The Lord Is My Personal Trainer
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
In our increasingly obese society, there is an increased emphasis on personal fitness. However, the vast majority of us often do not have the willpower to do what is necessary to achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle. We often need someone to not only guide us in doing what is necessary to get in shape, but also to push us and encourage us on that journey. Is there a link between that image and the image of our good shepherd who guides us along our way? What do we need to get in spiritual shape? Barbara Jurgensen will write the main article, with Paul Bresnahan writing the response. Illustrations, liturgical aids, and a children's sermon are also provided.
The Lord is My Personal Trainer
Barbara Jurgensen
John 10:1-10
THE WORLD
In a recent news article, talk show host Oprah Winfrey tells how her personal trainer has helped her eat more sensibly, maintain her proper weight, strengthen her heart, and greatly improve her health.
Oprah says, "You've got to ask yourself: What kind of life do you want, and how close are you to living it? You cannot live the life of your dreams without coming face-to-face with the truth."
What kind of life do you and I want? How close are we to living it? We know that we cannot ever live the life of our dreams without coming face-to-face with the truth. We also know that the truth is a person, our Lord Jesus.
Do you and I need help with our relationships, with our goals in life, with our fear, anger, and guilt? Could we use some help in getting rid of the things that are weighing us down? Do our hearts and our sense of purpose in life need to be strengthened? Could the health of our inner spirits be joyously improved?
This fourth Sunday of Easter has traditionally been known as "Shepherd Sunday," the day when we read (Psalm 23) that the Lord is our shepherd, as well as the day when we hear Jesus telling us (John 10) that he takes care of his sheep -- that's us.
Let's face it: We're no longer an agricultural people, and it's not easy to understand how a shepherd can be of help to us.
So how about if we consider changing the name of this Sunday, for just this one day, to: "The Lord Is My Personal Trainer Sunday"?
What if our good shepherd would also be willing to be our personal trainer?
THE WORD
Psalm 23 assures us that our Lord -- our good shepherd -- knows each of us, you and me, personally, is aware of what we need and provides it, and leads us in the way we should go (vv.1-3) -- exactly what a personal trainer does.
Verse 4 tells us that our shepherd helps us through difficult times -- as a personal trainer would.
Verses 5 and 6 assure us that our shepherd helps us to move along in our life, as a personal trainer does, until at last we reach the house of our Lord.
Our passage in the gospel of John reinforces these things by showing us the good shepherd gathering all of his own sheep out of the many sheep in the enclosure and leading them out into good pasture.
He tells us that he has come to this earth so that we might have life and have it abundantly.
Likewise, a personal trainer gets to know each of the people he or she coaches as the separate, individual person that they are, tailors their training to fit their individual needs, and helps them work toward their goals of strength, wellness, and well-being.
In our Acts reading, Jesus has now gone back to heaven, but the training he gave his followers (and now gives them through the presence of the Holy Spirit), enables them to carry on his work. Our text from 1 Peter reminds those who are suffering for their faith that our Lord left us an example of how to live our lives, as a good personal trainer does.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
I have a neighbor who, a few years ago when she reached the age of about 85, decided that if she was going to be living so long she probably should get in better shape physically. So she drove over to the nearest fitness center, hired a personal trainer, and began working with him.
Today, ready to turn 93, she's still going strong -- busy every day, volunteering at the food pantry, tending her big garden to provide many beautiful flowers for church services and for the sick and shut-ins, and gathering a group to make more than fifteen quilts each month for people in troubled areas around the world.
"My personal trainer has helped me see what I need to do and how to do it -- and kept encouraging me," she says. "There are times when I might have given up, but he kept urging me on."
In the same way, Oprah Winfrey says that her personal trainer gives her the help she needs to make the best life she can.
First, her trainer helps her with meal plans -- we know that what we eat is important.
Our personal trainer, Jesus, encourages us to feed on the word of God. He says, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples" (John 8:31).
He tells us to not dwell on negative things but to fill our minds with what is good: 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 (Philippians 4:8).
If we feed ourselves a constant diet of TV, computers, and other electronic devices, we're not adequately nourishing our minds and spirits. Our Lord has better things for us.
Second, Oprah says that her personal trainer has helped her take off the weight she needed to lose. Our personal trainer, Jesus, also can help us cast off the things that weigh us down -- our fears, our anger, our guilt.
He tells us that perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18), and we know that his love for us is perfect and that we are so loved that we need not fear nor be anxious about anything (Philippians 4:6-7).
Our Lord, our personal trainer, wants to help us get rid of that heavy burden of anger we're carrying around with us. He says, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:29).
