This week’s lectionary texts center around the theme of the Good Shepherd, who “restores [our] soul” and “lays down his life for the sheep.” The epistle and gospel passages outline the behavior that characterizes a good shepherd -- First John tells us that because Jesus “laid down his life for us... we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?” But as Jesus repeatedly warns the disciples, there will be many who pretend to be good shepherds but who when the moment of truth comes instead reveal themselves as a “hired hand, who... sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away -- and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.”
In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Mary Austin points out that there’s no shortage of people putting themselves forth as being worthy chief shepherds for our country -- i.e., the newly declared presidential candidates. While politics today (and its media coverage) often seems to revolve around the art of appearing to identify with the “average Joe” (as Jon Stewart artfully lampooned about Hillary Clinton’s recent lunch stop at a Chipotle) -- Mary notes that the qualities associated with being a good shepherd are very different from those required by politicians. Those who pursue worldly success -- and us as well -- can easily find their lives out of balance... focused more on the self than on others. Jesus, on the other hand, demonstrates the qualities of a true shepherd -- sacrificing himself to care for and protect the flock.
Team member Robin Lostetter shares some additional thoughts on our internal duality between behavior of a good shepherd and that of a hired hand... or as New York Times columnist David Brooks terms it, the contrast between “résumé virtues” and “eulogy virtues.” Brooks notes that “our culture and our educational systems spend more time teaching the skills and strategies you need for career success than the qualities you need to radiate that sort of inner light. Many of us are clearer on how to build an external career than on how to build inner character.” But it is a commitment to Brooks’ “eulogy virtues” that is the imperative in our First John text: “How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” As Robin suggests, the world and our own egos may draw us in one direction -- but the example of our Lord, the ultimate Good Shepherd, draws us in another direction... toward selfless devotion and service to others (i.e., laying down our lives for the sheep).
Greener Pastures
by Mary Austin
John 10:11-18
Spring means that presidential campaigns are springing up faster than flowers, with Senators Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Rand Paul as well as former Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton formally in the race -- and others likely to join them. Joe Biden? Chris Christie? Scott Walker? Even Bernie Sanders has said he’s thinking about running. As the candidates take up the full-time job of campaigning, voters assess them based on their records, their clothing choices, their spouses, their beliefs, and how they “feel” to people. Each candidate will spend the next year and a half announcing himself or herself as the most qualified person to run the country. There’s no room for doubt, and scarcely any for ordinary human mistakes.
In contrast, Jesus never aspired to any formal position of leadership, or ran for anything with a title. Understanding that the people of God are like sheep, frightened and silly, he proclaimed himself to be simply the Good Shepherd.
The Good Shepherd prompts us to look again at what qualities make a good leader, and how we choose people who will lead, inspire, and nurture us.
In the Scriptures
The image of the shepherd is puzzling. Not knowing any shepherds, I wonder what the analogy would be in our world. Scott Hoezee writes for Calvin Seminary: “Today we don’t have shepherds in the wider society. Today we have managers. But shepherds and managers are not the same.” Managers have rules and policies; the good shepherd has only his willingness to lay down his life for the sheep. Hoezee adds: “Whenever Jesus uses the pastoral image of a shepherd for himself, the point is nearly always the same: as the good shepherd of his sheep, he will risk his life and even temporarily abandon the flock if that’s what it takes to save the one lost sheep. As the true shepherd who loves his sheep, he will let himself be killed rather than see one single sheep harmed. In every image of the flock which Jesus employs, it is always clear that as important as the whole flock is, each individual sheep is as important to him as is the larger collective.” The shepherd tends to the one sheep as attentively as to the whole flock.
Jesus proclaims that the shepherd is devoted to the sheep day and night. William Barclay notes that in ancient Palestine the sheep slept at night in an enclosure, with the shepherd sleeping across the doorway to protect the sheep. The shepherd himself is the gate to keep out evil and harm, and to keep the sheep safe.
There is also a moral dimension to the good shepherd. Brian Stoffregen notes that “the word for ‘good’ is kalos, not the more generic agathos. Kalos has a slightly stronger emphasis on what is morally right, what is more valuable. It can be translated ‘model,’ or ‘true,’ or ‘honest.’ ” Jesus is not just the shepherd, but also the model for our connections with other people.
Being a shepherd was not really a desirable career path -- but Jesus, characteristically, transforms the lowly occupation into a spiritual goal. The image of the shepherd was often used for the ruler of a country, but Jesus turns it around. The most unlikely of kings, he is also the most devoted of shepherds.
In the News
Running for president is most unlike running for shepherd. A certain amount of bravado and hubris are required to run for president, to believe that you (and you alone) are the best person to lead the nation. “I believe our very identity as an exceptional nation is at stake, and I can make a difference as president,” Senator Marco Rubio announced. Senator Ted Cruz also linked his campaign to a wider cause, saying “It is a time for truth. It is a time for liberty. It is a time to reclaim the Constitution of the United States. I am honored to stand with each and every one of you courageous conservatives as we come together to reclaim the promise of America, to reclaim the mandate, the hope and opportunity for our children and our children’s children. We stand together for liberty.” Senator Rand Paul told us: “I have a vision for America. I want to be part of a return to prosperity, a true economic boom that lifts all Americans, a return to a government restrained by the Constitution.” A text of Secretary Clinton’s announcement wasn’t available (because she used a video), but a reporter summed it up, saying, “Her core message seemed to be this: ‘Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion, so you can do more than just get by -- you can get ahead, and stay ahead -- because when families are strong, America is strong.’ ”
There is also a certain required selfishness in centering a whole campaign, the lives of your family and staff, and millions of dollars, around yourself.
