Year B
Jeremiah 23:1-6
Psalm 23\u00a0
Ephesians 2:11-22
Mark 6:30-34, 53-56<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May the words of my mouth, O God, speak your truth\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today Jeremiah speaks God’s words and says\u2026 Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture<\/em>\u2026 and you know things are getting really bad when God starts off with Woe\u2026 last week we heard God speak through Amos and say\u2026 the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate\u2026 and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste\u2026 and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword<\/em>\u2026 the week before that it was Ezekiel\u2026 and God said\u2026 I am sending you to the people of Israel\u2026 to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me\u2026 they and their ancestors have transgressed against me to this very day<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the questions we’re implicitly being asked to consider\u2026 the questions these passages raise\u2026 are about how today’s shepherds scatter us\u2026 the sheep they’ve been elected to serve\u2026 how they are impinging on the electorate’s right to vote\u2026 about how we can stop the atrocities in Afghanistan\u2026 and stop laying waste to this good earth we’ve been given\u2026 about how we can stop rebelling against each other\u2026 and transgressing against God\u2026 because the failure to do God’s will persists to this day\u2026 and we get hamstrung\u2026 trapped\u2026 we come to a standstill when we get wrapped up in partisan labels\u2026 and point fingers\u2026 and minimize and deny\u2026 and… and\u2026 and\u2026 I don’t know about you\u2026 but I need a break\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n The disciples saw Jesus in action\u2026 they were sent out to do God’s work\u2026 and now they have returned\u2026 and they tell Jesus\u2026 all they have done\u2026 and taught\u2026 perhaps with some pride\u2026 but apparently Jesus didn’t press them for details\u2026 or Mark doesn’t think them worth repeating.. he doesn’t ask where\u2026 and to whom they went\u2026 and how they were received\u2026 he knows firsthand how demanding God’s work can be\u2026 and he knows how amazing disbelief can feel\u2026 how it can take the wind right out of the Spirit\u2026 he knows the value of prayer\u2026 and sabbath rest\u2026 and so he simply says\u2026 come away to a deserted place all by yourselves\u2026 and rest a while<\/em>\u2026 come and have rest\u2026 Sabbath rest\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n But far too many of us\u2026 and our nation as a whole\u2026 struggle mightily with taking time off\u2026 with silence\u2026 with quiet\u2026 with deep reflection\u2026 with being contemplative\u2026 and things like centering prayer can bring to mind things like mantras and incense\u2026 why\u2026 if there’s silence during our liturgy\u2026 someone may wonder whether I forgot what comes next\u2026 or who’s turn it is to read\u2026 or pray\u2026 and I’m not saying that can never happen\u2026 but often\u2026 it’s done to insert a needed pause to reflect about\u2026 think about\u2026 what it is we’re actually saying\u2026 and to whom we’re praying\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n A 2018 survey showed that the number of vacation days available to U.S. workers has been hovering at about fourteen\u2026 but over the previous five years\u2026 workers took an average of only ten\u2026 and countries where citizens reported taking the highest average number of vacation days\u2026 were Brazil, France, Germany, and Spain\u2026 where they all took an average of 30 days\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n And that may be because so much of the American water in which we swim\u2026 is the water of productivity\u2026 the water of assembly lines\u2026 of overnight deliveries\u2026 the water of making money\u2026 of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps\u2026 the water of quick answers and even quicker wit\u2026 the water of competition\u2026 we do not earn our paychecks based on how coherent our brain functioning is\u2026 or for the degree to which our right and left hemispheres are integrated\u2026 we are not paid for being a non-anxious presence\u2026 or for the degree to which we’re enlightened\u2026 or for having the Mind of Christ\u2026 and when we’re consumed with doing\u2026 we have no time for being\u2026 for doing what Psalm 46:10 exhorts us to do\u2026 to be still and know that God is God\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Jesus says\u2026 come and have rest\u2026 and as Fr. John Shea explains\u2026 this Sabbath rest does not mean inactivity\u2026 but acting at a deeper level\u2026 in concert with creation\u2026 with the spirit of the Creator who is already acting\u2026 the goal is to learn how to receive divine energy and nourishment\u2026 energy and nourishment that drives the mission\u2026 but