Trinity XXV

Daniel 3:8-30       Matthew 24:23-31

 

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Now that we are approaching the end of the Ecclesiastical as well as the secular year, the Scripture lessons in the lectionary focus, appropriately enough, on eschatological themes. Today we are being warned to redouble our faithfulness in the face of both a coercive civil power as well as the idolatry of false religion that has at its base not Christ, but the ego.

If you would once again follow me back in time, the original 1928 Daily Office lectionary indicates most of the third chapter of Daniel as the first lesson for Morning Prayer on this day, wherein is recounted the casting of the three Hebrew men into Nebuchadnezzer's furnace for refusing to bow down before an image he had set up, to wit:

"Then Nebuchadnezzer in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abéd-nego. Then they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzer spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abéd-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?...[I]f ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" (Dan. 3:13-14, 15b)

 

And I'm sure you know the rest of the story. The furnace was so hot that those charged with casting the king's victims into it and standing watch were themselves consumed by the flames, yet the three young men were unharmed. Nebuchadnezzer was so impressed that he released them and, in a great act of completely missing the point, now commanded the death and destruction of any who spoke ill of the God they worship.
 

And therein lies our own word of warning. For the first three hundred years of its existence, Christianity was an illegal movement persecuted by the civil authorities. Not only did it survive under such circumstances, it flourished after the pattern of Christ Himself who tells us in John 12:24, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." My friends, that is the 'natural' state of Christ's Church here on earth. I would suggest that what we have become so accustomed to seeing from a now centuries-long perspective, Church and State living peaceably side by side if not outright assuming each other's duties and obligations, is not the proper environment in which the Gospel can grow and prosper unaltered. What is in fact 'upside down' we have accepted as 'right-side up' because that is what we have been told (with varying degrees of insistence) and is the draught we have imbibed. It is far too early to tell, but perhaps things are now changing and Christianity will no longer effectively be an arm of the state. Many people are afraid of this. Well, let me be the positive contrarian and tell you that what can be a source of anxiety and panic is actually cause for rejoicing and greater hope. At this juncture in western history, Christendom (that symphonic and symbiotic relationship of Church and empire) has played itself out. And frankly, if I may say so, not a moment too soon! As we read in Psalm 146:3 "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help." For they, like Nebuchadnezzer, will turn on you in a moment's notice and all the transitory money, power and influence that they can offer will still not be able to save you. "Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God." (vs. 4)
 

"[I]f any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not." (Matt. 24:23) Joel Osteen would tell me that Christ is found in positive thinking and prosperity. I don't believe him. Dr. Creflo Dollar would tell me that Christ is found in possessing a great fortune. I don't believe that either. Arianism and Islam would tell me that Christ is simply a great creature (and, thus, incapable of making Atonement without a greater-than-he, external assistance). If the Church's teaching of the Scriptures is true, that simply cannot be the case. The former Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church would tell me that Christ is found in the Millennium Development Goals of the U.N. They, of their very nature, lack the ability proclaim that Christ is risen. The great Christian empires, democracies and other secular governments have desired to tell me that Christ is present in absolute agreement with politics and constitutions, bureaucracy and legal compulsion, campaigns and backroom deal making. If a tree is known by its fruits, I don't believe that either. For what all of these contrivances give freely with one hand, they will eventually take away with the other after the fashion of Nebuchadnezzer himself. This is the fatal logic of the zero-sum game, of fear incarnate through threat of scarcity, of covetousness and the passion of desire that has marred our theological history from the beginning with the murder of Abel by his own brother Cain – a great sorrow that did not have to be so. In the words of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in his book "Not in God's Name: Confronting Religious Violence", "God may choose, but God does not reject. The logic of scarcity- of alpha males and chosen sons – has no place in a world made by a God whose 'tender mercies are on all his works' (Ps. 145:9)."
 

