This morning our texts talk about sheep, shepherds, and abundant life.

 While all the readings are connected, I want to focus on Psalm 23…

On this third Sunday of Easter, Easter Day is probably becoming a vague memory to many of us.

We have since…

watched the successful landing of the Integrity capsule of the Artemis II mission, paid our taxes, made visits to doctors’ offices, and wondered if we’ll have one more final freeze so that we can plant!…

Back in my younger years,
            I would ride my bike to work.

 In the mornings,
I enjoyed the pre-dawn darkness.

 There were few cars on the roads,
           and the streetlights were still glowing in the dark….

“After the sabbath,
         as the first day of the week was dawning,
                Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.”

 Friday had been horrific….

 “Hope frees us to live in the present, with the deep trust that God will never leave us.” (Henri Nouwen)

 What words of faith and comfort that Henri Nouwen gives us….

We find Jesus this morning,

having just ducked out of the temple,

 narrowly escaping a stoning by some angry Jews

      who have taken offense at his claim to be the Son of Man….

Activist Shane Claiborne says,

“Violence is contagious.

“Violence begets violence. …”

“A powerful magnitude 7.1 earthquake shakes parts of Malaysia.” 

“11 million under flood watch as storms bring heavy rain and snow to California.” 

“UN warns millions in Somalia face malnutrition and starvation.” 

“Ukraine remembers its dead as war enters a fifth year.” 

These were some of our recent news headlines….

We all face temptations…
            all the time!

 But how do we handle them?

 That is the question.

Paul says to the Church at Corinth:
            “Be reconciled to God.”

 That seems to me the theme of Lent: reconciliation….

“Arrive with no plan….”

When Jesus finishes the Sermon on the Mount,
           he continues addressing the disciples saying:

 “You are the salt of the earth…

“You are the light of the world….”

Given Jesus’ clarity on the matter,
            perhaps we should spend a little time fleshing that out….

This week I read a blog post by Lutheran pastor, Nadia Bolz-Weber.

 A woman named Kathryn had written her:
           “Dear Nadia, I am struggling with the world’s weight….”

“The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.”

 This morning we hear these words in both Isaiah and our Gospel reading….

Light has shined on those who live in deep darkness!…

"What are you looking for?"

In John’s Gospel, these are the very first words out of Jesus’ mouth.

“What are you looking for?….”

John the Baptist spent his adult life preparing the way for Jesus. 

He spent his own ministry pointing beyond himself to Jesus.

 He tells the crowds:
“I baptize you with water for repentance,
                      but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me;        I am not worthy to carry his sandals…..”  (Mt 3:11)

“Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?” 

What a curious question to come from a group of star-gazers from far away Persia!

And what an irritant to King Herod’s quest for unabated power!….

Our God is a God of speaking.

Our God is a God who wants desperately to have a conversation with us.

In the beginning God spoke the heavens and the earth into existence. . ..

This evening, we gather together to celebrate something spectacular…

            something that seems a bit far-fetched if applying only our rational minds…

      yet something we proclaim every time we gather for worship….

I wonder how often each of us feels like we are wandering in the wilderness?

As I think about our Old Testament scriptures, it seems like God’s people are frequently wandering in the wilderness or the desert…