Your Faith Journey - Finding God Through Words, Song and Praise

This is a special musical presentation of In the Secret from the Joyful Noise Children's Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

This is a special musical presentation of Praise to the Lord the Almighty from the Faith Bells at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

While studying today’s gospel lesson, I was struck by the words of Jesus as they appear in this reading.  Sometimes, particular words jump out at you and cause you to hear the Word of God in a whole new way. These words are so familiar to us.  And, while I have known this before, as I studied this passage for today, some of the words truly jumped out at me and gave me pause.  The initial command Jesus gives is quite familiar when he says, “Love one another. I give you a new commandment:  Love one another.”  Quite honestly, I along with many of you have probably always heard these words in John’s gospel as a form of the Golden Rule. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The Golden Rule – words to live by.  Right?  In fact, these are words Jesus, a Jewish man, would have been very familiar with.  Frankly, these are words Jews, Muslims and indeed people of all sorts of faith traditions hold as sacred. “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.  Do onto others as you would have them do unto you and love your neighbor as you love yourself.”  However, the words of the Golden Rule are not the words that appear in the Gospel according to John. According to the writer of John, Jesus adds a new twist to the familiar Golden Rule when he says, “I give you a new commandment: Love one another, just as I have loved you.” That’s some twist: “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”

Harder words were never spoken. For who among us can love as Jesus loved? Jesus’ idea of loving is hard-edged.  Infinitely tender. Nearly impossible. These words haunt me. When I think about loving as Jesus loved, I begin to second-guess my ability to love.  Love is not simple.   This kind of love is not easy. 

Today when we hear Jesus’ words to his disciples, they are some of the last words he shares with them and, in this message, he gives the disciples and each one of us a command to love.  And, he commands us to love as he loves.  He does not consider this an option.  He says if you are my disciples you will stand in a different place, stand in a different state of being, stand in a different energy.  He says, you will stand in the place of love for all others, because you are to love as I love.  You will do this because God is love.

When talking about this passage, Father Richard Rohr says that love is not what as much as how!  If you do not live love for all others, God is simply an abstraction in your life.  If you do not live love for all others, God is simply a theory in your mind.  Living the love that Jesus showed and lived is what brings healing and wholeness to our lives, our communities, our society and our world.  The command to love as Jesus loves is clear and simple.  We are to love all people, no exceptions.  Now, again, love is not easy.  And, you cannot depend on feelings if you are going to love as God loves, if you are to love as Jesus loves.  Like forgiveness – love is a decision of your mind and heart.  Love is a choice.  When you are not living this kind of love, not living in love for all people, you will use any excuse you have to be unhappy, angry and hateful.  Quite honestly, such negative feelings, actions, behaviors, attitudes and attributes cannot coexist in the mind and heart of someone who has made the decision to love as Jesus loves.  They cannot coexist because living in the love of Jesus means you are standing in a different space, a different state, a different energy, a different reality.  It means you are truly, consciously aware that you are living in the reality of the loving, living Lord Jesus Christ.

Today, Jesus gives a new command to love even as he loves!  His love surrenders itself to God’s holy dream to love the world, the entire world, not just certain people but the entire world, all creation and the entire cosmos.  His love surrenders itself to God’s holy dream to love the world into life, even to the point of giving his own life.  Jesus’ love glorifies God’s purpose and mercy, and this is the love he commands us to live. 

So, what does this love look like in the concreteness of our very lives? I love the way Pastor Brian McClaren talks about love in his new book, Corey & the Seventh Story.  He writes that we, as people, seem to continually live the same six stories over and over again, the same old six stories that seem to be running the show.  They are: 

The story of power to dominate,

The story of striking back with fury and hate,

The story of running to find a safe place,

Or pointing at others to shame and disgrace,

Or being stuck in self-pity for the pain we’ve been through,

Or of me having more shiny objects than you.

These same six old stories steal freedom and laughter,

So, nobody lives happily ever after.  But….

There’s a new Seventh Story to live by, my friends,

A new Seventh Story without “us against them”—

Of working for fairness in all that we do,

Of refusing to strike back when others strike you,

Of facing our problems and not running to hide,

Of not letting differences make us divide,

Of turning our pain into compassion for others,

Of not wanting more than our sisters and brothers.