One of my all-time favourite quotes from Fr. Stephen Freeman has to be: "The Kingdom of God has come whether we like it or not." And, if we're being honest, a lot of us don't like it because we cannot control its parameters and force it into the blindness of a singular lens, try as we might! The Kingdom of God is not synonymous with politics, economics, the 'successful' life of quiet desperation that so many people 'achieve' in the modern world, nor even with the heaven imagined by those who still dwell in the two-storey universe where we do our thing 'down here' and God is watching 'up there' where we will eventually get to after the terms of our contract expire, sufficient effort has been expended, or our anxiety has propelled us. That is all wretched, meaningless nonsense. And here, in the words of Dostoevsky's 'underground man' is where it can all go: "Because I only talk a good game, I only dream in my head, but do you know what I want in reality? That [it] all go to hell, that's what! I want peace. I'd sell the whole world for a kopeck this minute, just not to be bothered. Shall the world go to hell, or shall I not have my tea? I say let the world go to hell, but I should always have my tea." (from "Notes from Underground") But, unlike the 'underground man' whose intent was to write off his fellow persons among whom he was not able to find his place, we are called by our Lord in similarly strong words to that single-mindedness of which He is both Author and Exemplar: "And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead." (Matt. 8:21-22) This is not a rejection, but a fulfilling in which all are invited to partake.
 

If it is found neither in empires nor in bureaucracies, neither in the practice and belief of much that is contemporary calling itself 'religion', do you wish to see the Kingdom of God as it actually is? Then you will find it right here during these numinous moments in the midst of the liturgy, you will find it in the persons of the poor and disadvantaged who still gladly give what they can and pray with thanksgiving, you will find it in your own heart when you freely love those who are become your enemy through their fault or yours. Mostly, though, you will find it not in the life of competition for position and anxiety over having 'enough' (of whatever it is you have been told to pursue), in the shame of comparing ourselves to others and bargaining for the merest scraps of information and recognition (looking at you social media!) That is the offspring of this modern society (and many others throughout history). But rather that Kingdom is to be found in the life of grace freely given through our baptism and continuous conversion to the Lord Jesus, in Whom alone is salvation and eternal life.
 

So, there is good news here. There is occasion and opportunity that has never existed here in the two centuries since the creation of this country.  Following the Lord Jesus will no longer automatically gain you advantage and preferment. But that's okay, for the two great principles are always true and present: Christ is risen and the Kingdom of God is come among us. Nothing else really matters. So it is quite right to pay the circumstances of our existence in the world no mind whatsoever. As we are instructed in 1 Cor. 2:6, "Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect; yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought." And, we can also take courage that Jesus counsels us in John 21 against needless worry, comparison, and false choices (as if there were a scarcity of Divine love to go around) and shows us instead what we ought to be about: "Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me." (vs. 20-22)

Transfiguration

"For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

(2 Peter 1:17)

The Christian manifestation of God's glory begins its full fruition at Christ's baptism. As the Holy Ghost descends upon Him, we hear the voice of the Father declare: “Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Mk. 1:11) The three occurrences, or theophanies if you will, of this utterance all come at the most significant moments in Jesus’ ministry on earth and thus are not just "wow moments" chosen at random. They point to the three traditional roles ascribed to Him of prophet, king and priest. He is a prophet because He comes to tell us of the things of God through His preaching and healing ministry begun at the river Jordan. He is king because He is thesecond Person of the Blessed Trinity reigning forever in Heaven, manifested so dramatically on Mt. Tabor. He is a priest because He offers the one liturgical oblation, to which all the blood offerings of the Old Testament rites pointed, of Himself on the Cross.  Seeing their connexion, let us now consider each of these happenings in some more detail.