In contrast, New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote recently about people who manage to be good shepherds of others. He observes: “About once a month I run across a person who radiates an inner light. These people can be in any walk of life. They seem deeply good. They listen well. They make you feel funny and valued. You often catch them looking after other people, and as they do so their laugh is musical and their manner is infused with gratitude. They are not thinking about what wonderful work they are doing. They are not thinking about themselves at all.” Brooks says that it struck him that people like that have been developing a whole different set of values, building “eulogy virtues” (as he calls them) while the rest of the world is working on “résumé virtues.”
Most often, we develop the skills that advance our careers, look good to other people, and may even get us elected president.
But, Brooks adds, spiritually admirable people are made, not born. We have to shift our perceptions and values until we’re attending more to the inner self than the outer image. One of the shifts is to develop a deep level of humility. Brooks says: “We live in the culture of the Big Me. The meritocracy wants you to promote yourself. Social media wants you to broadcast a highlight reel of your life. Your parents and teachers were always telling you how wonderful you were. But all the people I’ve ever deeply admired are profoundly honest about their own weaknesses. They have identified their core sin, whether it is selfishness, the desperate need for approval, cowardice, hardheartedness, or whatever. They have traced how that core sin leads to the behavior that makes them feel ashamed. They have achieved a profound humility, which has best been defined as an intense self-awareness from a position of other-centeredness.”
This requires a whole different kind of focus, just as paradoxical as Jesus labeling himself as a shepherd.
In the Sermon
Following the Good Shepherd, seeking to serve as Jesus served, doesn’t have much traction in a culture that so deeply loves what David Brooks calls the résumé virtues. When bigger and splashier are always better, how do we, as spiritual communities, help people develop the ability to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd over all the other noise? Like walking on a tightrope, we often feel that if we take our eyes off of our own success we’ll fall, but the Good Shepherd calls us to keep our eyes on him. The sermon might look at how we can change our focus, so our hearts are attuned to the Shepherd and our fellow sheep. Jesus says that the sheep know his voice. The sermon might look at how we help people listen for it.
Being a shepherd is a lowly calling, and yet Jesus embraces it as an image for himself. How do we embrace similar low points as part of the spiritual life? Disappointment, failure, and emptiness are all spiritual teachers, but most often we would rather run from them. As David Brooks sees it: “Their lives often follow a pattern of defeat, recognition, redemption. They have moments of pain and suffering. But they turn those moments into occasions of radical self-understanding -- by keeping a journal or making art. As Paul Tillich put it, suffering introduces you to yourself and reminds you that you are not the person you thought you were. The people on this road see the moments of suffering as pieces of a larger narrative. They are not really living for happiness, as it is conventionally defined.”
The Good Shepherd knows the sheep, and we know his voice. This speaks of a deep connection, enduring even when the sheep wander off or do the silly things sheep do. (As my brother, who lives on a farm, says: “Sheep are stupid.”) The sermon might look at how we develop relationships, and how we help them endure through painful times. What skills do we need to reveal ourselves, and to make it safe for others to do that? How do we stay connected, even when we disappoint each other? Relationships take a set of emotional skills that are hard to come by when we’re all staring at our screens. If we manage to look up, we see that we’re surrounded by our fellow sheep. Looking up a little farther reveals the Good Shepherd, patiently watching over us.
SECOND THOUGHTS
When the Strife Is Within Us
by Robin Lostetter
John 10:11-18; 1 John 3:16-24
Although Jesus makes a clear delineation between the shepherd and the hired hand in the Shepherd Discourse, that difference in character may be reflected in our own lives as an internal duality... a struggle between shepherd and hired hand, wheat and tares, righteous and sinful. Alexander Solzhenitsyn spoke of this duality: “If only there were evil people somewhere, insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?” (Bill Hybels, Making Life Work: Putting God’s Wisdom into Action [InterVarsity, 1998], p. 204).
This understanding was also applied to the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares by Martin Luther, who “dealt with this passage during the trials of heretics and in a nutshell said that trying to pull up the weeds would not only damage the wheat around it, but would also eliminate the possibility that some of those weeds might become God’s wheat. ‘Who knows when the Word of God may touch his heart? But if he be burned at the stake, or otherwise destroyed, it is thereby assured that he can never find the truth; and thus the Word of God is snatched from him, and he must be lost who otherwise might have been saved. Hence the Lord says here, that the wheat also will be uprooted if we weed out the tares. That is something awful in the eyes of God and never to be justified’ ” (Mark Hughes, Rockville, Virginia, on Midrash, July 10, 2002).
So what is the Good News if we view this passage from the standpoint of its exposure of humanity’s own conflicted inner self? I think it can be found in a poem by Rev. George Pasley, both poet and pastor. He has written an Easter-season poem which acknowledges this internal conflict, but reminds us of the hope we have in Christ. I thank George for letting me share this poem, and for the excerpt with which I title this reflection.
Victors in the midst of strife
Is a creed most slippery,
Even on days bright with sun
When we are not hemmed in by strife.
And yet and yet
The tomb was empty,
The door was locked and still
He found them where they shuddered,
He finds us when the strife is within us,
He walks upon the whitecaps
Of the strife-blown sea
And victory is ours
Even though the battle rages
Even though we cannot hold him
He is able
To cradle us
(Copyright © 2015 George Pasley poetry subscribers; all rights reserved, reprinted by permission.)
In the News
New York Times columnist David Brooks’ new book The Road to Character has made a bit of a splash this week! Brooks has made several media appearances promoting the book, including an interview on Charlie Rose. In addition to reading the published book, you can also hear him in a TED talk recorded in March 2014 as he was processing the content and finalizing his book.
