.167

 

 

 

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[1] Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:27, Luke 6:35.

Intentional living

 Hebrews 13:1-6  Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.  Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.  Let marriage be held in honour by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.  Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you."  So we can say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?"

Followers of Jesus live with clear intent. These are stated as values to aspire towards: “Let...Do not neglect...Keep...be” These are verbs, or ‘doing’ words. No one can be a Christian through intellectual agreement. This is a life that moves beyond a good idea, to a life that is lived, every day, in every way.

This does not mean that Christ-followers are perfect. Our Christian prayers acknowledge our shortcomings. It does mean, however, that we will not water down our expectation of ourselves. We will begin each day with fresh expectations of ourselves being better than the day before: “So we can say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid’.”

 

Fifth  Sunday of Easter

Love is the Sign
Scripture reading taken from A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants p.167

 

Be careful how you live

Ephesians 5:1-20  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 and sacrifice to God. But fornication and impurity of any kind, or greed, must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints. Entirely out of place is obscene, silly, and vulgar talk; but instead, let there be thanksgiving. Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure person, or one who is greedy (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be associated with them.  For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light--  for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.  For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly;  but everything exposed by the light becomes visible,  for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, "Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."  Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise,  making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.  Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit,  as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts,  giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesus was a commercial port at the mouth of the Cayster River on the west coast of the Roman province of Asia. An added attraction of Ephesus was the temple of the Greek goddess Artemis, who in the Latin language was called Diana. Paul began his ministry in a synagogue in the city (Acts 19:8), but turned to the Gentiles when the Jewish leadership began persecuting those who believed in Jesus. From Ephesus the Gospel spread throughout the whole province of Asia (Acts 19:10).

The community who followed Jesus was therefore in the spotlight. They were a “mother church’ to the rest of Asia Minor. The potential of their witness to the people who travelled the trade routes was immense. And there was an opportunity to share the teachings and life of Jesus with those who came to find faith in the religious culture of Ephesus. For this reason Paul writes: “Be careful then how you live.”  He then spells out various suggestions about the way followers of Jesus ought to behave – but the central thrust is that we ought to live in Jesus honouring ways.

Let us allow ourselves to live with the awareness that we are being watched.

 

O Master, let me walk with thee

in lowly paths of service free;
tell me thy secret; help me bear
the strain of toil, the fret of care.
Help me the slow of heart to move
by some clear, winning word of love;
teach me the wayward feet to stay,
and guide them in the homeward way.

Washington Gladden, 1836-1918

 

Fifth  Sunday of Easter

Love is the Sign
Scripture reading taken from A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants p.167

 

 

 

God rubs off on us.

Rom 5:1-11  Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.  And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.  For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.  Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die.  But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.  Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God.  For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.  But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Paul speaks about taking pride in the glory of God. This is not earned, but instead it rubs off on us from spending time with God. I remember taking my wife out to dinner: she had got all dressed up. Eyes, hair, special perfume. After a lovely evening, when we came home, we went to say good night to the children: one of them kissed me and then exclaimed “You smell just like Mommy”. Her perfume had rubbed off on me! In the same way the glory of God rubs off on us when we spend time with God. This is captured in the story of Moses on Mount Sinai. Moses came down and everyone could see the glory of God, because it had rubbed off on him. (Exodus 24:39).

 It is not our own, it is the presence of God. This then is both an invitation and a challenge. The invitation is to spend time with God, and allow the character of God to rub off on me. The challenge is to then live as one who shows the glory of God. I can therefore never be satisfied with ‘second best’ behavior. I am God’s billboard/advertisement. I am to invite people to look at me – because my hope is in the glory of God “because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us”.  

 

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Fifth  Sunday of Easter

Love is the Sign
Scripture reading taken from A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants p.167

 

 

 

Spiritual Living

Galatians 5:13-24  For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.  For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbour as yourself."  If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.  Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law.  Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness,  idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions,  envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,  gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.  And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Paul presents two polar opposites: either we ‘live by the flesh’ or we ‘live by the Spirit’. He is writing from Antioch to churches initiated by himself and Barnabas (Acts 13:14-14:26) in the Phrygian cities of Pisidian, Antioch and Iconium, and in the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe. Christian teachers had arrived from Jerusalem, who insisted that Gentile followers of Jesus must come under the Law of Moses in order to be loved by God. Circumcision must be added to Grace.

Paul therefore posits living by the laws of the flesh (circumcision) as the opposite of living by the Spirit: “ if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law (Gal 5:18). He is not suggesting that followers of Jesus are lawless, but he is rejecting the teaching of those who want to link Jewish religious codes to following Jesus. Instead, says Paul: “live by the Spirit” which will result in character qualities such as “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control”.

The invitation for this week is to worry less about who keeps what religious code, and more about how we can live side by side with gentleness and love.

