The coming Sunday's lessons can be found here .
This week's readings are full of sheep. [Rim shot!]
And shepherds.
Here in Lutherland our OT lesson is Jeremiah's rebuke to baaahd (sorry) shepherds, paired with God's promise to restore the wholeness and safety of the flock. Some of you will instead be reading the story of Nathan receiving a word from God about establishing former shepherd David as ruler over the flock of Israel. Some of us will also be hearing the familiar words of Psalm 23: "The Lord is my shepherd..." And in the middle of Mark's terse, action-packed text we hear the poignant story of Jesus, who's trying to take his road-weary disciples on a retreat in the wilderness, instead being met by more people needing help and hope...and, instead of saying, "Come back in a few days when we're rested and ready," having compassion on these "sheep without a shepherd" and caring for them where they were.
What words to we have to share with our own flocks this Sunday, about shepherds and sheep? What do the texts have to say to us, in our respective vocations within the Body of Christ? As always, feel free to post your comments here!
No sheep for me!
ReplyDeleteI am musing on house-building with a sermon titled A House of Flesh I may even take a hammer and saw as props....
But for today I am off to a neighbouring community for a gastroscope, which includes some really good drugs I am told (yes I have someone driving me there and back--the ggod drugs make it not possible for me to drive afterwards)
Baaaaa.
ReplyDeleteI will be thinking of y'all as I am away from the pulpit this weekend.
I have a seminary bud who pokes fun at my pronunication of the word 'pull-pi-ut"
Anywhoodle Poodles, best of wishes and the HS has your backs!
I'm thinking about the Ephesians passage and Psalm 23... and walls at the moment.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your 'procedure', Gord, and ... no, on second thoughts, perhaps I won't comment on 'really good drugs'!
working on houses here as well Gord, with a sermon I've titled "Windows and Walls" - using the 2 Samuel 7 passage and Ephesians 2. What would God's house look like, if God built her own house? That is the question I am asking. 1-4, enjoy your weekend away! After this weekend, I won't preach for four whole weeks, with a weekend family wedding, two weekends of mission work, and a weekend of vacay. Dare I say I will miss it?
ReplyDeleteThis will be my last Sunday at the Freeport church, and I will explore the David story and the gospel in bidding them farewell. They continue to feel attached to their building, and I will urge them (once more) to be attached to their communal experience of God, instead. Once more with feeling, darling!
ReplyDeletewe are reading the David/Nathan house story here, but there's no preaching happening. Instead I've organized (with lots of help from the music director!) to have Taize on Sunday morning, and we'll be focusing on listening for God's will rather than imposing our own wills/desires. At 8.30 the focus is on listening and also on the upside-down thing here--God says "did I ask you to build me a house? Instead I'll build YOU a house" (metaphorically speaking, of course)...
ReplyDeleteI don't quite know how this will turn out (especially at the contemporary service) but I think having Taize on Sunday morning (rather than Tuesday evening) will be really good. We haven't told anyone that this is happening except those in leadership, so we're hoping to expose people to Taize who would never come on Tuesday night. We'll see.....
haven't settled in on a text yet.
ReplyDeletewaiting for some snippets of HS to guide mr....
Not preaching for two whole Sundays...vacay time...into the mountains and as many hot springs as I can manage!
ReplyDeleteStill a week behind in the lectionary. I'm doing the beheading of JTB, but plan to look at Herod quite a bit. A guy who seemed to know better. Who had a desire to do the right thing, but was led and swayed by others into doing the wrong thing. I'll talk about having the courage to stand up to the powers that try to sway us away from standing up for God's way in the world. Or something like that.
ReplyDeleteAt first I was drawn by the immages of shepherds and sheep, but now that phrase from psalm 23 is tugging at my attention "restore my soul"---hmm--what does soul restoration look like? how does shepherding foster that?
ReplyDeleteSummer where I grew up was the season for revivals---don't we all need reviving and restoring now and again...
Going with the gospel this week - looking for retreat. Thought I might ask folks to share with each other what might be their "dream retreat" - and see where that leads. Having just returned from some beautiful West Coast Scottish beaches, it's close to my heart right now.
ReplyDeleteJust found a wonderful link here, reminding us that God can work with us but, reassuringly, God can also work without us. Go find a beach!
ReplyDeleteTrying to write sermon two of the four (at least) week run in bits and snippits between day job clients. I think it's the Gospel mostly. Praying madly for inspiration to say something...anything beyond something sheepish and baahdly conceived (sorry!) and not doing so well so far.
ReplyDeleteI'm going with Mark this week and making the point that our rest and reflection informs our compassion, our responding to the needs of our community.
ReplyDeleteEspecially for Sherev(and others preaching on JtheB this week):
ReplyDeleteWhat do John the Baptist and Winnnie the Pooh have in common?
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<<<< Same middle name!
I'll probably use the Mark text, but I may read the omitted verses. One of the things that interests me is this: After the disciples have been out healing teaching, preaching -- and with some success -- it's amazing how quickly they revert to fear and astonishment when they see Jesus walking on the water. And I'm intrigued by v. 51-52: they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea where that will take me, or if the Holy Spirit will send me somewhere entirely different between now and Sunday.
1-4, I love it :-D
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of reading more of the verses in Mark, but it feels a bit of a disservice to the preacher who will follow me and have John's version of feeding the multitudes two weeks later. Of course, if you're following yourself, no problem! But I came to this church on the Sunday of the Emmaus story and discovered the supply preacher the week before had preached it out of order; I'd rather not leave that way!
ReplyDeleteStill, it's the most interesting part of the passage, isn't it? The rest is a frame around it.
Back after a 4-week preaching hiatus that was supposed to be a planning time...sigh.
ReplyDeleteI'm going with Mark this week and looking at what it means to live compassionately. We are offering VBS this week and come Sunday we'll be going to serve at a homeless shelter while some leave for a mission trip. We will be tired and in need of rest and yet...God continues to call us to important places to share our love and witness.
So yeah, I'm really not sure where this is headed! Blessings to all in your ponderings and in your respite!
so here i sit typing away the sermon, interuppted by painting, back to sermon... Mark is tough this week to get into... sure wish the preacher party was happening now.
ReplyDeleteat any rate going with the need for holy rest, holy leisure and exploring that... or maybe i'll go rest myself...
Gord---As a preacher/pastor who is also an R.N. I can assure, the drugs should be very good.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I just looked at the date on your post and realized that your procedure is over and done with...hope it went well.
1-4---you are cracking me up!
and, on the subject of the lectionary...is it just me, or didn't we just preach about the whole shepherd thing not that long ago? I'm thinking about going off lectionary and doing John Calvin in honor of hus 500th birthday, and because my Presbyterian congregation mostly has no idea about who he was or his theology.
Going with the Ephesians.... unity, Oneness, Diversity but united in Christ.... Mary J Bligh and U2's 'One'.... the Communion
ReplyDelete