In a recent column adapted from his book, Brooks discusses résumé virtues vs. eulogy virtues: “It occurred to me that there were two sets of virtues, the résumé virtues and the eulogy virtues. The résumé virtues are the skills you bring to the marketplace. The eulogy virtues are the ones that are talked about at your funeral -- whether you were kind, brave, honest, or faithful. Were you capable of deep love?”
This deep love might be identified with the love of the Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for the sheep. It’s a love that is other-oriented rather than self-centered. It stems from a humility gained from “an intense self-awareness from a position of other-centeredness,” and from the resulting confrontation with one’s own weakness... the inner Hired Hand. Brooks cites Dwight Eisenhower as one whose self-awareness stirred him to modify his own behavior: “Dwight Eisenhower, for example, realized early on that his core sin was his temper. He developed a moderate, cheerful exterior because he knew he needed to project optimism and confidence to lead. He did silly things to tame his anger. He took the names of the people he hated, wrote them down on slips of paper, and tore them up and threw them in the garbage. Over a lifetime of self-confrontation, he developed a mature temperament. He made himself strong in his weakest places.”
Humility and what Brooks calls this “self-defeat” are among the six eulogy virtues he names, those virtues he wanted to nurture in himself. These are contrasted with the résumé virtues -- those strengths that we are encouraged to boast of in the material marketplace, those strengths which move individuals into positions of power and influence in society; external success achieved through competition with others.
Résumé virtues can also be identified with the self-interest of the Hired Hand. Without ownership, caring, or full responsibility for the sheep, when the wolf invades the hired hand will save his own skin rather than protecting the sheep. It is this deep core self-interest that Brooks plays against the eulogy virtues.
In the Scriptures
John 10:(10), 12-13 -- The Hired Hand
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away -- and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.
1 John 3:(14), 18-22 -- Love in truth and action
We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death. Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.
It is important, at the outset, to recognize that the virtues of the Good Shepherd in John 10 echo the virtues of David, the anticipated good shepherd in Ezekiel 34. Likewise, the Hired Hand in John echoes the bad shepherds in the prophets (Ezekiel 34, Jeremiah 23, and Zechariah 11), generally considered to represent the priestly leadership which had become self-serving. (In John 10, the uncaring Hired Hand is overtly linked to the Temple leadership in John 9.)
In the gospel reading, Jesus talks about himself as the Good Shepherd who puts the care of the flock above any of his own interests, and even above his own life. He knows his flock and is known by them. There is a relationship, and it is based on the trustworthiness of the shepherd. The 1 John reading picks up on the idea of laying down one’s life for others, and instructs us that we are to love one another with this kind of love and care. It is not in words alone but in our actions that our love is known. The requirement is for us to love and care for others as Christ loves his flock.
The thrust of the Good News is that this agape love, this self-sacrificing love of those who follow Jesus, is life-giving. 1 John 3:14, just before this week’s epistle passage, underlines clearly what both pericopes are about: “We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death.” Similarly, John 10:10 lays out the destructive characteristics of the thief, who “comes only to steal and kill and destroy,” and contrasts this with Jesus, the Good Shepherd: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
The internal struggle is between choosing life and sowing destruction.
Note: Scripture reflects this internal struggle clear back in Genesis, where Judah and Tamar have both acted badly. Judah has kept Tamar from the marriage she was promised, and Tamar tricks him into fathering her children. Judah responds to his daughter-in-law’s trick: “She is more tsadiq -- more righteous -- than I, since I did not give her my son Shelah” (Genesis 38:26). I have always noted this passage as justification for situational ethics! However, it is perhaps more indicative that there are good and bad impulses within all of us, and God finds a way to use the best in us. (Similar passage: 1 Samuel 24:17.)
In the Pulpit
The following response to a Facebook post in which the writer asked her friends “How much of your life is about kindness?” underlines what we’ve seen in both the news and scripture: “I am a pretty kind person in general. I know how to be very mean and I am not proud of that. I keep that part buried very deep.”
It is all well and good to note these internal struggles, but the preacher will want to offer some help, some hope, to those who know too well the temptation to follow their inner Hired Hand and seek to overcome it. There is a familiar Cherokee tale of “Two Wolves” that gives us a starting point:
One evening, an elderly Cherokee brave told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said: “My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all. One is evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute, and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one that you feed.”
Brooks states that he “came to the conclusion that wonderful people are made, not born -- that the people I admired had achieved an unfakeable inner virtue, built slowly from specific moral and spiritual accomplishments.” One might posit that these “wonderful people” have been feeding the Good Wolf, nurturing their inner Good Shepherd, and even making conscious behavioral changes such as Eisenhower did. But contrary to Brooks’ conclusion, current research indicates that we begin life as infants with a built-in sense of empathy, and that parents can begin feeding the Good Wolf early to begin “making wonderful people” capable of responding to the needs of others.
The preacher can encourage the congregation in their internal conflict -- both as individuals and as the community -- to continue doing just that. Again, Brooks: “Commencement speakers are always telling young people to follow their passions. Be true to yourself. This is a vision of life that begins with self and ends with self. But people on the road to inner light do not find their vocations by asking, what do I want from life? They ask, what is life asking of me? How can I match my intrinsic talent with one of the world’s deep needs?”
Encouraging this outward-focused attitude from the pulpit may help neutralize that sort of self-focused commencement counsel. And it can be done by enlarging upon Frederick Buechner’s comment on our Christian call: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet” (Wishful Thinking: A Seeker’s ABC). There are probably several examples from one’s own congregation, or one’s own ministry, where a faithful disciple has been fulfilled through the matching of their skills with a need in the community.