The new Seventh Story that I’m speaking of

Is the story of peace, it’s the story of love.

          Jesus said to those early disciples and he says to each one of us, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.  Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”  May we live in the reality of such love!

Some of you may know something of famed violinist, Fritz Kreisler.  He was one of the best violinists the world has known.  A story is told of Kreisler as he once traveled from Hamburg, Germany to give a concert in London.  Kreisler had about an hour before his boat sailed, so he wandered into a music shop.  The proprietor asked if he could look at the violin Kreisler was carrying.  The store owner then vanished only to return accompanied by two policemen, one of whom told the violinist, “You are under arrest.”

“What for?” asked Kreisler.

The policemen responded, “You have Fritz Kreisler’s violin.”

Kreisler said, “I am Fritz Kreisler.”

The cop said, “You can’t pull that on us.  Come along to the station.”  As Kreisler’s boat was soon to sail, he faced a crisis.  His identity was being questioned and there was no time for prolonged explanations.  Kreisler asked for his violin and played a piece for which he was well known.  “Now are you satisfied?” he asked.  They were.  Kreisler’s identity was revealed through his action and the playing he exhibited. His actions spoke louder than any words he could have uttered regarding his identity.

          In today’s reading from John’s gospel, we are plunged into a crisis – an identity crisis.  In today’s gospel reading Jesus’ identity is again questioned by the religious leaders.  It is the middle of winter and the festival of Dedication, a festival now known as Hanukkah.  Jesus is walking in the Temple, in the portico of Solomon – the place from which the king would render judgments upon those seeking justice.  And, it is in that place where Jesus again responds to questions about his identity.  The religious leaders who wish to discredit Jesus taunt him and demand to know just who he thinks he is.  They say, “Hey, Jesus, stop keeping us in the dark.  If you’re the Messiah, just tell us straight out.  Just who are you, Jesus?  What are you up to and how long are you going to annoy us?” 

Now, in John’s gospel, Jesus’ identity has been revealed from the very beginning and, throughout the gospel, Jesus has been revealing himself as God’s light in the world.  He has been healing people, opening the eyes of the blind and giving the people around him numerous, multiple insights into his identity.  He has been demonstrating and revealing who he is through the entirety of his ministry.  So, he now responds by saying, “I told you, but you don’t believe.  Everything I have done has been authorized by my Father, actions that speak louder than words.  You don’t believe because you are not my sheep.  You don’t recognize the voice of the shepherd among you.”

Jesus uses the metaphor of sheep and shepherd, a metaphor very familiar to people of that time and place, one that is threaded throughout scripture and helps more fully articulate his identity.  However, I am not so sure we are always able to fully grasp an understanding of that metaphor.  It really is quite foreign to our context and experience.  At the time of Jesus, all the sheep of the village were kept in one place, one fenced in field.  And, when it was time for each of the owners to take their sheep back home, each shepherd would call his own sheep by using a unique, special call.  When the sheep heard that unique call, they recognized the voice and they would leave the fenced in field to follow their shepherd home. 

So, in today’s reading, Jesus frames his identity and role in terms of being the good shepherd.  He frames his identity as the trusted voice to whom the sheep will listen and follow.  He frames his identity as the good shepherd by claiming those sheep the Father has given him as his own. And, he makes a promise.  He says no one will snatch his sheep out of the Father’s hand.  He boldly articulates his identity when he claims that everything he has done has been authorized by the Father.  And, he then makes this remarkable claim; he announces that he and the Father are one – he and the father are of the same mind.  Jesus is saying that he and God are united in the work they do.  It is impossible to distinguish Jesus’ work from God’s work, because Jesus shares fully in God’s work.

