The President's Speech

"THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECH”

June 30, 2013

©Thomas B. Cundiff

PROVERBS 3: 1-12

HEBREWS 12: 1-2

 

 ________________________________________________________

 

PROVERBS 3: 1-12

Admonition to Trust and Honor God

3My child, do not forget my teaching,
   but let your heart keep my commandments;
² for length of days and years of life
   and abundant welfare they will give you.

³ Do not let loyalty and faithfulness forsake you;
   bind them round your neck,
   write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴ So you will find favor and good repute
   in the sight of God and of people.

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
   and do not rely on your own insight.
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge him,
   and he will make straight your paths.
⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes;
   fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
⁸ It will be a healing for your flesh
   and a refreshment for your body.

⁹ Honor the Lord with your substance
   and with the first fruits of all your produce;
¹⁰ then your barns will be filled with plenty,
   and your vats will be bursting with wine.

¹¹ My child, do not despise the Lord’s discipline
   or be weary of his reproof,
¹² for the Lord reproves the one he loves,
   as a father the son in whom he delights.

 

 

HEBREWS 12: 1-2

The Example of Jesus

12Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely,* and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, ²looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfector of our faith, who for the sake of* the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

I.

In recent years I have become a fan of a prolific author and scholar named Diana Butler-Bass[1].   A few years ago our Presbytery of Lake Huron brought her to the Horizon Conference Center (April 2009) to talk about neighborhood and church transformations.  

A graduate from Duke University in the field of “Religious History”, Diana Butler-Bass has authored a number of books on the contemporary church.  She is an independent researcher, educator and consultant who has recently focused some of her recent work on the topic of “American Civil Spirituality”.

Now follow me with this.  Diana Butler-Bass is one who has been looking at contemporary religion not only through the eyes of scripture but also contemporary historical documents written by some of our esteemed national leadership. 

For example:   Our current President Barak Obama recently delivered is second Inaugural Speech this past January.  It is a political speech.  It is also a speech with spiritual overtowns.   This could have been a speech delivered by Ronald Reagan or George Bush or George Washington, but Diana Butler Bass decided to look critically at Obama’s Inaugural Speech through “religious / spiritual” lens of contemporary religion.  

This is an interesting exercise in reading any great speech like the Gettysburg Address.  Or in reading the Declaration of Independence ask the question:  What is being said of this document looking at it from a spiritual perspective. 

Where is God in these documents?   One of the most obvious and profound religiouis statements to be found in any document are the words:  “In God we Trust” or “We are One Nation Under God”.  What do the women and men who lead us as a nation say about God?  

This is the kind of research used  by Diane Butler Bass in opening doors for us to connect the dots between faith and patriotism.  

Again, Diana Butler Bass’s emphasis in much of her work is “American Civil Spirituality”.  So this week before the fourth of July, what does our current president, Barak Obama, say about our nation not from a political perspective but rather, a spiritual perspective?  Regardless where you stand politically, what does our current president have to say to us as “one nation, spiritually, under God—striving to be about the business of serving and nurturing a closer relationship with God”?   

II.

I have placed copies of two of Barak Obama’s speeches in the back of the sanctuary.

First, on yellow paper, is his Second Inaugural Address delivered on January 21^st of this past year.

The second, on green paper, is the address he gave at the National Prayer Breakfast on February 7^th, one month after his second inauguration.

Much of what I am sharing this morning comes from Diana Butler Bass who looks at these speeches as public, creedal statements on the meaning of America and a “call to practice faith in the world.  Specifically in looking a the Second inaugural Address, it is an “expression of a genuinely pluralistic America”, and an expression of a new sort American Civil Spirituality.[2] 

To continue in sharing, directly, what Diane Butler-Bass says about “American Civil Spirituality” as seen through the eyes of our President:

“President Obama is a Christian but {in this speech} made few, if any, direct appeals to religion…..    As president, he has a new historical problem when it comes to speaking of faith. Through the twentieth century, presidents were able to craft a generally religious language that addressed America’s three most influential groups-Protestants, Catholics, and Jews. When President Kennedy delivered his inaugural address, it was considered the best public sermon in this tradition of American civil religion.