That we grow more shepherd-like through practice is demonstrated in the Hindu example given in an illustration by Ron Love in last week’s installment of The Immediate Word:
The religion of Hinduism understands the entrapment of living a self-centered life. Hinduism is the oldest established religion in the world, and the third largest. At the end of the first century C.E., the Laws of Manu were established. These laws report the four basic goals that motivate humanity, thus they have also come to be called the “Four Ends of Human Life.” A young man should transcend from a lower level to the next until he discovers the true meaning of life. The journey begins with kama, or pleasure, where one discovers purpose by gratifying the senses.... It is here, at kama, as a hedonist, that one begins the journey of life. Unfulfilled, the young man moves to artha, which means financial success or wealth. This is the first attempt to set some real goals, but it reflects a misplaced ambition. He continues to sense an inner disquiet, because as well as being successful he equally desires to be respected. Therefore he strives for dharma, which is righteous living. As a viable contributor to the community he knows he is doing good for others, but yet there still remains an emptiness. His goal now becomes moksha, which means liberation or spiritual freedom, and it is here that the real purpose of life is realized. Moksha is attained by disidentification with the body and mind, which becomes the realization of our true identity.
One may also help build the courage and confidence of the listener through illustrations of sacrifical “Good Shepherd” love, welling up from unremarkable people who are just as subject to inner conflict as you and I. One such example of ordinary folk who have fed the Good Wolf, and whose calling to sacrificial love isn’t what one might think of as a call, is this story from Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning (Beacon Press, 1963), p. 135:
Once an elderly general practitioner consulted me because of his severe depression. He could not overcome the loss of his wife who had died two years before and whom he had loved above all else. Now, how could I help him? What should I tell him? Well, I refrained from telling him anything but instead confronted him with the question “What would have happened, Doctor, if you had died first, and your wife would have had to survive you?”
“Oh,” he said, “for her this would have been terrible; how she would have suffered!”
Whereupon I replied, “You see, Doctor, such a suffering has been spared her, and it was you who have spared her this suffering -- to be sure, at the price that now you have to survive and mourn her.” He said no word but shook my hand and calmly left my office. In some way, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of sacrifice.
Another more dramatic description of sacrificial behavior involves the crew of the ship Maersk Alabama, which was attacked by Somali pirates in 2009. When the crew retook their ship, cheers went up around the world. But what caught the public imagination was the report that Capt. Richard Phillips offered himself as a hostage in order to make sure his crew was released unharmed. And to further the image of his selflessness, we read in his report to a congressional subcommittee these words of praise of his crew: “The entire crew did what American mariners are always ready to do -- put themselves at risk to protect their vessel and its cargo. Chief Engineer Perry, Chief Mate Murphy, and the entire licensed and unlicensed crew of the Maersk Alabama deserve our thanks and praise.
(If one uses this example, it would be wise to recognize that the adulation of Capt. Phillips is not without some controversy; some of the ship’s crew blame Phillips for ignoring pirate warnings.)
Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” To follow him means that we need to emulate the Good Shepherd -- the one who came in humility and exemplifies sacrificial love. We need to identify the flock for whom we’re responsible... our neighbors and our community, as well as our sisters and brothers of faith. Martin Luther King Jr. observed, “Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.”
What we need is a shepherd’s heart.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Ron Love:
Love / Good Shepherd
Dr. James Dunn, returning home after caring for the wounded during the Civil War’s Battle of Antietam, told his wife about the heroism of a woman whom he met for the first time -- Clara Barton. Dr. Dunn related how this nurse preformed battlefield surgery using only a pocket knife. He told of the time a bullet passed through the sleeve of her coat as she served water to a stricken soldier. He could not comprehend her stoicism as she held patients who endured amputations without chloroform. After describing the exploits of this remarkable woman, the physician asked his wife: “Now, what do you think of Miss Barton?”
Mrs. Dunn thoughtfully responded: “In my feeble estimation, General McClellan, with all his laurels, sinks into insignificance beside the true heroine of the age, the angel of the battlefield.” From that day forward, Clara Barton had a title: “Angel of the Battlefield.” Or simply, to most, her calling card was “Professional Angel.”
Application: We are to be angels of mercy. We are the nurse practitioners in the name of Jesus, ready to place a soothing salve on any wound, be it physical, emotional, or spiritual. And as a battlefield is strewed with friend and foe alike, we are to make no distinctions to whom we offer assistance. We care for each, not as if the individual was our own; in the name of Christ he/she is our own.
*****
Love / Good Shepherd
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen opened his autobiography Treasure in Clay with these words: “When the record of human life is set down, there are three pairs of eyes who see it in a different light. There is the life (1) as I saw it; (2) as others see it; (3) as God sees it.”
Application: The question is, “How will God view your life?” Will God view you as one who always had good intentions but did nothing? Or will God see you as a doer of the Word graciously assisting other people? Remember what James wrote: “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith” (James 2:18). Action, service, work -- that is what demonstrates our faith to the community.
*****
Love / Good Shepherd
George Whitefield was an Englishman who, along with Jonathan Edwards, was a part of the First Great Awakening in America. He is also noted for his humanitarian service through the establishment of orphanages. But Whitefield was not always a man of the cloth. That transformation only occurred after as a young man he read the Christian classic The Life of God in the Soul of Man by Henry Scougal. There are several sentences from this book that display what it means to be a participant in the shepherding ministry of Jesus, drawing a distinction between saying and doing: “When we have said all that we can, the secret mysteries of a new nature and divine life can never be sufficiently expressed; language and words can never reach them; nor can they be truly understood but by those souls that are enkindled within, and awakened unto the sense and relish spiritual things: ‘There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth this understanding.’ The power and life of religion may better be expressed in actions than words, because actions are more lively things, and do better represent the inward principle whence they proceed.”
Application: Let us be transformed by the love of Jesus, and in so doing transform the lives of others.
