EASTERTIDE: d365.org - Follow the Shepherd

INVOCATION..... (d365.org - Christine Vogel)

Traveling to a new place can be a great adventure. The most venturous are more than willing to take even an unmarked road if they feel it holds the possibility of new knowledge or experience.

But even the most foolhardy traveler wants to believe they can find their way to a familiar path if they come to fear they might be lost.

Christians who are on the way know they have an ever-present companion in the journey, a shepherd always there to guide.

SUNDAY, May 11  Mother-Shepherd

Judges 4:4-5 MSG

Deborah was a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth. She was judge over Israel at that time. She held court under Deborah’s Palm between Ramah and Bethel in the hills of Ephraim. The People of Israel went to her in matters of justice.

     Deborah was a woman of importance in early Israel.  While the Bible doesn't specifically SAY she had her own biological children, she served as a female role model, a disciplinarian of sorts, a guide, for the people.  That led me to thinking that perhaps Moms and Shepherds can be linked together.  

     Two children arguing.  'I'm going to tell Mom!'  And Mom is sought to render justice.  Two sheep fighting and the Shepherd calms the flock.  A mother nurtures, a Shepherd grows the flock.  Comforters and protectors, they are the glue that binds the family-flock together. Mothers build community.

     Thank you, Mom, for being my Shepherd:  For tending to my wounds of health and heart, for leading me to rich fields of faith and nourishment, both physical and spiritual.  Thank you for always being available and serving as a witness to a life lived in grace and humility.  And thank you for always supporting my efforts, championing my talents and encouraging me to reach out and do more.  You are my Mother-Shepherd in so many ways and I love you!  

SATURDAY, May 10   Example Shepherd

1 Peter 2: 21-25 (excerpts)  MSG

This is the kind of life you’ve been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came his way so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step.....

They called him every name in the book and he said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right.... 

You were lost sheep with no idea who you were or where you were going. Now you’re named and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls....

     Impulsive Peter is probably the disciple with whom we can best identify: always blurting out something inappropriate, denying he would ever deny, missing the point of the parable.  Yet Peter can state the obvious: Jesus is the Messiah.  Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  Jesus is a living example of how to apply the Golden Rule to our life;  he gave us a 'step-by-step' user manual of silent suffering, leaving judgment in the hands of God.  God will right the wrong, it's not our job to exact retribution.  We need to simply follow our Shepherd: feed the hungry, shelter and clothe those without, and free the oppressed.  
     Call out for justice, act for justice, but leave revenge or retribution of the unjust to God.  Concentrate on the lost sheep, not the wolves.  

FRIDAY, May 9  Meals!

Acts 2:46-47 MSG

They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.

Recycled Scribble....but the message is the same! 

     Celebration. Exuberance and Joy.  I can think of many a meal around the tables in the church fellowship hall that would fit this description from Acts.  Meals in private homes with our friends and family in God.  But do we regard our private daily meals in the same way?  Do we take time to praise and thank God for our bounty?  Do we listen to one another and share our joys and concerns?  Meal time is a holy time within the Christian community.  Our society, however,  has made meals a 'take-out' of isolation with cell-phone or TV companions.  Watch people in a restaurant.  Many aren't talking to each other or enjoying their food.  They poke buttons on their phone as they shove in an untasted meal.  

     I found it interesting (God?) that these verses appear now as I am pondering new avenues of 'feasting in celebration' as a church community.  But first, perhaps, I need to also consider how often we dine at home with our TV companion......  

THURSDAY, May 8  Community

Acts 2:42-45 VOICE

The community continually committed themselves to learning what the apostles taught them, gathering for fellowship, breaking bread, and praying.43 Everyone felt a sense of awe because the apostles were doing many signs and wonders among them. 44 There was an intense sense of togetherness among all who believed; they shared all their material possessions in trust. 45 They sold any possessions and goods that did not benefit the community and used the money to help everyone in need.

