Easter 4: Empty tomb and Good Shepherd

 We are praying our way through the Easter season—the Great 50 Days between Easter and Pentecost—by considering Jesus’ post-Resurrection appearances. We looked at Jesus’ love for Thomas; which met Thomas where he was in his hurt and doubt. Last week we considered how Jesus doesn’t show up just when we expect and are ready for him, but is always present, “in our midst,” even if we metaphorically try to lock the doors.

Today, we return to the Easter morning events found in Luke 24:1-12. The women come to the tomb with the spices they had prepared [for the burial rites]. Instead of Jesus in a sealed tomb, they find the stone rolled away and two men in dazzling clothes. In amazement, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women, tell the disciples Jesus is risen. The men don’t believe them. The only one who responds is Peter who got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened. The Resurrection window in the sacristy of the Cathedral of St. John, Albuquerque, NM depicts this event in stunning color.

The women and Peter are amazed by the Resurrection. Of course they are. Such a thing has never happened before. The women, in Luke’s account, don’t see Jesus. They encounter two men in dazzling clothes who remind them that Jesus told them this would happen. Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again. Even without a ‘Jesus sighting,’ the women believe.

Unlike Thomas who needs a physical touch and the disciples who need to see Jesus eating to recognize that he is alive, the women accept the angels’ announcement. Then they run to tell their friends.

How often do we hesitate to tell about something amazing God has done in our life? What are some of the ‘resurrections’ in your life? Who might you tell?

 The Gospel for Sunday (John 10:11-18) is one of the times Jesus foretells his death and resurrection. It is also one of the "I am" statements Jesus makes (along with Light, Bread, Life, Vine). He says, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep…I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep…there will be one flock, one shepherd…I lay [my life] down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.

How can we welcome others into the one fold? Are there invisible walls we have erected by our actions or words that keep some ‘sheep’ out?

Jesus uses the analogy of a shepherd. This would have been familiar to the audience in First Century Israel. It’s not as easy for us to relate to. We might think of first responders running toward danger, or a parent protecting their child, or even a wild animal protecting their young. Psalm 23, also for this Sunday, says, The Lord is my Shepherd…he restores my soul…even though I walk through the valley of death, I will not fear. Jesus says, I lay [my life] down of my own accord to create one flock, one shepherd. It is our duty and call to continue to work of building that ‘beloved community.’

When we allow God, our Good Shepherd to be the path, we can feel secure even in the time we find it hard to recognize that Jesus is present. Present in the empty tomb and lost hopes, present in sorrow and in joy, present when we feel distant. God’s love and shepherding will always be with and for us.

Who might you remind of that good news?

Pentecost: Naomi

 We continue our “Ordinary Time” look at women of the Bible who can help us see where God is present in our daily, ordinary, routine lives. Have you ever done a spiritual exercise where you chart out what amount of time you spend each day doing various things? It can be very illuminating. How much time do you spend in prayer or Bible reading? What percentage do you spend answering email (YIKES)? Do you find your time is taken up with mundane tasks like vacuuming or washing dishes? When do you find time to do things for others? Are there other categories you can think of? I did this just recently in response to my own questions above—and was a bit amazed at the amount of time email and social media consume… Makes you stop and think about where your day goes.

Naomi is the co-protagonist in the Book of Ruth in the Bible. We meet her as a young mother doing all the things relating to having growing boys. Even though she didn't have social media and email I'm sure she spent some daily time visiting with friends and neighbors. It's an important part of who we are. We need that human connection. 

We follow her to Moab where her sons grow up and get married. She likely took on new duties as they grew and when they brought home wives. New communities form around the new duties. Then, tragedy strikes when Naomi’s husband and both sons die. I’m sure that the daily duties seemed onerous in her grief. To add to her work and worry, a woman without male protector was likely to become impoverished. Therefore, she makes the difficult and frightening decision to travel back to Bethlehem. It seems that she retreated into herself in her grief and planned to cut ties with friends. 

