The Shepherd is on the hunt!

Ezekiel 34:11-16
For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.

I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD.

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, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.

We are at the end of the church year. This Sunday, November 20, we will acknowledge the powerful reign of Christ -- the King of Love.

The readings are just about as clear as words can possibly be. There is absolutely no doubt about Love's goal. The lost...the weak...the hurting and wounded ones are being gathered into the safe, comforting arms of a shepherd whose arms are expansive enough to enfold all that is!

I encourage you to read the passage from Ezekiel slowly...where are YOU in the prophetic story? Perhaps the words are more than the intellect, ego and pride can accept.  They say:   I'm not lost.  I'm not that wounded.  I haven't strayed that far.   

Still, the image invites your heart to enter the process.  

Why not allow the shepherd to find YOU? 

How do you see yourself wandering through the world of this day...how does life bump up against you? Where do you see yourself lying down, not in comfort and safety, but in pain, confusion or pure exhaustion? Those are the places and spaces where the amazing power of Christ's shepherding presence is calling you by name.