It was a travel day, but I still had the opportunity to see a little bit more of the world.
After breakfast, I left my hotel in Tokyo and took a cab to the station, where I caught Kodama721, a Shinkansen (bullet train) to Odawara.
As we sped along, I saw a mountain in the distance and wondered if it was Mount Fuji, but no. I believe that it was Mount Oyama.
The entire trip took exactly 30 minutes, whereas if I had traveled on a regular train, it would have taken a little over two hours. Go fast! From there, I rode the local train to Hakone.
Hakone is a bit of a resort town, and my hotel meets that requirement. I didnโt plan that; I just happened to get lucky. Iโll take lucky whenever I can get it! There is a beautiful bridge crossing over to the hotel from the train station.
You know what I had for breakfast (and it was tasty), but I did not see lunch coming. I had some time before I could check in and after perusing the menus of the three restaurants that are here, I picked one thing that I was not likely to find anywhere else, except in Japanโshark fin soup. It does not taste like chicken. Itโs quite good with a very thick gravy.
Afterward, I went for a walk. I strolled through town, which is just one restaurant after another, and then found my way to a trail I just happened to come across. I walked up for several hundred yards and reached a dead end. I turned around and headed back towards the hotel when I saw a Y in the path, so I decided to go in that direction. I figured I needed to do penance for my shark fin soup.
At this stage, Fat Boy should have turned around when he hit the first switchback, but I kept goingโswitchback after switchback, climbing, climbing, climbing. I saw that there was a temple at the top and thought that could be fun. I will pay for this walk tomorrow, but it was worth it.
The first thing I saw as I came down the mountain was a Buddhist cemetery. Seems appropriate as I thought a couple of times during the climb I was going to need a cemetery. There is something very humbling about walking among the dead. Itโs a good reminder. Iโm serious. We only really think about it during the Season of Lent, so the occasional unannounced reminder is good for the soul.
As luck would have it, the temple was closed. However, the grounds are beautiful, and I spent some time just looking around.
It was a 15-minute walk back to the hotel, and it was definitely time to prop my feet up and take a nice cool shower. It seems that this place is famous for its Onsen (public bath.) Can I just say thatโs not going to happen. Itโs definitely the thing to do while in Japan, but Iโm just a little too private for that one. Iโll spare everyone from having to look at this sexy beast. Instead, Iโll see what kind of Japanese whiskey they have in the bar. I still havenโt had the opportunity to say โKanpai!โ
Iโm only here for the night. Tomorrow, weโre off to Kyoto. Iโll spend about three days there. Itโs a place I really want to see. I suspect that it will be quite different from Tokyo.
I pray you all are doing well. Thanks for traveling along with me. Say a prayer that Iโm smart enough to avoid the switchbacks in the very near future. ๏ฟผ
Iโve grown accustomed to having my breakfast downstairs at the restaurant here in the hotel. (I think I forgot to mention that I am staying at the Tosei Hotel Cocone. As this is my only experience with a hotel in Japan, I would have to give this one five stars. Very comfortable, very clean, and the people are very kind.) The breakfast is buffet style, and I generally make two trips. Round one is typically breakfast food with a few unusual items, including Ramen noodles with grilled mackerel and onion. Round twoโฆ Now thatโs something very different.
What we have here is a bowl of rice with three types of sushi: salmon, salmon roll, and fatty tuna. It just makes me happy. Never what I have thought of having sushi for breakfast, but they offer it and I eat it. I get plenty of protein, so I have plenty of energy to see me through the day.
It was only a five-minute walk to the first stop of the day, the Tsukiji Hongan-ji Buddhist Temple.
Tsukiji Hongwanji is a Buddhist temple belonging to the Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha denomination, also known as Shin Buddhism, which was founded by the monk Shinran (1173-1263) and whose head temple is Hongwanji (Nishi Hongwanji) in Kyoto.
The temple has been destroyed by fire or earthquake several times, and the current structure was built in 1934.
The interior is rather magnificent and ornate. The photographs are not great as you are not allowed to get very close.
Iโm sure some will mark this up as my Christian bias, but I just didnโt โfeelโ all that much while I was there. I got a sense of the peace and the calm (with the exception of all the construction that was going on) yet it did leave my spirit wanting. Am I really so narrow-minded? No. As I am certain they believe Buddha leads to the path of enlightenment; I believe that Jesus leads to the path of life. Thatโs an argument for another day, so I shall end this discussion with a nice glass of iced, VERY green tea.
