Good Shepherd Sunday

 This Sunday is called Good Shepherd Sunday as the lectionary readings center around us as sheep and Jesus a shepherd.

Of course we get my favorite, Psalm 23, 

1 The Lord is my shepherd; *

I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures *

and leads me beside still waters.

3 He revives my soul *

and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake.

4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I shall fear no evil; *

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; *

you have anointed my head with oil,

and my cup is running over.

6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, *

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

And we get 1 Peter 2:19-25,

For it is to your credit if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, where is the credit in that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.

 ‘He committed no sin,

   and no deceit was found in his mouth.’

When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls

And John 10:1-10,

‘Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.’ Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

 So again Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Americans may not like being compared to sheep, but looking at how we follow party political leaders who we cannot trust, we sure do act like sheep sometimes.

Forget them. 

Jesus is the good shepherd that we can trust, and follow.

 

Holy Lawsuits: Up against the clock

I continue to pray for America's United Methodists (the UMC) to come to their senses and reject the LGBTQrs+ wave that has hijacked their denomination. Some 2000 churches have disaffiliated, but others are being prevented by their bishops. Unfortunately, the clock is ticking, and this window of opportunity will soon close. 

From First Things,

United Methodist congregations have “a limited right” to disaffiliate and keep their properties (over which the denomination has long claimed ownership), but only if they act quickly. This exit provision expires with the final 2023 meeting of each congregation’s annual conference (the equivalent of a diocese or presbytery), usually held in May or June, with voting and paperwork due much earlier.

It will soon be too late for many theologically orthodox United Methodists. But it is not too late for members of other churches to learn from the UMC’s mistakes.

What to do if your bishop tries to stop you from leaving the UMC? 

Sue!?

From The Christian Post,

...186 churches filed a lawsuit against the UMC North Georgia Conference in Superior Court in Cobb County over the conference's decision last December to prohibit any more congregations from leaving amid a denominational schism over homosexuality...

North Georgia Conference Bishop Robin Dease said in a statement that her "heart aches" over the congregations' decision to file the legal action. 

The North Georgia Conference announced in December that it was putting a "pause" on the disaffiliation process, claiming that "any local churches have been misled about the disaffiliation process and have been presented with information about the process."

"We have significant concerns about this misinformation and are well aware that it has the potential to do irreparable harm," stated the conference at the time. "We do not have confidence in the validity of upcoming church conference disaffiliation votes...

In June 2022, before the disaffiliation pause, 70 congregations representing 9% of the conference's churches and 3% of its members disaffiliated from the UMC...

As we have learned from the Episcopal organization's efforts to seize property, lawsuits drag on for years. 

Prayers for our Methodist friends will be needed for a long time. 

Witnesses of the supernatural

This Sunday's reading comes from Luke 24:13-35. In it Cleopas and another (his wife who was present at the crucifixion perhaps) meet a man who later reveals himself to be Jesus. This occurs before Jesus appears to the eleven and their companions.

Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, ‘What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?’ They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, ‘Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?’ He asked them, ‘What things?’ They replied, ‘The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.’ Then he said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’ That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!’ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

There are a lot of things about the post resurrection Jesus that defy a natural explanation, and this appearance is one of them.

If you believe the witnesses, we are left with a supernatural explanation then aren't we?

You can believe it.

Too many witnesses.

Too many died because they refused to deny what they had seen.

. 

Please, do not create another Canterbury!

The Global Anglican Future Conference is meeting this week in Rwanda. Hopefully they can start forming a structure that has some sort of discipline built in for provinces that go astray. 

George Conger at Anglican Ink reported on Archbishop Foley Beach's address which sounds encouraging,

The archbishop then turned to the core of his address, speaking about the “four marks of a continuing spirit filed movement:” a repenting church, a reconciling church, a reproducing church, and a relentlessly compassionate church.

“We” Anglicans “can go on playing church, being religious, and even making statements that make no spiritual impact on our world.” However, the desire of Christians today is to see “revival break out and spread to every part of the world.”

A repenting church was one that modeled the Lord’s call for all people to repent of their sins. It served no purpose to call out the sins of others if we ignored our own sins and shortcomings, he explained. The Holy Spirit “reveals” to a believer their sins, giving you a choice to turn away or to continue in sin. 