   I still have the sheep analogy in my head.  A flock is a community, bound together for a common purpose.  They eat together......  OK, perhaps there, any comparison to the early Church ends.  The sheep really don't CARE for one another - compassion isn't a sheep characteristic.  
     But the early Christians did commit to four actions which helped bind them together: teaching and learning, building relationship in fellowship, common meals, and prayer.  These are intentional practices involving commitment.  They involve dependence on one another and letting go of some personal 'wants' for the common good. (Yes, it does sound a little socialistic!)  It goes against our Western culture of rugged individuality and 'I can do it MYSELF ALONE!'  

     I am soon to take over the reigns as chair of the fellowship committee, and this passage is causing me to take a look at our church community.  We worship together, we pray together (not enough), but I'm not sure we 'break bread' together enough.  Sounds like a challenge ahead.....

WEDNESDAY, May 7   
The Gate

John 10:9-10 GNT

 I am the gate. Those who come in by me will be saved; they will come in and go out and find pasture.  The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life—life in all its fullness.

    My mailbox is flooded daily with requests from non-profits for funds, political advertisements (it is election season!).  Some of it is addressed to 'Occupant' but most identifies me by name. The enclosed letter starts with a Dear Ginger! - a sense of familiarity. They know if they call me by name they might get my attention.  But unlike God, these agencies don't really know me.  A computer knows me - and a computer is WAY DIFFERENT from a personal relationship with God. 

     When Jesus says he is the entrance, the gate, into a new type of living, it is personal.  This is an invitation to experience love, community, grace, and forgiveness in a totally new way.  This is the Shepherd's promise of rich, green pastures - fullness of life. No guarantee that the 'wolves' of life might not come, but the assurance the Shepherd will be there all the way. 
      Follow the Shepherd.  Enter the gate.  The 'mail' you find on the other side is worth opening.  

TUESDAY, May 6   Voices

John 10: 4-6 MSG

When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice. They won’t follow a stranger’s voice but will scatter because they aren’t used to the sound of it.”

Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about.

As an baby-in-the-womb,
I knew just one voice: Mother.
It was a voice of comfort and security,
A soothing, calming melody of sound.
A voice I could trust. 
A voice I recognized above all else.  

Now I am out-of-womb;
Into a world of confusion and chaos.
I hear voices.
Not the 'I'm-crazy' kind of voices, 
But voices I don't recognize mingling 
  with those I trust. 
Voices of Temptation,
Voices of Betrayal. 
Voices that can lead me into wrong.
All mixed up in a verbal barrage of invitation.

Where is my mother's voice?
Where is the voice of Comfort and Guidance?
Where is the voice I recognize?

Know your Mother-Shepherd. 
Know the Shepherd's voice.
And in the midst of chaos and confusion,
You will never be led astray. 

MONDAY, May 5  Names

John 10:1-3 VOICE

Jesus: I tell you the truth: the man who crawls through the fence of the sheep pen, rather than walking through the gate, is a thief or a vandal.  The shepherd walks openly through the entrance.  The guard who is posted to protect the sheep opens the gate for the shepherd, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

         Names.  Some of us struggle to remember names.  Yet to be called by name is such a special and personal invitation.  To be called by name is to be part of a community.  Our Shepherd has no such troubles remembering our names.  He KNOWS us intimately.  We should make a better attempt to treat others in that same way.  When introduced, concentrate on some facet of the name or person that will help us put a name to the face when we meet again.  There is a lady in our church who absolutely beams when she returns after an absence of weeks or months and is welcomed....by name.  It makes a difference.  

            But to ponder a second point....do we always recognize our Shepherd's voice?  Do we always listen to the One who calls us so personally?  We have to spend time with the Shepherd to know his voice and to follow in the right direction.  Sometimes we are led astray by false voices.  Take time with the Shepherd and the voice will become clear.  

BENEDICTION BLESSINGS....

 (d365.org - from "Follow the Shepherd Home" by Mindy Smith) 

When my paper heart’s in a frantic wind
And I fear I'm all alone,
My whisper is heard when I call out to him
And I follow the shepherd home.

All the burdens weighing on my back
Aren't so heavy after all.
Faith is knowing you need only ask.
You can follow the shepherd home.
You can follow the shepherd home.