Feeding God's Sheep
Sermon
WHAT DOES THE LORD REQUIRE?
Meditations On Major Moral And Social Issues
"If you love me, feed my sheep." These words that Jesus spoke to Peter, and to us, make it clear that, if we really love Jesus, we will show it by ministering to the needs of the people whom Jesus loves. In fact, those who love Jesus find it natural to want to respond to the needs of others. An awful lot of people who love Jesus have been wishing lately that they could find effective ways of ministering to the needs of children and youth in our families and in our communities. We have all been made heartsick by the reports of violence in Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, and of the other similar eruptions of violence. We have been saddened by reports of young people committing suicide and of other evidences of anger and desperation among the young people whom we love, the ones upon whom we always hang our hopes. One older man spoke for us all. He had been confined to the hospital for a time and was compelled to watch the reports of the news from Littleton day by day on television. He said, "I feel so helpless. I wish there were something I could do."
There is something we can do. We can feed God's sheep.
We are all familiar with the recent events that have called forth a nationwide response of loving anxiety about our children and young people. Growing up has never been easy. But evidently the stresses and failures of contemporary culture are making it more difficult than ever. But, before we plunge into involvement, we will do well to remember certain things about the situation we are addressing.
The stresses and failures of contemporary culture may be making it harder for young people to grow up healthy than it was in some situations in the past. But the difficulties are not entirely new. It is not just in recent years that youthful frustrations have turned into anger and been vented in destructive ways against friends and family members. Do you remember a story about two boys named Cain and Abel? (Genesis 4:1--16). Frustration and anger and jealousy and violence have been around so long that they are frequently represented in those early biblical narratives that were intended to teach us about the basic shape of life in human society.
It is also terribly important to remember that not all young people are afflicted with the maladies we hear so much about. Destructive forces are at work in the society of children and young people, but the living God is at work there, too. Do you remember that in one of the earlier school shootings, some of the high school boys risked their lives in a very heroic way to wrestle the gun from the hand of the shooter? Do you remember that, in the Columbine High School tragedy, one young girl was asked if she believed in God and she sacrificed her life rather than deny her faith? That kind of commitment reminds us of the faith of the early Christian martyrs. In one of the schools in one city where there have been suicides, there is a group of students who, with the assistance of their teachers, are trying to offer hope and help to students who feel drawn toward suicide. When we think about what needs to be done for children and youth today, it is very important not to think about working on our kids and trying to fix them. It is important to think in terms of working with our young people and children, knowing that God is already at work among them and that there is much in each young person and in each group of young people that is working hard to move toward a life that really is truly human and deeply good.
That is not to say there is nothing to worry about. Day by day, the decision is still being made between life and death, between blessing and curse (Deuteronomy 30:19). The intensity of the struggle and the difficulty of the decision are really great today. If we care - if we love Jesus - we will certainly feel called to get involved.
But the situation is not simple and the solutions will not be easy. Just putting prayer back in public schools will not solve the problem. One of our schools where teens are troubled is not a public school. It is a parochial school. Prayer is offered there daily. Just wiping out poverty will not solve the problem. Surely you have noticed that the schools in the news lately have been the schools of the affluent. Just hiring youth directors and building gymnasiums in all of the churches will not solve the problem. Neither will anything else that you can do with a checkbook alone.
And sometimes, even if you really give yourself in love to your children and do all of the right things, things still will not turn out right. A group of church people had an opportunity to visit with a greatly admired former pastor. They heard him tell, with great courage and with tears, how he and his wife had done everything they knew to do to lead their daughter into life at its best. But she seemed determined to follow the way of the drug culture. They kept on trying, reaching out to her in love, paying for drug rehabilitation programs, doing all they knew to do. But in spite of it all, in her young adulthood their daughter took her own life. There are no easy answers and there are no guaranteed results.
But there is still the call of Christ, "If you love me, feed my sheep."
