Ash Wednesday
Wednesday, February 14th, 2018click here for past entries
Loving God, you invite us to return to the one who cares for us like a good shepherd and gives us abundant life. Teach us to abide in Jesus as he abides in you, and lead us in the way of life; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
When somebody mentions “sheep stealing”, what is the first thing that comes to mind?... (When somebody mentions “sheep stealing” in the context of the church, what is the first thing that comes to mind?)... [people being lured away by other churches? By other religions?] Most often, I have heard it called stealing sheep when people are enticed to move from one congregation to another. However, I find it highly unlikely that this is what Jesus had in mind when talking about thieves and bandits stealing the sheep.
The thieves and bandits, after all, are taking the sheep away from the Good Shepherd. Assuming that Jesus is to be found in many different churches, is it really stealing the sheep when they are just going to a different under-shepherd?... The real danger, after all, lies elsewhere. In fact, danger seems to be all around.
Thieves and bandits; hired hands who run away; wolves coming in and snatching the sheep – all of these threaten the well-being of the sheep. In fact, the thieves don’t just steal the sheep – they “steal and kill and destroy” (Jn. 10:10)! By contrast, Jesus has come that we might “have life, and have it abundantly.”
This life – this abundant life – is the life that God intended for us. Yet, as we will hear in the Invitation to Lent, there are many things that get in the way of this abundant life and that separate us from God and our neighbours and creation. In spite of the fact that we have a good shepherd who knows us intimately and who feeds us spiritually and who cares about us so much that he would even lay down his life for us, there continue to be thieves and bandits – things that draw us away from Jesus.
What, or who, are these thieves and bandits for you?... Have you encountered the time bandit? – the one who fills all of your time with a myriad of things until soon there is no room left for Jesus? Or how about the video bandit (who is related to the time bandit) – the one who gets you to play video games and play with your phone and watch things on screen until pretty soon the time is just gone, and there is no time for worship or for prayer. Or perhaps some of you have a family bandit – family matters and members that draw you away from worship or study or prayer?
Truthfully, the world is full of loud and competing voices and things that draw us away from any sort of meaningful and life-giving relationship with Jesus. Because of this state of affairs, we have this season called Lent each year in which we are called to things like repentance and prayer and works of love. The aim is to make space for God and to renew our relationship with Jesus. This might mean setting something aside during Lent in order to make more space for God. This might mean adopting a new discipline that will feed our spirits and draw us closer to Jesus.
Whatever it is that we choose to do, the purpose is not to be able to brag to our friends about what a sacrifice we are making by giving something up for Lent. Rather, it is to return to the Good Shepherd, who feeds us with bread from heaven and living water, and who even restores our souls. It is to return to the one who carries us when we are weak and who loves us to the point of laying down his life. It is to return to the one who knows us through and through and who gives us abundant life.
Just as there is nothing to fear in the valley of the death-shadow in the company of the Good Shepherd, so there is nothing scary about the words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” While this is most certainly true, God has a way of transforming dust – and even in returning to dust, there is life. Thanks be to God! Amen.
Ash Wednesday (NL 4) John 10:1-18
February 14, 2018 Psalm 23
Abundant Life Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison
© 2018 Lynne Hutchison All Rights Reserved
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