From Ruin to Restoration

When I was little, my grandpa gave me a packet of World War I  postcards for my postcard collection. He had been stationed in Paris in 1918. I remember staring for long minutes at his sepia pictures of bombed-out buildings. The streets were empty and full of rubble.  My ten-year-old imagination said that France was in ruins. 

I went to France in 2011 to visit my brother. Streets bustled with cars. Apartment buildings were bright with petunias in window boxes. The sidewalks were full of people walking. Mothers were pushing strollers. My grown-up impression of France was of a community that had been materially restored. 

Ruin comes in many forms. Thieves who break in and steal the sheep can devastate the owner of the sheep. Deceit, corruption, and insult can tear a person down. A leader who goes astray from a moral path can bomb holes in family and community. The rubble from the abuse crisis litters the streets of the Church and tests our ability to trek onward. 

It is the Good Shepherd who wants to lead us from ruin to restoration and then to flourishing. Despite the impression that sentimental Jesus pictures might give us, a shepherd is not a soft character. He is weather-hardened and battle-ready. He is willing to fight to the death for his sheep so that they can safely walk through dark valleys. He restores and watches over all, for his protection is communal; sheep move in flocks. 

Jesus says that he came so that we might have life and have it more abundantly. We pray for this renewal. From a personal Spirit-filled abundance, we are to work toward the reinvigoration of the  Church and the whole world. We go together. The Good Shepherd will lead us to a vibrant new life.

Consider/Discuss 

• This week we begin a subtle scriptural shift. In the first half of the Easter season, we’ve focused on the revelation of who Jesus is. In this second half as we build toward Pentecost, we shift our focus toward the empowerment to be the people Jesus calls us to be. Look back at today’s readings. Which passages, verbs, and images speak about what we are to do and who we are to be? 
• The hunger for restoration is a recurring theme in the Old Testament. As we form impressions of the world in which we live, do we think more about ruin than restoration, or more of restoration than ruin? Where does our information come from? How do those sources affect the way that we approach life? How does that impact our hope? 

Living and Praying with the Word 

Shepherd of the flock, if we are headed off of a cliff, use your  staff to snatch us back. If we are scattering in all directions, herd us  together and steer us where you want us to go. As we walk through  today’s dark valleys, help us trust that your rod and your staff will  help us to travel securely together. Bring us to abundance and help us to flourish. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory,  forever and ever.