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Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
In the late 1800s there were two fundamental scientific principles that physicians used to diagnosis a case. The first was "reason." The physician would try to rationalize what was ailing the patient. This was followed by "experience." The physician would draw upon his experience to treat the patient. Soon the word "experience" was replaced with the word "experiment." The physician, drawing upon his reason and experience, could then experiment, trying to discover the best remedy for the patient.
Jesus said, "I myself will search for my sheep." Jesus would search for the sheep that were lost, strayed, injured, or weak. In experimenting, a physician would search for the best way to bring healing to the injured or weak.
Ron L.
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
Growing up, Ken and Ryan fought as much as any brothers, and as is bound to happen, it would occasionally go too far. Once things escalated and Ryan struck his brother in the eye. When their mother found out, she was livid and stood between them. "Don't you ever hurt my son again," she loomed. Ryan was taken aback. He had never seen her this angry with him. "What do you mean your son? I'm your son too," he thought. Their mother, of course, could never forget that they were equally her little boys, but in that moment Ken was the one who needed a mother to protect him, and Ryan was the one who threatened his safety. We should not forget that God loves the well-fed and the weak sheep but he must show special care for the weak sheep when they are tramped by the strong.
Brian H.
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
It's a dream we all have. The dream that someone will come and rescue us from whatever things in our lives give us pain and grief; the dream that someone will bind up our wounds and bring us to a place where the world is bright and clean and there is no more pain. A place where we can be with all the people we love. A place where our hearts are at ease. A place of peace. Perhaps it is a place of cool, running water. A place where the sun always shines. Where flowers bloom and children play and deer walk in the cool shade of the trees, lovely wraiths in the early morning. It is a dream that we have recited in Psalm 23 for centuries. "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want."
Leah T.
Ephesians 1:15-23
There have been many powerful individuals and nations throughout our history. Alexander the Great conquered much of southern Europe and Asia. The Caesars oversaw an empire that went from Britain to Turkey. It was once said that "the sun never set on the British Empire," and in essence it didn't. Hitler came dangerously close to seeing the Third Reich sweep through all of Europe and perhaps the world.
Many desire power, status, and authority, but there is only one who is worthy to be exalted: Jesus. "[God] raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come" (vv. 20-21).
Craig K.
Ephesians 1:15-23
John A. Mackay, former president of Princeton Theological Seminary, always said that he owed his life to Paul's Letter to the Ephesians. When he was a lad of only fourteen he studied the letter one summer and before long the letter's cadences began sounding in his inner being and he entered a new world.
To be specific, it happened on a certain Saturday in July 1903 when he participated in a Scottish "preparation" service prior to Communion. The setting was an open-air service of the Highland parish of Rogart in Sutherlandshire. The minister was preaching. Young Mackay could not remember what he said, but in his own words, Mackay said "... something, someone said within me with overwhelming power that I too, must preach, that I must stand where that man stood. The thought amazed me, for I had other plans."
From that summer on Paul's Letter to the Ephesians remained Mackay's favorite book in the Bible.
Richard H.
Matthew 25:31-48
Keisha does not tolerate dishonesty in her employees. Her policy has always been "fire the liars." And her employees know it. There have been instances of employees who have lied to Keisha and she has lived up to her word. So when she called Ralph into her office, Ralph was a little confused. He knew her policy. He made a specific point never to lie to Keisha. "What's the matter?" he asked her. Keisha held up a printout of email correspondence. "Why did you tell this vendor that we no longer use this brand of printer?" Ralph stammers. "I -- we -- Tom said we weren't using that vendor any more, and I... I..." Keisha glared. "But I didn't lie to you!" said Ralph. "But you lied to this vendor," said Keisha. "And I don't care how justified you think it is. My policy is no lying. And when you lie to one of our vendors, you are lying on behalf of me. You're out, Ralph. Pack up and leave."
Leah T.
