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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.
One in God’s hand
by Jodie Hoff
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God (Ezekiel 37:23b).
Read Ezekiel 37:15–28
In Ezekiel’s vision, God asks the prophet to take two sticks, each marked with the name of a divided people, and join them together in his hand. It is such a simple, visible action. Still, it carries a deep promise: what has been split apart will not remain divided forever.
The people of Israel knew what separation felt like. Their story held exile, loss, disappointment and fractured trust. Yet God speaks into that brokenness with words of gathering, cleansing and peace. God does not ignore the reality of division, but he also does not leave it as the final word.
There is hope here for us, too. We know how easily communities can be stretched or divided by misunderstanding, hurt, pressure, fear or simply the busyness that pulls people apart. Sometimes the distance is visible; sometimes it sits quietly beneath the surface. Ezekiel reminds us that God keeps drawing people back together, not by pretending the wounds are small, but by holding us in hands strong enough to heal.
The promise, ‘They shall be my people, and I will be their God’, is not just about belonging as individuals. It is about belonging together. We are gathered into relationship with God and with one another. In that belonging, we are invited to practise reconciliation, patience, humility and peace.
Today, may we notice where unity needs tending, in a conversation, a team, a family, a community. And may we trust that God is still gathering, still healing and still holding us together in love.
God of peace, gather us again where we are scattered and heal what is divided in us and among us. Hold us in your love and help us to live as your people with patience, courage and grace. Amen.
With more than 25 years of leadership experience in Lutheran schools, Jodie Hoff brings a deep commitment to Lutheran education and the people and communities it serves. Having lived and worked in both Queensland and South Australia, she now serves as the executive director of Lutheran Education Australia. Jodie is passionate about building relationships, fostering connection and creating opportunities for people and communities to flourish. Beyond her work, she enjoys photography and the arts.
Seeking the welfare of the place we are
by Jodie Hoff
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile (Jeremiah 29:7a).
Read Jeremiah 29:1,4–7
Jeremiah’s words were written to people far from home, living in a place they never would have chosen. Exile was not a small interruption. It was disorienting, painful and deeply unsettling. I imagine the temptation would have been to withdraw, wait it out or keep longing for the life they once knew.
But through Jeremiah, God gives a surprising invitation: build, plant, live, grow, pray and seek the welfare of the city. In other words, don’t put life on hold. Don’t turn away from the community around you. Even in uncertainty, God’s people are called to be present, generous and prayerful.
There is something quietly powerful here for us. We do not always find ourselves in circumstances we would choose. Schools, workplaces, families and communities change. There are seasons when things feel unsettled, unfamiliar or demanding. Yet God keeps meeting us there, inviting us to notice the place where we are and the people alongside us.
To seek the welfare of the city is to look beyond our own comfort and ask: What helps life flourish here? Who needs encouragement? Where is peace needed? What small act of service might make this community more whole?
For Lutheran schools and communities, this is a deeply hopeful calling. We are not asked to step away from the world’s complexity, but to enter it with faith, courage and love. We pray for our communities, and we participate in their wellbeing, trusting that as others flourish, we too are drawn more deeply into God’s good purposes.
Today, may we notice the place God has set before us and seek its welfare with open hands and hopeful hearts.
God of all places and people, help us to be present where we are and attentive to the needs around us. Teach us to seek the welfare of our communities with courage, generosity and prayerful hope. Amen.
With more than 25 years of leadership experience in Lutheran schools, Jodie Hoff brings a deep commitment to Lutheran education and the people and communities it serves. Having lived and worked in both Queensland and South Australia, she now serves as the executive director of Lutheran Education Australia. Jodie is passionate about building relationships, fostering connection and creating opportunities for people and communities to flourish. Beyond her work, she enjoys photography and the arts.
What bears God’s image?
by Jodie Hoff
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s (Matthew 22:21b).
Read Matthew 22:15–22
I want to invite us to begin with a simple but hopeful question from Jesus: Whose image does this carry?
In the passage, people come to Jesus hoping to catch him out. But as Jesus so often does, he turns the moment into something deeper. The coin bears Caesar’s image, so give Caesar what is Caesar’s. Then he leaves us with the far more important question: What bears God’s image?
We do.
You do. I do. Every person we meet today carries something of God’s goodness, dignity and possibility.
So, as we begin today, let’s hold onto this: before the work, before the decisions, before the pressures and conversations of the day, we are already loved. We are held by God. And we have the beautiful opportunity to reflect God’s love in what we say and do.
May that steady us, encourage us and help us bring grace, wisdom and kindness into this day.
Loving God, thank you that your image is carried in each of us. Help us to see your goodness in one another and bring hope, grace and courage into all we do today. Amen.
With more than 25 years of leadership experience in Lutheran schools, Jodie Hoff brings a deep commitment to Lutheran education and the people and communities it serves. Having lived and worked in both Queensland and South Australia, she now serves as the executive director of Lutheran Education Australia. Jodie is passionate about building relationships, fostering connection and creating opportunities for people and communities to flourish. Beyond her work, she enjoys photography and the arts.