Roadside assistance

You've seen it a thousand times on the telly:  some celebrity (whether long standing or instant) is walking along with her posse (large or small) and a gaggle of media types with microphones, cameras and questions. How do you feel?  What do you have to say?

So watching Jesus walking along a road with his posse of disciples and a gaggle of hangers on, questions being parried about with at least a few intended to catch Jesus in some kind of embarrassing slip.......isn't so hard to picture.

This time it is a man born blind.  He is the one who was just minding his own business when suddenly he becomes a media darling and the flash point for everyone's 'uninvited' opinion.  Here's the question of the day  "Whose fault is it that this man was born blind?"  Never does it say that Jesus rolled his eyes, but that kind of response wouldn't surprise me.

Instead, Jesus heals him - an occasion for rejoicing if ever there is one since (as the writer of John points out repeatedly in this episode from John 9) 'never in the history of the whole world has anyone healed someone who was born blind'.  Instead it becomes an occasion for casting blame, arguing theology, rejecting the power of the healing in the first place and ends up throwing this newly healed man out of the synagogue!

....which leads us to the Good Shepherd.  All of this is the prequel to that wonderful passage known as the Good Shepherd discourse......that place where Jesus paints for us a picture of his job, his role, his love, his care, his commitment.........even his sacrifice......for the sake of the sheep.  I am the good shepherd, Jesus says, and he goes on to explain that he is not there to judge the sheep or lock the gate to the sheep fold.  His calling is to seek those sheep who are lost on the side of the road and to guide them to the safety of the flock.  He teaches them the sound of his voice so they know who to follow, who will provide and protect them.  He works so that all can become one flock under one Lord.

He also gives us a template for our calling as followers of Jesus.  We too are to walk in the places of shadow and loss and speak with the voice of Jesus.  We are to bring light into the shadows, to guide those who are outcast to the safety of the flock.  It is about love and care and commitment and even, as needed, laying down one's life......so those who are lost in the shadows may now find life in the light.  We who follow the Good Shepherd are to mimic the Good Shepherd. There is work for us out there - and it won't always be easy.

We are the Divine Roadside Assistance crew, the 911 of the outcast set.  Let others sit at Starbucks and drink their latte - we are called to be the ones who mirror the glory of God for the sake of all those sheep who don't yet know the Shepherd.  It is hard, dusty work....

...which is why, occasionally, we need to rest in the green pastures and drink of the still waters.  Our souls will need to be restored.  We will need rest for the journey, nourishment for the work.  We need a rest stop so that when the time comes for us to 'walk through the valley of the shadows' we are strong, and the voice of the Good Shepherd is ringing in our ears.

One day, God's Positioning System (GPS) will tell us we 'have reached our final destination' but for now, take a little drink, have something to eat, and rest.  There are folks waiting by the side of road waiting for you to come and offer them healing.

In Christ's name.
Now and forever.
Amen

The Lord is my shepherd.......

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Green pastures.  Still waters.  Rest and respite.  Protection by the Good Shepherd.  These are wonderfully powerful images.  We can picture the Good Shepherd cradling the little lamb (while surrounded by perfectly clean sheep!) in his arms - cradling us in his strong arms, in comfortable safety.


When Jesus says, "I know my own and my own know me: we are flooded with the relief of no longer being alone, out there in the world making our own way, fighting off the wolves for ourselves.  Now we belong to a flock, and not just any flock but the flock that is watched over by the Good Shepherd.  Someone else stands guard; someone else is tasked with being vigilant.  We can, finally, rest.........and have our souls restored.  Both the young and the dying find deep comfort in the promises embedded in this image.....

....although those 'in between', that is, in between the innocence of youth and the final call of death are challenged by the simplicity of it all.  We know that life is a lot more complicated than this.  There are wolves attacking the flock; there are huge patches of dead grass; the waters are polluted and frankly, the shepherd is so busy playing Angry Birds that she has no idea what's going on.  Jesus calls this inattentive, cowardly shepherd a 'hired hand.'  We call her the Congress or our boss or our neighbor or sometimes even a family member.  Disease and disaster, hunger and sorrow are not erased; the green pastures are not paradise.

Today, as we begin the work week, as we take up again the burden of responsibility, as we put one foot in front of the other, let us hold fast to this image of the Good Shepherd cradling us in his arms, protecting us from all harm and danger.  Tomorrow we will do the hard work of considering whether these green pastures are our destination or simply a rest stop along the way.

Today, eat a little green grass, drink from the cool refreshing water, bask in the sunshine, knowing you are his.

pausing to rest by still waters........

GOD, my shepherd!
I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
you find me quiet pools to drink from.

True to your word,
you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction.

Even when the way goes through
Death Valley,
I’m not afraid
when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd’s crook
makes me feel secure.

You serve me a six-course dinner
right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
my cup brims with blessing.

Your beauty and love chase after me
every day of my life.
I’m back home in the house of GOD
for the rest of my life.

I think we are ready to consider the transformed life of resurrection people:God's people, gathered in by the beloved Son of God, Jesus, and called to live within him.  Perhaps we needed this pause in the middle of resurrection season to take it all in and allow the great power of life that emanates from God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit to take us places we never imagined.

Perhaps it is time to move on out and be about the work of the resurrection.....and that is a scary and complicated adventure.  Perhaps this is exactly why David's beautiful psalm sits right in the middle of our Easter season. ....

because if we are going to live this resurrection life, if we are going to live within Jesus, serving as he served, and bringing God's good news to a host of strangers, if we are going to step into the places of death and darkness and call people to new life in Jesus.... then we just might need to know there will be a resting place, a safe place, a place of blessing and grace prepared for us.

God's great green pastures are neither a reward nor a destination, rather David depicts the depth of possibility in our relationship with this Father of love and Son of grace....... We will need this place of refreshment for the transformed life takes all we have to give.  Thank you God that you know this and provide for us.

Once I was lost, but now I'm found......

Lost sheep.

The shepherd goes out to find the lost sheep.  The one out of a hundred who wandered off and is in peril of dying.  99 are left together so that the shepherd can attend to the welfare of the one.

Along with the 23rd psalm, this is probably the most comforting passage of scripture.  Deep in our hearts we know a time when we were in the wilderness wondering how we got there and where everyone else was.....and we are ever so grateful that someone who loves us is looking for us.

Can't paint a clearer picture of the good news of Jesus.
Thank you Jesus for finding me; thank you Jesus for looking.

"When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices.  And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.  Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance."  Luke 15.3-7