I am the good shepherd

JESUS SAID “I am the good shepherd”

RUMC 3-27-2011

Which animal are we most like? There are several different opinions these days.

·        (slide)Charles Darwin of course claimed that the MONKEY is our closest relative.(click)

·        (slide)Now other scientists-mainly biologists-tend to think that man is most like a mouse or a rat. They base their testing of drugs for potential human use on these rodents(click) ...saying that their bodily functions are very similar to our own

·        (slide)Some scientists say that we are a lot like ants or bees because like humans they are social creatures (click)

·        (slide)Others have recently compared people to dolphins because of the similar ratio of brain mass to body size. (click)

·        (slide)In the Bible we are MOST often compared to another animal-SHEEP(click)

·        (slide)Actually as a pastor, I have often said that I feel more like a . . .   who put that one in there???  Go on… (Slide)  like a sheep dog.  (click)Anyway…

(slide) I have heard and even preached sermons on how we are like sheep ... you know we have gone astray and all that.  You have probably heard those sermons before.

As I read this passage this week, however, the thing that stuck out for me was not that Jesus is comparing us to sheep, but that Jesus saying that he is like the shepherd.  The good shepherd to be specific.

To say that the shepherd is good,  Jesus used the Greek work (kalos) which means beautiful, noble, honorable, worthy of praise.  I like worthy.  Jesus is the worthy shepherd.  To worship is technically to declare the “worth” of something or someone.  I like the idea that Jesus is the worthy shepherd, the one worth praising and worshiping.  

In the Old Testament, the leaders of the people are called shepherds, especially Moses (Ps 77:20) and David (Ps 78:70-72; Ezek 34:23). But God is the shepherd par excellence

Only God is the good shepherd.  Only God’s son Jesus Christ is the worthy shepherd.  And that goodness, that worthiness is based on one thing.    ¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  The good shepherd would die for the sheep to protect them. .  He would lay down his life to save the sheep.  In other words, the good shepherd is the sacrificial savior shepherd.

Jesus says that he is himself the good shepherd.  He is not an employee of the shepherd.  He is not a hired hand.   He is not what the KJV calls a hireling shepherd.

The hired hand might be perfectly competent. He may know where to find the best grass. He may know the flock and care for the flock.  He may know how to defend the flock against danger, but when it comes right down to it…  He might not.  The hireling, after all,  is not the shepherd.  He is not the owner.  He stands to lose little if a sheep is injured or destroyed, or stolen.  As long as he brings most of the flock back, most days he will work another day.

Jesus is not a hireling shepherd.  Jesus is not just another priest or prophet in a long line of priests and prophets.  Jesus’ claim here is a claim to divinity.   This is a claim be God.  He is not the hired hand, the day laborer, the employee of the shepherd, the employee of the owner.  Jesus is the owner!  Jesus is God himself.

Jesus is the good shepherd, the worthy shepherd, the shepherd worthy of praise and worship.

The second thing I see here is that we need a shepherd because there ARE dangers from which the shepherd protects us.  The first danger is wolves. We don’t see many canine type wolves today.  We do, however, see all kinds of temptations lurking in the night.  These temptations hunt us down in the privateness of our hearts.   And without the saving work of the shepherd they consume us like ravenous wolves.

·        Greed is a wolf.  There is nothing particularly wrong with owning the newest and the best of everything.  It seems pretty innocent, unless the voice to which we answer is rampant consumerism.  There is nothing wrong with stuff unless we are seeking meaning, or happiness, or self worth by collecting it.  Rampant consumerism, or greed, will eat us up like a wolf if we let it.

·        The internet is another temptation to some.  Whether it is easy, cheap internet porn; or facebooking an old flame behind your spouse’s back; spending way too much time gaming;  or way too much money on on-line gambling or ebay.  The internet can be a great tool, or it can be the world wide wolf eating away at our soul and degrading our relationships.