this is not an easy lesson to learn\u2026 the ability to receive from the transcendent source requires interior adjustments\u2026 a shift in consciousness\u2026 the disciples must go “in a boat” and cross over to another way of thinking\u2026 a way of thinking that doesn’t leave other people behind\u2026 and the many who were “coming and going” don’t distract them from eating food\u2026 but from being nourished from God’s sustaining source of energy\u2026 and on the other shore\u2026 in this new consciousness\u2026 everything begins with compassion\u2026 the same compassion Jesus had for those who had no shepherd\u2026 and so when Jesus went ashore\u2026 and saw that great crowd\u2026 he felt great compassion\u2026 and the deepest expression of that compassion was to teach\u2026 in that regard Jesus is a shepherd after God’s own heart because he feeds God’s people with knowledge and understanding\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And we can’t gain this kind of compassion while our hearts and minds are divided\u2026 the Kingdom of God is founded on eliminating divisions\u2026 we can’t gain this kind of awareness without also becoming established in the mind of Christ\u2026 and what we gain is so crucial to our relationships with each other\u2026 our relationship with God\u2026 this kind of Sabbath rest\u2026 and the benefits it provides\u2026 is so critical\u2026 that Exodus 35:2 says that anyone who works on the Sabbath should be put to death\u2026 perhaps we can understand this less literally and more as hyperbole\u2026 but it at least means that anyone who is unable to take this kind of Sabbath\u2026 is not doing those things which ensure that unbounded awareness becomes established within us\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And reflecting on our passage from Jeremiah\u2026 Douglas King writes\u2026 very few of us have any sense of what it is like to possess the unparalleled power of a monarch\u2026 but almost all of us have power of one kind or another\u2026 but in the final word of this text\u2026 it’s not about how humans wield their power\u2026 but about how God wields the ultimate power\u2026 God will do\u2026 what human power has failed to do\u2026 God will gather the people and bring them back to their fold<\/em>\u2026 the prophecy echoes the calling bestowed upon the first people in the garden paradise\u2026 and God promises to restore all that has become broken in this creation\u2026 and that task begins with the people of God\u2026 new leaders are promised for the people\u2026 and these leaders will wield power in constructive and compassionate ways\u2026 creating a community beyond our current fears\u2026 and all that exhausts us\u2026 because God never speaks about the end of something\u2026 without promising a greater future\u2026 and as we emerge from almost sixteen months of COVID\u2026 we have an opportunity to let go of the “old normal” things which really didn’t work so well\u2026 at least not for the greatest number of people\u2026 and to maintain only those which did\u2026 but also to imagine things which might become part of our new normal\u2026 so we can co-create the restoration that God yearns for\u2026 for us\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And while we’re at it\u2026 perhaps we can get away to some deserted places all by ourselves\u2026 and rest a while\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Year B Jeremiah 23:1-6 Psalm 23\u00a0 Ephesians 2:11-22 Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 May the words of my mouth, O God, speak your truth\u2026 Today Jeremiah speaks God’s words and says\u2026 Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture\u2026 and you know things are getting really bad when God starts off with Woe\u2026 last week we heard God speak through Amos and say\u2026 the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate\u2026 and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste\u2026 and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword\u2026 the week before that it was Ezekiel\u2026 and God said\u2026 I am sending you to the people of Israel\u2026 to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me\u2026 they and their ancestors have transgressed against me to this very day\u2026 And the questions we’re implicitly being asked to consider\u2026 the questions these passages raise\u2026 are about how today’s shepherds scatter us\u2026 the sheep they’ve been elected to serve\u2026 how they are impinging on the electorate’s right to vote\u2026 about how we can stop the atrocities in Afghanistan\u2026 and stop laying waste to this good earth we’ve been given\u2026 about how we can stop rebelling against each other\u2026 and transgressing against God\u2026 because the failure to do God’s will persists to this day\u2026 and we get hamstrung\u2026 trapped\u2026 we come to a standstill when we get wrapped up in partisan labels\u2026 and point fingers\u2026 and minimize and deny\u2026 and… and\u2026 and\u2026 