Introspection: For a Reason

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.

Comments are always welcomed.

If you find these thoughts helpful, please share.

For a Reason

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away...

Ecclesiastes 3:1, 6 (NRSV)

Somewhere I will find

All the pieces torn apart

You just left behind

In Your mystery

Somewhere I will see

All You've taken from me

All You kept deep inside

In the mystery of You

From "Mystery of You" by RED

A few years ago, I went through a time of loss.  In September of 2015, I realized that the future of the young adult Bible study group I had attended for the last five years was uncertain, and I feared that recent changes at my church, where I was the youngest member by a large margin, would leave me further isolated from my peers.  I decided to leave my church and to devote my energy to the Bible study group, but, by the end of the year, it disbanded.  The community that meant the world to me was gone.  For a number of years, I had been working to become certified as a lay speaker in my denomination, but I figured that, since I had abandoned my church, my preaching "career" was pretty much over.

The church I left, which I attended for most of my life, closed its doors less than two years later.

The church-related losses of late 2015 were not the only losses I experienced in recent years.  There have been a number of situations in my family that have kept me feeling stressed out.  I've had to mourn the loss of a number of family pets.  I've lost faith in people I once admired.  I've become disillusioned with things that once gave me hope.  As time passes, I've been feeling more and more stuck in life.

Recently, I realized that, for far too long, the story I've been telling myself about my life has been a narrative of loss.  The losses I've experienced have indeed been painful, but to focus solely on what I've lost is a failure to properly appreciate what's good in my life.  Even after practicing gratitude for more than a year, I've still found myself saying, "I feel like everything good in my life is being chipped away, bit by bit."  Truth be told, such a statement does not accurately describe my life.

Six months after I left my previous church, I found my way to the church I now attend, and, over time, I've found my place there.  I joined a Sunday school class, which I eventually started leading every few weeks, as I did at my previous church.  The class discusses current events in light of faith, so it has stretched me a bit.  I also joined a church small group that meets weekly during various times of the year, and early last year I started leading it as well.  My friends from this group have been a source of encouragement to me, and I hope that I have been a blessing to them as well.  Because my new church is larger and healthier than my previous church, I have had the privilege to serve in ways that better utilize my spiritual gifts, and I have not had to juggle a bunch of hats I never had any business wearing, as I did in the past.

When I decided to leave my church, I figured I wouldn't be preaching again anytime soon.  Surprisingly, the pastors of the church I left continued to support me, and I ended up with even more preaching opportunities than I had previously.  The pastors of my new church have also been supportive of me, and, two years ago, I finally completed the requirements to be certified as a lay speaker.  Though I don't preach at my new church as often I preached at my previous church, I have had the opportunity to visit numerous churches as a guest speaker.

Recently I've had the opportunity to participate in some short-term studies with some of my friends from the group that disbanded back in 2015.  Also, two years ago, I joined a group that meets up weekly at a downtown coffee shop to discuss life.  In this group, I've met a lot of people and formed a number of new friendships.  In perhaps the most unexpected twist of fate, around the same time, I was invited to join the board that oversees the collegiate ministry I used to attend.  Sitting on the board has given me the opportunity to revisit the weekly gatherings that meant so much to me when I was involved with the ministry previously.

In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis suggests that God "always gives back to [people] with His right hand what He has taken away with His left."¹  Though I cannot say with absolute certainty what is an act of God and what is not, when I look back over the last few years, something about Lewis's words rings true.  I now realize that I have, in some way, regained a lot of what I lost back in late 2015 and that I have actually gained more than I lost.

A lot of people believe that "everything happens for a reason."  Personally, I cannot say that I am totally on board with such an idea.  Some of the things that happen in this world are so horrific that it is problematic to suggest that they happen in order to bring about some divine purpose.  Furthermore, when we are going through painful times, it is somewhat less than than helpful to hear that our pain is part of some greater purpose, as if we're pawns that have been sacrificed in a divine game of chess.

That said, I think that maybe, after we've come through difficult times, it can be helpful to look back and consider how God might have worked in our lives through them.  Whether or not everything actually happens for a reason, looking for reason can help us to come to terms with the difficulties we faced.

At one point, I briefly entertained the thought that the dissolution of my Bible study group was a consequence of my leaving my church.  I thought that maybe being abandoned by the community I needed was my punishment for abandoning the community that needed me.  Fair is fair, right?

