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Freedom Is Coming Tomorrow: A Juneteenth Reflection
In 1978, I wrote a poem that I now believe represented God’s first calling me into Read More
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G. Sujin Pak | Read Revelation 7:13-17
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Sign Up TodaySeveral scripture readings this week depict Jesus as our Shepherd, describing his care for the sheep. When coupling Revelation 7 with Psalm 23 and John 10, a striking reversal leaps from the page. The Shepherd is now the Lamb! “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne,...
God, help me to recognize the reversals needed in my life. May I experience and embody your intended love, righteousness, and peace. Amen.
The imagery of sheep plays a prominent role in three of this week’s readings. Psalm 23 uses the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep as its guiding metaphor. The Lord is our shepherd and leads us to safe and fertile places. Even when we pass through a dark valley, the Lord is there protecting us with a shepherd’s weapon, a staff. In the Gospel reading, Jesus describes himself as a shepherd who calls his sheep. Because they are his, they hear his voice. In Revelation, Jesus becomes the sheep—or more specifically, the Lamb that was slain on our behalf. Those who endure will praise the Lamb forever. Acts is different in that it focuses on a resurrection story, a manifestation of God’s power working through Peter.
Read Acts 9:36-43. How can you be a witness and a vessel for God’s activity?
Read Psalm 23. Reflect on the questions the author poses in Tuesday’s meditation. Allow God’s guidance and correction to be comforting.
Read Revelation 7:9-17. How does knowing Christ as both Lamb and Shepherd help you work to bring about things not yet seen?
Read John 10:22-30. How does your faith allow you to hold gently your convictions without needing to grasp tightly to certainties?
Respond by posting a prayer.
I join many of those who will pray for you as you seek to discern what you are called to be at this moment. May God grant you the courage to fulfill that calling. May we all open our eyes and see the misery, open our ears and hear the cries of God’s people, and, like God through the Lord Jesus Christ, be incarnate amongst them.”
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