Texts: Jeremiah 23:1-6; Ephesians 2:13-22; Mark 6:30-34

Spiritual Leadership

Our Bible texts for this day have some important things to say about
spiritual leadership. I think this is an important issue for us today.
For example, as our nation was considering redefining marriage to include
homosexual partnerships, I found it interesting to see how Roman
Catholic politicians who support such a move, tried to justify being "good
Catholics" while rejecting their church's teaching on this issue.
They wanted to be known as leaders who are spiritual, who are
spiritually connected, while contradicting their professed spiritual heritage.
They basically wanted to have it both ways.

We are not much different when it comes to our own spirituality. We
like to think that we can follow Jesus without sacrificing our personal
comforts and pleasures. We too like to have it both ways. But we cannot
have it both ways. We either belong to Christ or we belong to this
world. When the Day of Judgment comes, we will either be in heaven or in
hell. There is no place in between where we can have it both ways. Jesus
made it clear that we cannot serve two masters. We cannot serve both God
and money. We need to be clear about whom we are serving. Are we
serving God or are we really just serving ourselves? How can we tell?

To answer this we first need to understand how we got to where we are
in our relationship with God. When we were Baptized God transferred us
from a meaningless, self-serving, empty way of life to being His beloved
children who have a wonderful inheritance to look forward to. As His
children we are given a most holy and important task: To be His faithful
servants, demonstrating His love to those around us. In Baptism we
received the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts
2:38). In Baptism God released us from a life of spiritual slavery to
ourselves and chose us to serve Him. This is how we received the call out of
a miserable, self-serving existence to serving the true and living God.

However, this spiritual truth is difficult to understand. It is natural
for us to think of serving someone else as something unpleasant while
we think it ideal when we can do something just for ourselves. For
example, I prefer to do work that will see my bank account grow. It is much
more difficult to do something that does not result in a tangible
benefit for myself. But as God's Baptized children, we have been called to
think differently about such things. Jesus taught us that "Those who
are last will be first and those who are first will be last." In
Baptism, then, we have been released from serving ourselves to serving our
Creator who loves us. The former gives us no lasting spiritual blessing
while the latter gives us true and lasting joy and happiness. This is
the first lesson for spiritual leadership. We cannot serve both God and
ourselves. We must serve God alone and fully trust Him to provide us
with everything else we need for our lives.

In our Old Testament lesson, God laments spiritual leaders who have
failed His people, Israel. The religious and political leaders of Israel
had neglected to follow God's Law while tolerating pagan practices.
They failed to teach the whole counsel of God. They failed to correct the
erring. They failed to provide positive role models for their community
to follow. As a result, God held them responsible for destroying His
people and for scattering them.

They were defeated by the Babylonian and Assyrian Empires and driven
into exile. Their temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. Without a temple
they no longer had direct access to God and His grace. In exile it became
very difficult for them to practice their faith. Nine of the tribes of
Israel became extinct as they were assimilated into their host culture,
thus becoming lost to God's purposes for them.

At the present it seems that the church in Canada has entered a kind of
"exile." As an institution it used to enjoy a privileged position,
being widely recognized as the educator of the nation. However, we who
still follow the teachings of the Bible are now regarded with disdain
and suspicion, as if we were subversives. Expressions of our Christian
beliefs and values are no longer welcome in public life and those who
practice their Christian values are subject to persecution. We feel the
pressure to conform our beliefs and values to the culturally acceptable
norms.

Why is it that we have become exiles within our own land? I once spoke
with an Anglican lady who said that when her pastor was asked whether
he was going to preach on the subject of homosexual "marriage," he
replied, "I don't know if I am allowed to." Can you imagine
spiritual leaders afraid to teach the Word of God because they might offend
someone? The lady also complained that for the same reason her church no
longer offered a prayer of thanksgiving before they served their
community meals for the homeless in the park, because some non-Christian
present might be offended. Here we have Christian leaders who are afraid
that they might offend someone with God's Word. I believe this is a
patently Canadian reason why the Christian church in this land is
presently in exile.

The reality is that God's Word of Law is meant to be offensive,
because before our Holy God we are all sinners. If my preaching fails to
offend you, then I have failed to preach God's Word. One of the purposes
of God's Word is to judge sin in our lives, and that, my friends, is
offensive to our sinful human nature. There is no way we can avoid that
reality. God gave us His law so that we might see our true sinful
condition, that before Him we have no righteousness of our own and all alike
are lost and condemned creatures. Without being personally convicted by
God's Law we cannot receive Jesus Christ who alone is our
Righteousness. A major reason we are in spiritual exile is that our land lacks
spiritual leaders who will teach God's Word. As a result the people of
Canada are spiritually lost.

In our Epistle lesson, Paul compares the people of God to a building
when he says that we are "God's people and members of God's
household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ
Jesus as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined
together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too
are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His
Spirit." Through Baptism we have been incorporated into this
spiritual household and as long as we remain on the foundation of God's Word
laid by the apostles and prophets and held together by Christ Jesus, we
are part of God's holy temple in whom His Spirit dwells.

If we have God's Spirit, we have peace and rest. When Jesus was with
His disciples, we are told in our Gospel lesson that he was concerned
that they have the opportunity to go "to a quiet place and get some
rest." This is another important lesson for spiritual leadership.
God's kingdom is not a kingdom where we are slaves who have to work
constantly. God's kingdom is a household, a family and it is His first goal
that His children have a place they can call "home" and find rest.

We are "at home" wherever God's Word is taught and believed.
There we find our true "family." There alone do we find true spiritual
rest. You have come here to hear God's Word and to meditate on it.
You have come to be judged by His Word of Law and to confess your sins.
You have come to hear His Words of Grace to you. Rested and refreshed
with this spiritual food you are prepared to do your work.

As Jesus looked out upon the multitudes, we are told by the Gospel
writer that "He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep
without a shepherd. So He began teaching them many things." Having
received compassion from the Good Shepherd of our souls, we are able to view
others with compassion. This is the final lesson of spiritual
leadership. We must first be quiet and rest. We must first allow God to serve us
with His means of Grace. Only then are we ready and equipped to
minister to fulfill the glorious calling we received in Baptism: To be free to
serve those who are around us as His holy people.

Now may the grace of God our Heavenly Father keep your hearts and minds
in perfect peace through Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.