Fourth Sunday in Easter: The Good Shepherd and the Politics of up and down

Revised Common Lectionary Readings for the 4th Sunday in Easter: Acts 4:5-12, Psalm 23, I John 3:16-24, John 10:11-18

Those who pray liturgically on a daily basis are most likely familiar with two Psalms in the morning office (daily morning prayer service) that are calls to worship and prayer. They are known as the Venite (Psalm 95) and the Jubilate (Psalm 100). I woke up this morning thinking about how both of these Psalms use two interconnected images of God. First, they both speak of us being sheep under God's care. This of course implies the idea that if we are sheep, then God is the shepherd. Secondly, they both refer to God's greatness and absolute power. Psalm 95:3 says, "For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods" and Psalm 100:3 simply says, "Know that the Lord is God."

When we are called to worship, we are called to remember that GOD is the great King above all gods. We are clearly talking power, or politics if you will, here! The politics with which we are most familiar have to do with left and right. Democracy may be the best form of government that we have been able to come up with so far, but it still puts the sheep in charge. It tends not to matter who the ruling sheep happen to be. The rulers always seem to get drunk with power. But, I am reminded that God's politics have little to do with democracy and left and right. God's politics have more to do with up and down; shepherd and sheep.

Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." (John 10:11) The politics of up and down are based on power not exploited and on power laid aside. Philippians 2:6 makes it clear. "Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited...." He set aside the highest place of authority and came down because He loves us, His sheep.

We need to worship this God because worship puts things back into perspective. Earthly power, because it is always so close and immediate, seems to loom so large. The moon is a tiny speck in relation to the sun. Yet it looks larger, and in fact can eclipse the sun, because it is so close to us. But the fact of the matter is that the sun is so much greater in comparison and without it, the moon would not even be visible to us. Worship proclaims the truth. Metaphorically speaking, it proclaims that the sun is truly much greater than the moon. Worship speaks to earthly power. It says, "The gentle and good Shepherd, who willingly lays down His life, is the ultimate King above all earthly kings. You may think you are in charge, but you are not." Earthly power structures that crush the poor, may appear to eclipse the ultimate Authority, but we know better. World banks and powerful multinational corporations may seem to get everything they want, and even dictate to governments, but we know the truth. We declare that truth in our worship.

And this change in perspective calls us to speak to power in ways that are different than typical religious alignments with the political right or left. First of all it calls us to follow the example of our Shepherd. I John 3:16 says, "We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another." Our primary calling is not to seek power through earthly political alignments. Our calling is to love and serve sacrificially. Our call is to descend. When we stop worrying about gaining a political foothold it frees us up to serve the least of these. We can, like Peter, demonstrate our love for the Shepherd by answering His call to feed His sheep. This historically has gotten Christians into trouble with earthly power. We often find ourselves instead aligned with the marginalized and those exploited and crushed by earthly authorities.

Secondly, we often must speak directly to power when it raises itself up and denies God's reign. The Acts 4 passage from this week's Lectionary, is an example of this. In typical Acts fashion, Peter and John were proclaiming the gospel in both word and deed. They performed a sign. By the power of Christ, they healed a lame man. This great miracle attracted a crowd which gave them opportunity to give credit where credit was due; to Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified and risen Lord. This lead to a confrontation with the powers that be (Acts 4). In this exchange, Peter and John affirmed the authority of Christ to these powerful political/religious leaders. They were then warned by these leaders to stop speaking publicly in the name of Jesus. Notice Peter and John's response in verses 19-20, "Whether it is right in God's sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard." These authorities basically told Peter and John to shut up and they defied the order. As we read on we find out that Peter and John had their political perspective right. Let's read about it beginning in verse 23.

23 After they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 When they heard it, they raised their voices together to God and said, "Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and everything in them, 25 it is you who said by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant: "Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples imagine vain things? 26 The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers have gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah.' 27 For in this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness,30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus." 31 When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.

Notice that this prayer begins with a truth telling statement of worship. God is sovereign! The God who made everything is in control. They knew to look up to the God who came down and was crushed by the kings of the earth, but Who also ultimately triumphed. They turned to Him and were empowered with new boldness and power by His Spirit.

Today, let us recognize real power. Today, let us hear the voice of our Shepherd so that we can follow Him alone. Let's allow His voice to rise above the political voices of left and right, of Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, Air America, and Keith Olberman. Let's really get political. Let's worship!

Venite (Psalm 95)

1 O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 3 For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed. 6 O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice!

Worship Focus for the Third Sunday in Easter: Community, Repentance, and Mission

This Sunday's Lectionary Passages: Acts 3:12-19; Psalm 4; 1 John 3:1-7; Luke 24:36b-48

I'm back. I haven't written a post in a while, but I just couldn't let this one pass, so I'm up writing tonight.

There are a couple of church/ministry buzz words that we hear quite a bit these days. Although, I think buzz words are kind of funny, I want to talk about these words. "Community" and "missional" are words that you are likely to hear within minutes if you are carrying on a ministry conversation with anyone who is "in the know." It seems that these days every church strives to be missional and also to be a community.

