Occasion

This is a homily for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, July 19, 2009, based upon the day’s readings from Jeremiah, Psalms, and Mark.

Prayer

Let us pray…
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation[s] of [our] heart[s]
be acceptable to you,
O LORD, [our] rock and [our] redeemer.” Amen. (Psalm 19:14, NRSV)

Homily

Have you ever had the experience
of looking at the road ahead from behind the wheel
of your car and wondering,
“How did I get here?”

It’s a little frightening
to realize that you’ve lost track
of your own life,
that you have been conscious and alert,
but not aware of your own actions.

Somehow,
your mind has paid attention
to the road and has driven you
to your destination,
without you having any thoughts
about the matter.

My guess is that this happens to us
when we drive a familiar route,
where all of the turns and the stops
are routine and predictable.

Sometimes we may say we feel
the same thing happening to us
while worshiping in Church.
We get started saying,
“Our Father, who art in heaven…,”
and before we know what has happened,
we find ourselves saying,
“…forever and ever. Amen.”

I have a hunch
that today’s Psalm
may come close to being
one of those autopilot texts.

Just get us started saying,
“The LORD is my shepherd…,”
and before we know it,
we are wrapping it up:
“…and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

But just like driving along a fresh route to work
can help us regain our ability
to pay attention to the road,
we can reclaim our ability
to pay attention to familiar texts
when we take a fresh approach.

Usually,
when we hear the word “shepherd”
in readings from the Bible,
we think, naturally and properly,
of Jesus Christ.

He is the Good Shepherd
who searches for the lost sheep,
who brings us, his flock,
to green pastures and still waters,
who protects us from danger,
and who, in the end,
lays down his life for his sheep.
This is our familiar shepherd.

But today, let’s take a different
route through our readings.

As our starting point,
let’s begin with the word “pastor.”
It’s the term we use
to address the one
who serves a congregation
as its spiritual leader.

But hiding beneath our use
of pastor as an English word
is its history in Latin
as the term for shepherd.
And then, surprisingly,
when we look at the Latin roots
of the word congregation,
we find hiding the Latin word gregis,
which means flock.

So, on our fresh route
through the readings,
let’s reflect on what they may say to us
about our community as a flock
and about our search for a new shepherd.

+ + +

Jeremiah launches into a pronouncement from the LORD,

“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! … It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them.” (Jeremiah 23:1,2b, NRSV)

God desires for us, his flock,
to be gathered, to be herded,
by a shepherd.
We know that, in the end,
he sends his Son to be the Great Shepherd.
But he also sends others
to shepherd in his name,
with his blessing,
and in obedience to his commands.

So, as we begin to pray and to search
for a pastor for this congregation,
a shepherd for this flock,
we can remember that a shepherd
ought not to destroy and scatter the flock,
but should attend to them.

And in fact, through Jeremiah’s prophecy,
the LORD promises his people,

“I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing….” (Jeremiah 23:4, NRSV)

+ + +

Then in the Psalm, David, the shepherd turned poet and king,
sings those familiar words, beginning,

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not be in want.” (Psalm 23:1, LBW)

This shepherd and LORD
gives his flock rest in green pastures,
leads the sheep to still waters,
protects them with his rod and staff,
feeds them at his table,
anoints them with oil,
and promises eternal life in his house.

No one of us in God’s Church
could possibly, on his or her own,
even begin to fulfill any of those promises
by our own efforts, under our own power.

But, when we act in God’s name,
we can, with his grace,
speak and act in ways
that are faithful to the ministry
of the LORD who is our shepherd.

So we can look for a pastor for this congregation
who encourages us to gather, to congregate, in this place
and to preserve it as a refuge
from the dangers and stresses of life.

This shepherd can lead us to the still waters of baptism,
calm our fears with the discipline of the rod and staff of God’s word,
invite us to the LORD’s table of the Eucharist,
and anoint our heads with oil for healing when we are sick.

+ + +

Then, in Mark’s Gospel,
we hear how Jesus offers his apostles
the freedom of a time and place for rest
from their labors as his servants:

“Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” (Mark 6:31, NRSV)

This verse ties back to the Gospel readings
we’ve heard the last two weeks,
where Jesus sends the Twelve out
with the basics of staves and tunics and sandals,
and empowers them to call the people to repent,
to cast out demons,
and to anoint the sick.

This excites the crowds,
who wonder what to make of the sensation,
and are curious about who is energizing this ministry.
So they ask if it might be John the Baptist or Elijah or another prophet.

And then, as the disciples return,
Jesus cares for their need to be restored,
and invites them to slip away and rest.

As the shepherd of the Twelve,
he recognizes that times for serving
need to be followed by times for rest and restoration.
He sees that time spent scattered in service
needs to be balanced with time spent gathered around him.

This helps us to see
that a shepherd of our flock,
a pastor of this congregation,
ministers in Christ’s name
when he or she helps us,
as we say, to go in peace and serve the Lord,
through our witness to others.

And likewise, a shepherd of this flock,
the pastor for whom we search,
will call us together,
gather us around Jesus Christ,
our Lord and shepherd,
and lead us to find
rest and reflection and restoration
in the presence of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Finally, we hear about how Jesus and the apostles
come ashore from their boat
and find the path to their place of refuge
overrun by a crowd
drawn by curiosity and amazement and hunger.
Mark tell us,

“As [Jesus] went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.” (Mark 6:34, NRSV)

This helps us to know that Jesus has compassion
for all who are searching and wondering and striving,
but who don’t know where to turn,
whom to follow,
what messages to believe.

They are “like sheep without a shepherd,”
like a great crowd milling about,
unclear about the direction their lives should take.

So, as their shepherd,
Jesus feels compassion
and responds by teaching them.

A person who serves in Jesus’ name
as shepherd or pastor
will minister as he does,
showing compassion for people,
especially when we are confused and lost.

A good shepherd and pastor
will lead the congregation, the flock,
out of the wilderness of confusion
with sound and faithful teaching
about the life of God
and our place in it.

+ + +

So, we have the beginnings of a long list.
This congregation is searching for a pastor
who does not scatter and destroy the people,
but attends to them.
This flock is seeking a shepherd
who leads us into safe places,
who shares God’s gifts
of water and word and forgiveness and meal.
This community is seeking a spiritual leader
who sends us out as witnesses in Jesus’ name,
who calls us back for times of rest,
who helps us balance service and restoration.

This is a list we can build on in the weeks and months ahead.
It’s a list that can seem overwhelming,
whether we dwell upon finding someone
who can meet its challenges
or we contemplate how we work together
to congregate, to flock together, as God’s sheep.

But, in the end, we don’t need to feel overwhelmed,
because our flock is always a part of God’s great flock, the Church,
and our shepherds are always serving with the power of our Great Shepherd.

And so, it seems fitting to end with a brief prayer,
the one appointed for Psalm 23.
Let us pray,

“Lord Jesus Christ, shepherd of your Church, you give us new birth in the waters of baptism; you anoint us with oil, and call us to salvation at your table. Dispel the terrors of death and the darkness of error. Lead your people along safe paths, that they may rest securely in you and dwell in the house of the Lord now and forever, for your name’s sake. Amen.” (Lutheran Book of Worship, Ministers Desk Edition, p. 353)

Ut in Omnibus Glorificetur Deus.