But the old civil religion is no longer enough. In the first decade of the twenty-first century, the percentage of the Christian population has declined as the number of nones, atheists, agnostics, and those adhering to non-Christian religions increased exponentially.

In 2011, according to the Pew Forum, the United States became an officially pluralistic religious country for the first time in its history, with no single faith tradition claiming the allegiance of 50 percent of the population.”

Simply, the United States of America isn’t as protestant or Catholic or Jewish as it used to be! And President Obama is the first President called to speak to the nation on behalf of Christians and Jews and the 50% of Americans who are atheists, agnostics or who adhere to another non-Christian religion.  

“Overtly Judeo-Christian understandings of God are no longer adequate to address and include all of America’s people.”

What can a president do? Leave faith out of the equation? Or find new ways of expressing the transcendent meanings of community?

Abandoning the {traditional} language of faith would, of course, be the easier path (and the favored choice for the atheists in our midst). In his inaugural speech, President Obama did not choose the easy road. Instead, he linked his progressive political agenda with transcendent values, with a spiritual appeal to the new American pluralism.”

Simply, he gave a speeh inclusive of all religious persons including Christians, Jews, Muslims, other religions…..and those who choose not to believe in God at all!

This being said, Obama makes seveal points that cross religious lines, consistent with what we believe as Christians….and these points make for good preaching!  Read his speech through the lens of faith and you will see clearly this sermon:

First, LIFE IS A JOURNEY!  “We are on a perpetual pilgrimage, never arriving to a settled place. {of course this is an image of the Biblical Exodus and trec toward the promised land.}  We seek deeper justice, greater knowledge of ourselves in and through God, elusive wisdom, and wise action as we sojourn in and through the world.”[3]  Obama said, “Today we continue a never-ending journey to bridge the meaning of those words {of our founding texts} with the realities of our time.”

We are travelers.  Sojourners.  Life is a journey.  “…to call the American people into a journey is both a spiritual and political invitation toward a new understanding of who we are and who we might be. To President Obama, the appeal is a Christian one, but also one shared and understood by others {of different religions}…”[4]

In his prayer breakfast speech, Obama using our scripture today from the book of Hebrews, talks about faith as a process in this journey moving forward as a nation and as people of God.  For Obama says first,

“Faith is not a possession.  Faith is a process,”[5] “I was struck”, says Obama, “by the passage…..from the book of Hebrews:  ‘Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that God exists and rewards those who dilgently seek him’.  God rewards those who diligently seek Him—not for one moment or one day, but for every moment and every day.”[6] 

Life is a journey.  Faith is a jouney.  Faith is not a possession but a process!    Regardless our political affirmations, this is an inclusive message we can all embrace. 

 

IV.

In the second section of the speech, President Obama articulates six beliefs of a spiritual and political, as well as inclusive and pluralistic, creed:  To briefly list these beliefs consistent with God’s Word  and Christian Scripture and the belief systems fo those who may not be Christian:

 

1) We believe in community;

2) We believe in shared prosperity; -- emphasis on the word SHARED…..

3) We believe in mutual care of one another;

4) We believe in stewardship of the Earth;

5) We believe in peacemaking; and

6) We believe in equality and human rights.

 “Each one of these creedal statements was backed by subtle references to Hebrew or Christian scriptures, an occasional historical reference to a noted sermon or hymn, as well as more general appeals to God or divine favor.”[7]

Six creedal statements that are the basis of a political agenda:  Human Rights, Healthcare, Immigration, Climate changes, World Peace, domestic peace,…and a longing in a nation where there are still too many halves set against the have-nots:  searching for the restoration of a nation that can be called again:   “One Nation Under God”!

To quote directly from Obama’s Inaugural Speech:

“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still;  just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall;  just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along the great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone;  to hear a King {referencing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.} proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on earth.”[8]

What our president has given us is a call to use our faith as Christians and Ameridcans on this “Journey through life” to make this a better world in which to live—together, equally, inclusiveof all people and backgrounds and traditions and faith—all God’s children!   

