For preachers who follow the lectionary, each year the fourth Sunday after Easter is “Jesus the Good Shepherd” day. The lectionary points toward Psalm 23 each year on this particular day, and the Gospel Reading is normally a text in which Jesus describes himself as the Great Shepherd of the Sheep. “I lay down my life for my sheep” Jesus says. Or, “my sheep know my voice, and the path that I take.” I love these texts because they bring me peace and comfort. They soothe my restless soul and in them I find great comfort. I love this image of Jesus.
Yesterday we celebrated the first Sunday of Advent, and the image of Jesus was quite different from this calm and peaceful shepherd. Yesterday we heard Jesus talk about the end of the world, the consummation of the age, the apocalypse. When God comes, Jesus says, your lives will be changed, re-ordered, altered, and disrupted. Following Jesus certainly brings peace and security and comfort, but Jesus also reminds us that when God invades, calls, commands, and invites, our lives will experience disruption.
If I never hear Jesus calling me to do something that makes me uncomfortable or uneasy, I’m not sure I’m hearing Jesus. If I never hear Jesus asking me to give something away that is valuable, I’m not sure I’m hearing Jesus. If I never hear Jesus calling me to take a risk, to make myself vulnerable, to step out in faith, I’m not sure I’m hearing Jesus.
In an age of market driven churches there is a great temptation to make Christianity look easy. In order to attract people, we are tempted to take away all of Jesus’ demands so not to scare anyone away. But make no mistake about it: following the Jesus of the Bible is demanding. It costs us something. We are asked to do things that are not easy, things that make us uncomfortable, things that stretch us beyond our normal way of living.
When is the last time you heard Jesus calling you to do something difficult? Or demanding? Like going on a mission trip? When is the last time you heard Jesus calling you to give something away that cost you dearly? Like forgiveness, or love, or money, or control? When is the last time you heard Jesus ask you to step out and go to a place that was unfamiliar, or new, or frightening? When is the last time you heard Jesus calling you to be a peacemaker in this world of violence, hate, racism, and trouble? Have you heard that call?
I love my neatly arranged, well-ordered world. But sometimes God shows up and throws it out of kilter. When that happens I have a couple of options: first, I can work really hard to ignore that voice, to pretend that nothing happened, and if something did happen it has nothing to do with God in my life. If I can do that many times the voice will fade away. Or, I can try to put everything back into the order I find most comforting. Or, I can listen, live in the changed reality, follow, and allow God to use me. I must admit, the third option is the scariest, but it is also the place of blessing, and satisfaction, and true peace.
May God bless you with the disruption of His Advent during this Holy Season.