As I mentioned several weeks ago, Easter continues for 50 days. Today is the fourth Sunday of the Easter season. Historically, the church has continued to celebrate the resurrection. Why don’t we? What ideas do you have for helping your family and your community continue to celebrate our living hope?
This week’s gospel reading is from John:
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
John 10:11-16
Shepherds weren’t just familiar to the people of Jesus’ time. The metaphor of a shepherd was often used for kings in the Old Testament. The book of Zechariah describes the bad shepherds (leaders) who exploited God’s people. God also promised that one day He would save his people like “a shepherd saves his flock” (Zech 9:16). Do our lives and those of our leaders look like Jesus? He was the “good shepherd” who laid down His own life for others. Or do we (and our leaders) look more like the hired hands?
Do our lives and those of our leaders look like Jesus,
who laid down His own life for others?
Here’s this week’s Sunday contemporary collect:
O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people;
Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who
calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with
you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.
To consider:
- Ask the Lord to show you if there is something He wants you to lay down or sacrifice for the well-being of your community.
- Ask for the discernment to see the leaders in your community more clearly. How are they modeling Jesus’ love? Or are they more like the hired hands? Pray about how the Lord wants you to respond to what he shows you.
Thank you so much!
I’ve really enjoyed the emails and texts I’ve been getting about the new Wise Words series. They are so encouraging – thank you! Are there particular questions or ideas you’d like for me to dig into a bit more?
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© 2019-2024 Jennifer Brown Jones
Life Beyond #Blessed 