Yesterday, we reflected on Jesus as the Good Shepherd (John, chapter 10). I find a lot of comfort in that passage. But I also find there is a measure of challenge. In verse 16, Jesus adds: I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 

And herein lies the challenge… Who are the other sheep?

Well, it would be very easy and comfortable, for me to think the other sheep are the other Presbyterian (USA) Churches… 

I think about an encounter I had with a young Pentecostal pastor years ago. I was on a plane coming back from Atlanta, and he sat next to me. At that time, we were about the same age and had kids about the same age as mine. We were both pastors in Jacksonville. We shared a lot of commonalities – and really, we could have been friends. 

But as the flight went on, it became clear that because I didn’t speak in tongues, I was somehow lesser – maybe not really Christian in his eyes… And I left feeling a little hurt – put off…  

Am I the other sheep? He might not think so… Are Pentecostals the other sheep?

On one level, Jesus’ words are a a deep challenge to all denominationalism: “There will be one flock, one shepherd.”

I think about Jesus, gathering his flock. Bringing in those who see, hear, and believe in him… I think about how in the Bible, Jesus brings in the outcasts of his day… sinners, lepers, Samaritans, tax collectors… He had this concern for the individual welfare of each and every sheep. He knows each one by name… And he gathers them in… And he’s gathered us in…

I think about the conservative Southern Baptists and the ultra-liberal More Light churches. I think about Christians who love Trump and Christians who love Biden. I think about Catholics and Eastern Orthodox and Lutherans and Methodists… 

He calls the sheep by name and they know his voice…  

We know his voice…

What’s he saying to us? What is he saying to me?

Let us pray: We remember today, O God, that we have deep ties and even a spiritual kinship with people across the globe… With all the forces that would seek to divide, we ask for your healing grace. Begin with us; through Jesus, our Good Shepherd. Amen.

I remember the day when my daughter Marley was born. She’s 22 now, but I’ll never forget being in the delivery room that morning. At the last minute, they discovered she was in breach and they had to do a cesarean section. It was pretty scary. I got to go back into the operating room, but I couldn’t see what was going on. But I remember at some point the doctor said, “Do you have a name for the baby?” And I said, “Yes. If it’s a girl, her name is Marley.” The doctor said, “Say hello to baby Marley.” At that moment, just as he held her up, she cried, “Waaah…” It was this moment of sheer awe.

If you’ve ever been in the room when a new life enters it as a baby, it’s powerful.. And if you had the wherewithal to contemplate it, the wonder… the potential… what will this child be like? What will she do? What will she become? It’s all there before you – new… possible…

Yesterday was Pentecost, and in many churches, we read the story from the book of Acts, chapter 2. We hold up as the story of the birth of the church. Like all births, it was messy, risky, and maybe even a little nerve-wracking. Chaotic might be a good word.

You may remember the story. The disciples gathered in the upper room. And just as Jesus promised, his Spirit comes upon them in a mighty way. Acts tells us: “…suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire appeared among them…” 

Somehow in the midst of all this, the disciples are given the ability to speak other languages. And they begin doing what the church will do – They begin telling the story of what they’ve seen and experienced – God’s moving in their lives.  

We hold this story up as the birth of the church. It’s really the birth of a movement. It is a movement of people called to follow in Jesus’ footsteps – feeding the hungry, caring for the sick and the suffering… teaching grace, mercy, love… 

And if you think about it, in that moment, if the disciples had the wherewithal to contemplate it, the wonder… the potential… what will this church be like? What will she do? What will she become? It’s all there before you – new… possible… Alive with the fiery energy of the Spirit…

At this chaotic time in history, the question becomes: Can I trust that the same Spirit who gave birth to the stars and love and fellowship, the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead, the same Spirit who blew life into the early church on that first Pentecost, can that same Spirit birth something new in me, in my family, in my church, and in the world?

Let us pray: Holy God, help us to look for your Spirit at work in the world, to let go of fear, and to trust. Help us to trust that the fiery energy of your Spirit is still alive and at work, even now, making all things new. Amen.