John's baptism, particularly of Jesus, has a significance both historical and analogical, and not simply because these are things that we have assigned to it. We are to see that Jesus' coming is going to completely transform and fulfill all that has come before by His participation in the lived Covenant given to Moses and developed by Israelite tradition. Now, it can appear problematic that Jesus here presents himself for a baptism of repentance. We who profess the orthodox faith say of Him in the Nicene Creed: "God of God, Light of Light, Very God of veryGod". Consider that in the grand scheme of Christianity (particularly with regard to the Cross and Resurrection, without which everything else becomes meaningless), a fallible god in need of conversion and repentance is entirely laughable and useless. Thanks be to God, that is not the case. Thus we are not in any meaningful way similar to the present day devotees ofa self-inflicted Mt. Olympus and the errant, fickle deities that have been enthroned there by pathological fiat. Rather does Jesus come to confirm His own humanity and to reaffirm the message of John. What John had been preaching to those gathered about him was in fact perfectly consistent with both the Old Testament prophets and the newly inaugurated  ministry of Jesus, to Whom all that had come before did indeed point and in Whom all would find perfect fulfillment. Herein is the glory of this first facet of the triple theophany recounted in the Gospels.

In the second instance, the Transfiguration, there is no seeming paradox to contend with. The Divinity of Christ is displayed before the eyes of the chosen Apostles, who are absolutely dumbfounded. As the perfect humanity of Christ is established and confirmed in His baptism, so does the Father confirm for us on Mt. Tabor that Heis pleased to throw the full weight of the Godhead in our direction, for our benefit. If ever there were any doubts in the minds of Peter, James and John, it has certainly been illustrated for them beyond the shadow of a doubt that “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory.” The Gospels are showing us that yes, the two natures in the one person of Jesus Christ is in fact an authentic revelation, doctrine commended to the faithful as worthy of beliefand entrusted to the care of the Church to preserve for all ages.

The other thing to note about the Transfiguration is the topic of conversation amongst Jesus, Moses and Elijah. In a sermon about this subject the Rev. John Mason Neale, the great 19th cent. Anglican priest and hymnographer, said: "And what did they talk of? If wehad not been told, how different a conversation we should have imagined! We should perhaps have thought that they would speak of that kingdom which the LORD had come on earth to establish; that kingdom which shall never be destroyed, against which the gates of hell shall not prevail; that kingdom which shall be from sea to sea, and from the flood unto the world's end. Nothing less. 'They appeared in glory, and spake of His decease.' To talk of death in the height of this glory! To talk of a shameful death,-a death of agony,- amidst such brightness as the world had never before seen! Yes: but the text does not end so. They 'spake of His decease which He should accomplish.' What a wonderful word! When do we speak thus? We say that a man accomplishes deliverance from death, but to accomplish death itself,who would thus talk? It tells us how freely, how earnestly, our LORD set about His Passion, according to that saying of His: 'I have a Baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened till it be accomplished.'... And that indeed was a glorious subject for a season of glory. This was a brighter and better vision than Moses had, when he gat him to the top of Pisgah, and beheld all the land which GOD had promised to His people. This was a nobler prospect than Elijah had, when the chariot was bearing him up above the clouds, and his mantle fell from off him." (John Mason Neale, Sermon XV, "The Three Tabernacles")

There are many facets of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ to fix our attention on. But no matter which you choose, they all lead to the passion, death and Resurrection. There is no getting around that, and that is a good thing. And so these instances of kerygmatic parallelism that we have noted in the Gospels are now brought to completion on Calvary by the centurion’s statement: “Truly this was the son of God.” (Mt. 27:54)  The Evangelists have collated pregnant instances of both the perfect humanity and the perfect Divinity of Christ and now show us that the redemptive work of the Cross is as efficacious as itneeded to be. The humanity of the Jesus who humbly submitted to St. John’s baptism is offered on the Crossin a perfect sacrificial act of love. The Divinity of Christ exhibited on Mt. Tabor is able to offer the perfect sacrifice and to have it accepted on our behalf. This is both something that only humanity could do and that only God could do. Take away one of these two elements and the whole scheme of redemption loses its potency, the remainder becomes nothing more than an empty ritual, a cosmic farce performed not out of love and mercy, but merely out of disinterested condescension or, what's even worse, a sort of sanitised blood-lust and wrath. In the words of Fr. Stephen Freeman: "For various reasons, some people are determined to make the economy of salvation to be linked with the Wrath of God. If you do not repent, then God will do thus and such... I have always considered this representation of the gospel to be coercive and contrary to the love of God. I have heard convoluted ways in which this wrath is interpreted to be 'the loving thing to do' but I do not buy it....But it is essential in our witness to the God Who Is, to always relate the fact that He is a loving God, not willing that any should perish. He is not against us but for us. This is utterly essential to the correct proclamation of the Gospel." (from "Glory 2 God for all things", God's Wrath, Jan. 15, 2009)