·        Another wolf might be easy pop theology.  Last week Robyn did a wonderful job explaining that Jesus is THE WAY in spite of all the tolerance and diversity talk that surrounds us. A couple of weeks ago I talked about lazy theology that confuses us about the nature and identity of Jesus.  When our own simplistic thinking gets louder than the voice of the shepherd it becomes a wolf gnawing at our faith.

The wolves that reside in the darkness of our hearts might include, all kinds of  temptations including   pride, self deception,  deceitfulness, envy,  hate,  or rebellion.   Yet we need not fear the wolves of our hearts and heads because his rod and his staff protect us.  The good shepherd watches over us and keeps us safe.

Finally Jesus describes another danger.  First there was the danger of the hireling- then the danger of the wolves.  Finally Jesus - the good shepherd addresses the danger  of strangers and thieves. 

Though the Bible teaches hospitality to strangers, this stranger is not one that comes with good intentions. This stranger is one that comes intending to steal and destroy.

Jesus says, ¹ “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.

AGAIN   ⁵ But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”  

Each  shepherd had a particular call for his sheep.  Sometimes vocal, sometimes with a small flute. This was very effective.  When more than one flock came to the water at the same time, or in the morning when flocks had been penned together with other flocks for the night, the shepherd simply made that sound and started walking,  and the sheep came.  The sheep could tell by the sound of his voice, his posture his motion that it was their shepherd.

Unlike the wolf, that originates inside our hearts, the thief or robber comes from outside. 

·        There are pastor’s called “sheep stealers” who talk down a  church or pastor with the intention of taking people from that church into their own. I don’t worry too much about them because I think you see through them pretty easily.

·        There are some who vocally and overtly oppose the Christian faith in general.  They say the  church is a waste of time and our Jesus merely a myth.  I don’t worry too much about them because I think you are stronger than that.

·        The Thief I worry about is the insidious messages that we hear every day.  Those sneaky little questions that draw us away from our faith and church.

·        The thief robs us of the joy of the faith by saying things like you deserve to have fun.  Just this one time wouldn’t it be more fun to … ?

·        The thief robs us of the commitment to worship by saying things like “You have a commitment to your kids too- shouldn’t  you live up to that commitment?

·        The thief robs us of the pleasure of generous stewardship by saying things like “you don’t really know where that money goes. If you put it in your IRA at least you know where it is. “

·        The thief robs us of the hope of eternal life by telling us that what we see is all there is.

·        The thief robs us of the peace that passes all understanding by asking “But what if this happens, or what if that happens?  Shouldn’t you worry about. . . ?”

Do you see what I mean?  These thieves are little voices that we hear around us, maybe from our kids, or parents, a trusted advisor, a close friend, a neighbor, or from the media.  At first they might sound innocent enough,  but this is not the voice of the good shepherd.  It is the voice of the thief  trying to convince us that our faith, our church and the savior shepherd we follow are not all that important.

·        In this post Christian age these messages are all around us! 

·        In our society which is increasingly hostile to the church the voices are all around us.

·        In our culture that is increasingly and noticeably hostile to Christians and the Christian faith - the voices ring loud and clear. 

But it is not the voice of the savior shepherd. And we therefore must resist giving in to the thief and trust the shepherd to protect us and give us strength.

Jesus says I am the good shepherd.  He is our protector and provider.  He is the one and only voice we should follow. He is the only one who will lay down his life for us. The voice of the savior shepherd says I laid down my life for you.   The voice of the savior shepherd says I was raised for you.  The voice of the savior shepherd rings loudand clear- “follow me.”  Follow me

Finally Jesus ends by providing the great promise of the shepherd. 27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish.  Not even one. Not even one out of a hundred.  As Jesus points out in Matthew  18:12  Jesus is the good shepherd the worthy shepherd that would not leave even one out of a hundred to perish.   Not even one.

        Are you feeling like the one today?

        Are you feeling lost, not sure of your future, not sure where you stand?  GO  TO THE GOOD SHEPHERD.  LET THE SHEPHERD PROTECT YOU.

