|
Good Morning Friends,
One of God’s favorite metaphors in the Bible is that of a shepherd. All throughout the story of Scripture, the importance of leading the flock is threaded though the message. Abel kept flocks. Abraham amassed an enormous amount of sheep and goats. Moses and David were the two central leaders of the Old Testament, and both were trained for leadership in the pasture with a flock. When the Old Testament prophets began speaking, they spoke against the negligent shepherds of their generation and predicted a time when a greater Shepherd would emerge. At Jesus’ birth and death, the shepherds were part of the story. After the Resurrection Jesus asks Peter to feed his sheep. But as Jesus ascended to heaven having given the Great Commission, the question remained about the Kingdom to come. At the Last Supper he asked that he be remembered using a very different but related metaphors of wine and bread that resonates with the metaphor of the vineyard in today’s parable about the labors of the field. So, for us today I ask a question about perspective but also the incarnation. With Whom Do You Identify With In Today’s Parable And How Is This Manifested In You?
Scripture: The word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel: prophesy, and say to them—to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord God: Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep. You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and scattered, they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As I live, says the Lord God, because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild animals, since there was no shepherd; and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep; therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, I am against the shepherds; and I will demand my sheep at their hand, and put a stop to their feeding the sheep; no longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, so that they may not be food for them. For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.
Ezekiel 34:1-11 (NRSV)
It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel,
Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a (NRSV)
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Matthew 20:1-16 (NRSV)
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Matthew 9:36 (NRSV)
Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:6-9 (NRSV)
I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:5 (NRSV)
Message: God’s overwhelming generosity is difficult to comprehend, though every Christian has experienced that generosity. We see it in the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. And it reminds me of the time I met John Perkins in Miami Beach at a conference and the story he told about working in day labor and getting shortchanged in his fair payment. Now you may be thinking that this minister and social activist would not be a capitalist, but I think you would be wrong for he was all about selling his books for a return, which is not to say that was his only agenda. One of his staff named Lena came to Immokalee years ago and participated in a youth conference I was involved in orchestrating. Of course, at the heart of the issues in Immokalee are fair wages and fair housing. I wonder what John Perkins would have to say about today’s parable. Maybe it would be for us to avoid attempting to cast God in our image, learning instead of the extravagant grace with which He showers each of us. You see, the grace of the Good Shepherd is not so much about being fair from a capitalistic sort of thinking…it is about saving and feeding the sheep and producing a harvest in a way that engages and changes people. The teaching of Jesus and of the New Testament is that Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who seeks out the lost sheep, and dies for His flock. This contrasts with those who are not shepherds at all, but merely hired help, who have no personal concern with the sheep except as a source of work and therefore of income. This teaching did not suddenly arrive on the scene with Jesus. It was already known by those who were familiar with the Old Testament Scriptures. There is one whole chapter which contrasts irresponsible shepherds with the one true Shepherd, and we read a section of it today from the book of Ezekiel. The bad, irresponsible, or false shepherds represent the leaders, particularly the religious leaders, who fail to fulfil their duty towards God’s flock. This is true, whether we are thinking of Israel and Judah before the Exile, after the Exile, in Jesus’ day when the flock was seen by His sympathetic eye as scattered like sheep without a shepherd. And unfortunately, we see it in the churches of today. You see, we need leaders to help us stay determined to focus on God and His grace, rejoicing that He is generous, rejoicing that he is unlike any person we have ever known. We need leaders to help us focus on God’s character, exulting in His mercy and His goodness toward us, marveling that He included us in His mercy. As sheep we get to choose what we will eat. We can either be gracious and thankful for what God has given to us or we can gripe and complain and grumble that God has been gracious to others. Sometimes it is hard for us to rejoice about God’s goodness to someone else. It is difficult to be happy because God has been good to someone else—probably someone that we do not think is as deserving as are we. It is difficult when we work hard, and others receive the credit. It is sometimes hard for us to celebrate the goodness of God when His goodness is extended to someone else. But the thing is that God will eventually bring justice if justice is really needed. Friends, when it comes to God’s grace, there is not much we can complain about. When Jesus tells Simon Peter to feed His sheep. In Matthew, Jesus says that He had compassion on the crowds that followed Him because they were “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” But when Jesus compares us to sheep, He is not exactly giving us a compliment. We too are to be shepherds leading the sheep to green pastures whether we get paid or not.
And So, love is as important as faith when it comes to feeding the flock or working the vineyard. I know that Jesus said, he was the bread of life and those who come to him will not hunger, and those who believe in him will never thirst. But faith alone is not enough for prompting the expansion of the faith. Jesus also requires that we totally love him. He requires we drink the cup of salvation. And that means loving others, even our enemies, for Christ’s love is an extension of the Father’s love which is ultimately for the entire world as a global brainstorm so the abundance of life can continue. It means not demeaning others because they are coming late to the work party. Of course, I understand that this parable speaks to the ultimate who’s in and who’s out when it comes to the kingdom, as in, the “kingdom in the hereafter” kingdom. Latecomers to the cross are as welcome to God’s grace as those who have been following Jesus from day one. And that is indeed good news. Ultimately this parable makes me wonder if after looking at the story from various character’s stories and realizing that the specific perspective formed what questions we might ask, that ultimately we might we take on the attitude, the ethic and the heart of this landowner in the power of Christ. Friends, we are not God but sometimes God’s power can come thought us for a holy purpose.
Pray we follow the good shepherd who leads a faithful flock and gives us rest. Pray we are made strong. Pray we are fed spiritually. Pray we are not made weak in character by poor leaders. Pray we are connected to the vine. Pray we are not scattered in thought or focus. Pray God seeks us out when we stray. Pray we are delivered from evil. Pray we are healed. Pray we embrace a covenant of peace in a place of blessing. Pray we do not grumble about God’s generosity. Pray we do not make ourselves miserable. Pray we too learn to lead others to Jesus the Good Shepherd. Pray we take and eat of that which is Holy. Pray we have faith. Pray we love. Pray we learn to feed lost sheep. Pray the incarnation of Christ become manifested in us as we become one in the power of the Spirit.
Blessings,
John Lawson
|
Daily Devotionals 