Here the archbishop made his only comment on the situation facing the Church of England – not as a rallying cry for action, but as an example of reprobate behavior. He stated: “In recent days we have seen the Church of England led by the Archbishop of Canterbury walk away from the plain teaching of Scripture. We call on them to repent, to return to the teaching of the word of God. We call on them to stop blessing sin and return to the sanctity and holiness of marriage.”

He then called out the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Church in Wales, the Episcopal Church of Brazil, the Anglican Church of New Zealand, the Church of Australia, the Anglican Church of Canada, and the Episcopal Church of the USA to “repent and turn to the teachings of Holy Scripture.”

“Sadly,” he observed, “and with broken hearts, we say that until the Archbishop of Canterbury repents we can no longer recognize him as the first among equals and the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion.”

“It is time for the whole Anglican establishment to be reformed,” he declared, and then asked “Why does the secular government of only one of the nations represented in the Anglican Communion still get to pick the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion? This makes no sense in today’s post-colonial world.” 

One question the leaders need to consider is do we need one global Anglican leader, and if we do, what will be his role and scope of power? If we don't want one person in charge, what other structure or structures need to be created. 

In other words, learn from the mistakes of the past, and don't let this tale devolve into another Canterbury! 

 

More Easter Fright

 For the second Sunday in Easter, the story of Jesus' appearances to the disciples once without Thomas and then with Thomas is told, 

John 20:19-31

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’

 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’

 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’

 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

I don't blame Thomas one bit for not believing the disciples. We believe now because of the weight of witnesses to the resurrected Jesus, and because of the remarkable transformation of the disciples into men who were willing to die, and most did, for this belief. 

Truly, he was the son of God, and that new knowledge must have scared the heck out of those men.

Perhaps it should scare us too.

Episcopal Disinformation

 I received a message a few years back from a long lost time traveler friend of mine, Deep Pew. The envelope said, "Do not open until Easter 2023." I dusted it off and opened it up this Sunday, and this photo dropped out,

On the back was written in a familiar shaky scrawl, "Episcopal Church of Our Savior, Rock Hill, SC, Easter 2023."

My former parish. 

Double checking with a current member, I was able to verify that this was not part of an Anglican disinformation scheme.

The LGBTqrs+ flag attached to the Episcopal flag with the "All are welcome" slogan should be enough to scare off most seekers, so that is a good thing. The orthodox are not welcome, their opinions are not welcome, their theology is not welcome. I know from personal experience. I was once asked to leave and join another denomination.

The real disinformation is that unlike Jesus' desire for us, the people attending services in this building have no intention of allowing the Gospel to transform sinners into the likeness of Christ. Instead "all are welcome" to remain unchanged, and to be celebrated for their lack of effort. 

So it is an empty promise, "All are welcome", because Jesus came to save us sinners. Read the Gospels. He constantly reminded people of their sinfulness and need for repentance. 

No one today gets a free pass either.

Not even those who walk into a building with a mash up of a flag like the one shown above. 

Oh Happy and Frightening Day

 This Sunday's reading from Matthew 28:1-10 tells the world the details of the first Easter morning, 

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” This is my message for you.’ So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’

Matthew  gives us witnesses, the women and the guards, the location, the time, the day, an electrified angel, and Jesus. People everywhere need to hear the story and be taught its significance.

What they do with it after that is up to them.

Sadly, many will do it wrong, and some will twist it around to further a cause, and that is a frightful thing: to take something happy and make it sad. 

 

Seven or more "Last Words" of Jesus

Dr. Pablo Martínez at Evangelical Focus wrote this last year on the seven "words" (some are sentences) from the cross,

1. Words of forgiveness for his enemies

"Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34).

Jesus dies forgiving. The whole saving act of crucifixion was in fact a symbol of divine forgiveness. (John 3:14-15). But it was appropriate to make this forgiveness explicit with clear, resonant words and with the emotional strength and spiritual authority that he gives them.

When he cries out "Father, forgive them", Jesus articulates the very meaning of his having come into this world. Indeed, his very name "Jesus" means "he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). The request for forgiveness was not only for those who were directly responsible for the humiliation that he was being subjected to, but for every human being (as the beautiful poem which we find in Isaiah 53 makes clear).

