A Vision Of Hope
Sermon
Sermons On The First Readings
Series II, Cycle A
Object:
Difficult times not only try a person's soul but frequently force a person to step up to a new challenge. Perhaps this has been your experience: You are at a crossroad unsure of which direction to head, so you venture out blazing a new path. Later, when you look back you realize that particular experience was a turning point in your life. There may even be times when something unexpected happens that thrusts you in some new uncharted course. The people living in Ezekiel's day were living in exile, taken against their will living in a foreign land, Babylon. Hope was beginning to fade as a sense of doom overshadowed them. Ezekiel stepped up to the task and became a powerful voice offering the people a vision of hope. He emerged as one of the leaders of the exile and, like the prophets of old, told it as he saw it, which from time to time involved him in conflict but he persisted.
Imagine for a moment what it would have felt like to be taken from your home, to a foreign land against your will. You might have felt lost in the new place, the customs seemed so foreign. There were unfamiliar practices making it increasingly tough to hold on to your long-held beliefs. Parents would have a difficult task teaching their children what they believed when the alien culture kept creeping into their lives. The danger would be that people would lose sight of who they were amid all the outside influences. In such a situation you would look for someone who would assure you with words of comfort and hope that life would one day be better. That was exactly what Ezekiel did -- he offered a word of hope. God heard the people's cries and was about to intervene in a dramatic way.
People living in the Sudan know firsthand what it feels like to live with the uncertainty of war. The country has been in a civil war for over twenty years with more than two million people killed. Yet, surprisingly, through this period the church has experienced phenomenal growth.
Bishop Daniel Bul of the Episcopal Church of Sudan claims that because people had nowhere to turn in that war-torn country, they turned to God. "This hard situation has really sharpened the eyes of the people, and the only place to turn is God," the bishop explains. He believes that, in spite of the war, God has been active. People gather outdoors to pray for those who are sick. "There is no food, there is no medicine, but when people gather and pray for a person who is sick, he gets healed," the bishop states. The result is that people turn to Christ. "There is no medicine, no anything at all. So you can see that it is only God who protects his church in the Sudan." The result is revival as the Holy Spirit moves among the people throughout the land.
No one living in Sudan could escape the threat of war. "But by the grace of God," Bishop Bul boldly claims, "we are alive. You don't know whether tomorrow you will be alive or not. So the threatening of physical (harm) is there because danger is everywhere in the southern Sudan. But we have a hope always that whether we die or we're alive, we glorify God. So we are not worried about what is going to happen, but we know that we are going to die like our brothers and sisters who have already gone before us."1
Living under such dangerous conditions is hard for most of us to comprehend. Perhaps what is most amazing is that the people feel a powerful sense of hope. God had not forgotten them.
The prophet Ezekiel tried to instill a similar sense of hope in the people living in exile. God had not forgotten them and would act in a dramatic fashion. God would lead the people like a shepherd caring for sheep. Ezekiel, speaking for the Lord God, assured the people, "I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out." Like a shepherd, God will actively search for the missing sheep. Even though the people felt as though they were forgotten, living in a foreign land, God still loved and cared for each one of them, like the good shepherd. "As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep," was the word from God with the promise, "I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness." You can understand how these words gave the people a new sense of hope -- God will "rescue them."
Within the people's collective memory was the story of the exodus, how God heard the cries of the oppressed people and intervened by leading them out of Egypt to the promised land. Ezekiel employed the same imagery. The time had come for God to act in a decisive way, "I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land...." What God was about to do would be greater than the first exodus. The people longed for a new day, when they could return to their home country. They would live with that sense of expectant hope.
Connie was going through a trying time in her life. The stress of unexpectedly losing her job while living in a rural community with limited opportunities added to her troubles. Friends expressed concern trying their best to comfort her but nothing seemed to help. "I felt an unshakable aloneness," Connie recalled, "even though I was trusting God as never before." She kept sinking deeper and deeper into despair.
One day while driving, an idea popped into her head. She needed a prayer partner to pray for her every day. She was uncertain which friend to ask -- they were all busy with their lives. Then she remembered her college roommate. Though they lived in different parts of the country, they had kept in touch over the years via letters and email. Connie emailed Linda asking if she would be her prayer partner. "Yes," Linda replied, "I'll pray with you. Your message was timely. I've been thinking about you and how much I need you." Linda was going through a difficult time in her own life and needed someone outside of her immediate family and circle of friends to confide in. Linda would be glad to pray for her every day asking her old friend to also pray for her.
These two women connected, sending each other simple, heartfelt prayer requests each day. Each day they would pray for each other. "Though my circumstances remained unchanged," Connie shared, "it wasn't long before my burden began to feel lighter. Instead of turmoil, I now felt comfort and peace. My prayers began to reflect quiet rest in God's presence rather than preoccupation with my concerns."
