The 108-Foot Shepherd -- FPC sermon excerpt
Normally, we think of Jesus as a kind and loving shepherd who cuddles his sheep. He is meek and mild, compassionate and caring.
But what’s happening in Poland might change your mind.
On a rocky hill in that country is the newest, most audacious religious icon in all of Europe, if not the world: A 108-foot-high statue of Jesus. That’s the height of a 10-story building. According to The Guardian (April 5, 2011), volunteers from the town, along with prisoners on day release from the local jail, have been building it for the last 10 years.
On a windy day last spring, a crane gently swayed as work continued on the concrete figure, the brainchild of a local priest. He claims it is the world’s biggest statue of Jesus Christ — bigger even than Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. This is a sore point with the Brazilians who grumble that the Polish Jesus is cheating — cheating by standing on a mound.
The priest drives a Mercedes with rosary beads hanging from the rear view mirror. When asked why he decided to erect the gargantuan savior, he said, “It was Jesus’ idea: I was just the builder.”
But not everyone agrees that the statue is divine. It is rumored to have cost nearly $3 million, and one Polish resident says, “I think we could spend that money far better. We need schools, we need hospitals, we need better roads.”
What do you think? Should they build a statue or a school? While a 108-foot shepherd may not be the best use for $3 million, it does remind us that Jesus is a big shepherd, one who stands tall over us and dominates our lives. Like an enormous concrete icon, he simply cannot be ignored.
Christ the King Sunday is the day each year that we focus on the rule of Jesus over all of human life, including our own lives. In today’s Scripture lesson, from the book of the prophet Ezekiel, we learn that God rules over us as a powerful shepherd, one who judges and separates his flock, showing a special concern for the weak and the vulnerable. He promises to set up over them one shepherd, his servant David, the king who turns out to be the ancestor of Jesus the Christ.
So what is the character of this big and powerful shepherd? Ezekiel says that he is not afraid to throw his weight around. “I will seek the lost,” says God, “and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice” (Ezekiel 34:16).
God actively seeks out the lost, brings back the strayed, heals the injured, and strengthens the weak. This means that when we lose our way and begin to behave in selfish or hurtful ways, God seeks us out and confronts us with our sinfulness — we get the wake-up calls that we need. It means that we are never abandoned and left alone in our self-destructive behavior, but are given assistance in turning ourselves around. It means that God forgives our sins, heals our painful memories, restores our minds and bodies to health, and strengthens us for the challenges of the day.
Our Lord is not a small and passive shepherd. Instead, he’s big and he’s active, constantly watching out for the welfare of his sheep.
But what’s happening in Poland might change your mind.
On a rocky hill in that country is the newest, most audacious religious icon in all of Europe, if not the world: A 108-foot-high statue of Jesus. That’s the height of a 10-story building. According to The Guardian (April 5, 2011), volunteers from the town, along with prisoners on day release from the local jail, have been building it for the last 10 years.
On a windy day last spring, a crane gently swayed as work continued on the concrete figure, the brainchild of a local priest. He claims it is the world’s biggest statue of Jesus Christ — bigger even than Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. This is a sore point with the Brazilians who grumble that the Polish Jesus is cheating — cheating by standing on a mound.
The priest drives a Mercedes with rosary beads hanging from the rear view mirror. When asked why he decided to erect the gargantuan savior, he said, “It was Jesus’ idea: I was just the builder.”
But not everyone agrees that the statue is divine. It is rumored to have cost nearly $3 million, and one Polish resident says, “I think we could spend that money far better. We need schools, we need hospitals, we need better roads.”
What do you think? Should they build a statue or a school? While a 108-foot shepherd may not be the best use for $3 million, it does remind us that Jesus is a big shepherd, one who stands tall over us and dominates our lives. Like an enormous concrete icon, he simply cannot be ignored.
Christ the King Sunday is the day each year that we focus on the rule of Jesus over all of human life, including our own lives. In today’s Scripture lesson, from the book of the prophet Ezekiel, we learn that God rules over us as a powerful shepherd, one who judges and separates his flock, showing a special concern for the weak and the vulnerable. He promises to set up over them one shepherd, his servant David, the king who turns out to be the ancestor of Jesus the Christ.
So what is the character of this big and powerful shepherd? Ezekiel says that he is not afraid to throw his weight around. “I will seek the lost,” says God, “and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice” (Ezekiel 34:16).
God actively seeks out the lost, brings back the strayed, heals the injured, and strengthens the weak. This means that when we lose our way and begin to behave in selfish or hurtful ways, God seeks us out and confronts us with our sinfulness — we get the wake-up calls that we need. It means that we are never abandoned and left alone in our self-destructive behavior, but are given assistance in turning ourselves around. It means that God forgives our sins, heals our painful memories, restores our minds and bodies to health, and strengthens us for the challenges of the day.
Our Lord is not a small and passive shepherd. Instead, he’s big and he’s active, constantly watching out for the welfare of his sheep.
posted by Henry Brinton | 7:49 AM
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