Matthew 25:31-46
In Colonial America each household was required to keep a leather bucket next to the front door. If the alarm of fire was sounded, each homeowner would immediately stop what he was doing, grab the leather bucket, go outdoors, and join the bucket brigade. If you watched the HBO movie John Adams starring Paul Giamatti, in the first act Adams heard the cry of fire. He got up from his writing desk, grabbed his bucket, and then, since it was in the middle of a Boston winter, tried desperately to find a water pump that was not frozen. In these times of crisis no one asked if my neighbor was someone who I liked or disliked, or was someone I knew or a stranger; the only issue was to take one's place along the long line of the bucket brigade.
The disciples asked Jesus when did they see him hungry, thirsty, naked, or a stranger? The answer is well known, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me." Be it feeding the hungry or passing a bucket from patron to patron, we are serving Jesus.
Ron L.
Matthew 25:31-46
Sheep and goats graze together and all day long mix and mingle among themselves through the pasture without a problem. When the sun goes down, however, shepherds must separate the two so the goats can be kept warm and it can become difficult to tell them apart in fading light. Often they will be the same color and of similar form. If nothing else, the shepherd may have to judge by the tail, whether it sticks up or hangs down. In the same way, the righteous and the unrighteous are mixed in together and sometimes it is not always immediately evident who is who. But the difference is in their actions and will be revealed in time.
Brian H.
Matthew 25:31-46
One year Robert Coles, Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Humanities at Harvard University, delivered the Stone Lectures at Princeton Theological Seminary. Earlier, his book The Children of Crisis had won the Pulitzer Prize. During his lecture, Coles recalled his early days at Harvard preparing himself in the field of medicine. He said that he had all the comforts of home. "Women would come and clean the students' rooms and make their beds. They were called 'biddies.' They cleaned up after us. The students seldom knew their names. In fact, they seldom thanked them for their work." Meanwhile, Coles said the students were taking courses to learn about empathy and if you could define empathy well you could get an A in your course. "I got an A," says Coles, "but I didn't know the names of the 'biddies'."
According to Jesus' parable, did they miss something or someone?
Richard H.
In the late 1800s there were two fundamental scientific principles that physicians used to diagnosis a case. The first was "reason." The physician would try to rationalize what was ailing the patient. This was followed by "experience." The physician would draw upon his experience to treat the patient. Soon the word "experience" was replaced with the word "experiment." The physician, drawing upon his reason and experience, could then experiment, trying to discover the best remedy for the patient.
Jesus said, "I myself will search for my sheep." Jesus would search for the sheep that were lost, strayed, injured, or weak. In experimenting, a physician would search for the best way to bring healing to the injured or weak.
Ron L.
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
Growing up, Ken and Ryan fought as much as any brothers, and as is bound to happen, it would occasionally go too far. Once things escalated and Ryan struck his brother in the eye. When their mother found out, she was livid and stood between them. "Don't you ever hurt my son again," she loomed. Ryan was taken aback. He had never seen her this angry with him. "What do you mean your son? I'm your son too," he thought. Their mother, of course, could never forget that they were equally her little boys, but in that moment Ken was the one who needed a mother to protect him, and Ryan was the one who threatened his safety. We should not forget that God loves the well-fed and the weak sheep but he must show special care for the weak sheep when they are tramped by the strong.
Brian H.
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
It's a dream we all have. The dream that someone will come and rescue us from whatever things in our lives give us pain and grief; the dream that someone will bind up our wounds and bring us to a place where the world is bright and clean and there is no more pain. A place where we can be with all the people we love. A place where our hearts are at ease. A place of peace. Perhaps it is a place of cool, running water. A place where the sun always shines. Where flowers bloom and children play and deer walk in the cool shade of the trees, lovely wraiths in the early morning. It is a dream that we have recited in Psalm 23 for centuries. "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want."
Leah T.
Ephesians 1:15-23
There have been many powerful individuals and nations throughout our history. Alexander the Great conquered much of southern Europe and Asia. The Caesars oversaw an empire that went from Britain to Turkey. It was once said that "the sun never set on the British Empire," and in essence it didn't. Hitler came dangerously close to seeing the Third Reich sweep through all of Europe and perhaps the world.