*****
Love / Good Shepherd
In Latin, the word pastor means “shepherd.” It comes from the same root as pascere, which means to “feed” or “pasture.” A pastor is an individual who shepherds others, caring for their most basic needs. Traditionally in the church the position of pastor is rightfully held by the ordained clergy. This does not preclude the laity from being pastoral in relationship to others. As shepherds, let us go forth with the charge of John Wesley embedded in our souls: “I look on all the world as my parish; thus far I mean that, in whatever part of it I am, I judge it meet, right, and my bounden duty to declare unto all that are willing to hear the glad tidings of salvation.”
Application: Let us answer our call to be good shepherds.
***************
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
The Man in the Water
For days after the incident he was known only as “the man in the water.”
When Air Florida Flight 90 smashed into a frozen lake in the middle of a snowstorm, all but six passengers were killed. Some 20 minutes later, a helicopter arrived to rescue the survivors.
After getting one survivor to safety, the helicopter threw a life-ring to the man in the water and he immediately gave it to the passenger next to him. When the helicopter came back for a third time, he did the same thing again... and again. When the helicopter came back a final time, he was gone. He had succumbed to the cold and the water and drowned.
It wasn’t until days later that the man in the water was identified as Arland “Chub” Williams Jr., a mild-mannered, easy-going, good-natured 46-year-old federal bank examiner who was known more for his ever-present grin and aw-shucks manner than for his capacity for heroism.
And yet five times that day, with his strength ebbing away in that freezing water, Chub Williams played the hero. He will always be that mysterious and admired “man in the water.”
*****
Why Heroism?
According to writer Christopher Mcdougall, Andrew Carnegie was the “Darwin of the urban jungle, a street savant who discovered enough about the inner workings of the human psyche to command the loyalty of armies of workers and outthink the sharpest hustlers in the world, including the theretofore unbeatable J.P. Morgan.
“Carnegie was so obsessed with patterns of human behavior that he devoted a sizable amount of his life and fortune to studying under the top minds of his time. But when it came to deciphering heroism, even the best-financed investigator in the world came up short. The mechanics of self-sacrifice are so unpredictable, Carnegie found, you can’t even jimmy them with greed: A man won’t plunge into danger for money, but he’ll do it for free.
“ ‘I do not expect to stimulate or create heroism by this fund, knowing well that heroic action is impulsive,’ Carnegie said in 1904 when he established the Carnegie Hero Fund, which gives cash awards to civilians who save others’ lives.
“But while he couldn’t create heroes-for-hire, Carnegie accidentally found a way to make them more comprehensible. Because only pure, spontaneous do-gooders are eligible for the Carnegie Medal (not professional lifesavers or protective parents), the Carnegie archives are now a historical record of people who really shouldn’t be heroes.
“And so, after sifting through more than a century’s worth of Carnegie case studies, three intriguing factors snap into focus:
1. Lots of guys are risking their lives: Since 1904 the Carnegie Commission has seen over 80,000 cases of extreme heroism.
2. ‘Guys’ is exactly the right word; nine out of every 10 Carnegie heroes have been men. That means about 800 men are hurtling themselves into danger every year. And there’s no telling how many other men are risking their lives with no recognition at all.
3. If you want a Carnegie Medal, prepare to die trying. Heroism is a lethal business; during a typical 5-year stretch, nearly one in four Carnegie Medals was bestowed upon a corpse. When it comes to saving lives, you have a better chance of surviving a game of Russian roulette.”
*****
Date-Movie Heroes
The Batman movies are generally considered (by people who consider such things) date movies -- films made for people who want to enter a fantasy world for a couple of hours on a date with their sweetheart for the sole purpose of being thrilled and entertained.
That is probably what Jon Blunk, Alex Teves, and Matt McQuinn were looking for when they took their dates (Jansen Young, Samantha Yowler, and Amanda Lindgrento) to see The Dark Knight Rises at the Century Theater in Aurora, Colorado on July 20, 2012.
But when James Egan Holmes opened fire on the audience, they were all thrust quickly back into the real world. And it was in the real world, where bullets kill and the people who are shot really do die, that those three young men became heroes.
Each one of them threw themselves in front of their dates to protect the girls from the gunfire -- and all of them were shot and died in that act of self-sacrifice.
*****
The Shepherd and His Flock
Father Maximilian Kolbe was a Franciscan friar who provided shelter to Polish refugees during World War II -- including 2,000 Jews whom he hid from Nazi persecution in his friary in Niepokalanów. He was also active as a radio amateur, vilifying Nazi activities through his reports.
In February 1941 Kolbe was arrested by the Gestapo and imprisoned, and that May was transferred to the infamous Auschwitz death camp. In July a man from Kolbe’s barracks vanished, prompting the deputy camp commander to pick ten men from the same barracks to be starved to death in order to deter further escape attempts. (The man who had disappeared was later found drowned in the camp latrine.) One of the selected prisoners -- a man named Franciszek Gajowniczek -- cried out, lamenting his family, and Kolbe volunteered to take his place.
During the time in the cell Kolbe led the men in songs and prayer. After three weeks of dehydration and starvation, only Kolbe and three others were still alive. Finally he was murdered with an injection of carbolic acid.
Father Kolbe was beatified as a confessor by Pope Paul VI in 1971 and was canonized by Pope John Paul II on October 10, 1982 in the presence of Franciszek Gajowniczek. Upon canonization, the pope declared St. Maximilian Kolbe not a confessor, but a martyr. Although the canonization of Kolbe is uncontroversial, his recognition as a martyr is since Kolbe wasn’t assassinated strictly out of hatred for the Christian faith. He is one of ten 20th-century martyrs from across the world who are depicted in statues above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey in London.
*****
The Best Boss in the World
Last week, Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price took a 90% pay cut and slashed his company’s profits just so he could give his employees a raise. He has pledged to make sure all of his staffers make at least $70,000 annually in the next three years.