It was really good, but I did get the impression that someone had gone out and mowed the grass and made tea from it. ๏ฟผ
It was time for my longer excursion, which took me about an hour. It was only one train ride, but it included 15 minutes of walking on both ends. All this took me to St. Maryโs Cathedralโthe cathedral church of the Archdiocese of Tokyo. This is the church I mentioned in yesterdayโs post. I saw pictures of it both on the outside and the inside and wanted to visit.
When I arrived, a service was taking place, so there was time before I could enter. Fortunately, on the church grounds, there is a recreation of the grotto at Lourdes. I made good use of my time and prayed my rosary.
I really like this oneโฆ
I donโt know what kind of flower this is, but it was beautiful.
Following the service, I was allowed to enter the church and spend some time. This is where I will make confession and tell you that I am a bad person. There was a sign that said no pictures inside the cathedral, and of course, everyone there was taking picturesโฆ very discreetly.
The building was designed by the famous Japanese architect Kenzo Tange (1913-2005). From an articleโฆ
For his Tokyo Cathedral of Saint Mary, he visited several medieval Gothic examples. “After experiencing their heaven-aspiring grandeur and ineffably mystical spaces,” he says, “I began to imagine new spaces, and wanted to create them by means of modern technology.”
I still do not know the architecture type, but I would classify it as brutalist/modern. It provides a very clear message that declares, in no uncertain terms, โThe Lord is my rock!โ
That is the altar at the top of the red stairs. Maybe that gives you an idea of how large the sanctuary is. If I were given the opportunity to build a church, oh yeahโฆ
The Mary Chapel to the left of the high altar.
Following my time at the cathedral, I headed back to the hotel. Today is my last full day in Tokyo, and I must check out my 10 AM tomorrow. What this means is that today is laundry day. For those of you who remember Portugal, this will not be me doing laundry in the sink and drying it with a hair dryer. Thereโs a good and proper washing machine/dryer downstairs available to hotel guests. It did take me a while to figure out how to use it, but once I put my glasses on, the instructions made a bit more sense. After thatโs all sorted out, I may have to go and find myself a bit more sushi. I may turn into a fish before this is over with, but itโs so darn good!
Tomorrow, we ride the bullet. The bullet train, that is! I hear it goes a little over 200 mph. That oughta be fun! Iโll keep you posted.
How do we begin to describe this day? Well, given that it is the Lordโs day we went to church. Saint Albans Episcopal Anglican Church in Tokyo. It was about a 30 minute train ride and I made all my connections. Arrived early and was able to pray my rosary before the service began. A very small church in size but it seemed to be a vibrant congregation. I would say that half the members were African.
The service was straight out of the Book of Common Prayer. Very few deviations. I like that in a service. The sermon was good however following the sermon (the priest was a graduate of Nashotah House) the former priest to the church (also a graduate of Nashotah House) gave a small presentation on a gift that he had received and that he was now giving to the diocese. The gift was a FUMIE.
A fumi-e (่ธใฟ็ตต, fumi “stepping-on” + e “picture”) was a likeness of Jesus or Mary to which the religious authorities of Japan required suspected Christians to step, in order to demonstrate that they were not members of the outlawed Christian religion. If they refused, they were put to death and a most horrible way.
The priest who gifted the fumie to the diocese provided us with a detailed description of how they were put to death. Iโm not going to go into that here. They were the Martyrs of Japan. Itโs worth reading up on.
During the announcements, they invited the visitors to tell who they were and where they were from. Yours truly spoke up and gave a loud shout out for Enid, Oklahoma! Funny thing, that was not my only connection with Oklahoma for the day.
Following the service, the day turned into a bit of a tourist outing. As I turned the corner on the street that leads up to the church I saw the Tokyo Tower.
I said to myself, โSelf, youโve got to get up there!โ Both self and I were of the opinion that we would not be climbing the stairs, but we took the elevator. What a ride. It goes up and up and up.
Standing 1,092 feet high in central Tokyo, Tokyo Tower (ๆฑไบฌใฟใฏใผ) is the world’s tallest, self-supported steel tower and 10 feet taller than its model, the Eiffel Tower. A symbol of Japan’s post-war rebirth as a major economic power, Tokyo Tower was the country’s tallest structure from its completion in 1958 until 2012 when it was surpassed by the Tokyo Skytree. In addition to being a popular tourist spot, Tokyo Tower serves as a broadcast antenna.
820 feet up is the top observation deck. Yours truly wrote the elevator all the way there. I can honestly say I felt a bit woozy at times, but what a view.
