John 10:1-5

“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” vs. 3

According to Jesus the relationship between a shepherd and the sheep is intensely personal. Not only do the sheep know the voice of the shepherd, the shepherd knows every sheep by name. For Jesus it’s the perfect metaphor for describing his relationship with his followers. That’s why one of the earliest depictions of Jesus in the art of the Roman catacombs is as a shepherd carrying a sheep. We like that image too. Our world is hugely impersonal and ironically the more we immerse ourselves in social media the more isolated we tend to feel. We wonder if there is really anyone out there who cares about us. Some are so disconnected that they begin to think they could just disappear and no one would even notice. So when Jesus tells us that the shepherd knows his sheep by name, the news is enormously comforting. If someone were to ask us if we have a personal relationship with Jesus we can smile confidently and answer, “Of course…he even knows my name!” We can say this not because we have made some religious decision, but because he reaches out to us. He’s called us by name and we belong to him. There are no faceless people in the eyes of Jesus…every person has value and every person has a name.

Thought for the Day: How can Jesus possibly know me by name?

1 Peter 2:22-25

“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.” vs. 24

As early Christians worked through their understanding of Jesus’s death, they agreed that it had everything to do with forgiveness. In Peter’s words, “by his wounds you have been healed.” But they were equally convinced that this wasn’t the end of the journey for believers. Forgiveness was only the beginning and not the destination. Salvation isn’t a matter of accepting Jesus as savior and then coasting through the pearly gates. That notion is a total distortion of the gospel and a complete misunderstanding of grace. Peter makes that very clear. We have been set free from sins so that we might live for righteousness! We are to be the living, breathing, yes, even sinless, presence of Christ in the world…and our deeds will be the measure of our faith. If that seems daunting to us, it should! If that seems beyond our capacity, it is! But our calling is not lived out in isolation from the sanctifying presence of God’s Holy Spirit. We will be sustained on our journey and strengthened on the way with daily renewal and constant surrender. As the 23rd Psalm so fittingly reminds us,  the Lord is our Shepherd. And when our reason and our effort fall short, it is the Lord who makes us righteous.

Thought for the Day: If I’ve been set free from sin, why do I sin?

1 Peter 2:19-21

“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.” vs. 21

Being called to discipleship brings amazing benefits. Purely by grace we have forgiveness of sins and hope for the future. More than that we have become a part of the Church, the very Body of Christ, and are his presence in the world…such a calling is both an honor and a privilege. Now we know that these blessings are ours because of Christ’s suffering and death. As scripture puts it, “We have been bought with a price,” and we’re mostly pretty grateful for the gift. At least we’ve grown accustomed to having the cross as the center of our faith. But some of us know that there’s another side to discipleship, and that there’s a price tag attached. As some have put it, “Grace is free, but it’s not cheap!” Not only did Christ suffer, but so will we! As Peter puts it, Christ suffered for us as an example, so that we should follow in his steps. In other words, a part of our journey as a disciple will involve suffering. Now, not everyone becomes a martyr and it’s not likely any of us will be crucified. Still, pain is going to be a part of our faith journey. But in spite of that, the neat thing about the call is that, regardless of circumstances, we will be living the one, true life…and that gift can only be called priceless!

Thought for the Day: What has my discipleship cost me?

Psalm 23:3-6

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.” vs. 6

The psalmist isn’t naive enough to say that there will never be dark days for those who have the Lord as shepherd. He knows perfectly well from experience that there is plenty of ugliness in our world, and sometimes it catches up with us. Occasionally we are even forced to take a journey through the valley of the shadow of death…but even there, and especially there, the Lord is present with rod and staff to protect and sustain us. But it’s even better than that! He goes on to say that goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives. There’s no problem in looking back…there’ll be no enemies stalking us. And if our days seem hurried and harried, all we need to do is slow down and let God’s goodness and mercy overtake us. In those quiet moments of meditation, as we take some extra long breaths and rest by the still waters, God’s pursuing blessings envelop us with a sense of peace and tranquility. We bask in the Shepherd’s calming and sheltering presence and will even make our home in the house of the Lord forever. No wonder folks love this psalm so much! It oozes with hope and optimism…and always lifts us up.

Thought for the Day: When do I need to hear this psalm?

Psalm 23:1-3

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” vs. 1

There are probably good reasons for this psalm being a favorite. Maybe it’s just  because it’s familiar…it’s one of the few scripture passages that many of us could come close to saying from memory. And it could be that we like the imagery evoked by the words…the calm pastoral scene with still waters and green grass. But most likely it’s because we like thinking of the Lord as a shepherd! It just feels good to know that God is watching out for us in every circumstance of life. Even though we like thinking we’re independent and that we can take care of ourselves there are always those times when we crave direction…and maybe even protection. And the truth is that we’re not as self-sufficient as we might think we are. We would do well to surrender our lives to our nurturing, guiding Lord every single morning. If the psalmist is right, and the Lord really is our shepherd, we’re not going to lack for anything…we’ll be blessed from dawn to dusk and have security every night. The only way we can get in trouble is to wander away from the right paths God has in mind for us…and even when that happens, God searches until we are found. It’s all in a shepherd’s job description…and when the Lord is the shepherd, well, what more could we want!

Thought for the Day: What more would I like from the Lord?