To do that he’s cutting his $1 million salary to $70,000, and dipping into the firm’s annual $2 million in profits. This will double the pay of about 30 of his workers and will mean significant raises for an additional 40.
When Price told employees of the new pay policy, there was stunned silence for several moments before people broke into applause and high-fives.
Price said he’s the majority owner of the privately-held firm, which he started in his college dorm room 11 years ago. His older brother, who gave him seed money to get started, is the only other stockholder. “My brother Lucas reacted with caution and questions, but not objections,” said Price. He’s single, so he didn’t have to explain his pay cut to a spouse.
Price decided to hike his employees’ pay after he read a study about happiness. It said additional income can make a significant difference in a person’s emotional well-being up to the point when they earn $75,000 a year. He’d also been hearing employees talk about the challenges of finding housing and meeting other expenses on their current salary, and decided there shouldn’t be such a big gap between his pay as CEO and that of his workers. He described the raises as a “moral imperative.”
Price told CNNMoney that he isn’t the only CEO looking to close the income gap. He’s heard from almost 100 other CEOs via e-mail and text who say they support his move. “I don’t know if we’ll see enough to move the needle, but I think people of my generation are committed to making a change.”
Price said he’ll stick with the reduced paycheck until he can restore Gravity’s profits. “My goal is to get back to previous profit levels within two to three years,” he said.
Price said the 50 workers who already earn more than $70,000 were nearly as excited about the news as their lower-paid co-workers. “They are happy that the folks that enable them to be high earners -- their team members -- will be taken care of,” Price said.
Customer reaction has also been positive. “They love our service level and think the team deserves it,” he said.
*****
The Hired Hand Runs Away
Nigeria’s national security adviser has blamed cowardice for the army’s failure to protect civilians from attacks by Boko Haram extremists, saying many soldiers had joined up because they wanted a job but were not willing to fight.
Sambo Dasuki rejected suggestions that the Nigerian garrison in the town of Baga, overrun by the Islamist group at the beginning of this year, had been underequipped, citing the substantial arsenal seized by the attackers that was displayed by Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau in a video claiming responsibility posted online.
Speaking at the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House in London, Dasuki said that the list of equipment lost in Baga included six armored cars with 4,000 rounds of heavy ammunition in each, as well as artillery pieces. “Anyone who is saying that they are not well armed is not telling the truth,” the national security adviser said. “We had a lot of cowards, and it turned out there was a problem in the recruitment process.... There were a lot of people who joined because they wanted a job, not because they wanted a career in the military. These are the people who ran away.”
*****
Some Famous Fictional Cowards
In John’s gospel, Jesus warns us about cowardly hired hands who are not committed to the safety of the sheep and who run away whenever danger is present, leaving the sheep to die. Here are a few such hired hands from the world of fiction:
Ichabod Crane: After chastising the people of Sleepy Hollow for their bad behavior, he flees from the headless horseman -- running away never to be seen again.
Carter J. Burke: Played by Paul Reiser in Aliens (the second instalment of the Alien movie franchise), Burke is a company man all the way. He intentionally arranges for crew members to be infected with the alien so they can be taken back to earth and used by “the company” for profit. When Ripley threatens to uncover his scheme and blow it up, Burke tries to have her killed. Justice wins out, however, when Burke is killed by the very animals he’s trying to exploit.
Dr. Zachary Smith: Portrayed by Jonathan Harris in the TV series Lost in Space, Smith is responsible (along with the Robinson family) for the Jupiter 2 ship being lost, floating through space -- and he manages to survive from episode to episode without caring about anything or anyone but himself.
Ephialtes: A hunchback dwarf (played by Andrew Tiernan) in the movie 300 who was not fit to be a Spartan warrior. He becomes resentful and angry, and betrays his countrymen to the Persians when Xerxes promises him all the sex and money he could ever want.
Count Rugen: A tough guy when the odds are all in his favor, this villain from The Princess Bride becomes a quivering coward when he hears that famous line (spoken by Mandy Patinkin): “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”
Scooby-Doo and Shaggy: These famous cartoon characters ran away from every shadow and noise that sounded the least bit spooky.
The Cowardly Lion: The Wizard of Oz character who learns from Dorothy that courage is not the lack of fear but the resolve to act in spite of fear.
*****
The Stand
In Stephen King’s magnum opus The Stand, a rapidly mutating influenza wipes out most of the world’s population, leaving just a small group of survivors who are, for unknown reasons, immune.
Following instructions they receive in dreams and chance encounters, the survivors make their way across the United States to two camps. Good people who care about the welfare of others and the world itself are drawn to Boulder, Colorado, where they meet Mother Abagail -- a 104-year-old black woman whom they have seen in their dreams and who can calm their fears and remind and reassure them of their goals and purposes. Others are drawn to Las Vegas under the leadership of “the Walkin’ Dude,” Randall Flagg -- the very personification of evil who attracts his followers with visions of power, wealth, and revenge.
Finally, when all of the main characters have been gathered together in their respective cities, it becomes clear that the plot is headed toward a showdown, an Armageddon-esque battle between good and evil. The only problem is that the forces of evil have better and more powerful weapons at their disposal than the forces of good.
Without ruining the ending of the story, it turns out that good has one weapon that is more powerful than all of the weapons that evil can muster. It is, in fact, a weapon that evil, because it is evil, can never have.
It is, quite simply, the ability to sacrifice ourselves for those we love.
***************
From team member Chris Keating:
This week’s illustrations move from sudsy to sensational, to baring it all before turning around and heading into provocative questions of offering ourselves in love to those in need.