How can we do that? A pastor met a man wearing a t--shirt with the letters P.L.A.Y. written on it in bright colors. Under the initials were the words, "Participate in the life of American youth." He said it was just something he believes in. He had the right idea. We have to become participants in that struggle between life and death, blessing and curse that is always going on in the lives of children and young people and their culture. Well, how, then, can we do that?
Obviously, there are some changes that could be made in our culture that would make it more healthy. Violence in the entertainment media is not a healthy thing. Movies and video games that invite young people to picture themselves as heroes who wade into the midst of crowds of "enemies" with weapons blazing leaving piles of dead bodies behind cannot be good for anyone. It should not surprise us that some troubled kids would eventually act out those roles in tragic ways. The ready availability of firearms, even assault weapons, the exploitation of sexuality, and the general acceptance of the use of alcohol and other drugs are other dangerous conditions that we should try to change if we can.
At a much deeper level, there are basic spiritual problems that need to be addressed in our culture. Our actions do not always match our professed beliefs. A lifestyle that consistently puts material values above human values is the most conspicuous example of that. We can see that most clearly in the lives of parents who think the best thing they can do for their children is to work all of the time to give their children the advantages of affluence, even if that means not having time to spend in building relationships with them. Children and young people have an uncanny ability to pick up on these inconsistencies. Our little and big adult hypocrisies do not go unnoticed. They undermine the ability of young people to have confidence in anything. Our children and young people need for us and our adult society to repent of a lot of things most of us are not ready to repent of yet and to live lives of attractive integrity. That is a tall order, isn't it? We asked what we can do.
The most important thing we can do - and it is something that we can do - is to open ourselves to the children and young people around us and to build important, helpful relationships with all who will let us. This is most important, of course, in our relationships with our own children. But it is also important for us to build relationships with our stepchildren, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, the neighbors' kids, and any other kids that come within reach. If you want to rise to a really high calling, get involved in the youth ministry of your church or as an adult worker with a scouting or athletic program or as a tutor in a school. You will not have to look far to find an opportunity to do that.
Relationships with children and young people can be a real joy. But sometimes they can become difficult and painful. When those times come, hang in there. Don't withdraw. Those painful interactions may be parts of the transactions that are shaping a life. At times, your own children may seem to want you to get out of their lives. When that happens, withdraw enough to give them the space they need to become separate persons - but don't go away. They need for you to set limits and give their lives structure. They need for you to be there for them when they need you. And they will need for you to move back into their lives in somewhat altered but still very important roles after they have accomplished their growing tasks. Building important, helping relationships with young people is the most important thing you can do for them and, whether or not it is apparent, it is what they want you to do for them.
Then what should we do with those relationships? Our first inclination is to use them to tell the young people all that we have learned in life and then to tell them what they ought to do. There will be a time for that. But the first thing we need to do is to listen to the children and young people. Let them tell you who they are, how they feel, and what is going on in their lives. Don't pry. Just wait and listen. It will come out. Then tell them what is right with them. Affirm everything you can find to affirm about them. Help them to build up the personhood that is developing in them. There will be a time for you to share your life experiences with them. But wait for the time when they are ready to hear it. Then share it simply as your story, not as the model for what they should do. In the same way, look for opportunities to share your religious faith with them. Do it simply, without trying to push it on them. Let them know what is real and important and helpful to you. That kind of witness will have its effect if it takes place within a real, caring relationship.
There is no guarantee that these things will produce any particular result. The young person's future will ultimately be in his or her hands. But you can be a valuable friend if you will simply move into a relationship and go where the young person's real needs lead you.
What we have said about how adults can be helpful in their relationships with young people also applies to the relationships of young people with other young people. You know how important your interactions with your peer groups are. Try to be helpful to one another. Try to build one another up. One of the tragic aspects of the Columbine High story is that it showed how angry some young people are at the other young people who have rejected them or "put them down." Young people need both adult friends and young ones - and the need is urgent.
