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I'm sharing this journal entry from one of our sheep / shepherds for your encouragement and invite you to share your stories to keep us connected David
Thursday April 2, 2020: A journal entry:
JESUS WEPT.
A Morning mist of low cloud wrapped soft around the hills.
I read John 6 and tried to ponder on Jesus the living bread. But the mist beckoned and drew me outside, quickly enfolding me in its clammy embrace.
There was no pausing to choose direction. I headed straight up the hill blanketed in the foggy stillness, only birdcall echoing the inner certainty – she’s coming to pray.
Pray up the hill. I haven’t prayed up there for a while. I’ve prayed. But not there on God’s hill, my place of retreat.
At the summit, as cloud drifted and lifted, it was my heart that rained out its anguished plea, the cry for help with COVID19: LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER. Help us Jesus.
That was it. No wordy waffle. I perched on the rim of the damp bench, poised in grief and need; heart, mind and spirit turned to God, “Yet still do I praise you Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Living God.”
A lull then settled over me, like a mute button had been pressed to hush the turmoil of my distressed thoughts and wretched emotions concerning the plight of the world’s people. Wait. Be quiet!
Jesus wept. The words from last Sunday’s reading came to mind loud and clear.
33 When Jesus saw her crying, and the Judaeans who had come with her crying, he was deeply stirred in his spirit, and very troubled. 34 ‘Where have you laid him?’ he asked. ‘Master,’ they said, ‘come and see.’ 35 Jesus burst into tears. (John 11:33-35 NTE)
I too burst into tears, and as I wept, there at the top of the hill, I knew he was weeping with me. Weeping with all the world. Weeping for us all.
Turn to me. And I, turning, vision all awash, could see clearly, he was there. Feed my sheep. To this I shook my head, and thought, I’m no pastor. You are a minister of my word. Therefore, speak my word to others. Speak my word to one another. And suddenly understanding dawned. “You aren’t just saying this to me, are you? It’s your call to all of us: Feed your sheep. The responsibility is ours collectively.” And I pictured the scattered sheep, isolated from one another but belonging together and needing creative new ways of being church and speaking grace and hope to one another and others.
I plunged, then, down the hill, not following the worn paths but winding down the steeper slope, weaving through knee high weeds, around rocky mounds and patches of slippery flattened grass, to emerge at the wider base track.
Now is the time to forge new paths. Jesus is still the Way, the “base track” of my faith remains the same. It’s the network of familiar paths that represent how we have lived out our faith, that have fallen away, not God’s word or his kingdom, or his love.
I am thankful for this love that comes to us where we are: scattered sheep weeping in the mist of uncertainty. I’m thankful that Jesus wept and that his way isn’t set in stone. That he comes and calls us to discover a new and living way, today and tomorrow and the next day. Hallelujah! This is a new day! And the Jesus who weeps with us in our distress will renew us and lead us on beyond COVID19.
JESUS WEPT.
The autumn sun filtered a pale ray through the drifting grey. A reminder that the God who weeps, also sheds light as well as tears.
It’s always God’s work
by Shane Altmann
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
I fast twice a week: I give a tenth of my income (Luke 18:12).
Read Luke 18:9–14
This old classic. The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. It rolls around every now and then to remind us good Christians that we should be humble and not get too far ahead of ourselves with our piety and righteousness. Be like the tax collector, not the Pharisee.
Check.
Except. Uh oh. When I’m like the tax collector, I’m actually being like the Pharisee, rather self-congratulatory about my humble approach to my reliance on God. ‘I’m glad I’m not like that Pharisee!’
Same, same.
Of our own accord, we are, of course, doomed. And that’s the point. It is always God’s work. Always. We are neither the Pharisee nor the tax collector; we are, at the same time, both.
Martin Luther coined the phrase ‘simul iustus et peccator’, meaning ‘at the same time both saint and sinner’. We are not just one or the other, sometimes this and sometimes that, but always both. Fully human, fully capable of great compassion for, and destruction of, ourselves and others. Lost and helpless. But covered, washed white as snow by the blood of the lamb. His work, his unmerited redeeming grace. I am reminded of the beautiful words of the song ‘I am covered over’: ‘When he looks at me, he sees not what I used to be, but he sees Jesus.’
It’s always God’s work.
Jesus’ words in the contrasting prayers of the parable guide us: ‘God, I …’ versus ‘God, be …’ Jesus reminds us to focus not on ourselves, our piety or our humility, but rather on him.
It is God – his work, his action towards us, only ever and always – that is the source of both our salvation and joy.
God of grace, thank you for reminding us again and again of your ever-present love through your word and by your Spirit. Thank you that even now, you are drawing close to your people, Immanuel, God with us. Amen.