I've since started seeing the bigger picture.  My previous church had a small, aging congregation, and, in many ways, it didn't meet my needs.  Double-dipping with other churches allowed me to say at my church while being in fellowship with other Christians my age.  The prospect of losing that option is what compelled me to move on from my previous church and enabled me to find my way to the church I now attend.  I now see that, if God did indeed take my Bible study group from me, God was not punishing me but rather relocating me.

Though I'm still not willing to say that everything happens for a reason, I'm starting to consider that maybe some things happen for a reason.

Though there is a lot of good in my life, I still feel stuck.  My life is not what I wish it was.  I have a restlessness in my bones and aches in my heart that will not go away.  The possibility that what brought me from where I was in the past to where I am today was not the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" but rather the One who holds the universe together gives me hope that maybe my life is actually heading somewhere.


Notes:

1. C.S. Lewis.  The Screwtape Letters.  ch. 14

The image featured in this introspection is believed to be public domain.

Perspective: Shut Up, Judas

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.

Comments are always welcomed.

If you find these thoughts helpful, please share.

Shut Up, Judas

Then Mary took an extraordinary amount, almost three-quarters of a pound, of very expensive perfume made of pure nard.  She anointed Jesus' feet with it, then wiped his feet dry with her hair.  The house was filled with the aroma of the perfume.  Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), complained, "This perfume was worth a year's wages!  Why wasn't it sold and the money given to the poor?"

John 12:3-5 (CEB)

You're right, I get it

It all makes sense, you're the perfect person

So right, so wrong

Let's all live in your imaginary life

From "I Get It" by Chevelle

In the Gospels, we read about a certain family from the village of Bethany.  Jesus would occasionally stay with them as He traveled.  In this family were two sisters and a brother.  Martha was hard-working and hospitable; Mary was free-spirited and open-hearted;¹ and Lazarus had health problems.  In the Gospel of John, we read that, after Lazarus became ill and died, Jesus returned to Bethany.  After visiting the grieving sisters, Jesus went to Lazarus's tomb and ordered that the stone be removed from the entrance.  Jesus called out, "Lazarus, come out!" and the formerly dead man stumbled out of the tomb, still wrapped up in grave cloths.²

Not long afterward, when Jesus returned to Bethany on His way to Jerusalem, the family held a banquet in His honor.  During dinner, Mary took a large amount of very costly perfume, poured it all on Jesus' feet, and dried them off with her hair.  As the fragrance of the perfume spread throughout the house, Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus' disciples, became incensed.  He said, "This perfume was worth a year's wages!  Why wasn't it sold and the money given to the poor?"³

The Gospel writer makes no effort to leave Judas's future betrayal of Jesus a surprise to the reader.  Even though Judas was a traitor among the Disciples, what he said about the use of the perfume wasn't totally wrong.  Mary certainly could have used the perfume to honor Jesus by selling it and using the proceeds to help the poor, because, as Jesus said, what we do for the "least of these" we also do for Him.⁴  As someone who was born in a stable and traveled about with "no place to lay his head," He knew a thing or two about being poor.⁵

That said, even though Judas had a point, he was still full of it because he didn't really care about the poor.  He was speaking out of greed.  The writer tells us that Judas, who served as the Disciples' treasurer, would sometimes make what we might call some "unauthorized withdrawals."⁶  Judas would later accept money to betray Jesus into the hands of those who hated Him.⁷

After Judas criticized Mary for her use of the perfume, Jesus said to him, "Leave her alone.  This perfume was to be used in preparation for my burial, and this is how she has used it.  You will always have the poor among you, but you won't always have me."⁸  Writer Kurt Vonnegut once suggested that maybe Jesus was being sarcastic, essentially saying, "Judas, don't worry about it.  There will still be plenty of poor people left long after I'm gone."⁹  In other words, Mary had only one opportunity to anoint Jesus' feet, but Judas would have many opportunities to not help people in need.

Mary could have sold the perfume and used the proceeds to help people in need, but instead she chose to anoint Jesus' feet with it.  Jesus, knowing that He would soon face the cross, acknowledged that Mary had honored Him by anointing Him for burial.  If someone chooses to use her money to serve the poor, she is doing a good thing, because we are called by Christ to help people in need.  If, on the other hand, someone chooses to honor Christ in a way that seems a bit extravagant or even wasteful, as Mary did when she anointed Jesus, she is still doing a good thing, because she is honoring Christ.