All of this is a way of saying, "Love your neighbors, especially the young ones." We all need loving relationships. Suicides and attempted suicides are often cries for loving relationships. Acts of violence are often protests against the absence of loving relationships. Children and young people, perhaps more than the rest of us, are hungry for that kind of relationship. If they receive love, they may thrive and grow. If they don't, they may wither and die, either spiritually or physically, and they may drag others into death with them. There is a deep hunger there. Remember what Jesus said, "If you love me, feed my sheep."
There is something we can do. We can feed God's sheep.
We are all familiar with the recent events that have called forth a nationwide response of loving anxiety about our children and young people. Growing up has never been easy. But evidently the stresses and failures of contemporary culture are making it more difficult than ever. But, before we plunge into involvement, we will do well to remember certain things about the situation we are addressing.
The stresses and failures of contemporary culture may be making it harder for young people to grow up healthy than it was in some situations in the past. But the difficulties are not entirely new. It is not just in recent years that youthful frustrations have turned into anger and been vented in destructive ways against friends and family members. Do you remember a story about two boys named Cain and Abel? (Genesis 4:1--16). Frustration and anger and jealousy and violence have been around so long that they are frequently represented in those early biblical narratives that were intended to teach us about the basic shape of life in human society.
It is also terribly important to remember that not all young people are afflicted with the maladies we hear so much about. Destructive forces are at work in the society of children and young people, but the living God is at work there, too. Do you remember that in one of the earlier school shootings, some of the high school boys risked their lives in a very heroic way to wrestle the gun from the hand of the shooter? Do you remember that, in the Columbine High School tragedy, one young girl was asked if she believed in God and she sacrificed her life rather than deny her faith? That kind of commitment reminds us of the faith of the early Christian martyrs. In one of the schools in one city where there have been suicides, there is a group of students who, with the assistance of their teachers, are trying to offer hope and help to students who feel drawn toward suicide. When we think about what needs to be done for children and youth today, it is very important not to think about working on our kids and trying to fix them. It is important to think in terms of working with our young people and children, knowing that God is already at work among them and that there is much in each young person and in each group of young people that is working hard to move toward a life that really is truly human and deeply good.
That is not to say there is nothing to worry about. Day by day, the decision is still being made between life and death, between blessing and curse (Deuteronomy 30:19). The intensity of the struggle and the difficulty of the decision are really great today. If we care - if we love Jesus - we will certainly feel called to get involved.
But the situation is not simple and the solutions will not be easy. Just putting prayer back in public schools will not solve the problem. One of our schools where teens are troubled is not a public school. It is a parochial school. Prayer is offered there daily. Just wiping out poverty will not solve the problem. Surely you have noticed that the schools in the news lately have been the schools of the affluent. Just hiring youth directors and building gymnasiums in all of the churches will not solve the problem. Neither will anything else that you can do with a checkbook alone.
And sometimes, even if you really give yourself in love to your children and do all of the right things, things still will not turn out right. A group of church people had an opportunity to visit with a greatly admired former pastor. They heard him tell, with great courage and with tears, how he and his wife had done everything they knew to do to lead their daughter into life at its best. But she seemed determined to follow the way of the drug culture. They kept on trying, reaching out to her in love, paying for drug rehabilitation programs, doing all they knew to do. But in spite of it all, in her young adulthood their daughter took her own life. There are no easy answers and there are no guaranteed results.
But there is still the call of Christ, "If you love me, feed my sheep."
How can we do that? A pastor met a man wearing a t--shirt with the letters P.L.A.Y. written on it in bright colors. Under the initials were the words, "Participate in the life of American youth." He said it was just something he believes in. He had the right idea. We have to become participants in that struggle between life and death, blessing and curse that is always going on in the lives of children and young people and their culture. Well, how, then, can we do that?