Our Lord, intending that we should not be weighed down with fear, anger, or guilt, invites us to cast all our cares upon him (1 Peter 5:7).
Our Lord wants to help us get rid of our guilt. "She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).
Third, Oprah says that her personal trainer strengthens her heart. Our personal trainer, Jesus, does this for us, too. Our Acts lesson today tells us that after the Day of Pentecost, after the Lord God gave the Holy Spirit to all those who wanted to follow Jesus, these people began gathering together for study, fellowship, prayers, and for sharing food together -- with glad and generous hearts (Acts 2:46).
Just as we can develop the strength of our physical hearts by exercise such as walking, so walking in the ways of the Lord can strengthen the heart of our being.
As Oprah said, we each have to ask ourselves, "What kind of a life do we want? And how close are we to living it?"
To reach the life we want, we need the truth about ourselves. We also need the one who is the truth, our personal trainer, Jesus our Lord. As the fitness centers' ads urge, "Sign up today! It's the best thing you can do for yourself."
I know I need my personal trainer, our Lord Jesus, to help me become what I can become, what he knows I can become. If you feel the same need, ask the good shepherd, who knows and cares for each of us, to be your own personal trainer.
ANOTHER VIEW
Greed and the Good Shepherd
Paul Bresnahan
So now we come to the Sunday of the Good Shepherd. As we do, we also become aware that we are in the midst of one of the more disquieting times in our nation's economy.
Recently on NPR, one of the commentators put it succinctly: Greed had taken over in the banking and brokerage houses. Credit seemed free of risk as housing and real estate prices climbed seemingly in only one direction. Borrowers were able to buy on margin without putting up real capital and even the riskiest investors had carte blanche so it seemed as they bought to the hilt.
Huge buyers entered the scene and bought up sub-prime mortgages without so much as a penny of "real money" down. That's when the bubble burst. The market turned south, and people began to find themselves in the uncomfortable position of calling in their debts.
The money was not there. Prices fell further and faster, and then there were foreclosures. Those who invested in mortgages at Bear Stearns found themselves in the unenviable position of having little or nothing to show for their investment strategies. Thus the failure of one of the largest brokerage houses in history and the US government was forced to bail out a brokerage house; something that had never happened before.
It was all greed, as the analyst put it on NPR. Folks thought they could get something for nothing. Of course, the consumer was blamed by at least one of the candidates in this year's election... without regard to the role of the banks in giving mortgages to risky customers in an irresponsible way.
Thus we look for someone to blame. I suggest we look elsewhere. I suggest we look to the good shepherd. Greed is one way of life and acting as the good shepherd to one another is yet another.
Am I my brother and sister's keeper?
Do I have any responsibility for making sure that my brother or sister is on steady ground and not on sand?
The good shepherd enters by the gate of the sheepfold, we are told in today's gospel. The thief comes only to steal... or in the case of greedy folks, they come only for themselves, seeking to make money fast... and at the expense of those who will be left holding the bag. The fallout from the present crisis will have a ripple effect that far outreaches much of what any of us can currently estimate.
Now there are calls for "regulation" after a long period of "de-regulation." We took it as an article of faith that the less a government governed, the better it governed... only to find out that such a strategy left the victim by the side of the road beaten and dying.
The good shepherd cares more than that and will give his life for the sheep. We are at a turning point now for one another. Will we rise to the occasion and be the good shepherd for one another or will we turn away and keep walking on the other side of the road?
The Sunday of the Good Shepherd has come to us just in time this year. Greed is put right back in its place where it belongs.
Turn now, my friend, toward the good shepherd and be saved!
ILLUSTRATIONS
"On the gray morning of January 25, 1949," writes Catherine Marshall, "my world caved in. At 8:15 a.m., my husband's tired and damaged heart stopped beating. Five minutes later, the doctor called. The measured words coming through the telephone receiver were like physical blows from which I instinctively recoiled... 'Oh, no! Not that!' And then a deep breath, like that of a drowning person gulping for air... 'How? Why? Please tell me what happened!' "
This is how Catherine Marshall describes the death of her husband, Peter -- the famous preacher of Washington's New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. It is easy to imagine how, in the cold, gray shock of the doctor's announcement, she felt utterly and completely alone. "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen...."
Yet, there is somebody who knows. The spiritual goes on: "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen; nobody knows but Jesus." We may feel we are alone, that, in our worst moments, no one truly cares, but there is one who cares. His name is Jesus. He is the good shepherd.
