Enfolded by Love -- A Message for April 21, 2024

 The Scripture John 10:11-18 

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  

¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.  

¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—  

¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.  

¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.  

¹⁷ The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again.  

¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” 

 

 

The Message                         Enfolded by Love 

 

The Metaphor of Jesus as the Good Shepherd is the most powerful image we have of Jesus. When the women and men of Trinity Christian UCC built this sanctuary many years ago, this image was so powerful for them that they placed it in the stained-glass window to my right. Jesus cares for us as a loving shepherd cares for their sheep. It is comforting for all of us to know that Jesus knows each of us as individuals and makes sure we are each protected and kept together with the other precious followers of God. We each are one of the sheep of Jesus’ flock. 

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday. In our scripture reading from the Gospel of John, Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd. He tells us, his followers, that he will lay down his life for us. We hear Jesus’ words from the vantage point of knowing that Jesus died on the cross for us and for all the people who have lived on earth after the first Easter. Jesus gave of himself as the ultimate sacrifice to free us from the burden of our sins and to give us new life as part of God’s family. 

In today’s teaching, Jesus mentions seeking out and bringing in other sheep who are not from “this sheep” pin. This is a reference to the reality that Jesus came to earth to save all people – people who were Jewish like Jesus and people like us, Gentiles. Through Jesus, we are adopted into the family of God. 

Jesus said that he is the Shepherd who the flock belongs to, not like a paid caregiver who runs away when terrible things happen to the sheep. Jesus is with us for the long-haul...God is with us all the time no matter what. In our lives, we place value on things that sometimes disappear like the paid caregiver. We are disappointed when things we rely on vanish – we all have had friendships change or fall apart, break-ups with romantic partners, been let go from jobs that we expected to last, have had neighbor-friends move away never to be seen again, and had our bodies betray us when we have become sick or broken bones. Nothing we think we have control over is as reliable as Jesus. God will never abandon us or lead us astray.  

Even when we struggle to have faith in God, God does not struggle to have faith in us. Throughout our lives, God is the one constant presence who is with us through the thick and thin. In verse sixteen of Psalm 139, the Psalmist says to God: “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” God knows us before we are formed in our mother’s womb; God knows us all the days of our lives; God knows us after our life on this earth ends and we join God in Heaven for eternity. 

In our lives, when we have both dark days and joyful days, Jesus is a steady, loving presence with us. When we are experiencing merry days, God is there. When we are experiencing sorrow, God is there.  

When we teach our little ones in Sunday school, one of the things we work with them on is memorizing the words of the 23^rd Psalm. We want them to carry the words of the psalm with them all the days of their lives.  Those of us who have been around awhile know that the words of psalms, and hymns, and scriptures pop into our heads when we need them – when we are scared or stressed out, we want to be reminded that Jesus is our Shepherd. So, now say the words of Psalm 23 with me and be comforted in knowing that Jesus will walk with us all the days of our lives and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. 

23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 

² He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 

³ He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 

⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 

⁵ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 

⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. 

Surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives, and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever! 

Amen. 

Christ Among Us -- A Message for April 14, 2024

Scripture Luke 24: 36-48 

³⁶ While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 

³⁷ They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.  

³⁸ He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?  

³⁹ Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” 

⁴⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet.  

⁴¹ And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”  

⁴² They gave him a piece of broiled fish,  

⁴³ and he took it and ate it in their presence. 

⁴⁴ He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” 

⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.  

⁴⁶ He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,  

⁴⁷ and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  

⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things.  

⁴⁹ I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” 

Let us pray.... 

 

Sermon                               Christ Among Us 

Psychologist Carl Jung invented the term the Wounded Healer. A wounded healer is when a healer, like a doctor or a psychologist, is compelled to treat their patients because they themselves have the same wounds that need to be treated. According to this archetype, a doctor who has vision problems may be drawn to treat patients with vision problems or a psychologist who had an alcoholic parent is more likely to treat clients who have alcoholic parents.  

