“Assuming responsibility”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Saturday, June 29, 2024
Ezekiel 34: 11-16 (Forward, p. 62) CEV p. 875
Sadly, it happens—on many levels of society and in many situations. People fail in their responsibilities, or neglect their duties, and so it becomes incumbent that someone else ‘takes over’ and assumes responsibility.
Sadly, this very thing has taken place with the leadership of Israel (see verses 1-10 of this same chapter). Here God describes this leadership as a bunch of shepherds who have been consigned the care of a flock of sheep, namely the people of Israel. However, as it turns out, Israel’s leadership betrayed this trust, this commission. Instead, they have neglected their people, ‘used’ them—or misused them, exploited them, for their own selfish purposes and failed to take care of them. And so, in their vulnerability and helplessness, their people became susceptible to many hazards and dangers.
In light of this, God decides to step in and assume responsibility. He Himself will become the shepherd to Israel and take care of them. He will bring back those who have strayed or are lost. He will give them the safety and nourishment that they need, bandage up those who are hurting or injured, and protect those that are weak. And, if any of the sheep, the stronger or more hearty ones, are oppressing the weaker ones or denying them their necessities, He will deal with them. He will see to it that justice is done. And, as we will learn later on—in verses 23-24—He will delegate these responsibilities to yet another—someone from the house of David—whom we Christians understand to be none other than Jesus.
Sadly, far too often in our world today—even within our churches—we see a failure of leadership, with the result that a certain amount of skepticism and disillusionment has set in. And while it is only reasonable that we have high expectations of those in leadership, I think also that we have ‘put too much on their plate.’ We have expected them to be our saviours, to fix all of our problems, to be and do what no human could ever be expected to do. And we have left them with certain ‘perimeters’, laws and social conventions, which make it almost impossible to function effectively. We expect them to do what only God can do. And so, we need to heed Ezekiel and realize that only God—or Jesus—can be the shepherd that we, our churches and our nations, really need. And we need to turn back to Him, go to Him ardently in prayer and turn ourselves and our situations over to His wise and caring intervention. Thanks be to God that this is even possible.
Forward notes: “As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep” (verse 12a).
“Our mission team was building a church in Haiti but ran out of materials. Père Cole, the local priest, and I walked the mud streets of Torbeck in search of materials. As we walked, Père Cole greeted one person after another with a smile, a pat on the shoulder, and often a hug. This went on for hours. I groused inside, ‘This is getting us nowhere, and we haven’t even found a single piece of lumber.’ As darkness approached and we were empty-handed, I let slip, ‘How are we going to build the church?’ Père Cole smiled, ‘Philip, we have been building the church, one person at a time.’
“On Sunday, villagers came to the unfinished church for worship, bearing gifts: a cinder block for the front step, a rusted tin sheet for roofing, and a tattered shawl for an altar cloth. Most faces I recognized from the streets days before.
“I erroneously thought two-by-fours built churches; Père Cole rightly knew that churches are built by walking among people, seeking them out, nurturing them. All around us are scattered, lost people to seek out.”
Moving Forward: “Who are the lost sheep amongst you?”