-- Catherine Marshall, To Live Again (Reading, UK: Spire Books, 1957)
* * *
When Christian missionaries first came to the arctic regions of Alaska, they struggled to tell the Christian story to the Inuit people, the ones they called "Eskimos." It was no easy task, because life in Bible times was so different from anything in the Inuit experience. The story of the good shepherd posed particular problems, for none of the Inuit had ever seen a sheep. Finally, one of the missionaries learned of a strange and noble practice of the Inuit people that communicated this truth.
In times of severe famine, in the endless, dark days of arctic winter, it sometimes happened that a brave young man would go off across the ice, armed only with a pointed stick. He would walk until he encountered a polar bear, the deadliest animal of the arctic. The hunter would do whatever he could to provoke the bear to anger. Finally, the bear would rear up on its hind legs and raise its deadly claws to strike. At that moment, the hunter would set the blunt end of his pointed stick in the ground and brace it against his foot. When the full weight of the bear fell down upon him, it also came down upon the stick. Pierced through the heart, the bear was sure to die -- but not before it had the opportunity to finish off the hunter.
The next day, the villagers would follow the hunter's tracks, until they came to the place where the two bodies lay -- the bear's and the one who had slain it. In the frozen bear meat, they would find enough food to survive the famine.
It is this story the missionaries used to tell the parable of the good shepherd. That is how the story of the good shepherd became, in the Inuit language, "the story of the good hunter."
* * *
In Charles Dickens' famous novel of the French Revolution, A Tale of Two Cities, an Englishman by the name of Sydney Carton substitutes himself for the condemned man, Evrémonde. There is enough physical resemblance for him to pass for the condemned man, and so he takes his place, out of love for his friend. One fellow prisoner, a young seamstress, recognizes him. Like Sydney Carton, she too is innocent. Yet she, too, is caught up in the Reign of Terror, and is condemned to die. The young girl turns to the Englishman and asks if he will permit her to hold his hand, as they ride the cart that will take them to the guillotine.
"I think you were sent to me by Heaven," she says.
"Or you to me," replies Sydney Carton -- for he has lived a life of selfishness up to this point, and needs someone to care for. "Keep your eyes upon me, dear child, and mind no other object."
"I mind nothing," she says, "while I hold your hand."
The two hold hands all the way to the scaffold, releasing them only as she ascends the steps ahead of him. In a moment, both their lives are snuffed out.
"They said of him about the city that night," Dickens writes, "that it was the peacefullest man's face ever beheld there." Sydney Carton forgot his loneliness, the loneliness and meaninglessness that had dogged his unhappy life, in one supreme act of self-sacrifice. Dickens imagines the words that might have run through his mind, in the moments before he lay his head under the dangling blade: "It is a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."
-- Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (New York: Penguin Classics, 2003)
* * *
If Jesus is to be our personal trainer, he also expects us to provide training for those for whom we are entrusted. Consider the qualities of a good leader in a congregation.
As part of a comprehensive review of our curriculum at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, we recently asked laypeople from around the country what qualities they want in their pastors. Many said that they want their pastors to possess biblical and theological understanding, leadership skills, and an ability to communicate clearly. No surprises there. We expected these responses. What surprised us was the large number of people who said, "We want humble pastors, pastors who are not arrogant, church leaders who listen to us and don't just tell us what to do."
-- Michael Jinkins, academic dean and professor of theology at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, from a review of Humble Leadership, www.alban.org
* * *
Personal trainers urge you to do what you already know you should be doing. It is amazing how difficult it is to "tell the truth," even in the church. Tom Ehrich, of the Church Wellness Project, speaks of the nature of good church leadership: "A better practice is transparency. That means full disclosure and candid assessment. In business schools, they call it the 'Tylenol defense,' after a famous product recall: Tell the truth, tell it all, and tell it promptly. The truth will eventually get out, and any attempt to hide, shade, or spin will succeed only in undermining trust...
"One primary job of leadership is to tell the truth. Announce change before it occurs, explain it, and invite response. Disclose negative outcomes immediately, without blaming or spinning, and invite people to reflect on them."
* * *
If a personal trainer helps us to "shape up," perhaps it might also help to recognize the negative impact of a "flabby Christianity." In a recent USA Today article, "A Gated Community in the Evangelical World," it was stated that according to interviews with leaders who profess Christian faith, including 100 top CEOs, two past US presidents and other business leaders, the majority (60 percent) had low commitment levels to their church and denomination. Some were members in name only and others had actively left church life.
