Bad shepherds…

Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the LORD. Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the LORD. Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the LORD. The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The LORD is our righteousness.” Therefore, the days are surely coming, says the LORD, when it shall no longer be said, “As the LORD lives who brought the people of Israel up out of the land of Egypt,” but “As the LORD lives who brought out and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the land of the north and out of all the lands where he had driven them.” Then they shall live in their own land. (Jeremiah 23:1-8, NRSV)

If you have scattered the flock of the Lord then you are to be attended to by God…

God will attend to you for your evil of driving His flock away, by telling them to do things they need not do, or follow traditions that need not be upheld. If you have led a little one astray it is better for you to tie a millstone around your neck and throw yourself into the sea…

For the righteous Shepherd is coming and when He comes then all of the sheep will be brought back to Him and the bad shepherd will have no footing, no place to stand.

So do not lead others astray, but hold fats to Jesus and help others to see Him too.

the gate

“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:1-10, NRSV)

Sheep are dumb animals. We have all heard that and I don’t know about you but that does not make me feel good when Jesus seems to refer to us as sheep…

But this passage shows they have some understanding of who is worthy to follow and who isn’t. They know the sound of their masters voice. And when He calls them they follow. Even when they are scared, they follow.

But the thing I thin we miss is the gate. In the USA we think of fences with gates that swing open and closed to keep the good stuff in and the unwanted stuff out. But in Jesus day, there were no fences that had gates like we know them. Or at least that is my understanding. Jesus was the gate, and the shepherd was the gate. the shepherd got his sheep into the penned in area then he laid down in the opening. This kept the sheep in and the wolves out. He protected them.

Just like Jesus will do for us if we will follow His voice.

shadow

Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your judgments are like the great deep; you save humans and animals alike, O LORD. How precious is your steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. O continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your salvation to the upright of heart! (Psalm 36:5-10, NRSV)

The steadfast love of the Lord is all encompassing!

How many ways can we say that God’s love for us is unchanging and surrounds us every where we are?

I love the image of in the shadow of your wing… Like a mother bird protects her young by sheltering them from whatever danger is upon them, God holds us close to Him and surrounds us with His warmth and protection.

He is always there for us to find shelter and refuge from the world around us!

So hide in the shadow of His wing.

Search the scripture…

And the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his form, and you do not have his word abiding in you, because you do not believe him whom he has sent. “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life. (John 5:37-40, NRSV)

You refuse to come to me and have life!

How is it we get life? According to verse 40 it is by coming to Jesus. He will give us life. God sent Him and whoever believes that God sent Him will have life. The promise is there from God.

Yet we search the scripture to find the answer, even though the scriptures point to Him.

But here in John Jesus says ” “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life…” They didn’t get that He was the fulfillment of scripture. That it is not about fulfilling the scriptures on our own. We can’t do that, He has done it for us.

Search the scriptures for the right rules, for the right way to worship, for the right things to say, for all of the right things and you will not find it. Scripture points to Jesus. If you want life you have to follow Jesus and give up control, and understanding. He will not be confined to your understanding of scripture.

Proclaim death…

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves. (1 Corinthians 11:23-29, NRSV)

Do this in remembrance of me is the phrase we usually hear when we read this. Yet today I read the passage and I heard, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

Every time we take communion, we are proclaiming the death of Christ on the cursed tree! Every time we partake of bread and wine and think about our Lord we are placing Him back on the cross.

Wow! I want to stop right now! I never wanted Jesus to go to the cross for me in the first place. I am grateful. But I do not want to send Him back again and again.

But here is the kicker…

Without the cross there is no resurrection!

Without the death there is no life!

He had to die so that we all might live! You see you also died to self. in your baptism you died to the old Adam and were raised in the new life of Christ and if there is no cross, there is no new life. So do this in remembrance of what I gave for you. Remember how much I love you!

They didn’t know…

After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off. When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. (John 21:1-14, NRSV)

Why had the disciples gone back to fishing?