There is one more thing to note. On this day some 73 years ago, the world was forever changed when, in the context of a state of war, a nuclear bomb was detonated over Hiroshima. And whatever side of the debate you find yourself on as to whether this was a justified, proportional response or no, the fact remains that such action could only be taken within a grievously broken world wherein remain unconverted men who, above all else, desire power.  What, then, do we do with this? From an article two years ago in the magazine of the Orthodox Peace Fellowship, In Communion: "The Transfiguration is a promise to a broken world. A promise that all scars will be healed, all divisions overcome, all wars ended, and all souls restored. The Earth will no longer be a crucible of destruction, but the realm of the Kingdom. Atomic radiation will not shine forth from broken bodies, but the uncreated light from transfigured ones. Men will no longer aspire to harness the power of God, but will kneel before their king. There will no longer be cause to be afraid." (Nicholas Sooy, In Communion, Aug. 2016)

And so, as Jesus calls us each and every day to follow Him, we too can and must assume a portion of His threefold role as prophet by striving faithfully to live an authentic Christian life that will preach to others by our deeds and disposition, as priest by making offerings united to His of both praise and repentance, and as king by longing for the coming of His Kingdom which is indeed here among us as we are told by St. Mark: "...The time is fulfulled, and the kingdom of God is at hand..." (Mk. 1:15). And we know what our dignity both is and will be in His Kingdom: "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might bepartakers of the divine nature." (2 Pet. 1:4) And then, when we come at last to our own particular death and judgment, our Father in heaven will be able to say of us, always on account of the work of His Son accomplished perfectly for us as we could never accomplish for ourselves: This is my beloved child in whom I am well pleased.

Trinity IX

"[The] holy Apostle Saint James, leaving his father and all that he had, was obedient unto the calling of...Jesus Christ"

"A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living." (Lk. 15:11-13)

As the Church celebrated St. James this past week on July 25th, three quick things of note occurred to me:

1. Whereas the Apostle James, who may or may not have caught wind of John the Baptist's preaching about Jesus, nevertheless surrendered his livelihood at a moment's notice to follow Him, someone he had no first hand knowledge of with no prior, contractual assurances about what the future would hold; the younger son, who had literally known his father and family his entire life and was bound to them by ties of blood and filial affection, was able (in effect) to wish his father's death to his face by asking for his stake of the inheritance and then remove himself far away from them to lead a life of self-indulgence along with, I am sure, many other carefully crafted plans for his own future enjoyment.

2. Whereas St. James was witness to the preaching and healing ministry of Jesus, the showing forth of the Divinity of Christ in the Transfiguration and the wonderful miracles of the feeding of the thousands and the raising of Lazarus from the dead; the younger son was forced into the worst of circumstances when the money he depended on ran out, had to take on undesirable work and, ultimately, had to come face to face with his shame and steel himself to beg forgiveness from those he had mindlessly cast aside as utterly worthless and literally dead to him.