๏ฟผ
Selfie of the day.
What goes up must come downโฆ
To get my feedback on the ground, I traveled to the Imperial Gardens. Most everything has bloomed except for the azaleas. The variations of green were fantastic though.
At this point, I had been on the go for about eight hours and I had not eaten since breakfast. I was hungry. I took two trains to get back to the general area of my hotel, and then found a sushi bar. I ate my weight in sushi. I also had four very tasty beers. I had the salmon, shrimp, eel, salmon roe, tuna, mackerel, shrimpโฆ and when all that was done, I looked at the guy and said, โIโve never had sea urchin before. I think I need to try that.โ I did. Salty and earthy. I would eat it again, but itโs not on the top of the list. I topped all that off with a salmon skin roll garnished with salmon roe. Dang! Good eats for sure!
Now, when I ordered the sea urchin, I noticed the two girls at the end of this bar about three seats away from me. They were very friendly and we chatted a bit. But they watched me eat that sea urchin, and then we discussed it. Come to find out, they were from Stillwater, Oklahoma. They both work at OSU. We had a really good laugh about that. They have one more day here and then theyโre on their way home. How strange is that? There are over 14 million people living in Tokyo and I happen to run into two people from Oklahoma. A very good day.
Tomorrow, I have absolutely no idea whatโs on the agenda, but I do believe that Iโm going to go and visit some more of the churches that are here. I donโt know what the architectural style is but I have not seen it before. More on that tomorrow.
I pray you all are well. My cat sitter extraordinaire sent a picture of The Queen. She seems to be doing well.
Silly photosโฆ
Of course, Godzilla had to make an appearance!Too cloudy to see it, but itโs in that general vicinity. ๏ฟผ
I left Oklahoma City sometime yesterday with a layover in Dallas and then a 13 1/2-hour flight to Tokyo. Iโm not gonna complain about that flight because I got to come to Japan, but I will sayโฆ Dang! Itโs a long flight. I flew American Airlines and they did pretty good. I fly Japan Airlines on the way home. ๏ฟผ
I arrived at my hotel intending to get out and explore the neighborhood. That didnโt happen. I got to the hotel about 5:30 PM and I was out like a light by 7:30 PM. I donโt sleep real well on airplanes, but I slept good last night. I woke up at about 5:30 AM Tokyo time and started the day at 6:30 AM with a nice cup of coffee. Breakfast at sevenโฆ Now that was fun. I have no idea what I ate to be perfectly honest with you. I know there were some eggs involved and possibly some toast but after that, I really donโt know. There was some kind of fish there were noodles and some very tasty morsels that I said to myself, youโre here, ๏ฟผ you might as well try them.
I was traveling by 7:30 AM and exploring the city. Itโs crazy here! There are people everywhere. My first destination and the one place on the list that I wanted to see was the Gotokuji Temple, also known as the cat temple, but it is temporarily closed because of a certain festival that is going on. I donโt think Iโm going to get to see it as it will be closed for three days. Iโll keep watching the schedule to see if it opens up. When that didnโt work out, I jumped on another trainโฆ Speaking of trains.
The trains go everywhere. They are color-coded. For the most part, the trains are all underground. You spend a lot of time underground in this city. Iโm slowly figuring it out, but I will say that I have gotten on the wrong train more than once and gone in the wrong direction several times. It starts to make sense after a while and all I can say is thank goodness for Google Maps. It keeps you going in more or less the right direction.
My next stop was the Shibuya Scramble Crossing which is pictured above. Itโs a place where everything comes together. It was fun to see, and I did cross it several times (a couple of those times were because I was going in the wrong direction.) Everyone gathers at the crosswalk waiting for the green go-ahead, and then you just start walking in the direction you want to ๏ฟผ go. Itโs marked off but basically, folks go wherever they wanna go. It is highly recommended that you not go when youโre not supposed to go. Itโs a good way to get run over. After such madness, I decided I needed a little bit of calm and made my way to the Meiji Jingu Shrine, which is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shลken.
Shinto is the indigenous religion of Japan, deeply rooted in its culture and history. It’s a polytheistic religion with no founder, sacred text, or dogma, emphasizing a sense of harmony with nature and veneration of the “kami,” spirits or deities believed to reside in all things. Shinto practices include visiting shrines, offering prayers, and observing festivals, often intertwined with everyday life and traditions.
