Freedom

"Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers-- not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away." -1 Peter 5:2-4

The student group I was a part of in college had a leadership program called "Images of Leadership." Each week, we would gather and learn and discuss one of the images of leaders that we can see in the Bible-- the leader as servant, as shepherd, as steward, as sentinel (and no, I don't know why almost all of them started with "S"). Along with each image, we had to memorize a piece of scripture that went along with the image. This bit of 1 Peter was the memory verse for the leader as shepherd.

I heard these words again last weekend, when I attended the ordination of a new pastor in our synod. As part of the rite of ordination, three short pieces of scripture are said to the person getting ordained as a reminder of the duty and care they are supposed to show in serving in the office of pastor. Ordination is a serious thing-- when someone becomes a pastor in the ELCA, we make vows to love and care for our community well, and these words in 1 Peter are a good encapsulation of that duty.

And, this responsibility is for all of us, not just the people in charge. We are all called to serve on another, to be motivated by love rather than greed or power. One of Martin Luther's most important essays was called "The Freedom of a Christian." But Luther wasn't just concerned with what we are freed from-- sin, death, and the devil. Luther also spent time talking about what we are freed for-- service and love of the neighbor. In Luther's thinking, God's love and mercy frees us from having to always worry about ourselves and opens us up to take care of our neighbor. The kind of care and concern that is written about in these few verses from 1 Peter.

Who has used the freedom they have in Christ to care for you? When have you felt taken care of, loved and secure? Where might God be calling you to bring that same sense of freedom and security to someone else?