3. But...here's the really good part. These things happened, and continue to do so today. And we can, I think, take great courage and comfort in the examples of both these men. Whether early in the day or late, whether before or after any of us have sinned, there is always room for repentance, forgiveness and the embrace of the Lord Jesus. As we learn in Matt. 20:14-15, "Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?" And with what great generosity is the gift given? It is almost shocking to our sensibilities, particularly our great regard for the 'fairness' of debt, vengeance and retaliation. "But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry." (Lk. 15:22-24)


"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches" (Rev. 2:29) “and let all the people say Amen.” (Ps. 106:46b)

Easter II

II Samuel 1:19-end   I Peter 2:19-end   John 10:11-16

As has become my custom since last summer, I have been using the original daily office lectionary appended to the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. The first lesson given for this morning is the last portion of the 1st chapter of II Samuel. This is a marvelously providential choice as it allows us to do some hermeneutical heavy lifting with respect both to the overall Biblical narrative and to the Eucharistic propers for today more specifically.

From II Samuel 1:19-21: "The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen! Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil."

Firstly, consider these words at their 'face value' in the context of the narrative. This is a portion of David's lament after learning of the death of King Saul. Notice both his righteous indignation against the death of the anointed king as well as the depth of filial affection directed toward the man who had, earlier, persued David and those loyal to him in order to kill him. We'll come back to that in a while as we examine the Epistle.

In an effort to dig down a bit deeper from the surface of the literal meaning, the curious onlooker is as likely as the formal student to encounter the historical-critical method which seeks, as its name implies, to understand the biblical texts in their cultural and temporal contexts with as much scientific objectivity as possible and as little conjecture as necessary. Some who adhere to this approach as a principle vehicle of interpretation have, however, stretched the meaning of 'necessity' well beyond the breaking point.

Pope Benedict XVI, in the Foreward of the first volume of his work "Jesus of Nazareth" talks about both the usefulness as well as the limits of this methodology. "The historical-critical method – let me repeat – is an indispensable tool, given the structure of Christian faith. But we need to add two points. This method is a fundamental dimension of exegesis, but it does not exhaust the interpretive task for someone who sees the biblical writings as a single corpus of Holy Scripture inspired by God....On painstaking reflection, it can intuit something of the 'deeper value' the word contains. It can in some sense catch the sounds of a higher dimension through the human word, and so open up the method to self-transcendance. But its specific object is the human word as human." (Jesus of Nazareth; vol. 1, xvii)

So it seems clear from these remarks that there is yet something still needful when we approach the Scriptures. Going even further 'under the surface' from historical criticism, we arrive at the typological method of reading the Scriptures, itself quite prominent among the Fathers of the first Christian centuries. To be sure this methodology did not originate with them, but is found in the text of the inspired writers themselves. Consider Romans 5:14: "Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come." What the Authorised Version renders as 'figure' is 'typos' (tóo-pahs) in Greek. According to Strong's Concordance, 'typos' (G5179) can mean (among other things): a stamp or die; a style or resemblance; a figure, form, manner, pattern, or print. In the specific context of this verse from Romans, then, Adam is the type whereas Christ is the anti-type.

In order to clarify the nature and function of typological interpretation further, consider this from OxfordBiblicalStudies.com: "Some of what happened in the OT is seen to be anticipations of events recorded in the NT, and some of the narratives in the gospels seem to be reflected in the Acts. The anticipations are called ‘types’ and the fulfilments are the ‘antitypes’. Thus the story of the Exodus is repeated in the synoptic gospels; the Israelites cross the Red Sea, yield to temptations of doubt and disillusionment for forty years in the wilderness, and then Moses on Mount Sinai presents the people with the Law. In the gospels Jesus is baptized in the water by John, is tempted for forty days in the wilderness, and then gives the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5–7). The difference is that where Israel failed, by repeatedly grumbling and doubting God's determination, Jesus succeeded. The gospels are, as it were, retelling the story of Israel, but giving the events of Jesus as its climax and rationale.... The principle behind such exegesis is that God had the same purpose in the NT as he always had (cf. Heb. 13:8). He is consistent. Though his plan failed because of Israel's weakness, he did not change his plan but brought it to completion through Jesus."