When Deb and Bruce and I planned worship for this Sunday and looked at today’s gospel reading, I got a bit excited that these words were given to us on confirmation Sunday.  This reading is so meaningful for all of us as we watch each of you make affirmation of your baptism on this day.  Zach, Julianna, and Kate, as you go through life, each of you will experience great joy at different points in time.  And, the truth about life is that you will also experience many times of challenge and sorrow.  Life encompasses all of this.  But, as you make this journey through all that life brings, Jesus’ words to you today are steadfast words of promise.  Jesus is speaking to you, to each one of us.  Jesus, the good shepherd, promises us stubborn protection and care.  His is a voice the flock hears and knows and follows.  And, his voice is especially precious in the mixedness of all that life brings.  We cling to that voice. We cling to the promise that, even though life itself may be snatched away, no one will be snatched from the Father’s hand and not one person will be snatched from God’s immense love.  We cling to the promise that we do not go on in vain, that the Good Shepherd walks with us, guiding us and protecting us in the depth of everything life lays before us.  We listen and cling to the voice of our Shepherd, the voice that empowers and equips us with something greater than all else, the power of love – forgiving, transforming love.  This is the power that raises up, this is the power that enabled Peter to raise up Dorcas, this is the power that has infused this congregation and is raising us up from a past that is gone, for this is the power of the risen Lord!  Zach, Julianna and Kate, this is the power that will raise you up throughout your life as you face all the challenges and joy you will encounter.  This is the power that gives you and each one of us our true identity. 

Listen to that voice.  Confirmands, listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd as he calls to you throughout your life, saying:

I will come to you in the silence, I will lift you from all your fear.

You will hear my voice, I claim you as my choice,

Be still and know I am here.

I am hope for all who are hopeless, I am eyes for all who long to see.

In the shadows of the night, I will be your light,

Come and rest in me.

I am strength for all the despairing,

Healing for the ones who dwell in shame. 

All the blind will see, the lame will all run free,

And all will know my name.

I am the Word that leads all to freedom,

I am the peace the world cannot give.

I will call your name, embracing all your pain.

Stand up, now walk and live!

Do not be afraid, I am with you.  I have called you each by name.

Come and follow me, I will bring you home;

I love you and you are mine.

Yes, we hear and recognize the voice of One whose very identity is known and whose actions have spoken louder than words.  For, we hear the voice of One who entered our fleshly existence, journeyed to the cross, and moved through the cross to resurrection – all for the sake of God’s great love for this very broken world. This One, this Jesus, has given us identity – naming us and claiming us as God’s very own.

Some of you may know something of famed violinist, Fritz Kreisler.  He was one of the best violinists the world has known.  A story is told of Kreisler as he once traveled from Hamburg, Germany to give a concert in London.  Kreisler had about an hour before his boat sailed, so he wandered into a music shop.  The proprietor asked if he could look at the violin Kreisler was carrying.  The store owner then vanished only to return accompanied by two policemen, one of whom told the violinist, “You are under arrest.”

“What for?” asked Kreisler.

The policemen responded, “You have Fritz Kreisler’s violin.”

Kreisler said, “I am Fritz Kreisler.”

The cop said, “You can’t pull that on us.  Come along to the station.”  As Kreisler’s boat was soon to sail, he faced a crisis.  His identity was being questioned and there was no time for prolonged explanations.  Kreisler asked for his violin and played a piece for which he was well known.  “Now are you satisfied?” he asked.  They were.  Kreisler’s identity was revealed through his action and the playing he exhibited. His actions spoke louder than any words he could have uttered regarding his identity.

          In today’s reading from John’s gospel, we are plunged into a crisis – an identity crisis.  In today’s gospel reading Jesus’ identity is again questioned by the religious leaders.  It is the middle of winter and the festival of Dedication, a festival now known as Hanukkah.  Jesus is walking in the Temple, in the portico of Solomon – the place from which the king would render judgments upon those seeking justice.  And, it is in that place where Jesus again responds to questions about his identity.  The religious leaders who wish to discredit Jesus taunt him and demand to know just who he thinks he is.  They say, “Hey, Jesus, stop keeping us in the dark.  If you’re the Messiah, just tell us straight out.  Just who are you, Jesus?  What are you up to and how long are you going to annoy us?” 

Now, in John’s gospel, Jesus’ identity has been revealed from the very beginning and, throughout the gospel, Jesus has been revealing himself as God’s light in the world.  He has been healing people, opening the eyes of the blind and giving the people around him numerous, multiple insights into his identity.  He has been demonstrating and revealing who he is through the entirety of his ministry.  So, he now responds by saying, “I told you, but you don’t believe.  Everything I have done has been authorized by my Father, actions that speak louder than words.  You don’t believe because you are not my sheep.  You don’t recognize the voice of the shepherd among you.”

