David, an Israeli guide, greeted us on the bus as we began our journey. He handed us some freshly baked bread, a traditional sign of hospitality, and simply said, “Welcome home.” He went on to explain that our spiritual ancestors walked this land.
In fact, Harold Kushner writes: “The earliest ancestors of the Hebrew people who gave us the Bible were nomads, owning no property, bound to no one location but traveling with their flocks and herds wherever there was pastureland for the animals to graze on.”
Abraham, Moses, and David were all shepherds who cared for their sheep. The Bible is filled with references to God as a shepherd. In Ezekiel we read how God “will seek out my sheep” and “rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered.” (Ezekiel 34:12). God as a shepherd also promises: “I will seek the lost and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak….” (34:16)
This week we begin our Lenten Series “Spiritual Re-Boot.” The first message, “Called to Abundant Life” celebrates a God who comes seeking us no matter how far we have strayed. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, steps forward to care for and protect us for we are sheep that can tend to wander off. For some these past several months have brought up questions like: “Where are you, God?” or “If you are a good God, why is this happening?”
Our spiritual ancestors understood this seeking, loving God, because they, too, wandered away from their Creator. Friends, no matter how far we stray, I invite you this Lenten season to listen to God’s invitation to come home.
I look forward to exploring John 10:7-11 with you this weekend. May God richly bless you and your loved ones!
Peace,
Cathy