The shepherds have scattered the flock of the Lord and have
not attended to them. They have not held
them close and instructed them. They will
be attended to for their inattention and the Lord will set new shepherds over
the flock. The Good Shepherd is the
Lord, just like He said in Psalm 23. He sets
shepherds over the flock as His stewards and we have responsibility for those
whom the Lord has given us. Parents,
godparents, priests, bishops, small group leaders, whoever, we are all, in some
way, responsible for others whether we accept that responsibility or not. Who is the Lord asking you to care for as a
shepherd? Again He says that there will
come a day when He will not only be the Lord who brought them out of Egypt but
also the one who brought them back from captivity in the north, in
Babylon. During that time of captivity
they set up what we know as the synagogue movement. Since they couldn't do sacrifice (it can only
be done in the temple in Jerusalem) they needed places to teach so that the
people of Judah didn't become like the people of Israel (northern
kingdom). These rabbis or teachers
became the shepherds in that period from Jeremiah to Jesus.
Jesus compares Himself to the manna in the desert. He says that His flesh is true food and His
blood true drink and if we partake of these we will have no part in Him. Why did He choose to speak in metaphors that
sound like cannibalism? It certainly
didn't win Him friends or coverts and it got the early church in trouble with
some and suspected by others of practicing cannibalism. In our communion service we use this very
language and it causes some to believe that we think the bread and wine are
transformed into the body and blood of Jesus.
He didn't shrink from this language and allowed anyone to interpret for
themselves, we shouldn't apologize for it either, it is good language for
eucharist. We are thankful for His body
and blood, the symbols of sacrifice, but they were more than symbols, they were
actually given. We partake spiritually
but really in that sacrifice when we take the bread and wine. Do we make it too clean and neat rather than
as earthy as Jesus did?
If we are made one with Jesus by His sacrifice coupled with
our faith, if His Spirit resides in us, then what can separate us from the
Father's love? We have an indissoluble
union with Him in Jesus who is seated at His right hand. Whatever suffering we may experience here on
earth, He is with us because He is in us, suffering as well. We have communion with Him through His body
and blood whether we partake of communion or whether we are in such a situation
where the eucharist is impossible for us.
He is the righteous branch, our righteousness, He has done exactly what
He promised through Jeremiah. Blessed be
the Name of the Lord!
No comments:
Post a Comment