After one month, Connie realized that "walking with God in the middle of the woods is more vital than finding a way out." With God she said, "We find stability, rest, and hope, no matter what path we're on." What seemed like a hopeless situation for Connie had turned into a blessing, a new sense of hope.2
There is more. The Lord God would pronounce judgment. Some previous leaders took unfair advantage of the people. Again, through the prophet Ezekiel, God tells the people, "I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep." The leaders entrusted to care for the people did not pay attention to the "lean sheep," the weak and powerless. Apparently, their only concern was for themselves ignoring the pressing needs of widows and the poor. Israel's past shepherds failed; they exploited the people in order to care for themselves. With restoration those "fat sheep" will be held accountable for their actions or inactions. God will sort out those who disrupted the peace of the community. Justice would prevail one day soon.
God had not forgotten about the people living in exile. Like a shepherd, God would act to save the flock and bring about justice. Only God is able to save, we cannot save ourselves. For the first time in a long while the people regained a sense of hope -- that their lives would soon improve.
Prophets spoke from the heart, telling of future events that would instill a deep sense of hope in the people. Our lesson ends with the promise, "I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd." The people fondly remembered the reign of King David as the good old days to which they longed to return. David's reign brought about many positive changes and was viewed by many as an almost idyllic time. It had been nearly 400 years since the time of David. The promise that God would send a new leader, a new shepherd in the line of David, filled the people with expectant hope. The new shepherd would love and care for the sheep and would not desert them in the face of danger.
Even though the people living in exile were scattered, the day would come when God would act, and they would return to their home together. The appeal of returning home struck a cord with the people living in exile. There under the care of a shepherd they would feel safe and secure. Ezekiel gave the people a much needed dose of hope, but he wanted them to know that it was God who would ultimately save them.
One of the most enduring images of our Christian faith is of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Many churches have beautiful stained-glass windows portraying Jesus as the Good Shepherd caring for the sheep. In addition, there are works of art depicting Jesus caring for a lost sheep. Such images are comforting to us, especially in times of stress. Jesus loves the sheep so much that he is willing to lay down his life.
Could it be the hectic pace of our modern lives that makes the notion of sheep and shepherds so appealing to us? Maybe deep down we long for the simpler days of green pastures and sheep although most of us no longer have direct contact with either sheep or shepherds.
Jesus defines his mission as one of a shepherd, "I am the good shepherd," Jesus teaches. "The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (John 10:11). Jesus rejects the notion of being a political ruler but instead repeatedly employs the gentle image of a caring shepherd. The relationship between sheep and shepherd is so strong and personal that, "the sheep follow him because they know his voice," Jesus claims. The sheep respond to the voice of the shepherd and follow. "I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me," Jesus says (John 10:14).
Today we celebrate Christ the King Sunday as we conclude the Christian year. We look to Jesus as the Good Shepherd who loves and cares for us and who will one day return in glory. Amen.
____________
1. Stan Guthrie, "Hope Amid the Ruins," Christianity Today, January 2004.
2. Constance Fink, "You've Got Prayer," Today's Christian Woman, July/August 2005, Vol. 27, No. 4, p. 34.
Imagine for a moment what it would have felt like to be taken from your home, to a foreign land against your will. You might have felt lost in the new place, the customs seemed so foreign. There were unfamiliar practices making it increasingly tough to hold on to your long-held beliefs. Parents would have a difficult task teaching their children what they believed when the alien culture kept creeping into their lives. The danger would be that people would lose sight of who they were amid all the outside influences. In such a situation you would look for someone who would assure you with words of comfort and hope that life would one day be better. That was exactly what Ezekiel did -- he offered a word of hope. God heard the people's cries and was about to intervene in a dramatic way.
People living in the Sudan know firsthand what it feels like to live with the uncertainty of war. The country has been in a civil war for over twenty years with more than two million people killed. Yet, surprisingly, through this period the church has experienced phenomenal growth.
Bishop Daniel Bul of the Episcopal Church of Sudan claims that because people had nowhere to turn in that war-torn country, they turned to God. "This hard situation has really sharpened the eyes of the people, and the only place to turn is God," the bishop explains. He believes that, in spite of the war, God has been active. People gather outdoors to pray for those who are sick. "There is no food, there is no medicine, but when people gather and pray for a person who is sick, he gets healed," the bishop states. The result is that people turn to Christ. "There is no medicine, no anything at all. So you can see that it is only God who protects his church in the Sudan." The result is revival as the Holy Spirit moves among the people throughout the land.
No one living in Sudan could escape the threat of war. "But by the grace of God," Bishop Bul boldly claims, "we are alive. You don't know whether tomorrow you will be alive or not. So the threatening of physical (harm) is there because danger is everywhere in the southern Sudan. But we have a hope always that whether we die or we're alive, we glorify God. So we are not worried about what is going to happen, but we know that we are going to die like our brothers and sisters who have already gone before us."1
Living under such dangerous conditions is hard for most of us to comprehend. Perhaps what is most amazing is that the people feel a powerful sense of hope. God had not forgotten them.
