November 26, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.’ The law will go out from Zion [and] the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2.3)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

In framing these reflections on Isaiah, as the course of study for me within the context of the Advent Season, I cannot ignore the imagery of “shepherds watching their flocks by night.” I was confronted with this image as I read one of my daily devotional readings that arrive in my e-mail. Sadly, I had to stop reading it because it continued to focus on 1) the limiting of who is a shepherd and 2) that sheep are stupid. I find it disconcerting that, especially in the Church, false images are promoted within the faith community. As I wrestle with this thought, I am pressed to consider one of the Ten Commandments. Yes, I believe they remain a valid guide in describing the life of righteousness for which we all are created. The commandment I am alluding to in this context is “Creating false images, graven or otherwise, is not what we do when speaking of God and presenting Him to the world as the One True God who is the creator and sustainer of all life.” Wait, you don’t remember that commandment in that written format? Oh, you prefer the more simplified version of Exodus 20.4 “You should have no graven images.” Well, a quick reference back to that verse will surprise many. It says, “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” Don’t remember all of that? You still prefer the lack of specificity of the dumbed-down version “You should not make graven images”? Does the lack of specificity allow greater freedom to interpret it you own way and apply in, to and through your life in a manner that is pleasing to you? We do see it every day, you know. The very appearance of “graven images” speaks volumes of the difference between “worshipping God and presenting Him to the world” and “idolizing one’s self-image and presenting it to the world.” If I say it in that manner, does your focus change on the probable meaning and application of the second commandment in the faith community and its commissioned purpose in the world? The longer we engage a discussion on the implications and ramifications of the second commandment, the more we are challenged in who we are as God’s people and what we are called and created to be and to do. Let me go a step further and suggest a correlation to the “…second great commandment which is likened unto the first.” Yes, you will find it in the Old and the New Testaments as spoken by the Holy Spirit in stone and in flesh. The second great commandment says “…and you should love your neighbor as you are loved by God.” What does the greatest commandment say but “You should love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, body and soul….” In all we are, we are related to our connection to, with, for and by God. It is like a fleece that is wrapped around us for our protection and our identification. Hmmm, I do believe that is what God did for Adam and Eve in the Garden after they discovered they had violated the covenant made with Him. Only God could restore that broken relationship and maintain the covenant relationship He had established. He could not violate that covenant. He would not violate that covenant. He was, is and will always be “the Good Shepherd.”

Now back to the beginning of this particular reflection and I will address the “false images” I mentioned as to 1) limiting who are shepherds and 2) sheep are stupid. We should not abide by such images within the community of faith! First, we all make mistakes. Put it in a spiritual context it sounds like this: “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory which God intended for humanity.” (Romans 3.23) We can call it stupid, I supposed, but it would seem to me to only be stupid when we know the truth and ignore it to go in the opposite direction. To leave people to their premise and demise is stupid. We all are sheep who have gone astray. Why? Isaiah 53.6 delivers this truth. The objectivity of that piece of knowledge is further explained by Jesus in Matthew 9.36 “The sheep have gone astray because they have no shepherd.” Wait, if God is the Good Shepherd, then how can we say “they have no shepherd.” The reality of that observation and question confronts the first assumption mentioned “limited persons who are shepherds.” The truth is that we put limitations on saying “who” can be a shepherd so that we can “go our own way.” We can too easily say “I am not of this or that flock.” We can too easily say “I am a flock of my own.” And in sad observation we are certainly promoting such “stupidity” in this nation in our current culture and climate. We exacerbate the “stupidity” by seeking a shepherd who fits our image instead of seeking a shepherd who is the image caster of what is right, good and holy. We have failed miserably on both counts, mighty ones of God. We are not to commit ourselves to be “stupid sheep” nor should we align ourselves with “stupid shepherds.” How do we know the difference? Well, it is hard to deviate if we align ourselves with the “Good Shepherd/Good Sheep” image presented by the very ones who are the “Good Shepherd (God)” and the “Good Sheep (Jesus).” Oh, I know you are about to jump up waving your hand like the smartest kid in the class saying “Jesus is not a sheep.” You want to say you are so smart blurting out the answer “Jesus said He was the Good Shepherd.” So, hold your flock!

Let’s get our images aligned better so the vision is clear. God is indeed the Good Shepherd. David declared such in Psalm 23. The predominant image of leadership throughout the Old Testament centers on shepherding. It is not exclusive but inclusive. Shepherding is the paradigm of right relationships and the interaction of leadership and those being led. The hard part comes in that moment when some of the sheep take their “ram” identity and “ram it down the throats” of other sheep. Jesus warned the disciples of such problems when He told them “Do not be rulers like the Gentiles.” Was Jesus slamming Gentile rulers? No! Jesus was stating the obvious. Gentile rulers had no grounding in proper shepherding identity and techniques. It wasn’t their fault. They were raised that way. They were not carefully taught the ways of God but the ways of their god(s). So, instead of being like the world into which Jesus sent them to “shepherd,” they needed to be like Him. We see the preponderance of evidence to this model when Jesus reconciles Peter at the end of John’s gospel: feed My sheep, feed My lambs, feed My sheep. You get it don’t you? Take care of this first generation of believers (the disciples to whom Jesus gave the new commandment to “love one another”). Then, take care of the second generation of believers (the lambs born from the first generation believers-literally and figuratively). Then, take care of those who become sheep to make more lambs (as the call to discipleship is given.) So, Jesus came into the world as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” We see it in the Bethlehem story. We see it in the introduction of John the Baptizer who points out Jesus as the ministry of Jesus begins. We see it on the cross.

Yet, Jesus, who was, is and will forever be “the Lamb of God,” read Revelation if you don’t believe that, is given the experienced responsibility of being the Good Shepherd. He reflects the very image of God Himself. He tells the disciples “If you have seen Me then you have seen the Father; we are as One.” But Jesus didn’t leave it there. He went on to say “…just as you and I are One.” Yes, we are sheep who are to become shepherds. Each one of us who is a disciple of Christ is given the opportunity and responsibility to shepherd a flock. We are not merely to tend the flock and pretend we are shepherds. We are to cultivate those sheep to become shepherds themselves. It is our purpose and our duty to God to align ourselves in such a ministry. And this is what is happening in verse 3 of Isaiah, chapter 2. The “law” is the code of righteous living that best defines who and whose we are in relationship with one another; that makes for authentic peace. The “word” is the gospel of Jesus the Messiah, the Christ of God who is the living example of righteousness and the sincere focus on being God’s people. John’s prologue to his gospel is the best example of that truth: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God and the Word became flesh to dwell among us; Immanuel.” Isn’t it time we get our celebration of the birth of Christ right for a change instead of the “false images” presented by a world focusing more on self-image instead of God image. That would mean we live out the “Word” among us for the purpose which is given to us: reconciliation, redemption as well as praise and worship in spirit and in truth. Selah. Shalom.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit brought us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit in order that others be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind so we would know we are Your people and You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the manifestation of that love for us all. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.