Although Jung did not base his concept on Jesus, Jesus fits Jung’s wounded healer archetype. Jesus was wounded, and he loves and heals people who are wounded. After his resurrection, Jesus showed his physical wounds to the people to whom he appeared. God could have healed Jesus’ wounds...God raised Jesus from the dead, so God healed Jesus from death. God could have chosen to heal the puncture wounds in Jesus’ hands and the gaping hole from the stab wound in Jesus’ abdomen. Jesus could have just had scars. Or Jesus could have had restored, unmarred skin.  But after his resurrection, Jesus showed his wounds to his followers. 

 In today’s post resurrection reading, Jesus showed his nail punctured hands to his friends. He showed the gaping hole in his side where the soldiers at the crucifixion stabbed him.  He was one of the walking wounded. Yet, he was fully restored to life.  Jesus was not a ghost. He could eat a piece of fish.... ghosts cannot eat and do not need to eat. Jesus was alive again, although his wounds were evidence that he was crucified and then restored to life. Jesus was wounded, and he came to be the presence of God among the wounded people of God.  

During his ministry years, Jesus was a healer. He healed people who had illnesses. He healed people who were blind, paralyzed, or bleeding. He healed people who suffered from mental illnesses or demon possession. He raised the dead. 

 In addition to healing people’s broken bodies, Jesus worked to heal humanity from incorrect thinking and wrong beliefs. Jesus taught humanity that all people are loved by God and have access to God’s salvation – before Jesus, the Jewish people believed they had an exclusive relationship with God and were the only people with access to salvation. 

 Jesus taught that our foremost requirement in life is to love our God and love each other....in human evolution, people have evolved to prefer our own group above all others – in the past, we would love and protect people like us and people who are part of our group and would exclude “outsiders” from that love. Jesus offered us a different way of living—instead of just loving only our group – our families, our neighbors, people who look like us – Jesus calls upon us to love all other people, and to love all other people as much as we love ourselves. 

Another way Jesus healed us from incorrect thinking was by teaching humanity how to prioritize the “rules” that are found in the scripture. When Jesus came to earth, there were divisions among Jewish people regarding how to apply the Jewish law to their personal lives. Some people focused on following the rules even when they did not make sense.... Jesus was criticized for healing a sick person on the Sabbath, because one of the rules was that you were not supposed to do “work” on the Sabbath. Jesus taught that love and compassion must be our core guiding principles – he healed because of his love and compassion for the sick person. Following the letter of the law is secondary to treating others with love first. 

When Jesus was born on earth, everything that happened to him was deliberate. He chose to be born as a vulnerable baby. He chose to be raised by humble parents in a little rural town. He chose to start his ministry far away from the seat of power. He chose to be born in Israel, as a Jewish kid, in a time when the Roman Empire had power and control over the land and the people. He chose to be able to experience the range of human emotions and feelings. He chose not to stop his painful death on the cross. And he chose to be resurrected again. Everything was deliberate. 

Jesus’ wounds were deliberate. He could have chosen to live in the body of a person but not experience feelings like a person – Jesus could have avoided pain and suffering and death. But Jesus chose to be like us....to live a life that included exhaustion, hunger, pain and hurt. Jesus chose to feel the things we feel. Like the wounded healer archetype, Jesus chose to experience the wounds that impact humanity so that Jesus could help us heal from those wounds. 

Jesus chose to be like us – to experience the cost and the joys of humanity. Let us work to be like Jesus. Let us use our painful life events to help other people. Sometimes, you must go through something to know what it feels like. The people sitting in this room have personally experienced many wonderful things and many terrible things. We can be like Jesus by using the experiences we have endured, scars and all, to help other people who are currently going through those experiences. We can remind people that life continues, and we endure despite the challenges we have endured. And we can take heart that we believe in a savior who loved the people of the world so much that he chose to experience the pain and suffering we have experienced. 

Every challenge we have had is an experience we can use to help others who are facing the same challenges. Let us follow Jesus’ command to love our neighbors and work to help them through their challenges. 

May we do so with love in our heart today and all days. Amen.