Psalm 23
My Cup Overflows (with Baseballs)
Chicago Cubs fans have always believed Wrigley Field held sacred status. Now they may be able to proclaim that the hallowed grounds truly cause their cups to overflow -- with foul balls. #Chugball became a thing last weekend when two fans had baseballs land in their beer cups. Rejoicing in the gift, both fans chugged their brewskis to the delight of the crowd.
As one announcer quipped “that beverage just got a little foamier,” a 24-year-old Chicago resident unknowingly landed a foul ball Saturday during a game against the San Diego Padres. She held up the overflowing cup, and then chugged the beer. Another ball appeared to fall into a fan’s beer on Sunday, though whether that actually happened has been debated. Either way, the fan’s sudsy cup was a big hit with the stadium.
It’s too early yet to tell whether the Cubs can shepherd their team to a championship, of course. But it isn’t too soon for a new Cubbies tradition to start. Raise your cups and cheer!
*****
Psalm 23
Whom Are You Following?
For the psalmist, following the Lord’s shepherding providence is foundational to faith. Psalm 23 describes the intimate relationship between the shepherd and the one being led. It is a relationship of provision, protection, and nurture.
But who do people follow today? In a digital, virtual world, the leader/follower relationship is less intimate. There’s little chance, for example, that the 66.85 million people who “follow” Katy Perry on Twitter expect the singer to set a dinner table for them, let alone overfill their drinking cups. Perry tops the Twitter-verse with the most followers. Pop idol Justin Bieber is second with 61 million followers; President Obama lags behind the two singers with just 56.51 followers.
Meanwhile, Khloe Kardashian is listed by the photo-sharing site Instagram as the tenth most closely followed celebrity, with more than 18 million fans. Her stepsister Kylie Jenner is just ahead of her at ninth place. But “following” someone can be complicated, not to mention even creepy. Facebook users, for example, can learn the ins and outs of following, friending, and un-following someone. Or even re-following someone.
*****
Psalm 23
Walking Naked and Afraid
You might call it a stripped-down version of reality television. Actually, Discovery Channel’s hit series Naked and Afraid is exactly that. Each episode features two survivalists -- one male, one female, both naked -- who are plopped down in an unforgiving valley of the shadow of death for 21 days. It is not as seductive or titillating as it may sound. Instead, in many ways the producers are striving to portray the human ability to survive in a hostile climate. Brian Moylan of the Guardian says that the nudity is a bit of a gimmick -- but the quest to survive, however, is not:
When a man gets a fierce sunburn over his entire body, including his most sensitive bits, he has to figure out how to endure on his own. Two contestants in the bayou both got trenchfoot from living in the water, but no help arrived. Yes, some people have been shipped out due to drinking contaminated water or contracting some strange illness only found in extreme atmospheres, but these people are out there with literally nothing shielding them from the harm of nature. We get to watch from the comfort of our home, hoping that we would never have to engage in such an ordeal but strangely happy to know that, with the right skills and mental fortitude, it is possible to stay alive.
Presumably the psalmist is clothed with faith, and a hope built on God’s abundant provision. The psalmist dares to walk in the wildest of places not naked and afraid, but clothed and calm. There’s a reality show -- walking straight through the valley of the shadow of death.
*****
1 John 3:16-24
Seeing the Needs of Humans -- But How Do We Respond?
The writer of 1 John frames the question precisely: “How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?” That dilemma is illustrated clearly by the terrible news from the Mediterranean Sea this weekend, where as many as 700 migrants were feared to have drowned.
The boat carrying the migrants to Europe capsized on Sunday, potentially raising the number of migrants dying while seeking refuge in Europe this year to 1,500. European Union nations have tried to restrict the number of immigrants seeking asylum. While aid groups call for solutions, EU nations are struggling to cope with the influx of migrants fleeing Libya. Around 20,000 Libyans have reached Italy this year, but a leader of an anti-immigrant political party in Italy has called for all boats to be sunk.
Pope Francis called for an increase in humanitarian aid to migrants, along with other efforts to ensure their safety: “They are men and women like us, our brothers and sisters who seek a better life; hungry, persecuted, injured, exploited, victims of war -- they seek a better life. They were seeking happiness.”
*****
John 10:11-18
Oklahoma City Bombing 20th Anniversary Celebration
Twenty years ago this week, the nation was shocked by the largest act of domestic terrorism in United States history. The bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City dominated newscasts for days as the nation attempted to understand what had happened.
Images of rescue workers rushing into the rubble changed our nation’s understanding of terror. Twenty years later, survivors gathered in Oklahoma City to grieve and honor the victims and rescuers. Richard Williams, who was the building manager, remembers very little of that day. But he is aware that the selfless efforts of an Oklahoma City police officer saved his life: “ ‘I was buried underneath the rubble, was dug out by an Oklahoma City policeman, and he is my hero,’ Williams said this weekend. Williams led the remembrance ceremony and invited the crowd gathered at the memorial to participate in 168 seconds of silence in memory of the victims.”
Another police officer’s efforts that day nearly went unnoticed. Charlie Hanger was an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper known to be so strict that friends say he would write a speeding ticket to his own mother. That day, however, Hanger was driving north on I-35 when he passed a rusting yellow 1977 Mercury Marquis with no license plates. The driver was Timothy McVeigh, who would later be executed for his plot to bomb the federal building.
Hanger was about to write McVeigh a ticket and let him go, until he noticed a bulge in McVeigh’s jacket. That led to patting McVeigh down and discovering a loaded pistol. Hanger arrested him, dropped him at jail, and left to take his wife to dinner. McVeigh’s identity as a suspect had yet to be known.