"Executives and politicians are often distressed by the way churches are run. James Unruh, who served as the CEO of Unisys, was also a one-time elder at his Presbyterian church in California. He has since decided he will never serve again. He couldn't stand the inefficiency of church meetings, a common refrain among those interviewed... Others describe their church as 'inefficient, unproductive and focused on the wrong things.' "
-- D. Michael Lindsay, "A Gated Community in the Evangelical World," USA Today (February 11, 2008)
WORSHIP RESOURCE
Call To Worship (adapted from Revelation 7:10-12)
Leader: Salvation comes from our God who is seated on the throne;
People: And from the lamb at the center of the throne who is our shepherd.
Leader: All blessing and glory,
People: All thanksgiving and honor,
Leader: All power and might,
People: All praise and worship,
Leader: All tributes that heaven and earth can offer,
People: Belong to our God forever and ever! Amen.
Collect
O God, you knew us even before we were born, and you knew we would each wander off into trouble like sheep. Thank you for opening the door to the sheepfold and calling us home. In Christ we pray. Amen.
-- James R. Wilson, Lectionary Worship Aids, Series IV, Cycle A (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Co., Inc., 1995), p. 102
Responsive Prayer of Confession
Leader: Creator of the lights of heaven, sustainer of all things,
we have taken you for granted and turned our backs on you.
People: Forgive us and save us; restore to us the joy of salvation.
Leader: Christ Jesus, redeemer, good shepherd of all,
we have neglected you, following timidly from a long way behind.
People: Forgive us and save us; restore to us the joy of salvation.
Leader: Holy Spirit, source of birth and rebirth, joy of weary hearts,
we have rejected your friendship to chase after fleeting fads.
People: Forgive us and save us; restore to us the joy of salvation.
Leader: Most loving God, origin and goal of communal love, bring all your wandering children back to your side. Restore us to our senses. Forgive our many sins. Reinforce within us all the desire to do your will, and to follow where our Savior leads, as you bring ever nearer the fulfillment of creation.
People: In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Responsive Assurance of God's Pardon (Romans 6:9-11)
Leader: Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again;
People: death no longer has dominion over him.
Leader: The death he died, he died to sin, once and for all;
People: but the life he lives, he lives to God.
Leader: So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
People: Christ is Risen! Alleluia!
Prayer for Illumination (based on John 12:21)
Lord God, we wish to see Jesus.
By your Spirit's power, give us eyes to see his glory.
Through Christ we pray. Amen.
Prayer
Creator of the deep stillness at the heart of creation:
your grace murmurs in our hearts, like a gentle stream.
Your goodness and mercy follow us, all the days of our lives.
Help us to trust your goodness to be good,
and your mercy to be merciful.
Ease the worries and anxieties that trouble our spirits.
Help us to cherish the life you give,
and to know that, in Christ the Good Shepherd,
it is life abundant.
Amen.
Benediction (adapted from a prayer of St. Patrick)
Christ as a light
illumine and guide you!
Christ as a shield overshadow and cover you!
Christ be under you! Christ be over you!
Christ be beside you,
on left hand and right!
Christ be before you, behind you, about you!
Christ, this day, be within and without you!
-- Adapted from David Adam, A Celtic Psaltery (London: SPCK, 2001), p. 51
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Our shepherd
Object: a recording of the voices of several mothers whose children will be present
John 10:1-10
When he has brought out all of his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. (v. 4)
Good morning, boys and girls. Jesus thought of himself as a shepherd. Do you know what a shepherd does? (let them answer) That's right, a shepherd watches and protects sheep. Jesus must have known a lot about shepherds because he taught us that sheep trust the shepherd with their lives. When a shepherd speaks, the sheep listen. The sheep know the shepherd's voice and follow him to safety.
Sheep will not follow a stranger. When a stranger speaks the sheep run away and hide from the stranger. It sounds to me like the sheep are pretty smart.
I brought along a recording of some voices. I want to see if you recognize the voices and can pick out the one voice that you really trust. (play the recording and see if the children can identify their own mother's voice) The voices you heard were some of your mothers' voices, and we can tell that you know your own mother's voice and that you trust it.
What are you supposed to do when a stranger asks you to get in car with them or take a walk with them? (let them answer) That's right, you are supposed to run away from them and if they follow you when you run away then you should yell loudly while you are running. According to Jesus, that is what sheep do when a stranger tries to make sheep follow him.
All of us trust Jesus and the voice of Jesus. If we were sheep we would call him our shepherd. But, because we are people we call him other names of trust. We call Jesus the Christ, the Savior, our Lord, our Master, the Son of God, and other names like this because we trust Jesus with our lives, just like the sheep trust the shepherd.