Shane Altmann is the principal of Faith Lutheran College Redlands in Queensland and has served in education for more than 35 years. Married to Monica and father of two children, Harry and Zoe, Shane has learnt that he is largely helpless without the love and support of the people with whom he lives and works. A pilgrim of multiple Caminos de Santiago, a Penrith Panthers tragic and a restorer of old stuff, Shane loves a project and, when he is able, fills his days tinkering with something.
At home with God
by Faye Schmidt
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you (Psalm 84:4).
Read Psalm 84:1–7
Many consider Psalm 84 to be a poetic account of the experience of a pilgrim approaching the temple in Jerusalem for a religious festival.
But what makes going here so special or so different from anything else a person might do? The difference is that this is the dwelling place of the Lord Almighty (verse one). The realisation that God desires to dwell among mortals is as powerful for the psalmist and pilgrim as it would later be for John of Patmos (Revelation 21:3).
This Lord Almighty is also the living God (Psalm 84:2). Not only does all life come from this God, but living further characterises the one who is dynamic, at work and active among that which he has created. This God is not static and trapped in endless cycles of death and rebirth like some of the Canaanite deities. Only in Zion does the pilgrim find the one who can truly be called the ‘God of gods’ (verse seven).
So, the palpable excitement found in the psalm is not so much about going to the particular place, but more about who and what may be found there – the very presence of God. It is because of God’s presence that the psalmist may say, ‘Happy are those who live in your house’ (verse four).
But God is also found outside the temple. Verse six mentions travel through the valley of Baca. Baca is understood as a notoriously dry place. Therefore, it becomes striking that pilgrims might find springs there. In fact, the text says that they actually ‘make it a place of springs’.
The difference is the presence of God. Those who experience God’s real presence are brought into a new reality where a dry valley can yield springs and be covered with rain.
There are those special places and times in the life of faith where God’s presence may be found particularly intense. Believers need these anchors amid the seas of life. Regular worship at one’s home church and experiencing the sacraments are both ways of profoundly entering God’s presence and being uplifted and empowered by it. God’s presence may also be found, however, in the dry valleys and journeys of life where one may not expect to find God.
O gracious Father, the joy of a life surrendered to Christ’s service, may the peace of sin forgiven through the power of his cross be granted to me this day. Amen.
Faye Schmidt continues her diaconal calling through governance, having served on the Victoria–Tasmania District Church Board and the General Church Board, currently as chair of the Standing Committee on Constitutions and her congregation, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Adelaide. Having lived and worked in many locations within Australia and overseas, Faye has a heart for the stranger and the newcomer. She is passionate about new ideas, learning from others and responding to needs.
Mercy
by Faye Schmidt
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the Lord reward you well for the way you treated me today (1 Samuel 24:19).
Read 1 Samuel 24:1–22
‘I’ll give her a piece of my mind!’
‘It’s okay, no-one will ever know.’
‘This comment will really get them good.’
Thoughts of revenge, rationalisation or anger sound familiar? When we feel wronged or hurt, it does seem as though retaliating will make us feel better. We believe we are entitled to the last word. But even when wronged, God asks that we respond in a manner that shows we are different, in a way that brings glory to him.
God wants us to resist the urge to retaliate.
Saul was once close to David, but he eventually became jealous of David’s popularity with the people of Israel. Saul saw this popularity as a threat, and his jealousy grew into fear, so much so that he searched desperately for David in order to kill him. Eventually, Saul was delivered into David’s hands. With Saul in a vulnerable position and his men goading him on, David chose to exercise restraint, surrender to God and refrain from retaliating against Saul.
Society’s pressures often lead to compromised morals and the rationalisation that revenge will make us feel better. When we think our ‘enemy’ has been delivered into our hands, and we desperately want to right a wrong, God wants us to resist the urge to retaliate. Even though we were undeserving, God showed us grace and mercy. Doing the same will change our lives and the lives of our ‘enemies’. ‘But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us’ (Romans 5:8).
O Holy Spirit, so that I may not cause offence or hurt:
keep me chaste in thought;
keep me temperate and truthful in speech;
keep me faithful and diligent in my work;
keep me humble in my estimation of myself;
keep me honourable and generous in my dealings with others;
keep me mindful of my eternal destiny as your child.
Faye Schmidt continues her diaconal calling through governance, having served on the Victoria–Tasmania District Church Board and the General Church Board, currently as chair of the Standing Committee on Constitutions and her congregation, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Adelaide. Having lived and worked in many locations within Australia and overseas, Faye has a heart for the stranger and the newcomer. She is passionate about new ideas, learning from others and responding to needs.