This coming week we celebrate the Fourth of July—our living as one nation UNDER GOD striving to be a nation that protects basic fundamental rights of life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness—for all humanity!

“Finally, President Obama ended the speech with a call to action. Almost all good sermons end with the preacher telling his or her congregation to do something. Serve the poor, proclaim the faith, have hope in the future, renew your hearts. Indeed, the inauguration address did just that: Answer the call of history by renewing our ancient covenant of justice and equality in this new and uncertain world. We must make a new American future.”[9]

V.               Conclusion

So our call to action – from this pulpit:  As we approach this Fourth of July Holiday, let’s remember we are, together, people of God….on a journey with faith driving us forward……and as Obama quotes the book of Proverbs: 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
   and do not rely on your own insight.
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge him,
   and he will make straight your paths.
⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes;
   fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
⁸ It will be a healing for your flesh
   and a refreshment for your body.

And from the letter to the Hebrews….life of faith and citizenship is but a sacred journey…..so let us

run with perseverance the race that is set before us, ²looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith….

AMEN

---

[1] Biography

Diana Butler Bass was born in Baltimore, Maryland and grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona. For as long as she can remember, she's been interested in religion, history, and politics--the passions she intertwines in her books and writing. She holds a Ph.D. in American religious history from Duke University. After a dozen years teaching undergraduates, she became a full-time writer, independent researcher, educator, and consultant.

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[2]   The Washington Post,  “In Obama’s inauguration speech, a new American Religion”, 1/25/13. 

 

[3]   Ibid. 

[4]  Obama Prayer Breakfast Speech, February 6, 2013.

[5]  Ibid.

[6]  Ibid.   (Editorially, I tried to change some of the “God/He” language to be more inclusive, GOD language!)

[7]  Ibid. Butler Bass

[8]  Obama Inauguration Speech, January 21, 2013

 

[9]  Ibid, Butler Bass.

 

DEATH & CARING

“Death and Caring”

June 23, 2013

©Thomas B. Cundiff

Psalm 121

¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills—
   from where will my help come?
² My help comes from the Lord,
   who made heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot be moved;
   he who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴ He who keeps Israel
   will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord is your keeper;
   the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day,
   nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord will keep you from all evil;
   he will keep your life.
⁸ The Lord will keep
   your going out and your coming in
   from this time on and for evermore.

Philippians 2: 1-5

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, ²make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. ⁴Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. ⁵Let the same mind be in you that was^* in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4: 8-9

Finally, beloved,* whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about* these things. ⁹Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

 

I.

It has been said, I believe by Benjamin Franklin, that nothing in life is certain – but  DEATH and TAXES.   What is life is certain?  Anything at all?  We are BORN and we DIE!   Ahhh!  But between birth and death is something else that is certain:  LIFE ITSELF!   If I affirm anything else from this pulpit it is this confessional statement lodged in the 1990 Brief Statement of Faith – another certainty in my hear and in my mind:         

 “In Life and Death We Belong to God”

Admittedly I like and profess this creed acknowledging I could just as easily quote another ancient creed, the Heidelberg Catechism brought to this country in 1609 that says in answer to the catechism question:

“What is your only comfort, in life and in death?”

The answer, “That I belong—body and soul, in life and death—

not to myself but to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.”

If there is anything certain at all—in body and soul;  in life and in death—we belong not to ourselves but to God and our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ!  

Yet we have our questions. We have our doubts.  We live our lives balancing certainties with our questions and doubts.  And my experience, the more we work through challenges in our lives the more we can affirm several things: 

First, we are never alone.   We are born not in isolation but with family bonds of care and compassion that connect us one to another.    

Second, as already said, we belong to God.  I try to bring this affirmation into this pulpit each and every Sunday.  From generation through generation, we belong to God.  