OTORITHE GRAND SHRINE -GATE) this is the biggest wooden โToriiโ of the Myรตjin ๏ฟผ style in Japan, rebuilt and dedicated via pious benefactor on December 23, 1915 and model both inform and size exactly after the original built in 1920. The material wood is โHinokiโ (Japan Cypress). 1500 years old from Mount Tandai-san Taiwan.Sake
During the Meiji Era, Emperor Meiji, whose divine soul is enshrined here at Meiji Jingu, led the industrial growth and modernization of Japan by encouraging various industries and supporting technological development.
Due to their grace and virtue, Emperor Meiji and his consort, Empress Shoken, the beloved mother of our nation whose soul is also enshrined here, are held in the highest esteem by the Japanese people.
These sake barrels are offered every year to the enshrined deities by members of the Meiji Jingu Zenkoku Shuzo Keishinkai (Meiji Jingu Nationwide Sake Brewers Association) including the Kotokai, which has made offerings of sake for generations, as well as other sake brewers around Japan wishing to show their deep respect forthe souls of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken.
In addition to stating our humble gratitude to all of the brewers who have so graciously donated their sake, we also pray for the continuous prosperity of the sake brewing industry and all the other industries maintaining Japan’s traditional culture.
Just on the other side of the street are barrels of wine!
The barrels of wine to be consecrated at Meiji Jing have been offered by the celebrated wineries of Bourgogne in France on the initiative of Mr. Yashiko Sata, Representative, House of Burgundy in Tokyo, Honorary Citizen of Bourgogne and owner of the Chateau de Chailly Hotel-Golf. Profound gratitude is due to the winemakers who have so generously contributed to this precious gift to be consecrated here to the spirit of world peace and amity, with the earnest prayer that France and Japan will enjoy many more fruitful years of friendship.
Once you arrive inside the shrine, they ask you to not take pictures. However, just outside of the shrine was a wedding party. The bride was all smiles.
I then made my way across town (after getting lost on the train a little bit) to the big 3-D cat billboard. Itโs just one of those things you got to see! Everybody was standing around with their phones pointed up towards it.
This was followed by a stroll around the city. I came to a wildly popular place that was jammed up with people.
Can you see Godzilla?
This is where I learned an important lesson: Japan is a very clean city. You will very rarely see any garbage on the ground or in the gutters. IF you begin to see garbage on the ground and the place gets a bit smelly, you are in the wrong part of town! You need to turn around and go back. You will be offered all sorts of things as you pass through this area. I donโt feel like it was unsafe, but it was definitely not somewhere you want to linger.
From there, I found a nice little restaurant and enjoyed a bit of lunch. I also reached the point where I was hot and tired after going for about eight hours. I took a couple of trains and actually made the right connection on the first try and arrived back at my hotel, which reminds meโฆ Not nearly as confusing as the train, but still requiring a certain amount of study is the toilet. ๏ฟผ
If all goes as planned, Iโll be at church tomorrow at Saint Albans Episcopal โ Anglican Church. See you then.๏ฟผ๏ฟผ
The big trip of 2025 begins tomorrow morning at approximately 8 AM. I will be catching a flight from Oklahoma City to Dallas Fort Worth. There will be a three hour layover and then I bought a 13 1/2 hour flight to Tokyo. It would seem that a person would complain about a 13 1/2 hour flight but I cannot do it. I am so very excited to be able to take this trip. I will be visiting Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, and Osaka. There are many different things. Iโm excited to see, from that busy crosswalk in Tokyo to the temples out in the country. Iโm also looking forward to the foodโฆ Letโs be honestโฆ Itโs gonna be good! While in Tokyo, I do plan on getting up around 3 AM and following Anthony Bourdainโs recommendation and visiting the fish market. I know it sounds like a crazy idea but it looks like something I need to do. Apparently, they have fish on sale there that you have never seen before. In addition, you get to eat some of them. Thatโll be my favorite part.
I will try to post something tomorrow, but I donโt know that I will have any luck from the airplane. I arrive in Tokyo at around 3:30 PM on Friday. We will see what happens. I donโt even know how to set my watch right now. Itโs 16 hours ahead in Japan, so if you happen to call me, thereโs a really good chance Iโm not going to answer. Iโll be sleeping with the do not disturb on.
Someone asked me, โWhy are you going to Japan?โ There are a lot of reasons and a lot of answers to that question but Iโm looking forward to experiencing a new culture. Even when I was traveling in Norway, it still felt like I was in the west. I want something different. I want to understand a little bit about how the rest of the world thinks and operates. Iโm certain that it will help me gain perspective.