People in Oklahoma see Hanger as a hero, but he just sees himself as a cop doing his job. In a recent Los Angeles Times article, Hanger recounted the day’s events:
Hanger can recite all the minutiae of the arrest -- but when he talked about the 19 children killed that day, the lawman in the black cowboy boots choked up, and his big, blue eyes turned serious. He can’t bring himself to visit a memorial where victims’ photos are displayed.
“The attention needs to be on the victims,” he said quietly. He goes sometimes to the bombing anniversary events in Oklahoma City, but not always. When he’s there in uniform, he feels like a distraction.
“He’s so humble about it,” said Marilee Macias, owner of the Kumback Cafe. “He doesn’t like it when people call him a hero,” she said.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: God is our shepherd.
People: We shall never be in want.
Leader: God restores our souls.
People: God leads us in right paths.
Leader: Even though we walk through the darkest valley, we fear no evil.
People: God is with us; God’s rod and staff comfort us.
OR
Leader: Come to the Good Shepherd who calls the sheep.
People: With joy, we come to hear the Shepherd’s voice.
Leader: The Shepherd calls us so that we may follow.
People: We trust the Shepherd who loves us and lays down his life for us.
Leader: The Shepherd leads us to a full and abundant life.
People: We will follow wherever he leads us.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“The King of Love My Shepherd Is”
found in:
UMH: 138
H82: 545, 546
PH: 171
NCH: 248
LBW: 456
ELA: 502
Renew: 106
“Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us”
found in:
UMH: 381
H82: 708
PH: 387
AAHH: 424
NNBH: 54
NCH: 252
CH: 558
LBW: 481
ELA: 789
W&P: 440
AMEC: 379
“The Care the Eagle Gives Her Young”
found in:
UMH: 118
NCH: 468
CH: 76
“He Leadeth Me, O Blessed Thought”
found in:
UMH: 128
AAHH: 142
NNBH: 235
CH: 545
LBW: 501
W&P: 499
AMEC: 395
“Take Time to Be Holy”
found in:
UMH: 395
NNBH: 306
CH: 572
W&P: 483
AMEC: 286
“Seek Ye First”
found in:
UMH: 405
H82: 711
PH: 333
CH: 354
W&P: 349
CCB: 76
“O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee”
found in:
UMH: 430
H82: 659, 660
PH: 357
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELA: 818
W&P: 589
AMEC: 299
“Be Thou My Vision”
found in:
UMH: 451
H82: 488
PH: 339
NCH: 451
CH: 595
ELA: 793
W&P: 502
AMEC: 281
STLT: 20
Renew: 151
“Refiner’s Fire”
found in:
CCB: 79
“You Are Mine”
found in:
CCB: 58
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who comes among us as the Good Shepherd: Give us the grace to recognize you when you come to us so that we are not fooled by pretenders who would lead us from the way of life; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, for being our Good Shepherd. You lead us to the waters of life. You guide us into the ways of righteousness. Help us to listen for your voice and to recognize it among all the distractions of this life. Help us to be your faithful flock. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our failure to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We want Jesus to shepherd us and take care of us, but we also listen to the sound of other voices. These voices offer us wealth or prestige or friendship, and they sound very good. We lose the voice of the Savior and we stray from the flock. Forgive us and bring us back to the fold, that we might again hear the voice of the Good Shepherd as he leads us to the things that give life abundant and eternal. Amen.
Leader: God is love, and the Good Shepherd loves the sheep. Receive God’s grace and follow the Shepherd of your souls.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We praise you, O God, for you are the Shepherd of your people.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We want Jesus to shepherd us and take care of us, but we also listen to the sound of other voices. These voices offer us wealth or prestige or friendship, and they sound very good. We lose the voice of the Savior and we stray from the flock. Forgive us and bring us back to the fold, that we might again hear the voice of the Good Shepherd as he leads us to the things that give life abundant and eternal.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which you have blessed us. We thank you for our earth and the bounty it supplies. We thank you for giving us Jesus to be our Good Shepherd so that we can learn from him to follow in your ways.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all who are in need and for all who are hurting this day. As the Good Shepherd goes to them, help us to be his faithful followers who offer love and care to all.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father . . . Amen.
(or if the Lord’s Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children’s Sermon Starter
Sheep do not have very good eyesight. It is hard for them to see very far beyond the end of their noses! That is why they bleat all the time. It helps them know where the rest of the flock is. They also listen for the shepherd’s voice. They listen so they can follow. Jesus is our Good Shepherd. Just like sheep, we need to listen to his voice and follow him.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
What’s a Good Shepherd?
John 10:11-18
Object: a picture of sheep
I have a picture here. Can you tell me what’s in this picture? (Show the picture and let the children answer.) Yes, these are sheep. Have any of you ever seen sheep out in the country? (Let them answer.) Sometimes when we see sheep, we also see the guy who takes care of the sheep. Does anyone know what they call the person who takes care of the sheep? (Let them answer.) That’s right. The one who takes care of the sheep is called a shepherd.
Now, Jesus calls himself a shepherd. In fact, he says that he is the good shepherd. What do you think would make a person a good shepherd? What’s the difference between a good shepherd and a bad shepherd? (Let them answer.) The most important thing that a good shepherd does is to protect the sheep. He keeps wolves from killing the sheep and he protects them in all sorts of ways. Jesus says that a good shepherd is willing to die for his sheep. Who are the sheep of Jesus? (Let them answer.) Yes, we are his sheep. Did Jesus die for us? (Let them answer.) Yes, he certainly did. He died on the cross to save you and me from our sins. He truly is a good shepherd.
Let’s thank Jesus for being our good shepherd.
Prayer: Dear Jesus: We know that you are the good shepherd and that you died to protect us and save us from our sins. We thank you so much for saving us. Help us to be the kind of sheep that you want us to be. Amen.
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The Immediate Word, April 26, 2015, issue.
Copyright 2015 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