Third, while we belong to God we also know that God never abandons us!   I also preach this affirmation and try to bring this truth to you on Sundays—God never abandons us.    

Fourth, amidst our questions and doubts:  With God’s help and through faith in Jesus Christ, we can and will get through anything. 

We worry about the future.  We’re get frustrated – even scared.   We don’t like pain and we don’t want to die.  Yet even in death, we can get through anything including death itself…BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT EVEN IN DEATH, WE BELONG TO GOD, WE ARE NEVER ALONE, AND GOD NEVER ABANDONS US.

As requested by some of you, today’s topic:  Death and Caring.   Death is a certainty and yes, we care about all things related to life and death.  We care about and for those who are dying.  We contemplate and care about our death.  We care about God’s holding us in death.

II.

I have shared with you before my “Books of Souls”.  I have been keeping these little black notebooks for as long as I have been your pastor.  These notebooks (I have six of them) contain obituaries and personal notes from all the memorial and funeral services I have conducted—all the deaths that have occurred in this church—as well as notes from many friends and colleagues.      

Out of curiosity I looked up wondering, how many funerals the first five years I was here, 1985-1990?  10?  25?  45?  75?  I can’t say I did all the funerals because Rev. Asa Compton conducted many of these funerals.   In the span of five years seventy-nine (#79) members of this church passed on to their eternal, heavenly home.  

III.

For several decades pastors and chaplains and approached the stages of grief in referencing the counseling methods of Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her book On Grief and Grieving and another little book written by Granger Westberg titled Good Grief.[1]  These stages are listed on this diagram I have been using for nearly forty years.  The reason I like to use this chart is because it illustrates:  

First, there are always going to be bumps in our journey through life—little changes we experience when we are ill or when we move or with some of the important decisions we have to make throughout life. There are also major events that lead to profound grief--expected or unexpected points of change and loss:  Someone dies.  A tragedy occurs.  A tornado hits a community.  A bomb goes off.  You lose a job.  Cancer is diagnosed.  Death.  And then…..

Second, there is likely an emotional plunge downward into depths of sorrow and grief.  And we go through the five feelings listed:  Frozen feelings, emotional release, loneliness, physical symptoms, guilt.  

Third, after a period of grief, we begin to recover.  Doubts are replaced with affirmations and certainty.  While we may bottom out with feelings of PANIC, we usually, eventually climb through hostility, selective memory in struggling to establish new life patterns….ways of doing things without our loved one by our side.  It may take weeks, months or years….particularly when there is a death…..but eventually we reach a point in affirming:  LIFE IS GOING TO BE OKAY—MAYBE EVEN BETTER THAN BEFORE!   

Theologically, the reason I‘ve liked using this chart is because, developmentally, we change and grow.  Major or small losses, our hope is to grow because of the losses we experience.  We have a basic desire to live at a higher level than before the experience of loss.

In recent years I have turned to the work of one of the best-loved spiritual writers of our time, Henri J.M. Nouwen.  Henri Nouwen affirms with Kubler-Ross, Westberg and other…..

Every time we breath in and exhale we are taking in new

 life and releasing that which is lost….time and experiences

and breath that we can never experience again….  Every breath we take

us but a new experience!   The beginning of summer brings to us

new experiences each and every day! 

 

IV.

Another little book, “Our Greatest Gift[2]” has some wonderful things to think about in considering this question:  Nouwen asks:

“Is death something so terrible and absurd that we are better off not thinking or talking about it?  Or is death such an undesirable part of our existence that we are better off acting is if it were not real?  Is death such an absolute end of all our thoughts and actions that we simply cannot face it?  Or is it possible to befriend our dying gradually and live open to it, trusting that we have nothing to fear?  Is it possible to prepare for our death with the same attentiveness that our parents had in preparing for our birth?  Can we wait for our death as for a friend who wants to welcome us home?”

Nouwen talks of death as a gift.  As hard as this is, can we grow to accept the fact that life is but a journey in preparing to receive the gift of eternal life.  Whatever we believe about heaven or eternal life, death for the Christian is not the enemy.  We may not like the idea of loss and change or death.  But death is not an enemy. 