The prophet Ezekiel tried to instill a similar sense of hope in the people living in exile. God had not forgotten them and would act in a dramatic fashion. God would lead the people like a shepherd caring for sheep. Ezekiel, speaking for the Lord God, assured the people, "I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out." Like a shepherd, God will actively search for the missing sheep. Even though the people felt as though they were forgotten, living in a foreign land, God still loved and cared for each one of them, like the good shepherd. "As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep," was the word from God with the promise, "I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness." You can understand how these words gave the people a new sense of hope -- God will "rescue them."
Within the people's collective memory was the story of the exodus, how God heard the cries of the oppressed people and intervened by leading them out of Egypt to the promised land. Ezekiel employed the same imagery. The time had come for God to act in a decisive way, "I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land...." What God was about to do would be greater than the first exodus. The people longed for a new day, when they could return to their home country. They would live with that sense of expectant hope.
Connie was going through a trying time in her life. The stress of unexpectedly losing her job while living in a rural community with limited opportunities added to her troubles. Friends expressed concern trying their best to comfort her but nothing seemed to help. "I felt an unshakable aloneness," Connie recalled, "even though I was trusting God as never before." She kept sinking deeper and deeper into despair.
One day while driving, an idea popped into her head. She needed a prayer partner to pray for her every day. She was uncertain which friend to ask -- they were all busy with their lives. Then she remembered her college roommate. Though they lived in different parts of the country, they had kept in touch over the years via letters and email. Connie emailed Linda asking if she would be her prayer partner. "Yes," Linda replied, "I'll pray with you. Your message was timely. I've been thinking about you and how much I need you." Linda was going through a difficult time in her own life and needed someone outside of her immediate family and circle of friends to confide in. Linda would be glad to pray for her every day asking her old friend to also pray for her.
These two women connected, sending each other simple, heartfelt prayer requests each day. Each day they would pray for each other. "Though my circumstances remained unchanged," Connie shared, "it wasn't long before my burden began to feel lighter. Instead of turmoil, I now felt comfort and peace. My prayers began to reflect quiet rest in God's presence rather than preoccupation with my concerns."
After one month, Connie realized that "walking with God in the middle of the woods is more vital than finding a way out." With God she said, "We find stability, rest, and hope, no matter what path we're on." What seemed like a hopeless situation for Connie had turned into a blessing, a new sense of hope.2
There is more. The Lord God would pronounce judgment. Some previous leaders took unfair advantage of the people. Again, through the prophet Ezekiel, God tells the people, "I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep." The leaders entrusted to care for the people did not pay attention to the "lean sheep," the weak and powerless. Apparently, their only concern was for themselves ignoring the pressing needs of widows and the poor. Israel's past shepherds failed; they exploited the people in order to care for themselves. With restoration those "fat sheep" will be held accountable for their actions or inactions. God will sort out those who disrupted the peace of the community. Justice would prevail one day soon.
God had not forgotten about the people living in exile. Like a shepherd, God would act to save the flock and bring about justice. Only God is able to save, we cannot save ourselves. For the first time in a long while the people regained a sense of hope -- that their lives would soon improve.
Prophets spoke from the heart, telling of future events that would instill a deep sense of hope in the people. Our lesson ends with the promise, "I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd." The people fondly remembered the reign of King David as the good old days to which they longed to return. David's reign brought about many positive changes and was viewed by many as an almost idyllic time. It had been nearly 400 years since the time of David. The promise that God would send a new leader, a new shepherd in the line of David, filled the people with expectant hope. The new shepherd would love and care for the sheep and would not desert them in the face of danger.
Even though the people living in exile were scattered, the day would come when God would act, and they would return to their home together. The appeal of returning home struck a cord with the people living in exile. There under the care of a shepherd they would feel safe and secure. Ezekiel gave the people a much needed dose of hope, but he wanted them to know that it was God who would ultimately save them.
One of the most enduring images of our Christian faith is of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Many churches have beautiful stained-glass windows portraying Jesus as the Good Shepherd caring for the sheep. In addition, there are works of art depicting Jesus caring for a lost sheep. Such images are comforting to us, especially in times of stress. Jesus loves the sheep so much that he is willing to lay down his life.
Could it be the hectic pace of our modern lives that makes the notion of sheep and shepherds so appealing to us? Maybe deep down we long for the simpler days of green pastures and sheep although most of us no longer have direct contact with either sheep or shepherds.
Jesus defines his mission as one of a shepherd, "I am the good shepherd," Jesus teaches. "The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (John 10:11). Jesus rejects the notion of being a political ruler but instead repeatedly employs the gentle image of a caring shepherd. The relationship between sheep and shepherd is so strong and personal that, "the sheep follow him because they know his voice," Jesus claims. The sheep respond to the voice of the shepherd and follow. "I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me," Jesus says (John 10:14).
Today we celebrate Christ the King Sunday as we conclude the Christian year. We look to Jesus as the Good Shepherd who loves and cares for us and who will one day return in glory. Amen.
____________
1. Stan Guthrie, "Hope Amid the Ruins," Christianity Today, January 2004.
2. Constance Fink, "You've Got Prayer," Today's Christian Woman, July/August 2005, Vol. 27, No. 4, p. 34.
