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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.
Clear the stones
by Anne Hansen
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Blessed is the one whom God corrects … For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field (Job 5:17a,23a).
Read Job 5:17–27
In the Barossa Valley of South Australia, there are fences made of stones. They are dry-stone walls built in the 1850s and 1860s by the early settlers. They were built without mortar and show the ingenuity of the settlers of the land, who used stones in their fields to make these walls to contain the livestock and even to stop bushfires. At the same time as building fences, they cleared the land of the stones that would hinder ploughing and cause problems for the livestock. If you look carefully at the walls, you will see that the stones were carefully stacked and interlocked with smaller stones packed into spaces in the centre of the wall.
Back in Job’s time, the fields had to be cleared before sowing a crop. The jagged stones in the fields would ruin a plough, thwart the growing crop or hurt animals. In the Book of Job, he had three friends who sat with him, giving advice and helping him cope with all the issues the devil placed on him to get him to curse God. Eliphaz told Job that being corrected by God is a blessing, and Job would see healing in the long run. That was hard for Job to hear, for he loved and respected God and didn’t see why he was being punished. (But it was the devil who was doing the punishing; God doesn’t do this!)
When we are right with God, it is as though a promise has been made with us and all the ‘stones of the field’. These obstacles can be bruising throughout our lives, but they will no longer hinder our faith; instead, they can become stepping stones for growth.
God isn’t putting the stones in our way. Rather, he helps us through them to understand the difficulties we face. Just as the stones in the paddocks in the Barossa Valley were used to help the early settlers build walls, so the stones in our lives can help us grow and become sturdy and strong, knowing that in God we have the assurance of life eternal with him.
God is always present to help us clear away the stones.
Heavenly Father, you are always with me, helping me through the difficult times (the stones) and using them to build my faith and strength to withstand all obstacles. Thank you for being my Saviour. Amen.
Anne Hansen has been the Lutheran Tract Mission development officer for 20 years. She lives in Noosa, Queensland, with her husband, Mark, who is a pastor. She enjoys leading Know Your Bible (KYB) and Mainly Music. For relaxation, Anne enjoys walking, reading, gardening and playing pickleball.
Just believe
by Anne Hansen
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, ‘My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live’ (Matthew 9:18).
Read Matthew 9:9–13,18–26 (see also Mark 5:21–43)
While I was at St Peter’s Lutheran Church in Loxton, South Australia, major productions were held every few years. John Gladigau, a talented scriptwriter, has a production company called Little Town. Usually, the productions were held around Christmas, hence Little Town (of Bethlehem), but for a couple of years, we had productions over Easter. Many from the town of Loxton, the congregation and the surrounding areas joined the production team as actors, musicians or in behind-the-scenes roles. In 2011, ‘Anna’s Hope’ was written and performed. It was a poignant depiction of Jairus and his encounter with Jesus through his little daughter Anna.
In the play, the background story was presented with Jesus stirring up the towns he visited. There were those who believed, those who were sceptical and those who hated Jesus. Jairus, being a synagogue leader, was torn between his role as temple official and that of a father, especially when his precious daughter Anna became ill. He tried everything to have his child healed, but then he went against the Jewish teachings and came pleading to Jesus, knowing that Jesus could heal her. Jesus was waylaid by a bleeding woman, and Jairus’ daughter died. But Jesus told him to have faith and believe. In private with just the parents and a couple of disciples, Jesus brought Anna back to life.
When the six ‘Anna’s Hope’ performances were held, there were people ready to pray with those who may have been affected by the portrayal of such an intense situation. We can think, ‘I have faith, and I believe, so why wasn’t my loved one healed?’ We don’t know the mind of God, nor should we try to understand why one lives and the other dies. All that we need to remember is that God is a God of grace and mercy who does all things for good. God had his own Son suffer a horrible death and die for all of humankind. That was in his plan from the beginning. Don’t let your heart be troubled with the whys and wherefores.
Just have faith and believe!
Thank you, my loving God, for your blessings to me each day. Your love comes to me unconditionally. Grow my faith and help me to always trust and believe in your faithfulness. Amen.
Anne Hansen has been the Lutheran Tract Mission development officer for 20 years. She lives in Noosa, Queensland, with her husband, Mark, who is a pastor. She enjoys leading Know Your Bible (KYB) and Mainly Music. For relaxation, Anne enjoys walking, reading, gardening and playing pickleball.
God doesn’t need our riches – he wants our hearts!
by Sal Huckel
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Sacrifice thank offerings to God … and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you (Psalm 50:14a,15).
Read Psalm 50:7–15
It’s easy to get caught up in either criticising ‘the church’ (whatever we mean by that) for asking for money … it’s just as easy for people to think that giving to the church makes us good Christians or gives us a special weighting to a vote in a church meeting.
While giving – from the heart – is part of the Christian walk, we need to keep it in the right place. This psalm reminds us that God doesn’t need our money. It’s all his. Everything in heaven and earth belongs to him. What is yours is already his and is from him. What does he want? He wants your heart. He wants ‘thank offerings’. He wants us to call on him when we are in trouble or struggling. God is the perfect parent. He wants us to give our hearts to him and to call on him, and he will deliver us.
How can you sacrifice a thank offering to God today? Perhaps this will be a financial thank offering. Perhaps it will be a little more of your heart. Perhaps it will be reaching for your prayer book instead of Facebook when you have a problem you need help with. Perhaps it will be relinquishing the rest you feel next Sunday and going to church tired anyway. Give him a fragment more of your time and see how he works in it. He is ‘God, your God’.
Lord, help me to cling to you above all else. Thank you for the assurance of your perfect, parental love for me. The love that never turns me away is always there when I turn myself away, and the love that is there waiting for me to run back to you. Lord, may I stop running. Help me to walk in step with you and turn to you above all things. Show me this week how I can give more of myself to you, in thanksgiving and praise for all that you have done for me in making me your child. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Sal is the wife of Matthew, pastor at Moorabbin–Dandenong Lutheran Church and assistant bishop of the LCA Vic–Tas District. They are blessed with six children who all love and serve the Lord in their different walks of life, from high school to post-grad. Sal is currently studying a master’s degree in counselling practice. She loves writing, speaking and walking to the beach at any opportunity.