        Are you feeling alone? GO  TO THE GOOD SHEPHERD.  LET THE SHEPHERD PROTECT YOU.

        Are you feeling disconnected? GO  TO THE GOOD SHEPHERD.  LET THE SHEPHERD PROTECT YOU.

        Are you feeling afraid? GO  TO THE GOOD SHEPHERD.  LET THE SHEPHERD PROTECT YOU.

        Are  you feeling  uncertain? GO  TO THE GOOD SHEPHERD.  LET THE SHEPHERD PROTECT YOU.

        Are you feeling forgotten? GO  TO THE GOOD SHEPHERD.  LET THE SHEPHERD PROTECT YOU.

        Are you feeling vulnerable? GO  TO THE GOOD SHEPHERD.  LET THE SHEPHERD PROTECT YOU.

        Are you feeling tired? GO  TO THE GOOD SHEPHERD.  LET THE SHEPHERD PROTECT YOU.

        Are you feeling weak? GO  TO THE GOOD SHEPHERD.  LET THE SHEPHERD PROTECT YOU.

        The Lord is your Shepherd.    GO  TO THE GOOD SHEPHERD.  LET THE SHEPHERD PROTECT YOU.

Amen

The Way, the Truth, the Life Rev. Robyn Plocher

John 14:1-? 

What’s in a name?- The Way, the Truth, the Life

What’s in a name? 

The third chapter of Exodus records Moses’s encounter with God at the burning bush.  After hearing that God has chosen him to demand Pharoah liberate the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt Moses is pretty startled and tries really hard to get out of this job.  First he asks, “Who am I to be chosen for such a job as this?”  God says, I will be with you and I make you this promise.  When the slaves are free God will lead them back to the very same mountain Moses stands on now and they will worship him there.

Moses’s second attempt to get out of this job is to ask, “okay, so let’s just suppose I do go tell the people that the God of their ancestors has sent me to them and suppose they ask, What is his name?  What should I tell them?”

God answers, I am who I am.  This is what you are to say to the Israelites – I AM has sent me to you. 

I AM is the name God calls himself.  I am who I am.  I am that I am.  It is a name that communicates that God is faithful and dependable.  It communicates that God desires nothing more than the trust of the people who follow him.

Flash forward ____ years. (John 8:58 and 59)  The Jewish authorities are grilling Jesus.  They ask him directly if he is demon possessed, a charge which he flatly denies.  Jesus also makes a claim that Abraham has seen him.  The authorities think this is crazy talk and react as we might expect- with loud protest.  Jesus responds, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I AM.”  The Jews were incensed and prepared to stone him. Remember, God told Moses that his name is I AM.  In the eyes of the Jewish authorities Jesus had just committed blasphemy.  In the way he answered he said clearly – “I am God. “   

 John gives a much more complete account of all the things that took place and all the things that were discussed in the upper room on the night of the last supper.  Jesus is rather plainly telling the disciples that he is going to be with the Father in the Father’s house, but they aren’t getting it.  Thomas, whom we  remember as being a doubter, is really a very brave soul.  For Thomas alone has the courage to voice what all of them were thinking:  “We don’t understand what you’re saying.  We don’t know where you are going.  If we don’t know where you are going, how can we know the way?” 

Thomas’s honesty opens the door for one of the greatest I AM sayings of Jesus: I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

God is truth and life.  Jesus is the way—the way to the Father. The way to truth and life.  And Jesus IS truth and life – God incarnate.  God made flesh. 

It’s not rocket science.  And when it comes right down to it, there’s not a whole lot more to say. 

It’s not politically correct and by today’s standards it may seem intolerant, but Jesus clearly says “I am the way, the truth, the life.  No one comes to the father except through me.” 

Jesus did not say I am A way; A truth and A life.

Jesus did not say I am ONE OF THE ways; ONE OF THE truths and ONE OF THE lives.

Jesus said, I am THE way.