As we saw last week, Ruth, one of the daughters-in-law, returns with her as a refugee and widow to glean in the fields. Upon their arrival in Bethlehem, Naomi is grieving and depressed. She doesn't seem to want to be welcomed even by old friends, saying, Call me Mara for the Lord has dealt harshly with me. However, God acts in the very ordinariness of her grief and despair to offer hope and remind us that faith isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes faith is a dark night of the soul when we think God is far away.

We know that Naomi trusted that the Law of Moses would provide for her and for Ruth. That was why she returned to Bethlehem. She seems to not have totally given up on God even though she is in despair. There can be times when we can simply hang onto the slightest bit of a string at the end of our rope. And God can use that to haul us back to the sunlight. Sometimes that thread is the love and outreach of a friend or family member. 

Naomi felt lost and alone and desolate except for Ruth’s companionship. She was like the lost sheep Jesus talks about. He explains that God is like a Shepherd who leaves 99 members of the flock to find the lost one and brings it back to the flock on his shoulder. Pause to think about the effort required to carry a sheep on your shoulders. The images we see in art are often of a sweet little lamb being cuddled, but Jesus says ‘sheep’ which can average around 200 pounds. Look at this image from Google and imagine carrying one of the animals over your shoulder. And, I suspect that the critter might be squirming, too. OOOF!

Naomi was like that sheep. She felt very alone and far from the fold. Deep inside she desperately wanted love. God uses barley and a farmer to bring Naomi back into the joy of God’s love. Boaz’s interest in Ruth sparks a glimmer of hope in Naomi who encourages a dangerous ploy by having Ruth go to the threshing floor and ask for Boaz to protect her.

It works, because God is in the tiniest of details. Naomi become a grandmother. Her friends rejoice with her! Her ordinary routine changed again with new grandmotherly tasks, which she no doubt rejoiced in. A life that seemed to stretch out hopeless is now filled with hope and love.

God acted in the despair of grief and destitution to bring new life and hope.

Think of times in your life when something similar has happened to you. 

Can you be a hand to help someone out of the chasm of their lonliness, loss, despair or fear?

Might you be the one to bring the sheep home to the fellowship of the rest of the flock? 

Is there time in your day to do that? 

It is He that Made Us

Last time we looked at the first part of verse 3 of Psalm 100-“Know that the Lord is God.” Today, in the second half of the verse we learn one reason to trust that the Lord is God: “It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”

A long time ago, when I was learning about the many religions of the world, I told my father, “I’d rather be a sheep than a sacred cow.” That was based more on the fact that sheep are fuzzy and soft looking while cows aren’t that soft and cuddly. Sheep, on the other hand, need more care than cows so they don’t get in trouble.

Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd” (John 10). A shepherd has to watch out for his flock all the time. Sheep will wander off and fall off a cliff or drown in a stream if the shepherd isn’t watchful. (Last Sunday was Good Shepherd Sunday, so these readings are probably fresh in your minds.)

Like sheep, we tend to prefer to wander off. Isaiah reminds us “we, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned every one to his own way.” (Isaiah 53:6). We like to look for greener pastures than the one set in front of us by our Shepherd. Along the way, we can fall off a cliff or drown in a stream, too. Like the story in the Gospel, the shepherd has to “leave the 99 in the wilderness, to seek the one that is lost.” This image of the Good Shepherd (by Alfred Soord) always touches me with a reminder of how far the Shepherd, our Lord, must sometimes go to rescue us. He is hanging over a cliff to retrieve the lost sheep.

Slowly, over our lives, we may just learn to listen to the voice of our Shepherd above the siren calls of the world. More often, out of love, the Shepherd has to come and find us and bring us home to safety.

God made us to be individuals and not puppets, so we have the free will to wander off. God made us as ‘his people, the sheep of his pasture.’ We are in his care, even (maybe especially) when we wander afield. We have the promise that God will seek and save us from our wanderings. That is one way we can ‘know that the Lord is God.’ Feeling safe in our Shepherd’s care is certainly a reason to ‘make a joyful noise’ as verse one says. It also leads us into verse 4 where we are encouraged to ‘enter his courts with thanksgiving…’

You can read another Good Shepherd meditation from last Sunday here. Next time we will consider what it means to 'enter his courts with thanksgiving...!'