The next time you are taking a drive in the country and you pass some sheep out in a field munching some good green grass, I hope you think of Jesus and his voice calling you. Jesus is our God and we trust him with everything we have. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, April 13, 2008, issue.
Copyright 2008 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 permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
The Lord is My Personal Trainer
Barbara Jurgensen
John 10:1-10
THE WORLD
In a recent news article, talk show host Oprah Winfrey tells how her personal trainer has helped her eat more sensibly, maintain her proper weight, strengthen her heart, and greatly improve her health.
Oprah says, "You've got to ask yourself: What kind of life do you want, and how close are you to living it? You cannot live the life of your dreams without coming face-to-face with the truth."
What kind of life do you and I want? How close are we to living it? We know that we cannot ever live the life of our dreams without coming face-to-face with the truth. We also know that the truth is a person, our Lord Jesus.
Do you and I need help with our relationships, with our goals in life, with our fear, anger, and guilt? Could we use some help in getting rid of the things that are weighing us down? Do our hearts and our sense of purpose in life need to be strengthened? Could the health of our inner spirits be joyously improved?
This fourth Sunday of Easter has traditionally been known as "Shepherd Sunday," the day when we read (Psalm 23) that the Lord is our shepherd, as well as the day when we hear Jesus telling us (John 10) that he takes care of his sheep -- that's us.
Let's face it: We're no longer an agricultural people, and it's not easy to understand how a shepherd can be of help to us.
So how about if we consider changing the name of this Sunday, for just this one day, to: "The Lord Is My Personal Trainer Sunday"?
What if our good shepherd would also be willing to be our personal trainer?
THE WORD
Psalm 23 assures us that our Lord -- our good shepherd -- knows each of us, you and me, personally, is aware of what we need and provides it, and leads us in the way we should go (vv.1-3) -- exactly what a personal trainer does.
Verse 4 tells us that our shepherd helps us through difficult times -- as a personal trainer would.
Verses 5 and 6 assure us that our shepherd helps us to move along in our life, as a personal trainer does, until at last we reach the house of our Lord.
Our passage in the gospel of John reinforces these things by showing us the good shepherd gathering all of his own sheep out of the many sheep in the enclosure and leading them out into good pasture.
He tells us that he has come to this earth so that we might have life and have it abundantly.
Likewise, a personal trainer gets to know each of the people he or she coaches as the separate, individual person that they are, tailors their training to fit their individual needs, and helps them work toward their goals of strength, wellness, and well-being.
In our Acts reading, Jesus has now gone back to heaven, but the training he gave his followers (and now gives them through the presence of the Holy Spirit), enables them to carry on his work. Our text from 1 Peter reminds those who are suffering for their faith that our Lord left us an example of how to live our lives, as a good personal trainer does.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
I have a neighbor who, a few years ago when she reached the age of about 85, decided that if she was going to be living so long she probably should get in better shape physically. So she drove over to the nearest fitness center, hired a personal trainer, and began working with him.
Today, ready to turn 93, she's still going strong -- busy every day, volunteering at the food pantry, tending her big garden to provide many beautiful flowers for church services and for the sick and shut-ins, and gathering a group to make more than fifteen quilts each month for people in troubled areas around the world.
"My personal trainer has helped me see what I need to do and how to do it -- and kept encouraging me," she says. "There are times when I might have given up, but he kept urging me on."
In the same way, Oprah Winfrey says that her personal trainer gives her the help she needs to make the best life she can.
First, her trainer helps her with meal plans -- we know that what we eat is important.
Our personal trainer, Jesus, encourages us to feed on the word of God. He says, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples" (John 8:31).
He tells us to not dwell on negative things but to fill our minds with what is good: 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 (Philippians 4:8).
If we feed ourselves a constant diet of TV, computers, and other electronic devices, we're not adequately nourishing our minds and spirits. Our Lord has better things for us.
Second, Oprah says that her personal trainer has helped her take off the weight she needed to lose. Our personal trainer, Jesus, also can help us cast off the things that weigh us down -- our fears, our anger, our guilt.
He tells us that perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18), and we know that his love for us is perfect and that we are so loved that we need not fear nor be anxious about anything (Philippians 4:6-7).
Our Lord, our personal trainer, wants to help us get rid of that heavy burden of anger we're carrying around with us. He says, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:29).
Our Lord, intending that we should not be weighed down with fear, anger, or guilt, invites us to cast all our cares upon him (1 Peter 5:7).
Our Lord wants to help us get rid of our guilt. "She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).