Or interestingly it seems all of them went to fishing… Only 4 of the 12 were fishermen, but it seems from this passage that the 7 of the 11 are together…

But Peter goes fishing and seems to fall back on what they had known before Jesus. Now yes Jesus had died, but in the gospel of John they had witnessed the risen Jesus twice by this point. So why are they not out telling everyone about Him?

What keeps you from shouting His praises from the top of your lungs every where you go?

You see, they followed what they knew, and that is what we do. It is easy for us to do what we have always done. We don’t want to see Jesus in the new things or the different places, because that means we will have to do things differently, and differently is not easy. It is unsafe. We are not in control and have to rely on someone else.

But that someone else in this instance is Jesus! Who better can we trust…

So when you see Jesus calling you to go and do something different, don’t worry that you won’t be in control, because Jesus will be and that is all the assurance we should need!

Ate and drank

Then he said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship at a distance. Moses alone shall come near the LORD; but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him.” Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do.” And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. He rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and set up twelve pillars, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel. He sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed oxen as offerings of well-being to the LORD. Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he dashed against the altar. Then he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people, and said, “See the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.” Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there was something like a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. God did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; also they beheld God, and they ate and drank. (Exodus 24:1-11, NRSV)

What would you do if you just got summonsed to be with God, and then you were with Him?

Moses and the elders went up the mountain to be with God, and to worship Him at a distance…

Moses then went to be with God, but before Moses went to be with God an interesting thing happens. And the picture here shows this somewhat. The text says they elders went up the mountain and they saw God! But God did not touch them…

Interesting because in other places in the Bible people can not see God, and Moses gets to see God’s backside, but not His front, because men can not look upon the face of God and live… So why do these elders get to see God?

And to me the astonishing thing comes next… They just sit down and have diner! Like nothing just happened!

They go on with their lives, even though they just saw God and were in His presence…

What would you do if you got to be in the presence of God?

Well everyday you are, and what do we do?

Maybe we should take the time to have a meal with Him, and see who He wants us to be.

Promise

The LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate. They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?” The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too wonderful for the LORD? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.” (Genesis 18:1-14, NRSV)

Abraham looked up and saw 3 men, and he knew who they were, cause he ran from the tent to meet them and bowed to the ground and asked them if he was found to be with favor that they would not leave.

Now how did he know who they were?

Where they wearing name tags?

Hello my name is messenger of the Most High God?

But he asked them to stay and asked his wife to make dinner. And as she prepared a simple meal for the visitors, they gave the happy couple a promise.

She cooked the cakes and the calf and curds were prepared, maybe they were in Wisconsin, and as the messengers ate they told Abraham that they would return and when they did Sarah would have a son.

And she laughed!

How many of us have laughed at what God told us before?

We don’t believe the wonders of our creator to be true, but they are, and she did. Abraham knew who they were, without name tags and the proved it to all of us, by the promises they brought from God.

So don’t laugh at God and His promises, laugh with Him as you celebrate with His messengers and relish in the promises He has given us all.

 

Journey…

Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16 but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread. (Luke 24:13-35, NRSV)

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;”

So begins The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost…

As I stood at the fork in the road, I wondered how my life would be if I went to the left…

Then I pondered the right..

We think at the fork in the road we have 2 choices, in in actuality we have 3. We can always turn around and go back from where we came from.

You see the story of the Road to Emmaus is about the journey. This story happened on the day of Jesus’ Resurrection. And the men our journeying out of Jerusalem, and why?

Were they going back to their homes? Where they running away from a most certain death as followers of Jesus?

Where they walking down the road or where they running for their lives?

We all have moments when we are running from something. We all have moments that we stand at the cross roads of faith and wonder where we should go.

And you see that is the journey! Jesus is there traveling with you as a sojourner going with you to hopefully guide you…

Do you see Him?

Do you recognize Him?

We don’t just see Him at worship…

We don’t just see Him in the building where we worship…

He is always there! And everywhere you go is a place in your faith journey.

Know that the journey sometimes will not make sense, but that is the time to stay the course and follow Jesus, knowing He is always with you and helping you every moment of every day!