 

Thought

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion, too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace....
JOHN LENNON - IMAGINE LYRICS

 

Fifth  Sunday of Easter

Love is the Sign
Scripture reading taken from A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants p.167

 

 

Facing the “Other”

Sermon preached at Prestbury Methodist Church
09h00 21 April 2013.

 

Isa 56:1-8 

Act 15:1-11 
Mat 21:12  Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.
Mat 21:13  He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer'; but you are making it a den of robbers."
Mat 21:14  The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them.
Mat 21:15  But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did, and heard the children crying out in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they became angry....

Text “my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples”. (Isaiah 56:7) 

On Monday a bomb exploded in Boston.

This was at the end of the Boston marathon:  3 people were killed, and 140 injured.  Tragic / horrific / and completely unjustified. We weep with the families who are affected.
At the same time I was fascinated with the reporting:
Within hours, the news was telling us that the Taliban had struck. This soon became a Saudi national, a Muslim, an Indian-American[1] and an African-American[2]. Glenn Beck reported that the bombs had been set by people from the Middle East, and a Boston doctor who had emigrated from Syria was attacked in the street and accused of being a bomber. At present it seems that the police have identified two brothers from the former Russia – and now independent country of Chechnya.

So how does this happen?

It is called prejudice. It begins by asking: “Who are the people I fear the most?”
And then I blame them for my misfortune.
As South African this is actually very familiar to us:

Ø  Who do we blame when we struggle to find work? : The foreigners are taking our jobs

Ø  Who do we blame when someone breaks into our home? – It is the blacks.

Ø  Who do we blame when we have potholes in our roads? – It is the ANC.

Ø  Who do we blame when there is no petrol in the car? – It is the children!

This is called prejudice... and it is pointless me preaching a sermon against prejudice because we all know that we should not be prejudiced!

But the fact is – we are prejudiced.

For many years I was the minister of a congregation that was split down the middle: the one half of the church was English, and the other half was Afrikaans. When I preached in English the one half loved my sermon – and the other half complained. So I then preached in Afrikaans: guess what?

Well I had one of the old members of the church come to me and say:
“I wish our church could be like the Early Church. Unlike us, they all loved each other!” I was able to say to him: Uncle Cornus: the Christians of the early church were also divided by prejudice.

Remember the story I read from Acts: Paul and Barnabas found themselves in a disagreement with other members of the church. Some believed that in order to follow Jesus you needed first to be a practicing Jew:

Act 15:1  Then certain individuals came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."
If you were not born Jewish you had to be circumcised before being baptised a Christian.  Paul, Barnabas disagreed with them.
Act 15:2  And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them,
“Dissention and debate”....Sounds like a church leader’s meeting?
Division has been there since the beginning of the Christian church: Can we learn from them – and how did they get out of it?
Acts 15:7: Peter stood up and said to them, "My brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that I should be the one through whom the Gentiles would hear the message of the good news and become believers.
Act 15:8  And God, who knows the human heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us;
Act 15:9  and in cleansing their hearts by faith he has made no distinction between them and us.
Act 15:10  Now therefore why are you putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?
Act 15:11  On the contrary, we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will."

 1.     Admit the prejudice.

Acts 15:7 tells of Peter standing up to tell his story. If we read Acts 11, we see that Peter was prejudiced. He could not stand the Gentiles. But God taught him a lesson and he has had to admit his bias.
I am tired of people saying “I am not prejudiced”. Let us face the fact that we are all prejudiced.
2.  See God in the people around us.
Act 15:8  And God, who knows the human heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us;
We are all uniquely made. Each of us is made to be different. And each one of us is especially made!
3.  Accept that God has made us all to be brothers and sisters
Act 15:9  and in cleansing their hearts by faith he has made no distinction between them and us......
Act 15:11  On the contrary, we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will."
Let me take us back to the dream of Jesus – Matthew 21 tells us that Jesus went into the temple in Jerusalem and saw how the religious leadership were keeping the people from praying: so he quotes from Isaiah 56:7
“My house shall be a house of prayer for all people”
This place is for everyone: but somewhere our own personal preferences get in the way:Allow me to ask you – what is your prejudice? Who would you rather not see in here?
Foreigners
          Beggers
                   Black people
Someone of a different faith? How about Jehovah’s Witnesses or Muslims?
Perhaps your prejudice is against women preachers
Or is it homosexual people?

I am inviting you to join me as I admit my frailties:

I am inviting us to recommit ourselves to allowing the Holy Spirit to heal that fragile place.  And to make this a place where all are welcome!
Once we have done that we can then begin to practice a life where we show the love of God to all people outside of this place!

 

 

 

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[1] Sunil Tripathi

[2] Mike Mulugeta

The Courage to Lead

2Co 4:1-5  Therefore, since it is by God's mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God's word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.  And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.  In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake.

........
2Co 4:15  Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
2Co 4:16  So we do not lose heart.

