Good Shepherd Sunday

Image found here (source unavailable)

I simply cannot do better on this day than to quote the marvelous sermon our dear MadPriest posted over on his blog the other day:

The sheep of the field do not destroy their own environment even when they know that such destruction will make life, if there still is any life, a living hell for their children. The sheep of the field do not go around killing each other over fossil fuels and ideologies. The sheep of the field do not go to every length to stop the spread of foot and mouth disease in cows whilst doing very little to contain the spread of a deadly illness that can infect them, because to do so would interrupt world trade and the making of money.

We are the most foolhardy, selfish and self-harming animal that has ever walked on this planet. Any shepherd of ours should look on us, in our self-inflicted misery, and decide, very quickly, that we are just not worth the laying down of any life for. Our salvation, you would think, is just not worth it.

Yet our shepherd, Jesus Christ, did lay down his life for our salvation, and he did it willingly. We did not earn such a sacrifice, we did not merit such a sacrifice, but Jesus still made the sacrifice. And in doing so he gave worth to the worthless, he gave worth to each one of us, although we did not deserve it.

-- The Rev. Jonathan Haggar

I also want to call everyone's attention to this tidbit from todays Epistle (1 John 3:16-24): "How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action." May we all let it speak to us - however it will.