Jesus uses the metaphor of sheep and shepherd, a metaphor very familiar to people of that time and place, one that is threaded throughout scripture and helps more fully articulate his identity.  However, I am not so sure we are always able to fully grasp an understanding of that metaphor.  It really is quite foreign to our context and experience.  At the time of Jesus, all the sheep of the village were kept in one place, one fenced in field.  And, when it was time for each of the owners to take their sheep back home, each shepherd would call his own sheep by using a unique, special call.  When the sheep heard that unique call, they recognized the voice and they would leave the fenced in field to follow their shepherd home. 

So, in today’s reading, Jesus frames his identity and role in terms of being the good shepherd.  He frames his identity as the trusted voice to whom the sheep will listen and follow.  He frames his identity as the good shepherd by claiming those sheep the Father has given him as his own. And, he makes a promise.  He says no one will snatch his sheep out of the Father’s hand.  He boldly articulates his identity when he claims that everything he has done has been authorized by the Father.  And, he then makes this remarkable claim; he announces that he and the Father are one – he and the father are of the same mind.  Jesus is saying that he and God are united in the work they do.  It is impossible to distinguish Jesus’ work from God’s work, because Jesus shares fully in God’s work.

When Deb and Bruce and I planned worship for this Sunday and looked at today’s gospel reading, I got a bit excited that these words were given to us on confirmation Sunday.  This reading is so meaningful for all of us as we watch each of you make affirmation of your baptism on this day.  Zach, Julianna, and Kate, as you go through life, each of you will experience great joy at different points in time.  And, the truth about life is that you will also experience many times of challenge and sorrow.  Life encompasses all of this.  But, as you make this journey through all that life brings, Jesus’ words to you today are steadfast words of promise.  Jesus is speaking to you, to each one of us.  Jesus, the good shepherd, promises us stubborn protection and care.  His is a voice the flock hears and knows and follows.  And, his voice is especially precious in the mixedness of all that life brings.  We cling to that voice. We cling to the promise that, even though life itself may be snatched away, no one will be snatched from the Father’s hand and not one person will be snatched from God’s immense love.  We cling to the promise that we do not go on in vain, that the Good Shepherd walks with us, guiding us and protecting us in the depth of everything life lays before us.  We listen and cling to the voice of our Shepherd, the voice that empowers and equips us with something greater than all else, the power of love – forgiving, transforming love.  This is the power that raises up, this is the power that enabled Peter to raise up Dorcas, this is the power that has infused this congregation and is raising us up from a past that is gone, for this is the power of the risen Lord!  Zach, Julianna and Kate, this is the power that will raise you up throughout your life as you face all the challenges and joy you will encounter.  This is the power that gives you and each one of us our true identity. 

Listen to that voice.  Confirmands, listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd as he calls to you throughout your life, saying:

I will come to you in the silence, I will lift you from all your fear.

You will hear my voice, I claim you as my choice,

Be still and know I am here.

I am hope for all who are hopeless, I am eyes for all who long to see.

In the shadows of the night, I will be your light,

Come and rest in me.

I am strength for all the despairing,

Healing for the ones who dwell in shame. 

All the blind will see, the lame will all run free,

And all will know my name.

I am the Word that leads all to freedom,

I am the peace the world cannot give.

I will call your name, embracing all your pain.

Stand up, now walk and live!

Do not be afraid, I am with you.  I have called you each by name.

Come and follow me, I will bring you home;

I love you and you are mine.

Yes, we hear and recognize the voice of One whose very identity is known and whose actions have spoken louder than words.  For, we hear the voice of One who entered our fleshly existence, journeyed to the cross, and moved through the cross to resurrection – all for the sake of God’s great love for this very broken world. This One, this Jesus, has given us identity – naming us and claiming us as God’s very own.

This is a special musical performance of He Shall Feed His Flock from the chancel choir at Faith Lutheran Church.

This is a special musical performance of He Shall Feed His Flock from the chancel choir at Faith Lutheran Church.

This is a special musical performance of Run, Mary Run from the Chancel Choir children's choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

This is a special musical performance of Run, Mary Run from the Chancel Choir children's choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

This is a special musical performance of the Calypso Lord's Prayer from the Joyful Noise children's choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.