For Henri Nouwin calls us to befriend death? 

I will never forget the woman, Marjorie Scheanwald, who was dying who asked to visit her over at her Wheeler street home –to go through some hymns with me when I came to visit.  Even in pain, she wanted to give some attention to planning her own funeral and wanted to make sure certain hymns were sung.    

It’s not easy planning your own funeral.  

While it’s not easy to talk about death, we do think about it.  And befriending death is accepting that death is part of life.  And one of the most important things we can do in befriending death:  Let those around us know we are and with those who are dying….they will never be alone.  Henri Nouwen says beautifully:

“A good death is a death in solidarity with others.  To prepare ourselves for a good death, we must develop or deepen this sense of solidarity.  If we live toward death as toward an event that separates us from people, death cannot be other than a sad and sorrowful event.  But if we grow in awareness that our mortality, more than anything else, will lead us into solidarity with others, then death can become a celebration of our unity with the human race….instead of simply ending life, it can begin something new.”  ((pg 26-27)

V.  CARING WELL.

In what Nouwen calls “Caring Well”, Nouwen says:

“Care, as I speak of it here, is the loving attention given to another person—not because that person needs it to stay alive, not because that person or some insurance company is paying for it, not because care provides jobs, not because the law forbids our hastening death, and not because that person can be used for medical research, but because that person is a child of God, just as we are…..To care for others as they become weaker and closer to death is to allow them to fulfill their deepest vocation, that of becoming ever more fully what they already are, sons and daughters of God.”   Pg 58

 

We have the choice to die well.  And this thought from Nouwen about our resurrection to new life in living eternally with God.  

“Don’t be afraid.  After your death you will be resurrected as Jesus was, meet all your friends again, and be forever happy in the presence of God.”  …  Pg 108

In fact, we don’t really know much about eternal life with God.  What we can know for sure with the assurance of scripture behind us.

“Resurrection is the expression of God’s faithfulness to Jesus and to all God’s children.  Through the resurrection, God has said to Jesus, “you are indeed my beloved Son, and my love is everlasting.”  And to us God has said, “You indeed are my beloved children, and my love is everlasting.”  Pg 109

 
There is oh so much more to be said……and I have already covered a lot of ground.

Let me end with this.  As your pastor, it is my desire to do two things.  To use my ministry to help us grasp what it means to believe in the resurrected life…...the life that continues eternally and beyond death.  And finally, death is a gift.  A door is open for us to live with our lord forever.   Jesus died and rose from death so we can reach a point of believing in this gift in traveling through the open door to heaven.  Truly, life with God is a gift.  May God bless us as we search to understand these wonderful, unimaginable truths that come to us from scripture.

AMEN.                                                                              

---

[1]   GOOD GRIEF, Granger E. Westberg, 1962   and   ON GRIEF AND GRIEVING, Elizabeth Kubler Ross, 1969

 

 

[2]   OUR GREATEST GIFT, Henri J>M> Nouwen, 1994.

THE SHEPHERD PSALM

“The Shepherd Psalm”

June 16, 2013

©Thomas B. Cundiff

 

 

Psalm 23   THE SHEPHERD PSALM

¹           The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.

²           He makes me lie down in green pastures;

            he leads me beside still waters;

³           he restores my soul.

            He leads me in right paths

            for his name’s sake.

⁴           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.

⁵           You prepare a table before me

            in the presence of my enemies;

            you anoint my head with oil;

            my cup overflows.

⁶           Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

            all the days of my life,

            and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD

            my whole life long.

 

John 10:  1-10, 11 and 14

¹“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. ²The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

⁷So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.  Vs. 11  “I am the good shepherd”, says Jesus, who lays down his life for the sheep…..Vs. 14  “I am the goods shepherd”, says Jesus who knows each of the sheep by name 

INTRODUCTION

In building on my last sermon, one of the themes that flows through both Old and New Testaments, is “shepherding”.  The most popular phrase that comes to mind from the Old Testament Psalm 23:  “THE LORD WHO IS MY SHEPHERD!” ……and from the New Testament Gospel of John Jesus saying:  “I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD”.  There are over 200 references to shepherding and sheep in the Old and New Testaments. 