Not only all that, it is a vacation! V.A.C.A.tion! Iโm truly looking forward to the opportunity to simply be and be at peace. Iโll be sharing my experiences in my pictures along the way. I hope youโll follow along. If you know of something that I absolutely must see and must do while here, please leave a comment and Iโll give it a shot. No promises because the agenda is kind of full already, but you never know. I preached on Sunday about how we should be prepared to be interrupted by God. I suppose that could happen while on vacation as well. Letโs see what He wants to show me. Thanks for coming along. ๏ฟผ
There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. In fact, she disliked everyone, except her loving boyfriend, who was always there for her. She used to tell her boyfriend, โIf I could only see the world, I would marry you.โ
One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend, for the first time.
He asked her, โNow that you can see the world, will you marry me?โ
The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn’t expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him.
Her boyfriend left her in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying: โTake good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they were yours, they were mine.โ
We have so many different ways of communicating these daysโin person, via text messaging, through video calls, emails, and more. When you think about it, you realize that each form of communication involves some aspect of time, which can be summed up in that workplace complaint, โI survived another meeting that should have been an email.โ If you have time, an in-person or video call is fine, but if you are rushed, then fire off a quick email or text message. This applies not only to work but also to our personal relationships.
I remember watching a movie where one of the ladies said, โIf I want to spend an hour with my husband, I have to call his secretary and make an appointment.โ Maybe it was a book, but some character requested an hour of someone’s time. The response was, โNo one gets an hour.โ
Weโre so busy these days that no one gets an hour, and if they do, theyโre going to have to make an appointment and pay for it.
Perhaps it’s not all that bad, but there are days that seem like it. Days when, even though you live in the same house with someone, the best you can hope for is to wave at each other as you come and go.
Given these circumstances, which I believe are true for many, it got me to wondering about the phrase, โI love you.โ No one gets an hour. No one gets that much of our time, so when we say, โI love you,โ to someoneโbe they our children, spouses, etc.โwhen we say, โI love you,โ what do we mean? What message are we trying to convey, or is it just a nice way to conclude the interactions we have with one another as we pass each other in our comings and goings?
Text message: โDonโt forget to pick up eggs. Thanks. I love you.โ In that message, what is more importantโthe eggs or the love?
Donโt get me wrong. Iโm not saying you donโt mean it when you say, โI love you,โ but do you actually think about it when you say it? Is it something that grabs you down here in your gut, or is it an afterthought at the end of the day?
Today, in our Gospel reading, Jesus said, โI give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.โ Three times: love one another. Love one another. Love for one another.
Maybe Iโm just making an observation, or I could be completely off base. But if this is true, if no one gets an hour and we are just shouting out โI love yousโ as we pass one another, then how do we, as a community of believers, express love to one another as Jesus has called us to? Put another way, Jesus said, โEveryone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.โ Will those around us know that we are Jesusโ disciples based on what they witness between us?
A story is told about a pastor traveling with a Brazilian seminary student studying in the US. Along the way, the pastor asked the student if he would like to stop for a cup of coffee. The student said, โI would be honored.โ So the pastor swung into a Starbucks and went through the drive-thru.
Once on their way again the student was very quiet and when pressed about his silence he said, โI thought you were asking me to be your friend. I thought we were going to sit together and share life.โ (From a sermon by Monty Newton, The Making of a Compelling Christian Community)
If the world is to know that we are Jesusโ disciples, then it is more than a coffee on the go. We must sit together and share life. We must be committed to one another. Iโm not saying that you are not already doing this, but like the โI love youโ tagline at the end of a text message can become something that is just said but doesnโt really carry much weight, so can our commitment to one another in a Christian community. We may be there in our minds, but do our relationships reflect it?
St. John wrote in his first epistle, โBeloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is loveโฆ. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.โ (1 John 4:7-8, 11)
Reflecting on this passage, N.T. Wright said, โThe Christian faith grows directly out of, and must directly express, the belief that in Jesus the Messiah the one true God has revealed himself to be-love incarnate. And those who hold this faith, and embrace it as the means of their own hope and life, must themselves reveal the self-same fact before the watching world. Love incarnate must be the badge that the Christian community wears, the sign not only of who they are but of who their God is.โ (The Early Christian Letters, p.169)
To be committed to one another and to be that community of believers requires more than simply waving at each other on Sunday mornings. We like to wear our shirts with little alligators or polo players stitched on them, but we must exhibit our love for one another even more boldly. How do we accomplish this?