I don’t know about you\u2026 but I need a break\u2026 The disciples saw Jesus in action\u2026 they were sent out to do God’s work\u2026 and now they have returned\u2026 and they tell Jesus\u2026 all they have done\u2026 and taught\u2026 perhaps with some pride\u2026 but apparently Jesus didn’t press them for details\u2026 or Mark doesn’t think them worth repeating.. he doesn’t ask where\u2026 and to whom they went\u2026 and how they were received\u2026 he knows firsthand how demanding God’s work can be\u2026 and he knows how amazing disbelief can feel\u2026 how it can take the wind right out of the Spirit\u2026 he knows the value of prayer\u2026 and sabbath rest\u2026 and so he simply says\u2026 come away to a deserted place all by yourselves\u2026 and rest a while\u2026 come and have rest\u2026 Sabbath rest\u2026 But far too many of us\u2026 and our nation as a whole\u2026 struggle mightily with taking time off\u2026 with silence\u2026 with quiet\u2026 with deep reflection\u2026 with being contemplative\u2026 and things like centering prayer can bring to mind things like mantras and incense\u2026 why\u2026 if there’s silence during our liturgy\u2026 someone may wonder whether I forgot what comes next\u2026 or who’s turn it is to read\u2026 or pray\u2026 and I’m not saying that can never happen\u2026 but often\u2026 it’s done to insert a needed pause to reflect about\u2026 think about\u2026 what it is we’re actually saying\u2026 and to whom we’re praying\u2026 A 2018 survey showed that the number of vacation days available to U.S. workers has been hovering at about fourteen\u2026 but over the previous five years\u2026 workers took an average of only ten\u2026 and countries where citizens reported taking the highest average number of vacation days\u2026 were Brazil, France, Germany, and Spain\u2026 where they all took an average of 30 days\u2026 And that may be because so much of the American water in which we swim\u2026 is the water of productivity\u2026 the water of assembly lines\u2026 of overnight deliveries\u2026 the water of making money\u2026 of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps\u2026 the water of quick answers and even quicker wit\u2026 the water of competition\u2026 we do not earn our paychecks based on how coherent our brain functioning is\u2026 or for the degree to which our right and left hemispheres are integrated\u2026 we are not paid for being a non-anxious presence\u2026 or for the degree to which we’re enlightened\u2026 or for having the Mind of Christ\u2026 and when we’re consumed with doing\u2026 we have no time for being\u2026 for doing what Psalm 46:10 exhorts us to do\u2026 to be still and know that God is God\u2026 But Jesus says\u2026 come and have rest\u2026 and as Fr. John Shea explains\u2026 this Sabbath rest does not mean inactivity\u2026 but acting at a deeper level\u2026 in concert with creation\u2026 with the spirit of the Creator who is already acting\u2026 the goal is to learn how to receive divine energy and nourishment\u2026 energy and nourishment that drives the mission\u2026 but this is not an easy lesson to learn\u2026 the ability to receive from the transcendent source requires interior adjustments\u2026 a shift in consciousness\u2026 the disciples must go “in a boat” and cross over to another way of thinking\u2026 a way of thinking that doesn’t leave other people behind\u2026 and the many who were “coming and going” don’t distract them from eating food\u2026 but from being nourished from God’s sustaining source of energy\u2026 and on the other shore\u2026 in this new consciousness\u2026 everything begins with compassion\u2026 the same compassion Jesus had for those who had no shepherd\u2026 and so when Jesus went ashore\u2026 and saw that great crowd\u2026 he felt great compassion\u2026 and the deepest expression of that compassion was to teach\u2026 in that regard Jesus is a shepherd after God’s own heart because he feeds God’s people with knowledge and understanding\u2026 And we can’t gain this kind of compassion while our hearts and minds are divided\u2026 the Kingdom of God is founded on eliminating divisions\u2026 we can’t gain this kind of awareness without also becoming established in the mind of Christ\u2026 and what we gain is so crucial to our relationships with each other\u2026 our relationship with God\u2026 this kind of Sabbath rest\u2026 and the benefits it provides\u2026 is so critical\u2026 that Exodus 35:2 says that anyone who works on the Sabbath should be put to death\u2026 perhaps we can understand this less literally and more as hyperbole\u2026 but it at least means that anyone who is unable to take this kind of Sabbath\u2026 is not doing those things which ensure that unbounded […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1313"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1313\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1314,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1313\/revisions\/1314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}