Village Shepherd

George Thomas was a pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning he came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit.

Eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak. "I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked, 'What have you got there, son?'"

"Just some old birds," came the reply.

"What are you going to do with them?" I asked.

"Take them home and have fun with them," he answered. "I'm going to tease them and pull out their feathers to make them fight. I'm going to have a great time."

"But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. Then what will you do with them?"

"Oh, I've got some cats," said the boy. "They like birds. I'll take them to the cats."

The pastor was silent for a moment. Then he asked, "How much do you want for those birds, son?"

"Huh? Why, you don't want these birds, mister. They're just plain old field birds. They don't sing. They aren't even pretty!"

"How much?" the pastor asked again.

The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, "$10?"

The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy's hand. In a flash, the boy was gone. The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free.

Then the pastor began to tell this story.

One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. "I just caught the world full of people down there. I set them a trap, used a bait I knew they couldn't resist. Got them all!"

"What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked.

Satan replied, "Oh, I'm going to have fun! I'm going to teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to drink and smoke and curse. I'm going to teach them how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I'm really going to have fun!"

"And what will you do with them after that?" Jesus asked.

"Oh, I'll kill them," Satan glared proudly.

"How much do you want for them?" Jesus asked.

"Oh, you don't want those people. They aren't any good. Why, you'll take them and they'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, curse you and kill you. You don't want those people!"

"How much?" Jesus asked again.

Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "All your blood, your tears and your life."

Jesus said, "DONE!" Then He paid the price.

Jesus gave his life to set us free, free from everything that keeps us in thrall - everything that enthrals us. We have a wonderful and beautiful world, filled with wonderful and beautiful things, and no wonder we love them. That's why they're there. God gives them to us for our enjoyment. But what if you can't have some of those things? What if other people have wonderful and beautiful things to enjoy, but you don't?

Then who could blame you if you were sunk in misery and depressed and fed up with life? If your children are divorced or on drugs or have dropped out or are in prison or are in any other way a huge disappointment, who could blame you for feeling guilty for the way you brought them up and miserable about the way they're ruining their lives?

If your husband or wife has died or walked out and you're on your own and lonely and bored and poor, who could blame you for feeling life isn't worth living?

If you're in a job or a relationship in which you're bullied and put down and made to feel stupid or inadequate, who could blame you for feeling less than enthusiastic about life?

The list goes on, and you can doubtless find plenty more scenarios which at best take the edge off life, and at worst make you feel downright miserable and deeply unhappy. And none of it is your fault. It's just a question of what life throws at you, and doesn't throw at other people.

If you recognise any of that, then I suggest that you're not free. You're still in thrall, still a slave to your feelings and thoughts and desires and to other people's power over you. Jesus Christ came to this earth to set us free from all of that, so that every single one of us, no matter what our particular circumstances, could live a brilliant, exciting, happy, fulfilled and wonderful life. That's what "eternal life" is, and it's ours for the taking. You don't have to wait until you die to enjoy this sort of life. In fact, the more you experience and enjoy it on this earth, the more you'll experience and enjoy it after you die.

Jesus Christ has opened the cage door to set us free, but you have to fly out of the cage by yourself. Jesus can't - and wouldn't - make you fly out, because you have free will. If you wish to do so, you can remain in the cage, a slave to negativity and misery and unhappiness. But the door is open, and you can fly out into the great unknown if you wish to do so.

Of course, flying out does involve a certain degree of risk. Perhaps the light will hurt your eyes. Perhaps the wind will be too strong for you, so that you're battered and buffeted and bruised. But you may soar up into the bright blue sky, spreading your wings in the sunshine, exhilarated and thrilled by every moment. And unless you take the first step to freedom you'll never know what your reactions might be.

Today's epistle reading from Romans is translated like this by Eugene Petersen, in "The Message", a modern paraphrase of the New Testament:

So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn't you realise we packed up and left there for good? This is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace - a new life in a new land.

That's what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father, so that we can see where we're going in our new grace-sovereign country.

Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life - no longer at sin's every beck and call! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ's sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection.

Well, it's easy to say, but how do we do it? How can we take advantage of the open door of the cage and live this glorious new life that is dead to sin and which gives such terrific freedom in every area of life?

Part of the answer is facing our fears. We all suffer from fear of some sort or another. Fear of upsetting people, so never quite telling them what we want and need to tell them. Stage fright, and so never daring to stand up and do anything which requires us to be up front. Fear of poverty, and so sticking in a job you hate or where you're bullied because at least it's secure. Fear of rejection, and so never trying anything new. Fear of loneliness, so putting up with appalling treatment by your spouse in case he or she leaves you. And so on.

Christianity is about taking risks. When you've identified your particular fear, refuse to be a slave to it. Walk out through the door of the cage and follow Jesus Christ into the realms of uncertainty, risk, pain - and eternal life. Once you've tried it, you'll never look back, and your journey of life will turn you into a deeply loving and well rounded personality. Of course it's frightening, but you just have to take a deep breath, ignore the fear and go for it. That's what God wants for you, and he's taken the first step for you.

The cage is open. Will you stay inside, or will you fly out?