Third, Oprah says that her personal trainer strengthens her heart. Our personal trainer, Jesus, does this for us, too. Our Acts lesson today tells us that after the Day of Pentecost, after the Lord God gave the Holy Spirit to all those who wanted to follow Jesus, these people began gathering together for study, fellowship, prayers, and for sharing food together -- with glad and generous hearts (Acts 2:46).
Just as we can develop the strength of our physical hearts by exercise such as walking, so walking in the ways of the Lord can strengthen the heart of our being.
As Oprah said, we each have to ask ourselves, "What kind of a life do we want? And how close are we to living it?"
To reach the life we want, we need the truth about ourselves. We also need the one who is the truth, our personal trainer, Jesus our Lord. As the fitness centers' ads urge, "Sign up today! It's the best thing you can do for yourself."
I know I need my personal trainer, our Lord Jesus, to help me become what I can become, what he knows I can become. If you feel the same need, ask the good shepherd, who knows and cares for each of us, to be your own personal trainer.
ANOTHER VIEW
Greed and the Good Shepherd
Paul Bresnahan
So now we come to the Sunday of the Good Shepherd. As we do, we also become aware that we are in the midst of one of the more disquieting times in our nation's economy.
Recently on NPR, one of the commentators put it succinctly: Greed had taken over in the banking and brokerage houses. Credit seemed free of risk as housing and real estate prices climbed seemingly in only one direction. Borrowers were able to buy on margin without putting up real capital and even the riskiest investors had carte blanche so it seemed as they bought to the hilt.
Huge buyers entered the scene and bought up sub-prime mortgages without so much as a penny of "real money" down. That's when the bubble burst. The market turned south, and people began to find themselves in the uncomfortable position of calling in their debts.
The money was not there. Prices fell further and faster, and then there were foreclosures. Those who invested in mortgages at Bear Stearns found themselves in the unenviable position of having little or nothing to show for their investment strategies. Thus the failure of one of the largest brokerage houses in history and the US government was forced to bail out a brokerage house; something that had never happened before.
It was all greed, as the analyst put it on NPR. Folks thought they could get something for nothing. Of course, the consumer was blamed by at least one of the candidates in this year's election... without regard to the role of the banks in giving mortgages to risky customers in an irresponsible way.
Thus we look for someone to blame. I suggest we look elsewhere. I suggest we look to the good shepherd. Greed is one way of life and acting as the good shepherd to one another is yet another.
Am I my brother and sister's keeper?
Do I have any responsibility for making sure that my brother or sister is on steady ground and not on sand?
The good shepherd enters by the gate of the sheepfold, we are told in today's gospel. The thief comes only to steal... or in the case of greedy folks, they come only for themselves, seeking to make money fast... and at the expense of those who will be left holding the bag. The fallout from the present crisis will have a ripple effect that far outreaches much of what any of us can currently estimate.
Now there are calls for "regulation" after a long period of "de-regulation." We took it as an article of faith that the less a government governed, the better it governed... only to find out that such a strategy left the victim by the side of the road beaten and dying.
The good shepherd cares more than that and will give his life for the sheep. We are at a turning point now for one another. Will we rise to the occasion and be the good shepherd for one another or will we turn away and keep walking on the other side of the road?
The Sunday of the Good Shepherd has come to us just in time this year. Greed is put right back in its place where it belongs.
Turn now, my friend, toward the good shepherd and be saved!
ILLUSTRATIONS
"On the gray morning of January 25, 1949," writes Catherine Marshall, "my world caved in. At 8:15 a.m., my husband's tired and damaged heart stopped beating. Five minutes later, the doctor called. The measured words coming through the telephone receiver were like physical blows from which I instinctively recoiled... 'Oh, no! Not that!' And then a deep breath, like that of a drowning person gulping for air... 'How? Why? Please tell me what happened!' "
This is how Catherine Marshall describes the death of her husband, Peter -- the famous preacher of Washington's New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. It is easy to imagine how, in the cold, gray shock of the doctor's announcement, she felt utterly and completely alone. "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen...."
Yet, there is somebody who knows. The spiritual goes on: "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen; nobody knows but Jesus." We may feel we are alone, that, in our worst moments, no one truly cares, but there is one who cares. His name is Jesus. He is the good shepherd.
-- Catherine Marshall, To Live Again (Reading, UK: Spire Books, 1957)
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When Christian missionaries first came to the arctic regions of Alaska, they struggled to tell the Christian story to the Inuit people, the ones they called "Eskimos." It was no easy task, because life in Bible times was so different from anything in the Inuit experience. The story of the good shepherd posed particular problems, for none of the Inuit had ever seen a sheep. Finally, one of the missionaries learned of a strange and noble practice of the Inuit people that communicated this truth.
