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I'm sharing this journal entry from one of our sheep / shepherds for your encouragement and invite you to share your stories to keep us connected David
Thursday April 2, 2020: A journal entry:
JESUS WEPT.
A Morning mist of low cloud wrapped soft around the hills.
I read John 6 and tried to ponder on Jesus the living bread. But the mist beckoned and drew me outside, quickly enfolding me in its clammy embrace.
There was no pausing to choose direction. I headed straight up the hill blanketed in the foggy stillness, only birdcall echoing the inner certainty – she’s coming to pray.
Pray up the hill. I haven’t prayed up there for a while. I’ve prayed. But not there on God’s hill, my place of retreat.
At the summit, as cloud drifted and lifted, it was my heart that rained out its anguished plea, the cry for help with COVID19: LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER. Help us Jesus.
That was it. No wordy waffle. I perched on the rim of the damp bench, poised in grief and need; heart, mind and spirit turned to God, “Yet still do I praise you Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Living God.”
A lull then settled over me, like a mute button had been pressed to hush the turmoil of my distressed thoughts and wretched emotions concerning the plight of the world’s people. Wait. Be quiet!
Jesus wept. The words from last Sunday’s reading came to mind loud and clear.
33 When Jesus saw her crying, and the Judaeans who had come with her crying, he was deeply stirred in his spirit, and very troubled. 34 ‘Where have you laid him?’ he asked. ‘Master,’ they said, ‘come and see.’ 35 Jesus burst into tears. (John 11:33-35 NTE)
I too burst into tears, and as I wept, there at the top of the hill, I knew he was weeping with me. Weeping with all the world. Weeping for us all.
Turn to me. And I, turning, vision all awash, could see clearly, he was there. Feed my sheep. To this I shook my head, and thought, I’m no pastor. You are a minister of my word. Therefore, speak my word to others. Speak my word to one another. And suddenly understanding dawned. “You aren’t just saying this to me, are you? It’s your call to all of us: Feed your sheep. The responsibility is ours collectively.” And I pictured the scattered sheep, isolated from one another but belonging together and needing creative new ways of being church and speaking grace and hope to one another and others.
I plunged, then, down the hill, not following the worn paths but winding down the steeper slope, weaving through knee high weeds, around rocky mounds and patches of slippery flattened grass, to emerge at the wider base track.
Now is the time to forge new paths. Jesus is still the Way, the “base track” of my faith remains the same. It’s the network of familiar paths that represent how we have lived out our faith, that have fallen away, not God’s word or his kingdom, or his love.
I am thankful for this love that comes to us where we are: scattered sheep weeping in the mist of uncertainty. I’m thankful that Jesus wept and that his way isn’t set in stone. That he comes and calls us to discover a new and living way, today and tomorrow and the next day. Hallelujah! This is a new day! And the Jesus who weeps with us in our distress will renew us and lead us on beyond COVID19.
JESUS WEPT.
The autumn sun filtered a pale ray through the drifting grey. A reminder that the God who weeps, also sheds light as well as tears.
By what authority (outsiders welcome)?
by Peter Bean
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Then I will tell you by what authority I do these things (Matthew 21:24b).
Read Matthew 21:23–32
There is an overall theme in our readings this week of ‘outsiders welcome’!
It begins in today’s reading, with Jesus and the religious leaders clashing over authority. Authority seems to be important. We like to know who is in charge. Political parties make hay out of law and order. We often like black-and-white answers and respond positively to them.
But Jesus is not like this. You want to know my authority? You can’t even answer my simple question. So, I’ll leave the mystery hanging in the air. He then tells a parable that seems to have a simple meaning. Except when Jesus explains it, it challenges all authority.
Who’s getting into the kingdom of God first? Not those who live upright lives, who obey the law. Rather, it is those we don’t want to associate with. The ones we are happy to speak about in bad terms. The ones we would condemn!
Oh, oh! Whose authority counts here? It seems to me that our rules can be dangerous. Those we consider insiders, worthy of respect and law-abiding, are not so highly regarded after all. Instead, the outsiders are welcome: the lowly, the sinners, those who don’t live as we expect, those who respond to unexpected grace.
God’s grace is not based on human authority. Human authority is not Jesus’ guide to life. Rather, it is the gift of grace; the welcome to the outsiders; the welcome to all and any who can put aside their own prejudices and notions of right and wrong, and instead respond to God’s mysterious and wonderful gift of forgiveness and life.
Lord Jesus, thank you for challenging human authority and showing a better way. Help me to respond to your love and mercy, and extend love and mercy to all I come across. Amen.