On the cross, Jesus teaches us that forgiveness, as opposed to reconciliation, can be unilateral, and does not require the involvement of both parties. I can, and I must, forgive my offender even if they have not asked for my forgiveness. Stephen, under the rain of stones that was ending his life, was the first of Jesus' followers to follow his Lord and Master's example (Acts 7:60). We are also called to do likewise.

2. Words of salvation for the thief on the cross

"I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43).

Jesus died in the company of two anonymous individuals. These two men had probably never before exchanged words with the Lord. The story is well known: on the threshold of death, one of them is overcome by the fear of God and says to Jesus: "Remember me when you come into your kingdom" (Luke 23:42). Jesus' reply is as clear as it is immediate. Jesus gave this man what he was most in need of at that moment: hope, the hope that is born of salvation in Christ, and which would be for him a "great encouragement" (Hebrews 6:8) in the seemingly endless hours of torture that would follow.

Incidentally, the attitude of Jesus, so full of compassion, reminds us that it is possible to be saved in extremis, when the name of the Lord is invoked with all one's heart, from the depths of one's soul and with true humility, as was the case with the thief on the cross. 

3. Words of protection for his mother

"When Jesus saw his mother there ... he said to the disciple (John): Here is your mother. And from that time on, this disciple took her into his home 19:26-27).

It is significant that these final words that Jesus utters of concern and care for another human being should be addressed to his mother. It is the final summing up of a life that was spent entirely for other people and in serving them in whatever way possible. Jesus could not forget his mother at this time of lacerating pain for her; the heart of Mary was torn apart by the agony of her son, she was desolate in the face of such a tragic end to his life. What is more, Mary was almost certainly a widow by this stage, as a result of which she would have been destitute. But the Lord, the good Shepherd par excellence, did not neglect his duty to "honour his father and mother" (Matthew 19:19).

How divine, and at the same time, how human! This is spirituality expressed as profound concern for human matters. In this final act of love, Jesus reminds us that true spirituality always makes us more human, not less. The first evidence that we truly love God (this reminds us of what John himself said in his letters) is that we love the brother that he has placed next to us, and the pastor's work begins in his own home. It is for that reason that Jesus entrusts the care of his mother to his friend and beloved disciple, the sensitive and gentle John, the one who had "reclined next to Jesus" (John 13:23). John immediately fulfilled this request and "from that time on, this disciple took her into his home" (John 19:27).

4. His own needs, at the end. "Later... Jesus said..."

"I thirst" (John 19:28) 

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46)

How significant the expression that John adds to the account: "Later, knowing that all was now completed ...” (John 19:28). So far we have seen how, even in his final agony, Jesus gave himself and served, how he thought of others before himself, how he sought to meet the needs of his neighbour, whether spiritual (salvation and forgiveness) or human and material (the protection of his widowed mother). Only after all this was completed, that is to say after the full outpouring of his pastoral heart, did he give voice to his own needs:

6. - Physical: "I thirst".

- Emotional and spiritual: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?". Jesus' loneliness and feeling of his Father having separated himself constitute his most intense suffering. There can be no hell worse than separation from God. Jesus knew that this moment would inevitably come (it had been prophesied in Psalm 22) because the Father can have nothing to do with the sin that his Son is bearing on his body in this act of vicarious sacrifice.

7. The greatest sermon that has ever been preached ends with an utterance which expresses serenity, confidence and hope:

"Father into your hands I commend my spirit" (Luke 23:46)

Every child of God can have this same confidence as they approach the moment of their death, the certainty that our spirit passes into the hands of their loving heavenly Father, who will receive us with joy in his glory. This is possible only because Jesus Christ concluded his sermon on the cross with the seventh and final utterance, the one which sealed the whole event: "It is finished" (John 19:30).

Those of us who love this beautiful Jesus Christ, the supreme model of a pastor's heart, join the heavenly choir of the redeemed to sing: "Hallelujah, for the Lord our God the Almighty reigns" (Revelation 19:6). This is the true joy of Holy Week.

Dr. Pablo Martínez has been working as a psychiatrist since 1979. He also carries out an extensive ministry as a counselor and speaker in Spain and many other European countries.