In times of severe famine, in the endless, dark days of arctic winter, it sometimes happened that a brave young man would go off across the ice, armed only with a pointed stick. He would walk until he encountered a polar bear, the deadliest animal of the arctic. The hunter would do whatever he could to provoke the bear to anger. Finally, the bear would rear up on its hind legs and raise its deadly claws to strike. At that moment, the hunter would set the blunt end of his pointed stick in the ground and brace it against his foot. When the full weight of the bear fell down upon him, it also came down upon the stick. Pierced through the heart, the bear was sure to die -- but not before it had the opportunity to finish off the hunter.
The next day, the villagers would follow the hunter's tracks, until they came to the place where the two bodies lay -- the bear's and the one who had slain it. In the frozen bear meat, they would find enough food to survive the famine.
It is this story the missionaries used to tell the parable of the good shepherd. That is how the story of the good shepherd became, in the Inuit language, "the story of the good hunter."
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In Charles Dickens' famous novel of the French Revolution, A Tale of Two Cities, an Englishman by the name of Sydney Carton substitutes himself for the condemned man, Evrémonde. There is enough physical resemblance for him to pass for the condemned man, and so he takes his place, out of love for his friend. One fellow prisoner, a young seamstress, recognizes him. Like Sydney Carton, she too is innocent. Yet she, too, is caught up in the Reign of Terror, and is condemned to die. The young girl turns to the Englishman and asks if he will permit her to hold his hand, as they ride the cart that will take them to the guillotine.
"I think you were sent to me by Heaven," she says.
"Or you to me," replies Sydney Carton -- for he has lived a life of selfishness up to this point, and needs someone to care for. "Keep your eyes upon me, dear child, and mind no other object."
"I mind nothing," she says, "while I hold your hand."
The two hold hands all the way to the scaffold, releasing them only as she ascends the steps ahead of him. In a moment, both their lives are snuffed out.
"They said of him about the city that night," Dickens writes, "that it was the peacefullest man's face ever beheld there." Sydney Carton forgot his loneliness, the loneliness and meaninglessness that had dogged his unhappy life, in one supreme act of self-sacrifice. Dickens imagines the words that might have run through his mind, in the moments before he lay his head under the dangling blade: "It is a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."
-- Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (New York: Penguin Classics, 2003)
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If Jesus is to be our personal trainer, he also expects us to provide training for those for whom we are entrusted. Consider the qualities of a good leader in a congregation.
As part of a comprehensive review of our curriculum at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, we recently asked laypeople from around the country what qualities they want in their pastors. Many said that they want their pastors to possess biblical and theological understanding, leadership skills, and an ability to communicate clearly. No surprises there. We expected these responses. What surprised us was the large number of people who said, "We want humble pastors, pastors who are not arrogant, church leaders who listen to us and don't just tell us what to do."
-- Michael Jinkins, academic dean and professor of theology at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, from a review of Humble Leadership, www.alban.org
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Personal trainers urge you to do what you already know you should be doing. It is amazing how difficult it is to "tell the truth," even in the church. Tom Ehrich, of the Church Wellness Project, speaks of the nature of good church leadership: "A better practice is transparency. That means full disclosure and candid assessment. In business schools, they call it the 'Tylenol defense,' after a famous product recall: Tell the truth, tell it all, and tell it promptly. The truth will eventually get out, and any attempt to hide, shade, or spin will succeed only in undermining trust...
"One primary job of leadership is to tell the truth. Announce change before it occurs, explain it, and invite response. Disclose negative outcomes immediately, without blaming or spinning, and invite people to reflect on them."
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If a personal trainer helps us to "shape up," perhaps it might also help to recognize the negative impact of a "flabby Christianity." In a recent USA Today article, "A Gated Community in the Evangelical World," it was stated that according to interviews with leaders who profess Christian faith, including 100 top CEOs, two past US presidents and other business leaders, the majority (60 percent) had low commitment levels to their church and denomination. Some were members in name only and others had actively left church life.
"Executives and politicians are often distressed by the way churches are run. James Unruh, who served as the CEO of Unisys, was also a one-time elder at his Presbyterian church in California. He has since decided he will never serve again. He couldn't stand the inefficiency of church meetings, a common refrain among those interviewed... Others describe their church as 'inefficient, unproductive and focused on the wrong things.' "
-- D. Michael Lindsay, "A Gated Community in the Evangelical World," USA Today (February 11, 2008)
WORSHIP RESOURCE
Call To Worship (adapted from Revelation 7:10-12)
Leader: Salvation comes from our God who is seated on the throne;
People: And from the lamb at the center of the throne who is our shepherd.