Spring has sprung. Flowers are displaying their colours; fruit is forming on the trees. There is new growth everywhere. As you observe this wonderful new life, may you revel in the new beginnings God offers you each day. As Peter continues to meander his way through the Book of Psalms, he invites you to read them anew and apply them to your life. If you would like his paraphrase of any psalm (from 1 to 120), send your request to pbean087@gmail.com
Around the throne
by Andreas Spingler
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After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude … from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages (Revelation 7:9a).
Read Revelation 7:9–17
This amazing vision of the seer John leaves me in awe. Here, at the throne of God, at the goal of God’s story with his people, true unity in all diversity has finally become real. People from every nation, tribe, people and language are gathered in unity before the throne of God and before the Lamb, worshipping him together. That’s not uniformity, not at all, but genuine unity.
Ever since the days of the Tower of Babel, humankind has tried to achieve unity. Yet it has often followed the same old recipe as the builders of Babel: ‘Come, let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered over the face of the whole earth’ (Genesis 11:4). Usually, the results were poor, or they ended in uniformity.
I’ve been living in Papua New Guinea for some time, a country in which 10 million people speak more than 800 languages. This remarkable diversity is unfortunately often a cause for misunderstandings, conflict and violence. We humans seem to be able to achieve either diversity or unity, but rarely both.
So what brings people together before the throne of God in this unity amid diversity? Two things stand out to me.
First, the shared worship. Before the throne of God, we’re no longer making a name for ourselves, but together, we lift up the name of the Lord, and that unites us.
Second, and perhaps even more deeply, the white robes. Although we come before his throne from countless different cultures, we all wear the same white robes. A few verses later, we learn where they come from: ‘They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb’ (Revelation 7:14).
What truly unites people before the throne of God is Jesus’ saving work on the cross. There, our differences are no longer a cause of conflict, but a reason for joy. In this unity, which is formed by the blood of Jesus and expressed in the praise of God, our diversity becomes pure richness.
How does God’s vision of people from every nation gathered around his throne shape the way you view Christian unity today?
Pray for the students, lecturers and staff of Lutheran Highlands Seminary as they live and learn together amid the rich cultural and linguistic diversity of Papua New Guinea. Pray that the seminary is a living witness to the vision of Revelation 7, where people from every nation and language gather together in worship before the Lamb.
Andreas Spingler is a lecturer at Lutheran Highlands Seminary in Ogelbeng, Papua New Guinea.
The gift of understanding
by Gabriele Hoerschelmann
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We, though many, are one body in Christ (Romans 12:5a).
Read Romans 12:1–8
What troublesome but exciting times! How frightened the disciples must have been after Jesus’ death at the cross, then the news brought by the women that he had risen from the dead, and now some of them were witnessing Christ’s ascension to heaven. It must have felt like a rollercoaster, with steep ups and downs, with changing moods and emotions, with despair and hope taking turns.
How understandable that on the day of Pentecost they were all gathered in one place. They sought safe community and comforting companionship with one another. As close friends, they wanted to be together, because who knows what’s to be expected next? And how right they were.
In Acts 2, we read: ‘And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.’ What a frightening experience this must have been. And this wasn’t even enough: ‘Divided tongues as of fire appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.’ They suddenly and unexpectedly saw and felt the Holy Spirit like fire resting on each one of them and filling the whole place where they were gathering.
They next experienced the Holy Spirit enabling them to understand each other, no matter which language they were speaking. It caused considerable amazement among those gathered who asked, ‘What does this mean?’ But, of course, the sneering from some others was inevitable as well.
But let’s ask why understanding each other, despite different languages, was the gift the Holy Spirit gave the believers gathered in the very first place. This unity isn’t something we create ourselves, but a gift from Christ, who made us one through his death and resurrection, and who continues to gather us by his Spirit.
We know that good relationships grow and thrive with good communication. Listening to each other helps understanding, and understanding the other helps overcome arguments. This is important for every community in the world, and it’s important for gaining peace among people. As people whom the Holy Spirit has already brought into one body, listening to one another helps us live out this unity. As we seek to understand one another’s perspectives, our community grows in unity.
People are different, as are their life experiences and often also their opinions. But this shouldn’t divide us as Christian sisters and brothers in this world. The Holy Spirit came among us so that we may understand and see each other with Christ’s love, despite all differences. What a wonderful gift. Let us treasure it and not waste it, so our community may grow, live and thrive. Amen.
Is there someone you need to listen to more carefully? How might greater understanding strengthen your relationships?
Pray that Mission EineWelt will be continually guided by the Holy Spirit, so that through Christ they foster unity, understanding and loving fellowship across all cultures and communities.
Dr Gabriele Hoerschelmann is the director of Mission EineWelt in Germany.