If you practice the religion of ISLAM (622 CE)  you call God Allah.  Muslim’s (those who practice Islam) you believe that Islam is the true universal and complete faith revealed in many times and places and by many persons, including Abraham, Moses and Jesus.  But all these messages have been changed and corrupted over time.  The truest and most perfect revelation of God is that recorded in the Quran by the prophet Muhammad (born 570 AD).  Muhammed is the last messenger-prophet of God and the one who restores the faith of Abraham, Moses and Jesus.  Islam is the  2^nd largest religion in the world (after Christianity)  and the fastest growing.  32% of the world population is Christian with that number dropping.  22% of the world population is Muslim with that number growing.

Jesus said, “I AM the WAY the TRUTH and the LIFE.”

If you practiced the religion of Hinduism, you would be practicing the third largest religion in the world with 14% of the world population.  It is also believed to be the oldest religion, dating back to “thousands of different religious groups that have evolved in India since 1500 BCE.”  There is no single person to whom the founding is Hinduism is attributed.  There is no single theological system.  There is no single concept of diety. There is no single holy text or single system of morality.   There are a wide variety of Hindu traditions with freedom of belief and practice being one of the greatest hallmarks of the Hindu religion. 

Most forms of Hinduism are henotheistic (polytheistic) religions. They recognize a single deity, and view other Gods and Goddesses as manifestations or aspects of that supreme God.

Jesus said, “I AM the WAY the TRUTH and the LIFE.”

According to one chart I viewed this week, the ‘Non-religious” actually make up the third largest group in the world with Hinduism coming in as the fourth largest.  I believe many of us will relate more to this group of people than we do to Hinduism, so I want to spend some time on this as well. 

The non-religious include atheist, agnostics and those who may claim to believe in God but do not practice religion or do not belong to a religious community.  Into this group also falls the secular humanists.  According to the website of the Council for Secular Humanism they go “Beyond atheism, Beyond Agnosticism”.  A central tenet of secular humanism is that dogma, ideology and tradition – be it religious, political or social – must be weighed and tested by each individual, no simply accepted on faith.  They are committed to critical reasoning, factual evidence and scientific method in seeking solutions to human problems and answers to important questions of humanity.  They are typical non-theist, that is, they describe themselves as non-religious persons who do not depend on god’s or other supernatural forces to solve their problems or provide guidance for their conduct.

 Secular Humanism is a comprehensive life stance that focuses on the way human beings can lead happy and functional lives by exercising the individual’s power of reasoning and ethical decision making.

Jesus said, I AM the way, the truth, the life.

But wait…. Don’t all paths lead to God?  Isn’t each religion just another way of expressing the same longing of humanity to connect with something or Someone greater than ourselves. 

The idea that all religious paths are holy and righteous and lead to God is called universalism.  It is in direct contradiction to the words of Jesus himself when he said,

I am the way, the truth, the life.

Now I’m sure some of you have been very uncomfortable with this message.  It is not politically correct.  It goes against the grain of what many of us want to believe or have come to believe.  It makes our lives more challenging because it means we might actually have to take the idea of evangelism seriously.

So here’s the bottom line: 

I asked at the beginning of this message “What’s in a name?”  the fact is…

We are not Muslims.  We are not Hindus.  We may be deeply influenced by the secular humanism that has become so entrenched in our society, but the fact remains that we call ourselves CHRISTIAN and that means something. 

We have been named and claimed by God through baptism into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and that means something.

Other religions may claim to offer the way to peace, the way to become enlightened, the way to human fulfillment.  But Jesus Christ is THE WAY.  He is God in skin.  And that skin was beaten, bloodied, nailed to a cross so that we might be freed from the power of sin to new and eternal life with God.  And that means something. 

No one else in this world is proclaiming that message.  They don’t teach it in school.  It’s not appropriate for discussions in the workplace.  It won’t get you elected to office.

So, if we who have taken the name of Christ as our own don’t proclaim it, then who will………………….

Who will? 

 If you will pledge and commit yourself right here and right now to telling the good news that is the unique gospel of Jesus Christ at every opportunity, stand up.  Just stand where you are.

