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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.
What happened to Simon?
by Mark Lieschke
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Then Simon answered, ‘Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me’ (Acts 8:24).
Read Acts 8:14–25
What happened to Simon? He came to Peter and John after seeing them place their hands on people and then receiving the Holy Spirit. And he wanted to be able to do the same.
While he may have had good intentions, his offer of money to buy this power was met with a stern rebuke from Peter and a call for him to repent. Simon’s response was ‘Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me’ (Acts 8:24).
And then nothing more about Simon. What happened to him? And what happened to the man with leprosy and the paralytic that Jesus healed, the centurion and his daughter, the widow and her son, the woman who anointed Jesus, the demon-possessed man, Jairus and his daughter, and the woman who touched Jesus’ cloak?
We don’t know. It would be great to hear these stories, the kind of experiences they may have had and how their witness may have influenced others. But there is silence.
What we do have is a glimpse of one particular time in their lives when they were touched by Jesus and/or his Holy Spirit. That’s what is most important.
Our stories are important. Whether they include the miraculous or seem to be rather ordinary, they are stories of how the Holy Spirit has worked and is working within us. We can celebrate, give thanks for and share those stories with others.
And central to those stories is the Spirit’s work – his influence, encouragement, equipping, strengthening and empowering. We are the recipients of his gifts. We are the work of his hands. We are people enabled to love, serve and care.
Thank you, Holy Spirit, for working in the lives of many people over the ages. Thanks for your presence in our lives today. Touch us so that today our hearts can burn with a desire to reflect Jesus. Give us joy as we serve. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Mark Lieschke is a retired pastor living on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and is a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church Buderim. He served in parishes in Adelaide SA, Palmerston North and Marton in New Zealand and Wagga Wagga NSW (school and congregation), before being elected as bishop of the LCANZ’s New South Wales District. He and his wife, Meredith, have four children (two of whom live in Canada) and two grandchildren. Mark enjoys spending time with family and friends, travelling, walking on the beach and resting.
Being bold
by Mark Lieschke
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness (Acts 4:29).
Read Acts 4:23–31
I wouldn’t describe myself as being bold. I really don’t take too many risks. I’m careful, cautious and restrained. I’m not a person who ‘lives on the edge’. I have, at times, opened packets of biscuits from the end that says to ‘open other end’. But that might be the extent of my daring!
So, when it comes to adapting to change, being open to new ventures and especially sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, I have been hesitant. It’s been my ‘job’ to share the good news for many years. It’s what I was paid to do. So, I had to do it. But in the back of my mind, I knew that wasn’t the right motivation.
However, in doing it, I became much more confident. God’s Holy Spirit was at work, even when there was questionable motivation, even when I stayed silent, even when I doubted my ability. God was at work. There was gentle (and not-so-gentle, at times) pushing, opportunities to learn and grow, and inspiration and encouragement from people around me.
The journey continues for me. Boldness to share the good news of Jesus Christ will always be something I strive for. And I have the confidence that the Holy Spirit will continue to grow, challenge, comfort and equip me.
I continue to be blown away by the courage of Peter and John. They stood up in the face of rejection, imprisonment and threat of death. They prayed that they would be able to speak with boldness. And ‘after they prayed … they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly’ (Acts 4:31).
That’s my prayer and my prayer for all believers. That the Holy Spirit will continue to fill us with his power, so that we can grow in our courage to speak the word of God boldly.
Holy Spirit, renew me again today. Refresh me, encourage me, make me bold. Give me all I need so that I can reflect the heart of Jesus in all I do and say. Thank you for giving me all I need to point people to Jesus. In his name I pray. Amen.
Mark Lieschke is a retired pastor living on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and is a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church Buderim. He served in parishes in Adelaide SA, Palmerston North and Marton in New Zealand and Wagga Wagga NSW (school and congregation), before being elected as bishop of the LCANZ’s New South Wales District. He and his wife, Meredith, have four children (two of whom live in Canada) and two grandchildren. Mark enjoys spending time with family and friends, travelling, walking on the beach and resting.
Being with Jesus
by Mark Lieschke
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realised that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13).
Read Acts 4:5–21
What a change there was in Peter! Just a couple of months earlier, he had been scared to death, deserting Jesus while he was on trial for his life and pretending he didn’t even know him. Not long after, Peter spoke to the very same people who had Jesus crucified. He told it like it was – that, though they killed Jesus, God raised him from the dead, and now Jesus was the only source of salvation for everyone on earth.
That wasn’t the kind of thing the leaders expected to hear from Galilean fishermen – either Peter or John! What could give them courage like that? Luke tells us: ‘They recognised that they had been with Jesus.’
Peter and John were different from what they once were – because they had been with Jesus, the one who loved them so much he gave his life for them on the cross. They had spent three years living with him, seeing what kind of a person Jesus was – his daily patient, gracious love; his hardworking endurance as he cared for the crowds; his kindness to the people nobody else cared about.
They saw him walk steadfastly to his death. And they saw him alive after God raised him from the dead – and so they knew that Jesus was in fact the true Son of God, the Saviour of the world. In his hands, they were safe forever.
And that’s true for us, too – because we also belong to Jesus. As we spend time with him in his word, in holy communion and in service, we discover the way he feels about us – the faithful love he has for us and the delight he takes in us. We come to realise more and more that he will never leave us or let us down. And that gives us courage to live for him, too.
We have been with Jesus, and that means we are new people – children of God, sharing his message with the world.
Lord God, Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of your word and the gospel of salvation. Grant that we, like Peter and John, may never be ashamed of the name of Jesus. Give us the boldness to speak of your grace in our homes, workplaces and community, trusting that your Spirit works through our confession. Protect your church from the pressures of the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Mark Lieschke is a retired pastor living on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and is a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church Buderim. He served in parishes in Adelaide SA, Palmerston North and Marton in New Zealand and Wagga Wagga NSW (school and congregation), before being elected as bishop of the LCANZ’s New South Wales District. He and his wife, Meredith, have four children (two of whom live in Canada) and two grandchildren. Mark enjoys spending time with family and friends, travelling, walking on the beach and resting.