Sermon Delivered at Church of the Good Shepherd
Fort Lee, New Jersey,
Pentecost, July 3, 2022, at 8:00 and 10:00 a.m.
Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing?
Or
Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
“You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bodies shall flourish like the grass; and it shall be known that the hand of the Lord is with his servants” (Isaiah 66:14)
“Come now and see the works of God, *
how wonderful he is in his doing toward all people…. His eyes keep watch over the nations.” (Psalm 66:4,6)
“Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow.” (Galatians 6:7)
“See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. “ (Luke 10:3)
I was wondering, as I began to reflect on what to share with you this morning, if many of you feel as I do—like we have been slugged in the stomach? Our heads are reeling with all the bad news in our national life, and we feel the anxiety rising as to whether this country can survive the many and accumulating problems that beset us. It’s hard to remain hopeful in the face of one revelation after another, one scandal after another, and the assault on the very foundations of what we thought was our stable democracy called the United States.
And then we read today’s scriptures where it calls us on to rejoice that we, God’s people, will flourish like the grass, because God’s hand is with us. We are told to behold the wonderful things God is doing for us. “His eyes,” the Psalmist writes, “keep watch over the nations.”
“Oh, yeah?” we can honestly reply. It certainly doesn’t look like that at all. A senseless, terrible war rages unabated in Ukraine, thousands dying, a country being slowly reduced to rubble. Our country here at home divided like never before in our lifetime with justice seemingly far from just and people baring their teeth and their fists. Where’s the love? Is God, in fact, keeping watch any longer, if indeed he once did? The evidence might seem quite sketchy.
And we Christians. We are told that we are being sent out like lambs among wolves. But that might sound grand and virtuous, but it can be darn hard to distinguish the lambs from the wolves. And, if we are honest, it can be hard to figure out which we are?
Are we wolves in lambs’ clothing? I sometimes feel that way. Am I not a wolf when hatred and vengeance can fill my heart as I watch the evening news?
It’s not just the news. Do you ever find yourself saying things, and behaving in a way that doesn’t feel like you? Do you find yourself reflecting on a relationship and wondering why it made you feel like a different person?
How about trying to impress someone and acting in a way that makes you feel like a phony. Or shrinking into yourself when a certain friend is around. Or even saying things just to hurt somebody. In short, just not being your authentic self.
But make no mistake: our calling is to love, to go forth in a spirit of peace, of forgiveness and reconciliation. As the Epistle puts it, “God is not mocked, for we reap what we sow.” I’d like to point fingers at all those who will get theirs, to whom justice will be served—excluding myself, of course! But remember, the General Confession in our Communion service is called “General,” because it includes everyone. All have fallen short of the glory of God.
Yes, it can be hard to keep a faith in a loving, sovereign God when we see such disruption and injustice and inhumanity. But it is perhaps such troublesome times as these that present us with the greatest challenge. To say yes to a world loaded for bear, with everyone’s hand on the trigger is perhaps a challenge we do not have the courage to undertake. But this is precisely the challenge that Jesus faced…and met.
Jewish life under the Roman occupation of Palestine was by no means easy. Even the Jewish Sanhedrin was corrupt. We aren’t unique in our criticism of our own highest court.
And suppose we lived in 1860 America or 1929 at the beginning of the Great Depression? Or 1939 Europe? Or 1945 Japan? Or 1950 Korea? Tell me where and when we could relax our shoulders and our minds and breathe the fresh air of peace and world harmony?
There is a new documentary about the life and music of poet and songwriter Leonard Cohen. In it, he says, “If you look around, you see a world that cannot be made sense of. You either raise your fist or you say ‘Hallelujah.’” Can we lose hope in humanity? Can we afford this luxury?
Isn’t that beautiful? This is what people of faith have been saying for millennia and which confronts us today. Can we sing “Hallelujah” in the face of a world so seemingly out of kilter?
The words of this beautiful song by Leonard Cohen have the repeating refrain, “Hallelujah, hallelujah” which rises out of all the tension and struggle and tears. This is the hallelujah that arises from the cross, a cross which stretches across history to tell us that we are lambs among wolves but that we are redeemed by our looking at one who loves us through it all, even when we turn into wolves ourselves. “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Father, forgive us, for we forget just how loving is this shepherd who stays closer to us than our own breath. We all have capacity both for love and generosity on the one hand and for selfishness and hate on the other. I know I do.
The love we know as Christians is a love that does not let us go and that will not let us go. So let us be of good courage and render to no one evil for evil but strengthen the faint-hearted, support the weak and honor every single human being. For each human being is our brother or sister. Jesus teaches us that. And he gives us the strength to sing Hallelujah, for there is just no other song to sing.
[Play a clip from Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”]
Amen.