Now, all of this has been by way of preparation to consider the Old Testament lesson that I started out with. I would suggest that king Saul is, in this case, a type foreshadowing Christ on the Cross. He is, as indeed is the Lord Jesus, God's anointed, killed on the heights of Gilboa as Christ was on Golgotha. "The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places" by one who was unaware of the ultimate gravity of his actions. Saul's attendant tells David in II Sam. 1:10: "So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord....And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the Lord's anointed." Surely there is an echo and prefiguring of St. Luke 23: 33-34: "And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

And while it is an easy thing to contrast David's order to kill Saul's attendant with Christ's call to the Father for forgiveness toward those who have crucified Him, in reality both are simply being faithful to the Covenant in place at the time, to wit: David has exacted an "eye for an eye" whereas Christ perfectly exemplifies the Summary of the Law we were reminded of at the beginning of today's Liturgy.

The other thing to note in this text from II Samuel becomes David's lament over the man who had persued him unto death. And that is a remarkable thing in and of itself. Who among us is possessed of sufficient virtue to genuinely lament the death of those who hate us and wish us harm, grevious or otherwise, justified or not? David's response is also noteworthy in that it preceeds the theology of the Epistle. "For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully....For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps." (I Peter 2:19, 21) Here, then, in David's lament, is yet another example of type preceeding antitype. "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

The conclusion of the Epistle is a natural segue into the Gospel lesson. Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." (Jn. 10:11) In his sermon for this Sunday, the Rev. Isaac Williams noted: "As the Lamb was slain from before the foundation of the world, so is He ever the good Shepherd that gives His life for the sheep; it is His own inseparable attribute. I am the good Shepherd: the good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep.  He that died for us, and gave us that proof of His love, has not gone away, and departed, and left us in the wilderness, but is even now with us as the good Shepherd.  He is not indifferent about us, of our ways and doings, but as a man careth for his own, which he hath bought at an exceeding high price, so He, as the good Shepherd, careth for us."

Once again, this returns us to a consideration of David. His original occupation was also tending his father's flocks from which he was called to defend the Israelites against the Philistine army and their champion Goliath who had inspired fear in all the men of Saul's army. Later on, he put his own life at risk once again defending himself against Saul himself in order to bring peaceful rule to Israel. And if David, as type, out of his sin with Bathsheba begat Solomon who would reign as the wisest of the Kings, so Christ as antitype would, out of the death wrought by Adam's sin, beget mankind again as adopted children of the Father who once again have access to eternal life. "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."

Now that we have gone hither and yon to consider some of the prefigurements of the Old Testament effective in and of themselves as signs and symbols of the glory to come yet never able to bring about what they pointed to until the Incarnation itself brought reality out of their  shadows and into His own glorious light, there is one more thing to consider about Christ our Good Shepherd. The two verses which follow immediately upon today's Gospel lesson read: "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it up again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again." [Jn. 10:17,18] We too have a share in this power of laying down and taking up again. Just as I have noted before that we share in the creative power of God's Word by use of our own words to build up or destroy, to bless or to curse with our tongue, so we too have an active and participatory share in the power to lay down our burdens and sins. Should it be your lot to be (over)burdened with anger, resentment, impatience, pride, envy, hatred or anything else listed in Galatians 5, as by your own will you had taken them up originally, so under God's grace now is the time to lay them down. As we read in Romans 6:19: "[A]s ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness" by the grace won for you by Christ our Good Shepherd.

In conclusion, Martin Luther, in his sermon for today, tells us: "Comforting, indeed, it is to be the happy lambs who have a welcome refuge in the Shepherd and find in him joy and comfort in every time of need, assured that his perfect faithfulness cares for and protects us from the devil and the gates of hell. Relative to this subject, the entire Twenty-third Psalm is a beautiful and joyous song, of which the refrain is, 'The Lord is my Shepherd'."