Are We Like Sheep

Yesterday was Good Shepherd Sunday in our church calendar.  The readings, including the 23^rd psalm – you know the one the begins, the Lord is my shepherd, were all about Jesus as the good shepherd.  That left us – the people who follow him - to be the sheep.  Not that complementary when you think about it.  However, there are lots about that analogy that is true. 

What comes to mind in this vein, is the quote from Isaiah 53:6, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray.”  Actually, it comes into my head – or my ear – as the line from Handel’s Messiah which states emphatically and in great music, “All we like sheep.”   Here’s a link to a version on You tube if you would like to sing along, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOaSa78_NM0.

In our weekly bible study last week, in preparation for Sunday worship, one of the participants asked a very good question.  He noted that since Jesus used, as he often did in his parables, the  common things in his society – sheep being something that was very important to people in his day, rather than sheep, what would he use if he was speaking and teaching today?  The thought came to me that he would probably use algorithms which will often lead us down rabbit holes to dark places if we follow them.  Most everyone who spends time on social media, has the experience of being fed suggestions which would lead us down – shall we say to interesting, if not dangerous places.

In the Gospel reading from John 10, Jesus tells us that the sheep – that’s us – “will not follow a stranger, but they run away from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.”  That may be true of sheep, but it is not true of us today.  We have, I think, forgotten what the Good Shepherd’s voice sounds like. With all the noise and distractions on social media today, it is very easy to mistake the voices out there as the voice of the Good Shepherd. 

So how do we know that a voice we hear is the voice we should be listening to?  Well, the simple way is to pay attention to what it is saying.  Is it giving us a message of love or is it giving us a message of something else such as envy, or lust, or hate.  As Bob Dylan sang, “Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, But you’re going to have to serve somebody.”

So, I guess it is up to us to decide who’s voice we are going to listen to.  Remember that the next time we are tempted to listen to the myriads of voices on social media or elsewhere.  May we be blessed to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd beneath the tumult.

Peace on Earth

Last week I began the Advent Journey - Advent is a time of preparation for the advent of the birth of the Christ Child.  It is a season of the church year which, regrettably is trampled in the rush to begin the celebration of Christmas and the material expression of what is actually a celebration of Bacchanalia in our culture with the extravagance of gift buying and giving and receiving.

The idea of giving at Christmas is, in and of itself, a positive thing.  I am sure that charitable giving increases at this time of year as people open their hearts and wallets to give to good causes.  However, if we ignore a time of preparation, we are missing what is actually central to the celebration of Christmas.   We desire the instant gratification of all the good stuff about Christmas such as beginning as soon as possible to play the beautiful Christmas music which should not actually be sung until Christmas Eve and the beginning or the real Christmas season.  This, of course, would be impossible and even Churches surrender to the inevitability of beginning the bedecking of the halls early in the Advent Season.  However, many churches still celebrate Advent with the hope that we Christians will observe a Holy Advent in preparation for the birth of the Christ Child.

The observance of the four themes of Advent is a wonderful way to actually prepare for Christmas.  The four themes of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love are marked with the lighting of a candle in the Advent Wreath.  They are cumulative so that we do not forget the theme me marked in the previous week(s) and are able to build on what has gone before. 

Last week we lit the candle for Hope and this week we lit that candle again and also lit the candle for Peace.  The theme of peace is, of course, an easily recognized theme for Christmas.  With the Christ Child being considered the Prince of Peace, as proclaimed in the chorus from Handel’s Messiah, which I will be part of a performance later this week (yes, I know, before Christmas):

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

Well, if Jesus is the Prince of Peace, peace certainly hasn’t arrived yet.  But what would it look like if there was peace of earth as was announced by the angels to the shepherds?  Peace is not just a cessation of violence.  If all wars ceased would that mean that there was peace of earth and goodwill to all people?  Actually, no.   True peace is much more than that.  It involves justice where the proverbial lions would lie down with the lambs and all people would be treated as they truly are – children of God.  Poverty would be overcome and racism, hate and violence would end.  That is truly something to hope for.

During this Advent let us especially peace and work for a world where true peace will overcome hatred and fear.  Blessings on your Advent journey.