Obviously, there are some changes that could be made in our culture that would make it more healthy. Violence in the entertainment media is not a healthy thing. Movies and video games that invite young people to picture themselves as heroes who wade into the midst of crowds of "enemies" with weapons blazing leaving piles of dead bodies behind cannot be good for anyone. It should not surprise us that some troubled kids would eventually act out those roles in tragic ways. The ready availability of firearms, even assault weapons, the exploitation of sexuality, and the general acceptance of the use of alcohol and other drugs are other dangerous conditions that we should try to change if we can.
At a much deeper level, there are basic spiritual problems that need to be addressed in our culture. Our actions do not always match our professed beliefs. A lifestyle that consistently puts material values above human values is the most conspicuous example of that. We can see that most clearly in the lives of parents who think the best thing they can do for their children is to work all of the time to give their children the advantages of affluence, even if that means not having time to spend in building relationships with them. Children and young people have an uncanny ability to pick up on these inconsistencies. Our little and big adult hypocrisies do not go unnoticed. They undermine the ability of young people to have confidence in anything. Our children and young people need for us and our adult society to repent of a lot of things most of us are not ready to repent of yet and to live lives of attractive integrity. That is a tall order, isn't it? We asked what we can do.
The most important thing we can do - and it is something that we can do - is to open ourselves to the children and young people around us and to build important, helpful relationships with all who will let us. This is most important, of course, in our relationships with our own children. But it is also important for us to build relationships with our stepchildren, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, the neighbors' kids, and any other kids that come within reach. If you want to rise to a really high calling, get involved in the youth ministry of your church or as an adult worker with a scouting or athletic program or as a tutor in a school. You will not have to look far to find an opportunity to do that.
Relationships with children and young people can be a real joy. But sometimes they can become difficult and painful. When those times come, hang in there. Don't withdraw. Those painful interactions may be parts of the transactions that are shaping a life. At times, your own children may seem to want you to get out of their lives. When that happens, withdraw enough to give them the space they need to become separate persons - but don't go away. They need for you to set limits and give their lives structure. They need for you to be there for them when they need you. And they will need for you to move back into their lives in somewhat altered but still very important roles after they have accomplished their growing tasks. Building important, helping relationships with young people is the most important thing you can do for them and, whether or not it is apparent, it is what they want you to do for them.
Then what should we do with those relationships? Our first inclination is to use them to tell the young people all that we have learned in life and then to tell them what they ought to do. There will be a time for that. But the first thing we need to do is to listen to the children and young people. Let them tell you who they are, how they feel, and what is going on in their lives. Don't pry. Just wait and listen. It will come out. Then tell them what is right with them. Affirm everything you can find to affirm about them. Help them to build up the personhood that is developing in them. There will be a time for you to share your life experiences with them. But wait for the time when they are ready to hear it. Then share it simply as your story, not as the model for what they should do. In the same way, look for opportunities to share your religious faith with them. Do it simply, without trying to push it on them. Let them know what is real and important and helpful to you. That kind of witness will have its effect if it takes place within a real, caring relationship.
There is no guarantee that these things will produce any particular result. The young person's future will ultimately be in his or her hands. But you can be a valuable friend if you will simply move into a relationship and go where the young person's real needs lead you.
What we have said about how adults can be helpful in their relationships with young people also applies to the relationships of young people with other young people. You know how important your interactions with your peer groups are. Try to be helpful to one another. Try to build one another up. One of the tragic aspects of the Columbine High story is that it showed how angry some young people are at the other young people who have rejected them or "put them down." Young people need both adult friends and young ones - and the need is urgent.
All of this is a way of saying, "Love your neighbors, especially the young ones." We all need loving relationships. Suicides and attempted suicides are often cries for loving relationships. Acts of violence are often protests against the absence of loving relationships. Children and young people, perhaps more than the rest of us, are hungry for that kind of relationship. If they receive love, they may thrive and grow. If they don't, they may wither and die, either spiritually or physically, and they may drag others into death with them. There is a deep hunger there. Remember what Jesus said, "If you love me, feed my sheep."
