Posts Tagged ‘Jeremiah 23:1-6’
Jesus Reigns – Br. Luke Ditewig
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Br. Luke Ditewig
Christ the King: The Last Sunday after Pentecost
Woe to shepherds who destroy and scatter my people! Through Jeremiah, God is upset at corrupt kings in Israel and tells of Jesus to come as a good king, a righteous Branch, who will be wise, who will save and bring safety. Not long after this King Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the temple. He took most of the city captive and moved them far away to exile in Babylon.
As under Pharoah in Egypt and under Caesar of the Roman empire in the time of Jesus and the early church, the biblical story is of people under the oppression from both inside and outside. We see this in the world and experience it more now with our wannabe king as they seize power and wealth and oppress the vulnerable.
For the Colossians, the image of Caesar – understood to be the son of God – was everywhere, and imperial power kept the peace by military force including through crucifixion.[1] In his letter, Paul gives not a simple poem but rather subverting empire by saying Jesus, not Caesar, is the image of God and Lord of all.[2] Read More
The Centre Cannot Hold – Br. Geoffrey Tristram
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Br. Geoffrey Tristram
Jeremiah 23:1-6
Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
In the year 1919, the poet W B Yeats wrote a poem called ‘The Second Coming’. There is a famous line in that poem which has resonated through the decades. He wrote, ‘Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.’ The first world war had just ended, and it felt like chaos had descended on the world, with the breakdown of order, of stability, and of the traditional sources of authority. ‘Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.’ For many, those words well describe our world and our nation today: The recent shocking attempt at an assassination, a deeply polarized and divided nation, a world filled with violence in the Ukraine, Gaza, and frightening weather patterns signaling a planet in crisis. ‘Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.’
Yet these same words could also have been used to describe the land where Jesus walked. Not only was their land occupied by Romans, but worse, there as a breakdown of moral guidance and spiritual guidance from those who were meant to be their leaders, their ‘shepherds’. In our first reading today from the Book of Jeremiah, the prophet excoriates the religious leaders of Judah, ‘woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture. You have driven them away and not cared for them.’ But Jeremiah then goes on to give to the people a prophesy of hope. ‘The day is coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up a shepherd who will shepherd my people. I will raise up for David a righteous branch and he shall reign as king and execute righteousness in the land.’ That day finally came, when Jesus was born. Read More
I Dream the Dream of the Dream of God – Br. James Koester
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Jeremiah 23: 1 – 6
Canticle 16 or Psalm 46
Colossians 1: 11 – 20
Luke 23: 33 – 43
Those of you who have been on retreat with me in the past, or heard me preach, especially at Emery House, will know that I frequently go back to the same starting point over and again. I often begin with what is my favourite collect, the collect for the Second Sunday after Christmas:
O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.[1] Read More