Pray with me (repeat)  :  Most merciful God/ forgive us for our lukewarm faith./  Here and now/ I pledge my faithfulness to you/ here and now/I make my promise/to love you with my whole heart/ and to tell the good news / of Jesus Christ my Lord / with my lips/ and by my example/ God being my help. /Amen.

  

I am Alpha and Omega 3/13/11

Alpha and Omega

RUMC I am #1

3/13/11

I am going to start this Lenten series with a question that even Jesus asked the disciples. “Who do you say that Jesus is?”>>>>>>>>>>>>

Over the last 2000 years Jesus has been called all kinds of things ranging from Son to God to psychotic  —from messiah to magician—from martyr to myth.  The truth is that Jesus is more than words can say.  Those of us who preach Christ spend hours each week trying to come up with the right words to convey the nature and character of Christ. Some of the best descriptions of Jesus, however, come from his own mouth.  This Lent we are going to look at the “I AM” sayings of Jesus.  Many of those come from the Gospel of John.  I want to start, however, with one from the Book of revelation.  Jesus says, “I am alpha and omega.”

To hear Jesus say “I am the Alpha and omega” only makes sense if you know that Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last.   He is saying that he is “A and Z.” First and the last.  He was before anything in creation.  He was before time.  He was, along with God before anything else was.

This reminds us of the first chapter of the gospel of John.  1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

He is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end.   But Jesus is talking about more than mere time here.  

MAP

Let’s look at the context

The book of Revelation was written by the disciple John, about 60 years following the death and resurrection of Christ. Because of his preaching he had been banished to the Isle of Patmos, a penal colony situated in the Aegean Sea between Turkey and the Isle of Crete. On the map you see where the Isle of Patmos is actually located and

Picture

Here is a picture of Patmos today. It looks fairly pleasant. It is a small island ten miles long and five miles wide.  John was banished there because he refused to worship the Emperor.  John’s banishment would have included scourging, chains, insufficient clothing, little food, sleeping on the bare ground of a dark prison and work under the lash of the military overseer.” Pretty rugged conditions for a man probably in his nineties, no matter how pretty the view.

ALPHA AND OMEGA GRAPHIC

And it was here that John tells us he had a vision, a vision of someone he hadn’t seen for sixty years, his friend Jesus. Jesus appeared to him in his glorified state and revealed to John the ultimate destiny of humanity.

It is important for us to recognize that Revelation is the most abused book of the Bible.  It has too often been used as a map for the future.  Revelation is not a map for tomorrow’s news.  It is a poetic promise about the nature of God and God’s relationship to people.  It is filled with poetic images of fantastic monsters and terrifying plagues,

·        None of which are intended to be taken literally. 

·        None of which are intended to be identified with specific people or newspaper stories. 

·        Many of which cannot be understood apart from the Old Testament context and most importantly

·        None of which is outside of God’s sovereignty- which is the theological word for God’s reign.

That is the whole point.  None of this - no matter how bad it seems. NONE of this is outside of God’s authority.   The message is not that God is in control of all that is, the message is that all of creation, all of history, all that is . . .  is moving slowly and unchangeably back toward its source, back toward God.  Everything that is, comes from God.  Everything that is will ultimately end in God.  I encourage you to read it again in this light.

 It is in the closing chapters of this Poetic Revelation that Jesus says “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

What does that mean for us today?

First, we have to recognize that when Jesus says I am the Alpha and the Omega Jesus is clearly claiming to be God.   Remember I said that you have to recognize the Old Testament references in Revelation in order to understand its meaning? 

When Jesus says I am the alpha and Omega, it is a direct reference to Isaiah 44:6 “ ⁶ “This is what the LORD says—    Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last;  apart from me there is no God.” I don’t believe it was a mistake that Jesus used almost identical words when he said I am the Alpha and I am the Omega.

How many firsts can there be- one- if God is the Alpha, the first and Jesus is the Alpha, the first; then they have to be one and the same.  The same is true for lasts. 