Good leadership requires courage.

It requires the courage to live with what St Paul calls “the open statement of the truth” . This is difficult, because as fallible human beings we all make mistakes – (even illustrious leaders!) – and it is tempting to cover up our mistakes with lies, half-truths and denial. Paul invites us to turn from our own fragile egos and remember that “we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ”. This can be immensely liberating, because Jesus-followers are free to admit “the shameful things that one hides” and our dependence on Him. When we do so we refuse to practice cunning” and instead “commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God”

Do not “lose heart’ when you see the corruption and the manipulation of the truth by other people.  Instead make the decision to become known for your own personal integrity. This is the beginning of good leadership.

A great leader's courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.
- John Maxwell

  

 

  

Fourth  Sunday of Easter

The Good Shepherd

Scripture reading taken from A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants p.160

So you want to lead a Church?

1Timothy 3:1-13  The saying is sure: whoever aspires to the office of bishop desires a noble task. Now a bishop must be above reproach, married only once, temperate, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an apt teacher,  not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, and not a lover of money.  He must manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way--  for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he take care of God's church?  He must not be a recent convert, or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.  Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace and the snare of the devil.  Deacons likewise must be serious, not double-tongued, not indulging in much wine, not greedy for money;  they must hold fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.   And let them first be tested; then, if they prove themselves blameless, let them serve as deacons.   Women likewise must be serious, not slanderers, but temperate, faithful in all things.  Let deacons be married only once, and let them manage their children and their households well;   for those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

 If you were to invite people to apply for positions as church leaders, what kind of people would you want? I suspect we often look for people who have shown success in their lives – they hold down prestigious jobs; they are popular in the community; they are capable managers of people. All too often churches manage themselves like businesses, and look for leaders who can run a successful business.

The two offices of church leader mentioned in 1 Timothy are  πρεσβύτερος / elder and  διάκονος  / deacon. Churches have variously translated these names as bishop/minister/presbyter and steward/deacon/leader respectively. While the names used do not really matter, the qualities listed in 1 Timothy 3 as requirements for a church leader remain unchanged: these are all about moral character rather than success at business.
 

Pray for your church leadership – that they might grow the qualities of Godly leadership. Now think of one church leader you know who you can encourage in their walk with Jesus.    

 

 

Fourth  Sunday of Easter

The Good Shepherd
Scripture reading taken from A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants p.160

 

 

Comfort my People

Isa 40:-11  Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.  A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.  Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."  A voice says, "Cry out!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field.  The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people are grass.  The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.  Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, "Here is your God!"  See, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.  He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.

This very well known passage from Isaiah offers hope to a captive people. The prophet is speaking a future hope that is not yet realised: They are offered the hope that God would “gather his lambs together” from their exile in Babylon. Their term of suffering is over and God will lead them back to Mount Zion. A highway would be built so that the people could travel easily, God’s word on this matter is to be trusted, and this good news is to be preached already.  

The central idea is one of comfort: “Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly...”  The invitation of our faith is to offer hope to people without hope, comfort to those who have suffered discomfort, and tenderness to people who know only hardship.

 

Handel, upon reading these Scriptures from the Old and New Testaments (compiled by a friend) (August, 1741) was overcome by their power. and immediately shut himself in and worked night and day, often forgetting to eat. He finished the original libretto and score in twenty-four days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fourth  Sunday of Easter

The Good Shepherd
Scripture reading taken from A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants p.160

 

 

 

 

Fat and Thin Sheep

Eze 34:11-16  For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice...
Eze 34:20-24  Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide,  I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.  I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.  And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the LORD, have spoken.

Fat sheep and lean sheep? Ezekiel refers to sheep that have “pushed with flank and shoulder”. These are the sheep that, using their horns, “butted at all the weak animals” so that they scattered while the strong ate their fill. Some get fat because they have more than they need, while other starve and weaken because they never get access to nourishment.  

Some might reply and call this the “survival of the fittest”. This is monopoly capitalism, and is the dominant financial system of our world: some survive, and some do not. Ezekiel reminds us that this is not God’s way. “I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep”.

This image haunts me right now. Because there are clearly “fat” nations and “thin” nations. Some dominate others with impunity – because they have fattened themselves enough to push the weak aside. There are also “fat” multinational corporations that crush those who cannot compete. And there are big individuals who trample all over smaller individuals in order to get ahead. In the process human beings starve, and shrivel, and generally struggle for life. I am convinced that there are enough resources for all of us on this planet – if only the fat were prepared to share with the thin. Ezekiel reminds us that this will change: “I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice..”.

 

This one question remains: where do we stand? Are we part of the herd that pushes and shoves the weaker aside … or are we willing to stand up to the bullies of this world by supporting the injured and protecting the weak?

Fourth  Sunday of Easter

The Good Shepherd
Scripture reading taken from A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants p.160