Leader: All blessing and glory,
People: All thanksgiving and honor,
Leader: All power and might,
People: All praise and worship,
Leader: All tributes that heaven and earth can offer,
People: Belong to our God forever and ever! Amen.
Collect
O God, you knew us even before we were born, and you knew we would each wander off into trouble like sheep. Thank you for opening the door to the sheepfold and calling us home. In Christ we pray. Amen.
-- James R. Wilson, Lectionary Worship Aids, Series IV, Cycle A (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Co., Inc., 1995), p. 102
Responsive Prayer of Confession
Leader: Creator of the lights of heaven, sustainer of all things,
we have taken you for granted and turned our backs on you.
People: Forgive us and save us; restore to us the joy of salvation.
Leader: Christ Jesus, redeemer, good shepherd of all,
we have neglected you, following timidly from a long way behind.
People: Forgive us and save us; restore to us the joy of salvation.
Leader: Holy Spirit, source of birth and rebirth, joy of weary hearts,
we have rejected your friendship to chase after fleeting fads.
People: Forgive us and save us; restore to us the joy of salvation.
Leader: Most loving God, origin and goal of communal love, bring all your wandering children back to your side. Restore us to our senses. Forgive our many sins. Reinforce within us all the desire to do your will, and to follow where our Savior leads, as you bring ever nearer the fulfillment of creation.
People: In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Responsive Assurance of God's Pardon (Romans 6:9-11)
Leader: Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again;
People: death no longer has dominion over him.
Leader: The death he died, he died to sin, once and for all;
People: but the life he lives, he lives to God.
Leader: So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
People: Christ is Risen! Alleluia!
Prayer for Illumination (based on John 12:21)
Lord God, we wish to see Jesus.
By your Spirit's power, give us eyes to see his glory.
Through Christ we pray. Amen.
Prayer
Creator of the deep stillness at the heart of creation:
your grace murmurs in our hearts, like a gentle stream.
Your goodness and mercy follow us, all the days of our lives.
Help us to trust your goodness to be good,
and your mercy to be merciful.
Ease the worries and anxieties that trouble our spirits.
Help us to cherish the life you give,
and to know that, in Christ the Good Shepherd,
it is life abundant.
Amen.
Benediction (adapted from a prayer of St. Patrick)
Christ as a light
illumine and guide you!
Christ as a shield overshadow and cover you!
Christ be under you! Christ be over you!
Christ be beside you,
on left hand and right!
Christ be before you, behind you, about you!
Christ, this day, be within and without you!
-- Adapted from David Adam, A Celtic Psaltery (London: SPCK, 2001), p. 51
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Our shepherd
Object: a recording of the voices of several mothers whose children will be present
John 10:1-10
When he has brought out all of his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. (v. 4)
Good morning, boys and girls. Jesus thought of himself as a shepherd. Do you know what a shepherd does? (let them answer) That's right, a shepherd watches and protects sheep. Jesus must have known a lot about shepherds because he taught us that sheep trust the shepherd with their lives. When a shepherd speaks, the sheep listen. The sheep know the shepherd's voice and follow him to safety.
Sheep will not follow a stranger. When a stranger speaks the sheep run away and hide from the stranger. It sounds to me like the sheep are pretty smart.
I brought along a recording of some voices. I want to see if you recognize the voices and can pick out the one voice that you really trust. (play the recording and see if the children can identify their own mother's voice) The voices you heard were some of your mothers' voices, and we can tell that you know your own mother's voice and that you trust it.
What are you supposed to do when a stranger asks you to get in car with them or take a walk with them? (let them answer) That's right, you are supposed to run away from them and if they follow you when you run away then you should yell loudly while you are running. According to Jesus, that is what sheep do when a stranger tries to make sheep follow him.
All of us trust Jesus and the voice of Jesus. If we were sheep we would call him our shepherd. But, because we are people we call him other names of trust. We call Jesus the Christ, the Savior, our Lord, our Master, the Son of God, and other names like this because we trust Jesus with our lives, just like the sheep trust the shepherd.
The next time you are taking a drive in the country and you pass some sheep out in a field munching some good green grass, I hope you think of Jesus and his voice calling you. Jesus is our God and we trust him with everything we have. Amen.
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The Immediate Word, April 13, 2008, issue.
Copyright 2008 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 permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