You may say “HO HUM, yea, Jesus is God.  I’ve heard that before.”  I’m sure you have, but have you really heard it.   Too many people today and in history are theologically lazy.  On a list of the church’s biggest heresies, or theological errors, I count that 75% involved errors in describing the relationship between God and Jesus.  You might start on one end with adoptionism and Arianism that claimed Jesus was only human;  through Nestorianism who claimed that Jesus was two persons one human (Jesus) and the other divine (Christ), to Docetism that  claimed Jesus was divine and his humanity was only an illusion.

It is hard work to grasp that Jesus is God, God is Jesus.  It is hard work to wrap ourselves around the trinity: one in three, three in one.  But we have to do our best to resist anything else.

For descriptive purposes, in order to wrap our little pea brains around the incarnation we talk about God the father and Jesus Christ the son.  But there is no border.  There is no distinction; there is no separation between God and Jesus. 

The Nicene Creed written in 325 AD is one of the great statements of the unity of the Godhead.

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen. 

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, light from light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made

Jesus says “The father is in me and I am in him.”  The two are one; there is no distinction, no separation, no differentiation.  Jesus is Divine- God came in flesh.

The first lesson then is that Jesus is himself God.  

The second important affirmation here is about us. When we confess Jesus as the Alpha and Omega, we are saying that we find our source in God.  Before we were born, we were in God.  Before we were conceived God was in us.  God is the source of life, the source of love, the source of gifts, the source of all that we are and all we have ever been. 

Without God we are a puppet without a hand.  Without God we are balloons without air.  Without God we are less than the black emptiness of space, because even that was created by God.

The third important affirmation is that in Jesus all creation will find completion.

Do you ever wonder where life is leading you?  Do you ever think about how this all makes sense?  Do you ever wonder how baby’s first steps and massive earthquakes got into the same world?  Do you ever wonder why children die of cancer and some older people seem to linger in suffering?  I know you have wondered why bad things happen to good people, and vice versa.  Do you ever wonder how death, and sickness, and war, and famine, and crime and violence fit into the plan of a loving and just God’s?  Sure you have.  I think we all have.

You won’t find the answer in the Book of Revelation.  You will however find a clear and resounding but “in the end God wins.” 

The goal of life- the Omega of life is not what we do, but that we do it in Christ.

The goal of life- the Omega of life is not what we know but that we know Christ

The goal of life- the Omega of life is not what we accomplish, but that we participate in what Christ accomplished.

The goal of life- the Omega of life is not how many friends we have, but the depth and of our relationship with Jesus.

We can all grasp that what we have comes from God.  ALPHA. It is harder to grasp that the life we live, is also for God.  OMEGA

Roger Simms was hitchhiking home when he was picked up by Mr. Hanover. As they drove towards Chicago, Roger felt God urging him to share his faith. When he overcame his fear and asked the man if he would like to receive Christ, Mr. Hanover stopped, bowed his head on the steering wheel, began to cry, and accepted Christ. "This is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me," he said.

Shortly afterwards he dropped Roger at his house and went on to Chicago, which was about an hour down the road. Years later, while preparing for a business trip to Chicago, Roger came across the gold-embossed business card Mr. Hanover had given him years earlier. When he arrived in Chicago he decided to look up Hanover Enterprises and found it located in a skyscraper down town. When he asked the receptionist if he could see Mr. Hanover, she said, "No, but his wife is here." "You knew my husband?" the woman in her 50s asked. Roger explained that her husband had given him a ride and how he'd led him to Christ. "When was that?" she asked. "May 7th, five years ago, the day I was discharged from the army." She began to sob uncontrollably. After several minutes she regained control and said, "I prayed for my husband's salvation for years, believing God would save him. But right after he let you out of his car, on May 7th, he was killed in a head-on collision.”

She continued “I stopped living for God that day.  I thought God had failed me.  Now I see that God always comes through in the end.

Mrs. Hannover gave her back to God that day.  Forever

In the end, God wins.  He is the Alpha and the Omega.

amen.