Many desire power, status, and authority, but there is only one who is worthy to be exalted: Jesus. "[God] raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come" (vv. 20-21).
Craig K.
Ephesians 1:15-23
John A. Mackay, former president of Princeton Theological Seminary, always said that he owed his life to Paul's Letter to the Ephesians. When he was a lad of only fourteen he studied the letter one summer and before long the letter's cadences began sounding in his inner being and he entered a new world.
To be specific, it happened on a certain Saturday in July 1903 when he participated in a Scottish "preparation" service prior to Communion. The setting was an open-air service of the Highland parish of Rogart in Sutherlandshire. The minister was preaching. Young Mackay could not remember what he said, but in his own words, Mackay said "... something, someone said within me with overwhelming power that I too, must preach, that I must stand where that man stood. The thought amazed me, for I had other plans."
From that summer on Paul's Letter to the Ephesians remained Mackay's favorite book in the Bible.
Richard H.
Matthew 25:31-48
Keisha does not tolerate dishonesty in her employees. Her policy has always been "fire the liars." And her employees know it. There have been instances of employees who have lied to Keisha and she has lived up to her word. So when she called Ralph into her office, Ralph was a little confused. He knew her policy. He made a specific point never to lie to Keisha. "What's the matter?" he asked her. Keisha held up a printout of email correspondence. "Why did you tell this vendor that we no longer use this brand of printer?" Ralph stammers. "I -- we -- Tom said we weren't using that vendor any more, and I... I..." Keisha glared. "But I didn't lie to you!" said Ralph. "But you lied to this vendor," said Keisha. "And I don't care how justified you think it is. My policy is no lying. And when you lie to one of our vendors, you are lying on behalf of me. You're out, Ralph. Pack up and leave."
Leah T.
Matthew 25:31-46
In Colonial America each household was required to keep a leather bucket next to the front door. If the alarm of fire was sounded, each homeowner would immediately stop what he was doing, grab the leather bucket, go outdoors, and join the bucket brigade. If you watched the HBO movie John Adams starring Paul Giamatti, in the first act Adams heard the cry of fire. He got up from his writing desk, grabbed his bucket, and then, since it was in the middle of a Boston winter, tried desperately to find a water pump that was not frozen. In these times of crisis no one asked if my neighbor was someone who I liked or disliked, or was someone I knew or a stranger; the only issue was to take one's place along the long line of the bucket brigade.
The disciples asked Jesus when did they see him hungry, thirsty, naked, or a stranger? The answer is well known, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me." Be it feeding the hungry or passing a bucket from patron to patron, we are serving Jesus.
Ron L.
Matthew 25:31-46
Sheep and goats graze together and all day long mix and mingle among themselves through the pasture without a problem. When the sun goes down, however, shepherds must separate the two so the goats can be kept warm and it can become difficult to tell them apart in fading light. Often they will be the same color and of similar form. If nothing else, the shepherd may have to judge by the tail, whether it sticks up or hangs down. In the same way, the righteous and the unrighteous are mixed in together and sometimes it is not always immediately evident who is who. But the difference is in their actions and will be revealed in time.
Brian H.
Matthew 25:31-46
One year Robert Coles, Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Humanities at Harvard University, delivered the Stone Lectures at Princeton Theological Seminary. Earlier, his book The Children of Crisis had won the Pulitzer Prize. During his lecture, Coles recalled his early days at Harvard preparing himself in the field of medicine. He said that he had all the comforts of home. "Women would come and clean the students' rooms and make their beds. They were called 'biddies.' They cleaned up after us. The students seldom knew their names. In fact, they seldom thanked them for their work." Meanwhile, Coles said the students were taking courses to learn about empathy and if you could define empathy well you could get an A in your course. "I got an A," says Coles, "but I didn't know the names of the 'biddies'."
According to Jesus' parable, did they miss something or someone?
Richard H.