I'm going to try to leave the buzz lingo behind now and talk about what these words mean without trying to impress you by using them in every sentence. That is the funny thing about buzz words, people often use them without giving them much thought. So I'd like to approach the subject in a different way.

The Revised Common Lectionary readings for the third week of Easter all involved the risen Jesus eating with the disciples. In Year A we read about Jesus meeting the two disciples on the road to Emmaus and revealing Himself to them in the breaking of bread (Luke 24:13-35). In Year B (This year), we read the rest of the story (Luke 24:36b-48). This time Jesus appears to the other disciples and eats with them. Finally in Year C, we read of Jesus making breakfast (bread and fish) for the disciples (John 21:1-19). As we read each of these stories we think back to the last meal Jesus shared with the disciples before he went to the cross. Jesus told His disciples that whenever they sat for a meal and broke bread and drank wine that they were to remember Him and His body broken and blood poured out. After He rose and appeared to His sad, doubtful, and fearful followers, He revealed Himself in the breaking of the bread (Luke 24:30-31).

It is no wonder then that historically Christian worship has always centered around a table. In the New Testament church it was literally a table where a meal was shared. Over centuries this became the altar table where communion is celebrated. But, sitting at a table and sharing a meal is something that has been lost to us in this day and age of hustle and bustle and the fast food drive through. I wonder if we can guage how connected we are by the number of times we actually sit down with others at a table and share a meal each week? I think that the dinner table is truly at the heart of community. There is something powerful about sitting down with others and eating together. People linger over food. They talk. They share and open up. We get to know each other. Is it any wonder then that Jesus instituted a meal as the center of worship for His followers? Let's not forget that COMMUNION is at the heart of Christian community. Let's also not forget that COMMUNION brings the presence of Christ among us and without His presence we have no Christian community. Without Christ among us, we simply are a gathering of lost, scared, wounded, and doubtful souls.

In each of the stories mentioned above, the risen Christ suddenly shows up among His lost followers and basically says, "Let's eat!" It was as they ate, that they remembered what Christ had told them about his death and resurrection and it all started to make sense as He explained scripture to them. It was in eating together that their eyes of faith were opened and they saw their risen Lord and friend right there with them. It was as they ate that their point of view was changed. They went from being lost and disoriented to having clarity and purpose because they experienced the real presence of the risen Lord!

In these three stories there was also an element of repentance. Today we often connect repentance to people carrying bullhorns and signs and screaming about Hell. The word easily invokes feelings of guilt. But I think that perhaps repentance has a lot more to do with a true change in one's perspective. It is a turning around or a dramatic shift that only really happens in a real encounter with the real and living and loving Christ. In the first story it says that Jesus opened the eyes of the two disciples and they were able to see Him for who He was. In the second story it says that Christ opened their minds to understand the scriptures as they related to Him. In the third story we have a tender account of repentance involving Jesus and Peter that takes place after they had eaten breakfast. Peter, face to face with Jesus is given the chance to restore the relationship which Peter broke when he denied Christ. The Love of Christ leads to repentance and repentance restores communion (community).

Finally, all three of these stories end with mission. In the first story, the two disciples rush off back to Jerusalem to proclaim that they had seen the Lord. In the second story Jesus says, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things." (Luke 24:46-48) In the third story, Jesus personalizes the mission for Peter when he repeats three times, "Feed my lambs." Just as Jesus had just fed Peter, reminding Him of His love, He now asks Peter to go and feed others with His love.

So I see a progression here. We gather, Jesus shows up and asks us to eat, He feeds us with His word and from His table, our point of view is changed (repentance) which restores true communion (community), which naturally leads to us wanting to go out and share the beautiful news about what we have experienced (mission). Worship is a gathering of lost individuals who encounter the risen Christ, are changed through repentance, are brought into communion with Christ and each other, and leave with joy and purpose (a mission to call others into this beautiful community).

I wonder if when we use the "community" and "missional" buzz words, we really know what we are talking about. I wonder if many churches when they talk about being missional are simply trying to gather a group of lost, sad, hurting, confused, doubtful, and broken people. That is okay, but if that is where it stops, the mission is not complete. I would even go as far as to say that there are many large churches that have been very successful at gathering a large crowd, but the crowd is still waiting for Christ to show up. In that case, all you have is a community of lost, sad, hurting, confused, doubtful, and broken people still looking for real hope. There is no real Christian community until the risen Lord shows up and invites us to eat. There is no real Christian community until there is a real encounter with Christ's love that leads to repentance, or a change in perspective. There is no real Christian community without communion. In other words, we need to allow Christ to be at the center of our fellowship and to feed us. Only then can we feed others. We can then call others to the table with us and say to them, "Let's eat!"

The call to worship is really a call to eat. If we want to be truly a Christian community that is missional, we must first be a worshiping community where Christ is made real among us and we share the daily bread of His word and His body and blood at the table. Let's not let the buzz words become a substitute for the real thing!