Many of us are critical of how churches use their money.  We might hear about something a church is doing and ask how many hungry people could have been fed with the money that was spent.  I've raised questions like this myself.  Such questions might be valid, but I think that maybe we need to put ourselves in Judas's place and ask ourselves whether or not we are putting our money where our mouths are.  Are we doing our part to help reduce poverty?  Do we even care about people in need?  When we make comments like Judas's, we aren't actually doing anything to help the poor; we are simply using the poor rhetorically to judge others.

We should always be concerned about people in need, and our concern should motivate us to act.  Sometimes it is appropriate to question how our religious institutions use their money and to consider whether or not they are doing their part to combat poverty.  That said, it is not appropriate to use people in need to denigrate the devotion of others.  God alone knows our hearts, so ultimately it is not up to us to judge whether or not someone's devotion to God is sincere.


Notes:

1. Luke 10:38-42
2. John 11:1-44 (CEB)
3. John 12:1-5 (CEB)
4. Matthew 25:34-40
5. Luke 2:7 and Luke 9:58 (CEB)
6. John 12:6
7. Matthew 26:14-16
8. John 12:7-8 (CEB)
9. https://sojo.net/articles/ryan-rodrick-beiler-kurt-vonnegut-christ-worshipping-agnostic

The painting featured above was painted by James Tissot in the late 1800s.

Sermon: The Shepherd and His Sheep

Delivered at Salem United Methodist Church in Greenville, South Carolina on May 12, 2019, the Fourth Sunday in Eastertide and Mother's Day

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.

Comments are always welcomed.

If you find these thoughts helpful, please share.

The Shepherd and His Sheep

At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem.  It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon.  So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense?  If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”  Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe.  The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep.  My sheep hear my voice.  I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.  No one will snatch them out of my hand.  What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand.  The Father and I are one.”

John 10:22-30 (NRSV)

All your ways are good

All your ways are sure

I will trust in you alone

Higher than my sight

High above my life

I will trust in you alone

From “I Will Follow” by Chris Tomlin

Sheep have a reputation for being especially dumb animals.  Nowadays, to refer to other people as “sheep” or “sheeple” is to imply that they don't think for themselves.  Sheep are actually not as dumb as people think: they have been found to be almost as trainable as dogs.  The fallacy that sheep are lacking in intelligence originated with cowboys who unsuccessfully tried to drive them like cattle.  It turns out that the problem was not that the sheep were dumb but that the cowboys did not understand the sheep.  In other words, the cowboys weren't shepherds.  What they failed to realize is that sheep cannot be driven forcefully from the rear like cattle.  Sheep must be led gently from the front.¹

All that said, when we encounter a passage of Scripture in which we are compared to sheep, like today's Gospel reading, we do not have to read it as an assault on our intelligence.²  Such passages are actually about the relationship between the sheep and the shepherd, which, of course, is symbolic of the relationship between humanity and God.

---

In the Gospel of John, we read that controversy ensues, when Jesus gives the gift of sight to a man who has been blind his whole life.  It has been said that “no good deed goes unpunished.”  The townspeople have trouble believing that the newly sighted man is the same man who used to beg on the side of the road because he was blind.  They take him to the religious leaders, and the religious leaders, many of whom have been highly critical of Jesus, begin to argue about whether Jesus is a prophet of God or a sinner.  Some argue that He must be a sinner because He did the work of healing on the Sabbath day, which, according to the Fourth Commandment, is meant solely for rest.  Others argue that, if He was a sinner, He could not possibly have given sight to a blind man.  The religious leaders grill the formerly blind man, becoming more and more angry with him, until they finally throw him out.³

Jesus meets up with the formerly blind man again, and the man professes his belief in Him.  Jesus says, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.”  Some of the religious leaders overhear what Jesus says and ask, “Surely we are not blind, are we?”⁴  Jesus then attempts to address their questions about who He is.  In the discourse that follows, Jesus makes the kind of statement about Himself that is scattered throughout John's Gospel.  Such statements, which are commonly called the “I Am” sayings, use metaphors to teach us who Jesus is.  On this occasion, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.”

So what exactly does it mean that Jesus is the Good Shepherd?  A quick look at what the Bible tells us about shepherds, both literal and figurative, will show us that it means a lot of things.

Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”⁵  He goes on to differentiate himself from a mere field hand who is hired to watch the sheep.  A hired hand, according to Jesus, will make himself scarce at the first sign of danger, leaving the sheep to be attacked and scattered.⁶  He will not put his life on the line for the sheep, because he is not personally invested in the sheep's well-being.  He is only working a job to pay the bills.

The ancient Hebrew prophets were never in short supply of scathing words for the powers that be.  Some of them compared the kings of Israel and Judah to bad shepherds who failed to take care of the sheep entrusted to them.  Through the prophet Jeremiah, God said, “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!”⁷  Through the prophet Ezekiel, God said, “Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves!  Should not shepherds feed the sheep?  You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep.”⁸

A bad shepherd will benefit from his role without adequately caring for the sheep entrusted to him.  A good shepherd, on the other hand, will lay down his life for his sheep because he is personally invested in their well-being.

One of the most memorable shepherds in the Bible is Jesus' ancestor David.  When David famously defeated the giant Goliath, he did so not as a soldier, clad in armor and carrying a sword, but as a shepherd, equipped with only a bag, a sling, and a few stones.  When the king initially objected to David's challenging the giant, David said, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it.”⁹  David was no mere field hand.  He put his own life on the line as a shepherd, because he was personally invested in the lives of the sheep.

David faced lions and bears for his father's sheep.  His descendant Jesus will face a cross for His Father's sheep.

Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.  I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.”¹⁰  A good shepherd knows the sheep entrusted to him.  In another Gospel, Jesus begins a parable by asking, “What do you think?  If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?”¹¹  One hundred sheep make up quite a large flock.  A shepherd in charge of so many sheep would have to know his flock remarkably well in order to notice that a single sheep is missing.¹²

Jesus continues His parable, “And if [the shepherd] finds [the sheep], truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.”¹³  A good shepherd does not leave any of his sheep behind.  He does not consider ninety-nine percent a success.  He does not write off his losses and move on.  It is only when the flock is complete that a good shepherd can celebrate a job well done.¹⁴  Jesus concludes His parable, “So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.”¹⁵  God knows and loves all of God's children, and God is not content to lose any of them.  Jesus says, “The Father and I are one,” meaning that what matters to God matters to Jesus.

There are other passages in Scripture that offer us hints regarding what it means that Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  As aforementioned, one of the most famous shepherds in the Bible is Jesus' ancestor David.  Incidentally, this shepherd penned what is probably the most beloved poem in the Bible, which begins, “The Lord is my shepherd.”  One thing I find fascinating about the twenty-third Psalm is that David, a shepherd, puts himself in the place of a sheep as he meditates on his relationship with God.

The Psalm begins, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.”¹⁶  A good shepherd provides for his sheep; he makes sure that they have the food and water they need.  The Psalm continues, “He leads me in right paths for his name's sake.”¹⁷  A good shepherd leads his sheep well, guiding them to water and pastureland while keeping them out of harm's way.  The Psalm continues, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff - they comfort me.”¹⁸  A good shepherd is a comforting presence to his sheep when they are frightened.

David is confident that, with God as his shepherd, goodness and mercy will follow him his whole life.¹⁹  Jesus, who calls Himself the Good Shepherd, says, “I came that [the sheep] may have life, and have it abundantly.”²⁰

Incidentally, today is both the fourth Sunday in Eastertide, which is also called Good Shepherd Sunday, and Mother's Day, making it a good day to remember that Christ is not only like a shepherd but also like a mother.  In the Gospel of Luke, we read that, one day, while Jesus is ministering to people in Jerusalem, He receives word that His life is in danger.  He then laments over the city, saying, “How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”²¹  Perhaps much of what can be said about a shepherd and his sheep could also be said about a mother and her children.  Mothers provide what their children need, lead them in the right paths in life, comfort them when they are afraid, give of themselves for their children, and often know their children better than their children know themselves.