The Abbot of the monastery wanted the community he led to be much more committed to one another. Needing advice on the subject, the Abbot visited his good friend Jeremiah, a wise old Jewish rabbi. After hearing the Abbot, Jeremiah asked if he could share an experience. โPlease do,โ responded the Abbot. โAnything you can offer.โ
Jeremiah told the Abbot that he had received an important vision: the Messiah was among the ranks of the monks. The Abbot was flabbergasted. One among his own, living in the monastery, was the Messiah! The Christ! Who could it be? He knew it wasn’t himself, but who? He raced back to the monastery and shared this exciting news with his fellow monks.
The monks grew silent as they looked into each other’s faces. Was this one the Messiah? Or that one? From that day forward, the atmosphere in the monastery changed. No one wanted to miss the opportunity to be with the Messiah. If harm was done, they immediately sought forgiveness. The monks began serving one another in ways they had never considered, looking out for opportunities to assist and seeking healing and companionship.
As travelers found their way to the monastery, word soon spread about the remarkable spirit of the place. People took the journey to the monastery and found themselves renewed and transformed. All because those monks knew the Messiah was among them. All because the visitors recognized that those monks were true disciples of Jesus. All because those monks were loving one another as Christ had loved them.
Please donโt think that Iโm saying you are not committed to one another. I believe you are committed in a rather remarkable way, but we must always seek ways to strengthen the bonds between us and to bring others into our community. Not so that we can have a bigger church, but so that we can have a stronger, more faithful, and more committed church. So that everyone will know that we are Jesusโ disciples. So that everyone will know that Jesus is in our midst.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer stated in Life Together, โWe must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. God will be constantly crossing our paths and canceling our plans by sending us people with claims and petitions.โ
Love one another by allowing God to interrupt you. Give each other an hour. Sit together and share life. Along the way, you will discover that the Messiah is among the members of our church. Along the way, you will love one another as Christ loves us.
Let us pray:
Heavenly Father,
look upon our community of faith
which is the Church of your Son, Jesus Christ.
Help us to witness to his love
by loving all our fellow creatures without exception.
Today is a feria, which is a weekday when there are no feast day celebrations. In such cases, we go back to the readings we heard this past Sundayโthe fourth Sunday of Easter.
The Gospel lesson we read comes at the end of what is known as the Good Shepherd Discourse. It gets its name from a passage a few verses before what we readโJesus said, โI am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.โ (John 10:14-15)
As I mentioned on Sunday, the Shepherd has long been understood in the context of Holy Scripture and among the Israelites as one who guides the people in their daily activities and leads them in battle. We can understand this person to be someone who is obligated to perform these duties, but in truth, the Good Shepherd fulfills these duties out of love for the sheep. That love means the Shepherd will go to any extent to save the sheep. This saving does not always involve some great and terrible battle, but more often than not, it is a struggle that only the singular sheep and the Shepherd are aware of.
A member of a certain church who had previously attended services regularly stopped going. After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening, and the pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire.
Guessing the reason for his pastorโs visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a large chair near the fireplace, and waited. The pastor made himself comfortable but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs.
After a few minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember, and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then, he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet fascination.
As the lone emberโs flame faded, a momentary glow appeared, and then its fire was no more. Soon, it became cold and dead.
Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting.
Just before the pastor was ready to leave, he picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the center of the fire. Immediately, it began to glow once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.
As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said, โThank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday.โ (Source: Unknown)
Taking up a little child in His arms, Jesus said, โWhat do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.โ (Matthew 18:12-14)
The Good ShepherdโโHe revives my soul and guides me along right pathways for his Name’s sake.โ (Psalm 23:3)
Iโll close with a prayer. Thomas Merton wrote it on one of those days when he was struggling to stay on track. Let us pray: Good Shepherd, You have a wild and crazy sheep in love with thorns and brambles. But please don’t get tired of looking for me! I know You won’t. For You have found me. All I have to do is stay found.
Johnny Carson would begin one of his bits by saying something like, โIts so hotโฆ,โ and before he could fill in the blank, the audience would shout back, โHow hot is it?โ Carson would then fill in the rest. With that in mind, โIโm so confusedโฆโ
Iโm more confused than an Amish electrician.
I’m more confused than a vegan at a BBQ.
Iโm more confused than a goat on astroturf.
Iโm more confused than a chameleon in a bag of Skittles.
And Iโm also hoping you donโt feel that confused by the time Iโm done with this sermon.
Iโve told you before that those who wrote Holy Scripture didnโt write fluff. When they communicate something, even the smallest detail carries significance and plays a role in our understanding of the passage. Todayโs Gospel reading is no different.
