May 3, 2009

For the week of May 3rd: Acts 4:5-12, Psalm 23, 1 John 3:16-24, John 10:11-18

Acts Peter and John heal a man and are arrested by the Sanhedrin – the authorities. Healing is a major part of the promise of salvation. Salvation comes from no one, but Jesus. We are in need of being healed in many levels in our life – which is why salvation is so far reaching – down to the level of the soul. The world is still in need of healing of the soul – so the world is in need of Jesus and Christianity.
John The concept of the shepherd as one who takes care of us has been a long time image in the bible. Isaiah says that the suffering servant is the messiah the one who cares for people to a fault. Jesus is telling us that he is indeed that person. He cares about and takes care of us, even in resurrection. Jesus says that there is a difference between the shepherd and the hired hand - this is a calling that will not be given up for the true shepherd.
Questions If Christianity is the only religion to offer salvation, how to we treat others? How does God define and redefine our world and what it needs? Are we an inclusive religion? How does the contrast between good shepherds and hired hands apply to today's leadership in the church? The point of the passage is not only what God does for us, but what we are willing to do for one another. Jesus, in this, becomes the prototype for leadership in both the church and the marketplace. Yet how many people in today's workforce are willing to lay down their lives for those they serve?