[Psalm 23] Ephesians 2:11-end. Mark 6:30-34, 53-end

Transcription

1 22 July 2012 Communion Readings 1 : Jeremiah 23:1-6 [Psalm 23] Ephesians 2:11-end Mark 6:30-34, 53-end Marion Gray 2011 We re trying, in these sermons over the Summer, the Sundays after Trinity as they are called, to try to get some idea of the big picture of what God is like. We are using Marion s diagram, which you will find above and again in Open Door on the musings page. Last time I spoke to you I pointed out that the diagram reminds us that God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit lives in a community of loving relationships and that that love embraces the world. God really, deeply loves us and the whole of his creation an idea that is a very important piece of the jigsaw as we try to build that big picture. Last time I went on to look at how we deal with instances when things seem to go wrong and we are not so aware how great God s love is. Today we have a change of emphasis we are looking at some of the ways God s love really does go into action and ways we can connect, as it were, with that action and let it be a real experience in our lives. But not in any great spectacular way more in the ordinariness of our lives. 1 Proper 11 year B 1

2 If we look first at our Old Testament lesson, Jeremiah 23:1-6 on p 736 of the Old Testament section of the Bibles, we find the prophet Jeremiah complaining about shepherds. Not ordinary shepherds, of course he is using the word as a metaphor, a description of the leaders of Israel who should be caring for their flock, the people of Israel. Whether he has in mind the political leaders or the spiritual ones is not immediately obvious; more than likely it was both. But, if you were to read some of the chapters leading up to this point you would find that Jeremiah was complaining of injustice and oppression, particularly of the poor and the vulnerable. They were not being properly shepherded. God cares about such people and, through Jeremiah, warns that he will attend to the evil done by the leaders, the shepherds a sinister-sounding phrase which in the event turned out to mean conquest and exile in Babylon. He will then raise up shepherds who will do the job properly and indeed will raise up a king who will govern with justice and righteousness a prophecy that was fulfilled, not in quite the way people expected, but with the coming of Jesus. This picture of leaders as shepherds and of God raising up, or being, the ultimate good shepherd is a common one in Old Testament thought. Perhaps the most well-known place where we find this is in Psalm 23, which would have been our psalm if we used the set psalms in our services. As it is, we sang the hymn version just now it follows the actual words of the psalm in the Bible very closely, particularly if you are familiar with the old King James version. Psalm 23 is attributed to King David, who was a shepherd originally. David certainly knew what shepherds did and what God, the Lord, would do if he was going to be a shepherd to him. The shepherd would lead him to green pastures and still waters places of peace and safety, and places where there was food and drink. And not only food and drink but spiritual refreshment where he would, as David puts it, restore my soul. But David knew life was not going to be all green pastures and still waters he would have enemies and would find himself at times in death s dark vale. His shepherd the Lord would still be with him there, providing for him and giving comfort and security. Forward now to our Gospel reading, beginning at Mark 6:30, on page 39 of the New Testament section of the Bibles. Here we meet Jesus, that just and righteous king, that good shepherd that Jeremiah foretold, responding to the people. Jesus, we are told in v 34, had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus cared about these people, as a good shepherd would. They had come in great crowds, we are told, and they had hurried there, it says in v 33. They had come in great enthusiasm. They wanted to hear what Jesus had to say, so Jesus, we are told, taught them many things. We aren t told what Jesus taught them. That s probably because this is in some ways just an introduction to a much more well known story the feeding of the five thousand. But the compilers of our lectionary have done something rather subtle. The Gospel reading we have today is actually just the beginning and end of the story. You ll have noticed that if you were 2

