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THE POWERFUL
SHEPHERD
(A Sermon preached December 7, 2008 at University United Methodist Church,
East Lansing MI, by John Ross Thompson)
Isaiah 40:1-11
40:1 Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.
40:2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her
term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord's hand
double for all her sins.
40:3 A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make
straight in the desert a highway for our God.
40:4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made
low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.
40:5 Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see
it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
40:6 A voice says, "Cry out!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All people are
grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field.
40:7 The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows
upon it; surely the people are grass.
40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand
forever.
40:9 Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up
your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do
not fear; say to the cities of Judah, "Here is your God!"
40:10 See, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his
reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
40:11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his
arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.
Mark 1:1-8
1:1 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
1:2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, "See, I am sending my messenger
ahead of you, who will prepare your way;
1:3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the
Lord, make his paths straight,'"
1:4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of
repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
1:5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of
Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan,
confessing their sins.
1:6 Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his
waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
1:7 He proclaimed, "The one who is more powerful
than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the
thong of his sandals.
1:8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy
Spirit."
Our Isaiah text today ends this way: “He will feed his flock like a
shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and
gently lead the mother sheep.”
If we chose favorite scripture passages, I suspect this could be one of
them. Most of us can recall pictures of a gentle Jesus caring a lamb in his
arms, with compassion and love in his face. The conclusion most of us draw from
such an image is that we are the lambs, and Jesus cares for us in a gentle,
loving way.
This passage, and others in the scripture, reinforce the idea. Christmas
nativity scenes and baby images also help us to see a gentle, loving Jesus.
It’s one that we hold on to, especially when we need a spiritual hug, a sense of
reassurance, a comforting thought. There is nothing wrong with this peaceful
image, for it is true.
However, there’s a bigger picture of Jesus in our Bible. Like each of us,
there is more to Jesus Christ than one particular view. I find in the scripture
passages for today a powerful, strong, Jesus who can move mountains. Join me in
exploring this view.
First of all, a few political thoughts, since we are in this between time,
between the long presidential election and the inauguration of a new president.
I confess that I like listening to the political pundits on our media, even
though they go on far too long. One of the images that we seem to want in our
leaders is strength. We all want someone who cares about us, but we also want
someone who can be powerful enough to deal with crime, terrorism, and other ills
of society.
Two things to celebrate in this election are that some of the stereotypes of
people seem to be fading. It is interesting to hear the commentary as Hillary
Clinton was named as the next secretary of state. The pundits I heard did not
question her capability. Their concern was that she might be too intelligent or
too strong a leader to fit in with the rest of the team, which is led by an
intelligent and strong Barack Obama. How wonderful to see that we have come to
recognize that all of God’s people, regardless of gender or race, have the
capability to be strong leaders! For those of you who don’t understand this
change, talk with someone who remembers the images of 30 or 40 years ago.
This is one of the reasons I find today’s Isaiah and Mark passages
compelling. The view here is not of a weak leader. It is a strong savior who
has come to make a lasting difference.
The beginning of Isaiah passage is “Comfort my people, says the Lord.”
Today "comfort" conjures up a cloud of images ranging from La-Z-Boy recliners
to Royal Caribbean cruises. "Comfort food" is all about the personal
satisfaction that can come from good food. "Creature comforts" are all about
having the nicest stuff even as the words "luxury and comfort" get yoked to
describe things like the all-leather interior of a Lexus. "Comfort" connects to
all that is warm and fuzzy and satisfying. Hence, we don't usually connect the
idea of comfort to strength or power. Comfort is putting your feet up after a
hard day of work, sipping a drink, and enjoying the cozy fire crackling on the
hearth. Comfort, we think, is a soft concept. It is not a "working" word.
I was delighted to discover that the English word "comfort" is a combination
of the Latin words "cum-fortis" or "with strength," so the theological concept
of comfort is likewise vigorous. That's why a seminary professor suggested that
at his funeral the congregation should sing the hymn "A Mighty Fortress Is Our
God" but substitute the word "comfort" for "fortress." If you sing, "A mighty comfort is
our God," we have the same meaning of a strong God who is with us.
The Isaiah passage soon turns more clearly to the strength of God - making a
way – mountains brought low, valleys lifted up. For me, this brings images of
Pennsylvania mountains. I went to college there mid-state when Interstate 80
was being built. There were those who thought that the mountains and valleys of
that state would make sure a highway impossible.
Some of you are engineers. You know how difficult it is in certain terrain to
build a highway or a bridge. Yet, this is a promised messiah who can do that.
Where do you want a way to be built? What is the mountain and depression
that you need to be made straight?
The Economy
Relationships in families and work places and schools
I can remember sharing the need for someone to fix things in our lives. A
seminary professor told me, “Yes, all of us are still looking for our daddy.”
The old image of a strong father certainly has been expanded to a knowledge of
strong women as well as men in our lives, but aren’t we all hoping that someone
will come and fix things for us?
Isaiah 40:10 “See, the Lord GOD comes with might.”
Mark 1:7 John the Baptist
proclaimed, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me.”
How does God fix our lives? By changing us.
In 1967, Barbara Robinson wrote a Christmas story for McCall's Magazine which
was later expanded into a book entitled "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever". Some
stories deserve the designation "Classic", and this is one of them.
The story centers on six rambunctious children in a below-poverty level
family. After the Herdman family moved into this tranquil little town, nothing
was ever the same again. The Herdman children: Ralph, Imogene, Leroy, Claude,
Ollie and Gladys were absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world.
They lied and stole and smoked cigars (even the girls) and talked dirty. They
hit little kids and cussed their teachers. They came to church to get in on the
refreshments on the Sunday that parts were cast for the Christmas pageant. To
the horror of all, the Herdman children pushed their way into leading parts in
this annual re-enactment of the birth of Jesus, about which these ignorant, mean
kids knew absolutely nothing. But, on the night of the Christmas pageant the
magic of the drama transformed these six awful children in strange and dramatic
ways.
Here is just one example.
The packed house shifted in their seats to watch the three wise men (Leroy,
Claude and Ollie Herdman) come down the center aisle. Leroy Herdman was carrying
something so heavy he almost dropped it. It took a while for it to dawn on the
audience that it was a ham. They realized at once that it was the ham from the
Christmas basket that the church charity committee had delivered to the Herdman
family. It still had the ribbon around it saying "Merry Christmas". (The
Herdmans had never given anything away in their lives!) Leroy dropped the ham in
front of the manger with a loud thump. It looked funny to see a ham there
instead of the fancy bath-salts jars that were always used for the frankincense
and myrrh. It took a few minutes for the shocked congregation to realize why
these three poor children thought a ham would be a better gift for a poor family
away from home than perfumed oil. The congregation was surprised when the
Herdman kids refused to take the ham back after the page ant was over, but then
they realized that the magic of the drama had so completely possessed these six
poor and ignorant children that to them everything that happened was for real,
and therefore "for keeps".
Only one other Christmas drama has moved me as this story, and that was the
drama with the original cast. Why don't you read both of these stories to your
family on this Christmas day? It will go a long way toward restoring an
understanding of the reason for the season.
Come toward the manger, but come to find a strong Savior, a powerful God, a
Messiah who can thoroughly change our lives.
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