Acts 2:42-47

“All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.” vss. 44-45

We who have long worshipped at the altar of capitalism are befuddled by this description of life among the early Christians. To us it sounds like communism, or some primitive form of socialism, and it seems antithetical to our way of life. We’ve been taught from kindergarten that accumulation is the way to happiness and that success is measured by the size of our estate. It’s a real jolt to learn that those who knew Jesus personally and who tried to live by his standards believed in radical sharing. In those days folks couldn’t even join the community unless they first of all sold all their possessions and put the proceeds in a common purse. If that were the requirement now we wouldn’t have to worry about crowded pews on Sunday morning. There would be no one there! In the whole world there are only a few scattered communities that hold all things in common. It’s an economic system that really hasn’t worked for large populations. But there are problems with capitalism too. It breeds selfishness and provides fertile ground for idolatries of the worst kind. So many are led astray by its false promises and emphasis on wealth. The truth is that we are not owners but stewards in this world…and God measures our success by our generous sharing and not by self-centered profiteering.

Thought for the Day: Why is socialism a dirty word for so many?

Luke 24:28-35

“Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” vs. 35

Cleopas and his companion (maybe his wife?) had a scripture tutorial with the stranger on the road, and then at their table, in the breaking of the bread, their eyes were opened and they recognized him. Those two elements, the opening of scripture and the breaking of the bread, have continued until this day as the central ways of making connections with the Risen Christ. It’s not that the bible or the bread are divine in themselves, humans wrote the bible and bakers produce the bread, but these are the means by which the Christ, who is the Word of God, becomes known to us. Together with baptism they provide the conduit by which God’s grace fills our hungry hearts. That’s why followers of Jesus regularly come to worship. As the scriptures are opened and the bread is blessed and broken, the Living God touches our lives with hope and a zest for living, and we are energized for service. We’re hard-pressed to understand how this can be and explanations always seem to fall short. In the end it seems safest to just call the experience a mystery and then believe the testimony of our burning hearts. When our souls are fed and satisfied that’s really all we need.

Thought for the Day: What does a “burning heart” feel like?

Luke 24:13-27

“Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” vs. 26

This was the great truth that everyone had missed! For centuries people had been waiting for the coming Messiah, the one who would bring the redemption of Israel and make it great again. And every time, just when it seemed the right leader had come along, their hopes would be dashed. As these two followers of Jesus walked back home to Emmaus, they shared their dashed hopes with their new traveling companion…and then he sets them straight. The way to glory for the Messiah necessarily moved through suffering…and that’s what had just taken place on the cross. Most of us nod in agreement as we read these words…it’s what we’ve come to believe about Jesus. What’s harder to accept is that the same journey awaits every disciple! Jesus said it himself, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” We’ve gotten so used to a steady diet of cheap grace that we forget the cost of discipleship. Some have even come to believe that a life of faith leads inexorably to riches and success. The reality is that, if we don’t feel pain and suffering on the journey it’s pretty certain that we’ve gotten off track and have fallen into idolatry. We might be following someone, but it’s certainly not Jesus! Is discipleship worth the cost? Of course…it’s the only way to the resurrected life!

Thought for the Day: What has discipleship cost me?

1 Peter 1:21-23

“Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart.” vs. 22

We don’t often think of ourselves as having pure souls. It’s much more common for us to talk as though we are sinful to the core, and that all parts of our being have been tainted, including our souls. That’s a comfortable position…one that really doesn’t demand much and that also provides a myriad of excuses for bad behavior. The problem is that such a stance completely negates all that God has done in Christ Jesus. The truth is that Jesus has been raised up by God and all who trust that truth have been cleansed and set free from sin. To put it in gospel terms, we have been raised together with Christ to live in newness of life. And that makes a massive difference in how we conduct ourselves on a daily basis. We’re not talking about piety here. This has nothing to do with obedience to law or a new list of do’s and don’t’s. Like Peter, we’re talking love! As he puts it, our lives will overflow with mutual love. It’s not a matter of “should” love…we “will” love. We will love one another deeply from the heart. This is no new concept…it’s the instruction Jesus himself gave his disciples…and it’s the standard for Christian living!

Thought for the Day: What does loving from the heart look like in my life?

1 Peter 1:17-20

“You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.” vss. 18-19

As the early followers of Jesus moved from place to place with the good news of forgiveness and life, those with a Jewish background used the language of sacrifice to describe what had happened on the cross. It made perfect sense to them. Jesus was the Passover Lamb, the Agnus Dei, and his blood shed once for all meant that they were set free from the futility of the cycle of sin that had enslaved their ancestors. It’s this message of redemption that became the cornerstone of the Christian faith through the centuries. Jesus’ death was the concrete act, rooted in history, that made forgiveness real and free. We who are the inheritors of that message sometimes recoil at its graphic depiction of human sacrifice and some are reluctant to link forgiveness with the cross. Some leaders have even sought to eliminate crosses from their sanctuaries, calling them relics of primitive faith expressions. This preference for a faith without sacrifice generally has resulted in an erosion of power and commitment among believers. True Christianity is rooted in costly grace, the conviction that our journey was launched by a sacrificial act, and that it continues to involve a daily dying to self, even to the point of giving our lives.

Thought for the Day: Why is grace costly?