On the Sixteenth Sunday Per Annum
Jeremiah 23:1-6
Woe to the shepherds
who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture,
says the LORD.
Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel,
against the shepherds who shepherd my people:
You have scattered my sheep and driven them away.
You have not cared for them,
but I will take care to punish your evil deeds.
I myself will gather the remnant of my flock
from all the lands to which I have driven them
and bring them back to their meadow;
there they shall increase and multiply.
I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them
so that they need no longer fear and tremble;
and none shall be missing, says the LORD.
Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David;
as king he shall reign and govern wisely,
he shall do what is just and right in the land.
In his days Judah shall be saved,
Israel shall dwell in security.
This is the name they give him:
“The LORD our justice.”
Ephesians 2:13-18
Brothers and sisters:
In Christ Jesus you who once were far off
have become near by the blood of Christ.
For he is our peace, he who made both one
and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh,
abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims,
that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two,
thus establishing peace,
and might reconcile both with God,
in one body, through the cross,
putting that enmity to death by it.
He came and preached peace to you who were far off
and peace to those who were near,
for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
Woe to the shepherds
who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture,
says the LORD.
Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel,
against the shepherds who shepherd my people:
You have scattered my sheep and driven them away.
You have not cared for them,
but I will take care to punish your evil deeds.
I myself will gather the remnant of my flock
from all the lands to which I have driven them
and bring them back to their meadow;
there they shall increase and multiply.
I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them
so that they need no longer fear and tremble;
and none shall be missing, says the LORD.
Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David;
as king he shall reign and govern wisely,
he shall do what is just and right in the land.
In his days Judah shall be saved,
Israel shall dwell in security.
This is the name they give him:
“The LORD our justice.”
Ephesians 2:13-18
Brothers and sisters:
In Christ Jesus you who once were far off
have become near by the blood of Christ.
For he is our peace, he who made both one
and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh,
abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims,
that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two,
thus establishing peace,
and might reconcile both with God,
in one body, through the cross,
putting that enmity to death by it.
He came and preached peace to you who were far off
and peace to those who were near,
for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
You have scattered my sheep. . .I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands to which I have driven them. . .and none shall be missing, says the LORD.
These are very powerful sayings. God's people are scattered by the misguided actions of incompetent, perhaps even evil, shepherds. But God will bring back those people from all the lands to which he has driven them. Even in the hands of misguided, incompetent, or even evil shepherds, God's people are still fully in the sight, mercy, and providence of God.
I, myself, will gather them.
Today, Paul teaches that even Gentiles, who are far off, have been brought near in Christ. Reading Paul, 2000 years later, it is hard to remember that we are the gentiles of whom he speaks. We, the vast majority of Christians, who are so aware, so sure of our insider status forget that we are the descendants of people who were considered utterly alien to the People of God. Paul asserts for us today that Christ's death has broken down this barrier between the inside and outside. Christ invites the former inside and the former outside into a new communio, a true membership in the family of God.
Jews of the First Century were scandalized by Paul's teaching that Gentiles should be welcomed into God's family. When we read Paul today, how are we scandalized? Are we still angry at the Jews, because they were not so happy to let us in? We, who understand ourselves so clearly to be in; who are we pushing out, today? Where does that reconciling power of the cross need to meet us today?
What barriers are we building today, that Christ is tearing down by means of his death on the cross.
I, myself, will gather them.
Today, Paul teaches that even Gentiles, who are far off, have been brought near in Christ. Reading Paul, 2000 years later, it is hard to remember that we are the gentiles of whom he speaks. We, the vast majority of Christians, who are so aware, so sure of our insider status forget that we are the descendants of people who were considered utterly alien to the People of God. Paul asserts for us today that Christ's death has broken down this barrier between the inside and outside. Christ invites the former inside and the former outside into a new communio, a true membership in the family of God.
Jews of the First Century were scandalized by Paul's teaching that Gentiles should be welcomed into God's family. When we read Paul today, how are we scandalized? Are we still angry at the Jews, because they were not so happy to let us in? We, who understand ourselves so clearly to be in; who are we pushing out, today? Where does that reconciling power of the cross need to meet us today?
What barriers are we building today, that Christ is tearing down by means of his death on the cross.
I myself will gather my flock from all the lands to which I have driven them and none shall be missing, says the LORD.
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