Something I have found interesting.  I have looked back to find out I have done over a dozen sermons on the 23^rd Psalm yet it was the number one requested topic when I asked you what you wanted me to preach. 

Could it be I’m either not doing a very good job in preaching this Psalm or simply, there is a timeless, ongoing desire to nurture a closer relationship with the one called the “Good Shepherd” who stands by us taking care of us through all the ups and downs, the trials and pain and grief that are part of life….like a shepherd should!  One thing is for sure, the 23rs Psalm will always be an important of our spiritual culture in thinking about our relationship with God!

Also, this is scripture that can take us to the “sacred & hallowed places” we need to be in remembering loved ones who have died.  This Psalm is a timeless source of comfort and calm and peace at some of the gloomiest, sorrowful and darkest times in our lives.    

The “Shepherd Psalm” is one of the most consequential pieces of literature and theology ever written that shows us a compassionate God who holds us, hugs us with a perpetual, parental embrace of love.  Like a shepherd cares for his sheep, so does God take care of us as his children. 

Digging deeper, briefly, three points in thinking about the 23^rd Psalm. 

Point One:  Sheep are precious! 

Life is precious!

In biblical times more so than now, sheep were a precious commodity.  Domesticated some 11,000 years ago, there are over 800 varieties of sheep providing shelter, clothes and food for people of all cultures around the globe.    

 Likewise, in spiritual terms we too are a precious commodity.  WE ARE GOD’S SHEEP!   Life is precious.  As a shepherd cares for his flocks of sheep, God cares for each of us – sons and daughters – created in the image of God:  priceless;  precious;  respected;  cherished and loved in the eyes of God.  

“The Lord is my Shepherd”?   God ultimately and intimately cares for my every need.  God is concerned about our welfare and wellbeing.  God is concerned about our bodies, minds and souls.  This image of being “God’s sheep” is valuable because it helps to close the gap between God and each of us.  God isn’t some distant God.  God is with us to care for us like a shepherd cares for his sheep—like mothers and fathers care for their children!   

We are priceless, precious, respected, cherished and loved by God – beholders of all God has given us including life itself.  And as God is our caretaker, our shepherd, we too are called to be shepherds of all in life God has entrusted our care!

Point Two:  God is our Shepherd

Gatekeeper and Protector

As life under the care of our “Shepherd/God” is precious, Specifically, God is the keeper of the gates….the protector from harm.  From the gospel of John:    

“….the one who enters the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.  The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear this 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.”

If you have heard or read any history about the old city of Jerusalem, you know that the perimeter of the ancient city was made of about 2.5 miles of rock and stone walls.  In some places these walls are 8’ thick.  Scholars have counted as many as 34 watch towers with at least 8 gates.  These walls were designed to protect the city from intrusions….even predatory animals.  In the modern world, it’s not unlike our putting locks on our doors -- to protect us from those who would  try to do harm to us. 

A few words about these ancient gates into Jerusalem.  They had different names – and some are still in use.  There was, for example, the Damascus Gates used by visitors.  There is the Water Gate where fresh water was brought into the city and the Dung Gate where waste products were removed from the city.  There was also the Herod’s Gate or Golden Gate used by Kings and Princes and for our purposes today:  The Sheep’s Gate used by shepherds bringing their flocks back to the city by night protecting them from lions and wolves and other predators.    

Something of significance of all this is the fact that sheep follow the voice of their particular shepherd.  This is how they are kept from mixing between different flocks.  Of course this begs of me the preacher:  Whose voice do we follow?  Do we go along with the tide and flow of popular whims and cultural ideals listening only to the voices of the world?  Or do we follow our shepherd, Jesus our Lord, whose one and only purpose is to keep us from harm.    