Published in: Evangelical Focus - Mind and Heart - “The Seven Words” from the Cross, Jesus’ supreme sermon.

Of course Jesus came back from the dead, and he had a few more words to say, first to Mary outside of the tomb, and then to the apostles, to Thomas, and more.

"Contemporary Music" in Church: "Uncongregational"

In a report at "Get Religion", Terry Mattingly interviews Kenny Lamm, the worship ministry strategist for the Southern Baptist state convention in North Carolina. I quote most of it here because he makes so many good points

In the latest wrinkle in what researchers have long called the "worship wars," some church leaders are asking a blunt question about the decision to trade traditional hymnals for contemporary Christian music. That question: Has the typical Sunday service become a semi-professional concert instead of a communal worship experience for all believers?

As part of his work, Lamm hears from many pastors, musicians and church members. One recent letter – which he posted while keeping the writer anonymous – combined many hot-button issues in this debate.

After four weeks of visiting a church, the writer noted that he was constantly distracted during worship by "haze machines," "programmable lights that blind the audience," concert-level darkness in the auditorium, as well as musicians wearing "ball caps," skinny jeans, "Chuck Taylor" tennis shoes and other "stage" apparel.

Many of the new songs seemed to confuse the congregation.

"The melody is unmemorable. Very few in the audience seem to know the songs either; indeed as we looked around during one of the songs, we did not see one person singing – not one," noted this visitor. "Some of the songs are so high I cannot sing them. I wish the leaders would consider the average singer! … Why does just about every praise and worship song go up an octave and double in volume halfway through, then die back down at the end?"

Concerning volume levels, he added: "Driving home, my wife indicated that the excessive loudness was starting to cause some serious anxiety. Having earplugs available in the lobby is a sure sign there might be a problem."

For generations, noted Lamm, most Protestant worship music came from hymnals that developed over time, shaped by denominational leaders that weighed whether these songs and anthems were "theologically sound" and familiar to most worshippers.

But traditions began changing in the 1970s. While trying to appeal to young people and the unchurched, worship leaders replaced classic, familiar hymns with hit songs from contemporary Christian radio shows and publishing houses. Hymnals disappeared, replaced by song lyrics projected with multimedia equipment – which assumed worshippers already knew the melodies and the arrangements.

In the 1980s, the big hits "might stay around for several years," said Lamm, reached by telephone. Then songs began drifting out of popularity every few months. Today, "worship bands" – usually with drums, bass, guitars, electronic keyboards and multiple vocalists – may rotate new material into services every few weeks.

"It's a consumer mentality," he explained. "Worship leaders are thinking, 'If I'm not singing the latest, greatest songs, then I'm behind, which means that our church is behind everybody else, and we need to catch up.’ "

...Right now, said Lamm, worship leaders should ask this question: Are church members still singing together or have they become isolated listeners?

"It is moving to come to worship and see a family present that just lost a loved one and see them worshipping with all their might; it really encourages those around them," he wrote, in an online reflection. "Seeing a grandmother, daughter and granddaughter standing side by side, boldly singing songs to the Lord together motivates others to worship wholeheartedly."

Too often, he added, modern churches "transform their times of gathered worship into personal worship for the congregation at best and spectatorship at worst. … Essentially it denies the existence of the corporate body journeying together in this act of worship."

 If I could combine all of the issues with contemporary music in worship services into one word and it would be "uncongregational", and that erodes authentic communal worship, the type of worship that we should bring to the Lord's house when we gather together (...to ask the Lord's blessing, he chastens and hastens to make his will known...) . 

I have no problem with a choir lifting an anthem as the altar is being prepared, but please, no tambourines! 

Cloak Sunday

 Palm Sunday should be called Cloak Sunday according to Matthew 21:1-11,

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, “The Lord needs them.” And he will send them immediately.' This took place to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, 

 ‘Tell the daughter of Zion,

  Look, your king is coming to you,

   humble, and mounted on a donkey,

   and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ 

The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, 

‘Hosanna to the Son of David!

   Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest heaven!’ 

When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, ‘Who is this?’ The crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.’

Putting one's coat down on a nasty road to be trampled by a donkey and a colt is something you would only do for the greatest of all time, and that's who Jesus is.