There is a line in Paul’s second letter to the Church in Corinth (verse 16) that continues to challenge me. He wrote, “From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view…” In the previous verse, Paul tells us that Christ died for everyone. Not just people who think like us, vote like us, or who raise their children like us. Not just people of our generation or social status. Paul says Christ died for all – therefore we regard no one – no one – from a human point of view. 

That means that we don’t just see them as they appear on the surface. We have to look deeper. We don’t just see their faults. We don’t just see their issues. We don’t just see them according to what they can do for us. We look at other people as sacred beings that Christ died for. 

A friend shared with me once that one of her spiritual disciplines is to try and see the image of God in every single person she meets. Think about how that might change your interaction with people around you. What if we tried to remember that they are people who are struggling just like us, and Christ died for them – just like Christ died for you?

I have to believe that when we look for that image of God in others, that image shines brighter in us.

Our prayer today was written by Rev. Roger Kunkel, founder of Dial Hope. Let us pray: Loving God, who changes rivers in their course and alters the paths of the stars, infuse us and flood us today with joy and hope. Let the radiant power of your Holy Spirit destroy any negativity or cynicism in us and fill us with positive feelings of love and affirmation. Help us to say yes to the things that are good, and no to the things that devalue life. Mold us more in the image of Christ that we may hear you say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Many years ago now, I had a friend who was in a young adult Sunday school class that I attended. When I met him, he was a leader in our church. He was married, had two kids, and a great job. 

One day in class, he shared with us that as a teenager, had struggled with addiction to alcohol. He later turned to cocaine, and then freebase cocaine. He told us how one night he found himself sleeping on the street as his parents had kicked him out of the house. He said it started to rain and it finally dawned on him that there was nothing he could do to stop the problem. For years, he deluded himself into believing that at any time he could just quit. And there he was wet, scared. And he said he just fell to his knees and began to pray… And that had been 20 years ago. I think about that guy and I think: that’s light out of darkness – even Life out of death.

Over the years I’ve seen time and time again, how God can take from the broken, the suffering, from the heartache, and completely bring out of it something new and even at times, something stronger, something beautiful…

Yesterday I mentioned that the promise of our Easter faith is that there is more beyond this life and that what is dead and gone, can give rise to something new, something beautiful. Now this dose’t doesn’t mean that God is going to always make things come out how we want. Nor does it mean that God is going to take away the most difficult times in life. But it does mean that we cannot ever give up on the power of God to change a situation… or a life… or even the world. It does mean that the last word has yet to be spoken.

I pray today, that you would trust that the same Power that raised Jesus from the dead – is still at work in you and in the church and in the world. That same power is calling you by name. It is the same power that holds you even into eternity; and that even now is seeking to make all things new.

Let us pray: We trust, O God, that you are at work even now in the dark places of our lives, and in the dark places of this world. You are the God who brings light out of darkness, hope out of despair, and even life out of death. Meet us at the deepest point of our need today. Fill us with your light. And may that light ever shine through us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

I have this great memory from when I was a teenager of my grandfather leading an Easter sunrise service on Saint Augustine Beach. I remember getting up early and going down to the beach while it was still dark. As we sang the opening hymn, you could begin to see the sky opening in light across the horizon. Then, as the service went on, the clouds and ocean began to reflect deep pinks, oranges, and yellows. When the sun finally broke through, it felt like the whole sky was singing praise! 

Out of the darkness….

One of the most beautiful aspects of Christianity is the Easter mystery that lies at the heart of our faith. That it is precisely at the point of deepest darkness, precisely out of our brokenness, out of our failures, out of suffering, and even out of death itself… that God does his greatest work. 

Let us pray: We trust, O God, that you are at work even now in the dark places of our lives, and in the dark places of this world. You are the God who brings light out of darkness, hope out of despair, and even life out of death. Meet us at the deepest point of our need today. Fill us with your light. And may that light ever shine through us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.