The first two sentences we read: โAt that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon.โ
Initially, the verse seems to only tell us that a Jewish festival was occurring in Jerusalem and that Jesus was present at the Temple. However, for a Jewish listener at the time it was written, those two sentences were like a bomb with the fuse litโa bomb that was first constructed some six hundred years prior and spoken by the Prophet Daniel.
In the Book of Daniel, an angel of the Lord speaks to Daniel and tells of a day to come. A day when an enemy will rise up against Godโs people. According to the words of the angel, โForces sent by [this leader] shall occupy and profane the temple and fortress. They shall abolish the regular burnt offering and set up the desolating sacrilege.โ (Daniel 11:31) About 450 years later, in 147 BC, this prophecy was fulfilled.
Antiochus IV, one of the Syrian kings, conquered Jerusalem. First Maccabees picks up the story: โNow on the fifteenth day of Chislev, in the one hundred forty-fifth year, [the enemy] erected a desolating sacrilege on the altar of burnt offering. They also built altars in the surrounding towns of Judah and offered incense at the doors of the houses and in the streets.โ (1 Maccabees 1:54-55) Antiochus brought the sacrificial system of the Jews to an end, built a statue of Zeus inside the Temple of God, and then proceeded to sacrifice pigs on the altar (in the eyes of Jewish people, the pig is a filthy animalโunclean). This is the original Abomination of Desolationโan event that is detestable in the eyes of God and brings about great ruin.
Antiochus remained and began forcing the Israelites to worship the Syrian gods and to make sacrifices to them. However, when Daniel made the prophecy, he also said, โThe people who are loyal to their God shall stand firm and take action.โ (Daniel 11:32) Three years after the Abomination of Desolation, this part of the prophecy was fulfilled.
Antiochus’ men arrived in the town of Modein and were forcing the citizens to make sacrifices to the false gods. This is when they encountered Mattathias, a man zealous for Godโs covenant and Law. He refused the orders to sacrifice and rebelled. It wasnโt long after that he died, but with his dying words, he said to his sons, โNow, my children, show zeal for the law and give your lives for the covenant of our ancestors.โ (1 Maccabees 2:50) They did, led by one of Mattathiasโ sons, Judas Maccabeus.
It took several years, but the Maccabeans were eventually able to retake Jerusalem and the Temple. They cleansed the Temple, tore down the profaned altar, and built another one. They then prepared all the sacred vessels and instruments so that the worship of the One True God could again take place. The only problem was that the sacred lampstand, the Menorah, required a specially prepared oil that took eight days to make ready, and they only had one day’s worth. Not wanting to delay the right worship of God by another minute, they began anyway, and the oil that was to last only one day lasted eight, until the new oil had been preparedโthe Miracle of Light. Those eight days we know as Hanukkah. The word Hanukkah means dedication.
Put all of this togetherโthe Maccabeans revolted against an occupying army, recaptured the Holy City, and rededicated the Temple of God. They celebrated with a great festival that lasted eight days. This celebration is known as Hanukkah, and is also known as the Festival of the Dedication. Our Gospel reading began, โAt that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon.โ
Throughout the Scriptures, a shepherd is one who leads the people. All the way back to the Book of Numbers, we hear this. Moses asked the Lord, โLet the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.โ (Numbers 27:16-17) The phrase โlead them out and bring them inโ expresses the Hebrew idea of a person who manages the daily affairs of the people and leads them in battle. Judas Maccabeus was one who did just that; he was a shepherd for the people.
Now, during the Festival of Dedication, Jesus claims to be the Good Shepherd. He is claiming that He will lead the people and help them conquer their enemies. So, how do you think those who hear these words will respond?
I find it interesting that our Gospel reading ended with John, chapter 10, verse 30. In verse 30, Jesus said, โI and the Father are one,โ but it is in verse 31 that we learn how those who heard Jesusโ words responded. โThe Jewsโ[the religious leaders]โpicked up stones again to stone him.โ But why?
Jesus has already cleansed the Temple of the moneychangers, having done so in chapter 2 of Johnโs Gospel. Now, claiming to be the Good Shepherd, He declares that He will wage a battle against those who are now oppressing Godโs people. You would have thought it would be the Romans, who were then occupying the land, that would become angry with Jesus, but no. It is the religious leaders. Why? Because they knew that Jesus was not talking about the Romans; he is talking about themโthe religious leadersโand they donโt much like it.