3 following it in the Bible verses 35 to 52 have been left out. It s as if we were telling a story that begins Once upon a time and ends They all lived happily ever after but the story itself has been left out and we just have Once upon a time they all lived happily ever after which for most stories, wouldn t tell you very much! In fact, we shall be looking at the main story next week two major miracles, not only the feeding of the five thousand but also Jesus walking on the water so we won t miss out. But in this case the bits which correspond to Once upon a time and they all lived happily ever after have something very important to teach us on their own, so we have read them today quite separately from the main story. And, of course the first thing they tell us is what we have already noticed that Jesus cared about the crowds he was being the good shepherd. Mark, in writing his Gospel, wants to point out that Jesus is doing exactly what the good shepherd-king foretold by Jeremiah and others among the prophets would do. Mark wants us to know that Jesus is that shepherdking and that he loves the people. He gives them what they want and, perhaps more important, what they need teaching and, as we read in the last verses of our passage, healing. That is to say nothing of his provision for their bodily needs in the feeding of the five thousand which we look at next week. Jesus loved the people he had compassion for them, as we read in v 34. He wasn t just out to impress or build his own ego. But, as we note that important point, we must be careful not to miss another one, right at the beginning of our passage. Mark tells us, in v 31-32, The apostles gathered round Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while. The apostles had just come back from their first ever preaching mission, when Jesus sent them out two by two to preach and heal. They were probably exhausted and needed a break. As Psalm 23 puts it, they needed the shepherd to restore their souls. Not only that, they had probably just heard about the death of their friend and supporter, John the Baptist we read about that last week, and it s the previous story in Mark s Gospel. A time for quiet reflection and mourning would not be out of place. This is Jesus caring, not for the great crowds, but for his little band of apostles, his disciples. He knew what they needed rest. A break. A time just to be with him and with each other, away from the crowds, away from the constant call to serve and work and teach and heal. A holiday? Well, more than just a holiday a time with Jesus, when he could minister to their needs. This is the good shepherd shepherding not the wider community but his own close friends and followers. This was not the only time Jesus and his disciples got away or tried to get away. We read of them going to Tyre [Mark 7:24-30] and Caesarea Philippi [Mark 8:27-30] places outside the normal bounds of Palestine. Often, of course Jesus went away to pray on his own [Mark 3

4 1:35, 6:46, Luke 5:16]. Times like these were absolutely essential, both to Jesus himself and to those who followed him. And they are essential for us, too. Jesus says to us, just as he said to the disciples, Come away and rest a while. Rest, not just physically though that is very much part of it but rest with him, as the disciples did, or tried to. We need to let him shepherd us to let him minister to us, restore our souls, however you may like to put it. We need to enjoy his peace and reconciliation things Paul mentions in our reading from Ephesians, though in a rather different context. We need to let Jesus love us. Of course, there are many ways we experience Jesus love for us in the many things he does for us and gives us, for a start. But think for a moment if you are in love with someone, your experience of that love isn t just a matter of receiving what they give you or do for you or, indeed, of you doing things for them. You spend time with them, maybe talking, maybe just enjoying their presence, their company. And we need to do that with God. We need to do it with Jesus. We cannot, of course, get into a boat with Jesus and go to a remote place beside the Sea of Galilee to spend time alone with him and even that didn t work for Jesus and the disciples! For us, our time resting with Jesus, letting him shepherd us, has to be in prayer. But don t fall into the trap of thinking prayer is always a matter of talking to God. It often seems like that in our Services we say the collect, we say prayers of intercession, and so on. Talking to God and asking him for things is a very important part of prayer, but it must never be allowed to become all there is to it. Think again of being in love what kind of relationship would it be if all the couple said to each other is Please do this, please give me that! In our prayers we need to just shut up and be quiet sometimes in fact, quite a lot of the time it seems to me! Benignus O Rourke, a Catholic priest and Augustinian friar, writing about prayer, tells of an elderly parishioner who told him that she could no longer pray. Father, she said, I can t pray like I used to. I come here to church after my shopping and sit here all peaceful and quiet. But I can t pray like I used to. 2 O Rourke tried to persuade her that sitting there all peaceful and quiet was prayer. She was so used to prayer being concentrating on words and battling with distractions. But she was hopefully discovering what is in fact one of God s loveliest gifts, the purest form of prayer. She was just resting in God, letting him give her peace and assuring her of his love if only she would recognise it. And that is something I believe many of us need to discover and recognise. I know I need to discover it it takes time to get used to the idea the idea of just resting with Jesus. 2 Benignus O Rourke OSA, Finding your Hidden Treasure The Way of Silent prayer Chapter 1 p15 (Liguori Publications/Darton, Longman & Todd 2010) 4

5 Of course, it s not always easy to find time just to rest with Jesus. After all, Jesus and the disciples themselves found it impossible in our story today the crowd were too quick and eager for them. And we have a great many demands and distractions. So I won t go so far as to say we should try to do this every day, or even every week, desirable though that may be in many ways. What I believe we should do is just make the effort when we can and we may find it becomes so rewarding we find ourselves making time. One thing I would not advise just using the opportunities, such as they are, in church on Sunday. There are too many distractions, too many disturbances and not really enough times of silence. Come away by yourselves and rest a while, says Jesus to the disciples, and to us. Come away and rest with him, enjoy his peace and love. We need to do that in order to be refreshed for further service but it is not just for that. It is not just a means to an end. It is part of what Jesus has to give us, the eternal life he came to bring us. Jesus desire to shepherd us, to let us rest in is love, is part of the picture of God we are building up. We need to give him the time, the opportunity, to do it. And letting him do so is part of our response to him a way of loving him in return. 5