Here we are today.  We want a closer relationship with God.  Our mission as followers of the great shepherd:   TO FORGE A LASTING ALLIANCE WITH GOD IN PLACING OUR LIVES IN THE HANDS OF THE ONE WHO PROTECTS US – JESUS OUR LORD, THE SON OF GOD WHO GUIDES AND PROTECTS US AS OUR SHEPHERD. 

Which leads to point three:  The Shepherd calls us

To live beyond our Comfort Zones

Just as sheep need to leave the protective walls of the city, circumstances in our lives often take us well beyond that which is comfortable…when facing the realities of the world around us….the realities we face as a church with the comfort of these sanctuary walls.

There is a long list of realities and/or issues – situations and circumstances that take us out of our comfort zones.  The shootings and violent crimes in our city is one that comes immediately to mind.  The hunger and blight in our neighborhoods and health care is another.  The budget crisis in our cities and school systems is an issue that touches us all.  This list of societal predators can seem overwhelming…..but not for the Good Shepherd. 

And let’s remember this fact::  

WE ARE NOT SHEEP! 

AND JESUS IS MUCH MORE TO US THAN A SHEPHERD

WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD!

AND JESUS IS OUR LORD AND SAVIOR.

AS JESUS’ DISCIPLES WE ARE COMMISSIONED TO ADDRESS THESE

REALITIES / ISSUES IN OUR LIFE THROUGH FAITH IN THE DIVINE SHEPHERD, GOD ALMIGHTY….KNOWN TO US THROUGH JESUS CHRIST.

Perhaps this Psalm 23 is timeless because within it we find comfort and hope and solace through faith in Jesus.  Jesus holds us in times of stress when horrible things happen.  Regardless what befalls us, Jesus leads us by still streams of solace and peace.   And it is this flock, the church, that assures us collectively:  We can get through anything!

The Gospel of Matthew gives this clear charge:     

“ I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves.”  (Matthew 10: 16)

Amidst all that happens to us through life we are called to recognize that Jesus[1]

“…. is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world;  the willing sacrifice that silently submits himself to the pain of death for love of God and the people he came to save.  But the image is not only one of passive submission to the violence and hatred and fear of the principalities and powers of the world.”

We have been, now and always, called to live proactively in the context of this community as the Warren Avenue Presbyterian Church.   Though we come to this church for comfort and spiritual nourishment, we are also called to be proactive in serving this community and world in addressing the violence and hatred and fear that surround us.  We are sent as God’s sheep and members of this church to do Christ’s work in the midst of wolves….with the “Lamb of God” who takes away the sins and brokenness and despair of the world.  We are called as Christ’s disciples to engage the principalities and powers of this world with tools that God has entrusted our care. 

So finally,

We are not weak, timid or mindless sheep.  We are just the opposite.   We are God’s hopeful, faithful children.  As members of the Warren Avenue Presbyterian Church we are unyielding in our obedience to God who leads us, always with Jesus the “good shepherd” protecting us as one of his own.     

We know the voice of the shepherd….quoting from this paraphrase from John 10:3-4:

“…THE SHEEP HEAR HIS VOICE….WE HEAR HIS VOICE!  THE SHEPHERD CALLS  EACH OF US, BY NAME….AND LEADS US INTO THE WORLD TO DO THE WORK OF JESUS AS HIS DISCIPLES….AND WE WILL FOLLOW JESUS, ALWAYS,  BECAUSE WE KNOW HIS VOICE!”   

We know the voice of God.   God is not going to abandon us.  Our greatest strength is the power we receive through Jesus Christ to be a vibrant church and a community of faithful servants doing Christ’s work throughout this community….doing the best we can with resources God has entrusted our care…

Nobody can take our faith away from us!   Nobody can separate us from the love of God.  The “Good Shepherd” is always here for us.   

So my friends, fed in Christ’s Spirit,

                                              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.

He leads me in right paths

for his name’s sake.

            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.

            You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

            Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD

my whole life long.

AMEN

 

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[1]  NORTHMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, Mike Youngblood, Sermon reached 4.13.08 pg 3