Why is Jesus talking about the religious leaders? Because they have erected another Abomination of Desolation. It is detestable in the eyes of God and is bringing about great ruin. What is it? The religious leaders themselves and their application of Godโs Law. โWoe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heavenโฆ. you tithe mint, dill, and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith.โ Shortly before this confrontation, Jesus had said to them, โYou are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.โ (John 8:44) Jesus is saying to the religious leaders, โYou are lying to the people. Through your application of Godโs Law, you are driving the people from God and bringing ruin upon them all, and this is detestable to the Father.โ
It seems that the Abomination of Desolation is a single event in the history of Godโs people. However, it also appears that a โspiritโ of the original Abomination of Desolation continued to work in the world during the time of Jesus. Therefore, the question we must ask ourselves today is: does this same spirit continue to work in our world? Is there an agent around us that is detestable to God and seeks to bring ruin? To make it personal, is there a spirit at work in your life doing the same?
I can think of several instances of this spirit working in the world, but then this would just turn into a commentary of sorts. But only you can identify and name the spirit working in you.
St. Paul wrote, St. Paul wrote, โDo you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price.โ (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) So, if today were the Festival of Dedication and Jesus were walking through the temple of your body, what would He see? Would He see something that is bringing ruin to your life? Something that needs to be torn down and cast out? What would He see?
Allow Jesus to be the Good Shepherd who leads and guides you. If there is a spirit other than His working in you, ask Him to do battle with it, so that you may be set free from the one who seeks to separate you from God and bring you to ruin.
There is a time to sing, โJesus loves me,โ but there is also a time to roll up our sleeves and go to work. Jesus does love you, but donโt forget thereโs still a battle taking place.
Let us pray: Holy Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do you, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who wander through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
There is a song by the BeatlesโA Day in the Lifeโand one of the stanzas begins, โI read the news today, oh boyโ (Hopefully the tune wonโt be stuck in your head all day). To that, I can just say, I also read the news today andโฆ Oh, boy! It is no wonder that so many folks are on antidepressants! (So much so that there are traces of Prozac in our drinking water and even the fish! Given the state of things, that might not be such a bad thing.) But between the news and life in general, there are a good many walking around all day, wondering how it could possibly all work out. Then, in light of this state of affairs, we have someone come along like Julian of Norwich, the patron saint of this chapel, who says something that seems to be absolutely ridiculousโmost of you can quote it: โAll shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.โ
Those are actually words that Jesus spoke to Julian, and they are also proof textingโpulling out that bit that makes you happy. You see, in Julianโs thirteenth revelation in her Revelations of Divine Love, she reveals that she wondered, โwhy, in his great foreseeing wisdom, God had not prevented the beginning of sin.โ Why doesnโt God stop all this craziness in the world and the harm that people do? It is here that Jesus spoke the โall shall be wellโ message, but the complete message was, โSin is befitting, but all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.โ Folks use that message without the โSin is befittingโ bit as some sort of mantra for everything that goes wrong in their lives, even down to a bad hair day, when in truth, it speaks about sinโour sins and the sins of others, both great and small; things that are heard about worldwide and those things that only you know about. But if that is the case, then why would Jesus say sin is befitting?
Julian explains that it was revealed to her that the crucifixion of Jesus was the greatest possible sin, evil, and harm that had ever occurred or would ever occur. However, sin is befitting because, as the Lord told her, โI have turned the greatest possible harm into good, it is my will that you should know from this that I shall turn all lesser evil into good.โ Jesus overcoming the greatest of all sins, which was committed against Him, shows us that he is capable of overcoming all other evil in the world. Hence, all shall be well. The state of the world is, at times, wretched, butโฆ all shall be well.
There is a second reason that sin is befitting, however, if my understanding of what Julian is saying is correct, the Lord tells her that knowing this second reason is above her pay grade.
Regardless, in this thirteenth revelation, the Lord sums up for Julian and for us what the โall shall be wellโ statement ultimately means: โI [the Lord] am keeping you very safe.โ โI am keeping you very safe.โ Therefore, as St. Paul taught us in our lesson, โLet us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.โ
Dame Julian of Norwich, a 14th-century anchoress (one who withdraws from society), provides us with many beautiful glimpses of our Lord.
A prayer from JulianโLet us pray: God, of thy goodness, give me Thyself; for Thou art enough for me, and I can ask for nothing less that can be full honor to Thee. And if I ask anything that is less, ever Shall I be in want, for only in Thee have I all. Amen
Candle in a Cave 