Rob Bell, in one of his short films, tells a story about something that once happened to him while he was riding his bicycle on a trail through the woods.  As he was riding, he came across a family of geese in his way, and he tried numerous times, to no avail, to make them move.  Suddenly, Rob heard from the largest goose what he called “a sound that no human being should ever have to endure.”  He then realized that he had upset the mother goose.  Still intent on making the geese get out of his way, he backed up and began walking toward them very quickly.  The mother goose then assumed attack position, issued forth a hiss “straight from the pit of hell,” and charged him.  Rob then threw his bike over his shoulder for his own protection and ran back the way he came, away from the geese.²²

Nobody gets between a mother and her children, and nobody gets between the Good Shepherd and His sheep.  Jesus says, “I give [the sheep] eternal life, and they will never perish.  No one will snatch them out of my hand.”

Reactions to Jesus' claim that He is the Good Shepherd are mixed.  Some in His audience think that He has lost His mind and that His words cannot be trusted, while others continue to insist that, if He can give sight to the blind, He must be telling the truth.²³

Later on, while Jesus is in Jerusalem for the Festival of the Dedication, which we typically call Hanukkah, some of the religious leaders approach Him in the temple and say, “How long will you keep us in suspense?  If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”  Jesus replies, “I have told you, and you do not believe.  The works that I do in my Father's name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep.”  Jesus does not say what He says to the religious leaders for the sake of being exclusive; He is simply stating a reality.  A good shepherd knows his sheep, but sheep also know their shepherd.  The religious leaders are not among Jesus' sheep, because they do not see Jesus for who He is and they do not follow Him as their shepherd.

Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice.  I know them, and they follow me.”  Sheep are not stupid: they know who their shepherd is.  I have heard that the sheep of multiple different shepherds can intermingle while grazing and that each will return to it's own shepherd when called.²⁴  In Jesus' words,
The gatekeeper opens the gate for [the shepherd], 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.²⁵
Basically, the religious leaders do not belong to Jesus' flock because, if they did, they would follow Jesus when He calls them.

Jesus says to us, “I am the good shepherd.”  I've heard one preacher say that such sayings are not simply statements about Jesus' identity but are also invitations to experience Jesus in a particular way.²⁶  When Jesus says that He is the Good Shepherd, He is inviting us to see Him for who He is, to put our trust in Him, and to follow Him as sheep follow their shepherd.

Jesus says, “The works that I do in my Father's name testify to me.”  Jesus performs a number of miraculous works in the Gospel of John, and the author refers to these miracles as “signs,” because they point us to the truth of who Jesus is.  These signs also show us what kind of shepherd He is.  Jesus is the kind of shepherd who gives sight to the blind, treads fearlessly on top of a raging sea, feeds hungry multitudes in the desert, lifts up the weak, heals the sick, transforms water of ritual into wine of celebration, and brings new life to the dead.  He is the kind of shepherd who bears a cross to save His sheep and then rises from the dead to return to them.  We can put our trust in Jesus and follow Him as our shepherd, because we can see that He is good.

Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.  I know my own and my own know me...  And I lay down my life for the sheep.”  May you recognize Jesus for who He is; may you trust in His goodness; may you follow Him as your shepherd for the rest of your lives; and may goodness and mercy follow you always.

Amen.


Notes:

1. Jonathan Merritt.  Jesus Is Better than You Imagined.  2014, Faith Words.  pp. 119-120
2. ibid.
3. John 9:1-34
4. John 9:35-40 (NRSV)
5. John 10:11 (NRSV)
6. John 10:12-13
7. Jeremiah 23:1 (NRSV)
8. Ezekiel 34:2-3 (NRSV)
9. 1 Samuel 17 (NRSV)
10. John 10:14-15a (NRSV)
11. Matthew 18:12 (NRSV)
12. Amy-Jill Levine.  Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi.  2014, Harper One.  p. 38
13. Matthew 18:13 (NRSV)
14. Levine, p. 39
15. Matthew 18:14 (NRSV)
16. Psalm 23:1-3a (NRSV)
17. Psalm 23:3b (NRSV)
18. Psalm 23:4 (NRSV)
19. Psalm 23:6a (NRSV)
20. John 10:10b (NRSV)
21. Luke 13:31-34 (NRSV)
22. Rob Bell.  NOOMA She | 021.  2008, Flannel.
23. John 10:19-21
24. Luke Norsworthy.  “The Good Shepherd.”  Westover Hills Church of Christ, 02/25/2018.
25. John 10:3-5 (NRSV)
26. Norsworthy,  “The Good Shepherd”

Le Bon Pasteur was painted by James Tissot in the late 1800s.  The photograph of the flock of sheep was provided by the Agricultural Research Service and is public domain.