There have been songs, that I loved the first time I heard them

There are others that I had to hear several times to appreciate
- but the ones that I've loved at first sight had two qualities:
• the sound of music (instruments and vocals) and the lyrics
◦ psychologists refer to this response to music as “emotional resonance”
◦ the sound waves and meaning of the music find a string that vibrates deep in the soul
• for me, one of the songs that instantly moved me was Van Morrison’s 
When will I ever learn to live in God?

“When will I ever learn to live in God?
 When will I ever learn?
He gives me everything I need and more
 When will I ever learn?”

On the days I spend with three of my grandchildren,
I sometimes say to my thirteen year old grandson,

“I’m going for a walk, do you want to go with me?”
- he has never said, “Sure, Grandpa, let’s go” – never
• and I know why – he’s convinced it won’t be fun
◦ he’d have to get unnecessary exercise, and
◦ it’d be difficult to stay on trail with eyes glued to his cell phone
• this morning I’m inviting you to take a walk with me–
◦ through the book of Jude – it’s a short walk,
◦ and much of it is unpleasant, or confusing, or dark
- what I don’t want to do is make this a Bible study
• my tendency is to be drawn to technicalities
◦ that’s a problem with this letter that was written in haste,
◦ so there are several tough technical issues – also,
• a lot of its information is crunched together in a short space,
◦ entire stories abbreviated in three or four words
◦ and there are even references to stories we’ve never seen in the Scriptures

Prior to this moment, Abram was merely a name on a list

Now he becomes a person; he’s given an identity
- he emerges from the genealogy into space and time
• he has a history and he is given a destiny
where he is from and where he is going is what has defined him
◦ where he is from: “your birthplace and your father’s house”
◦ where he is going: “to the land that I will show you”
• God is in the process of redefining Abram’s life
◦ he will no longer be the person shaped by family history
◦ he will become a person living in a covenant with God
- normal course of a person’s life: grow up in family system
• each person has there place and is assigned a role
◦ this does not happen consciously,
◦ it works itself out in interplay of each personality
• psychology would encourage us to ask two questions:
◦ how did I get were I am?
◦ where do I go from here?
 and this may require that we escape from our family system
 or the neighborhood where we grew up

What was the primary responsibility Jesus gave to Peter?
- if you’re not sure, then listen to what I’m about to read,
• because Jesus makes Peter’s assignment absolutely clear

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep” John 21:15–17

◦ Peter’s calling was to devote himself to the care of Jesus’ sheep
• these are not Peter’s sheep – Jesus refers to them as, “my sheep”
◦ the Lord did not tell Peter to use the sheep to make a fortune for himself
◦ in fact, from now on, his life wasn’t his own, and it would not be easy or what he would choose for himself
“Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself ad walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go. . . .” “Follow me.” (v. 19)
- giving Peter this responsibility, Jesus answers his own prayer in Matthew:

I am going to take a risk this morning

Aside from whatever ways I’m supposed to help others,
- my own life in God has been driven by one passion
• that is, to experience everything Jesus promised his disciples
• my primary rationale is to take Jesus at his word
◦ to be more specific:
- what is on the table for me is not that I work miracles
• at least, not extraordinary miracles, I’m okay with ordinary miracles
◦ like bringing a smile to a baby’s face
• I know I’m not called to “signs and wonders”
◦ what I’ve longed for is personal, and has been my longing from childhood

In the scripture I read, Jesus is telling his disciples goodbye

Every week I spend two days in Scotty’s home

I’ve been doing this for years–making meals for my grandchildren:
- one breakfast for Calum (and afternoon snacks), one lunch for Adrianna, and three dinners
• I’m still taking two of them to and from school
• in the lull, while they’re at school, I’ve been taking walks around the undeveloped land near their neighborhood
◦ it’s been a good time to practice focusing my awareness on the presence of God's Spirit
◦ maybe three months ago, I began sharing moments of my walk on Facebook
- from the very first book of the Bible, walking is used as metaphor
• it usually refers to the way we live out our days with God in closeness to him
• however, in this Easter story, these two disciples (whom otherwise we do not know),
◦ find themselves actually walking with Jesus for real!
◦ what Jesus shares with them turns their lives around, literally
“And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem” (v. 33)

 We’re told this large crowd “had come to the feast”

I take that to mean they were not locals, but most likely from the Galilee region where they had followed Jesus' ministry
- being visitors to Jerusalem, they “camped” on the mountains around the city
• and especially the Mount of Olives,
◦ staying in tents, a lean-to, or sleeping under the open sky
- a rumor shuttled through the crowd – Jesus was near
Jesus spent the previous night in Bethany,
• a small village on the backside of the Mt. of Olives
◦ there had already been speculation, whether he’d show up
◦ many people had been looking for him in and around the temple
• a murmur of voices floated down the slopes of the Mount of Olives
◦ breathless anticipation hung in the air
- someone, not yet clued-in, felt it and asked, “What’s going on?”
she was told the rumor, “We think Jesus is here!”
“Where?”
“We don’t know yet, but he’s close”
- then there was some commotion at the crown of the mountain
• a man threw his cloak on the worn path, perhaps hoping Jesus would step on it when he arrived
• that triggered a wave of people carpeting the road
◦ some throwing down their cloaks or a palm branch
◦ others cut more branches and preparing to wave them like banners

Passage: Galatians 5
The Big Question:
When did faith become more about the lines we draw than the love we live?

We all do the internal calculus:
• Can I be friends with someone who voted differently?
• Can I worship with people who read scripture differently?
• Can I belong here with my doubts, questions, and messy parts?
• Can I still call myself a Christian if I don’t fit the mold?

“For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of
slavery” Galatians 5:1
“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing
that counts is faith working through love.” Galatians 5:6
“For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters… through love become enslaved to one
another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment: You shall love your neighbor
as yourself.” Galatians 5:13-14

Samuel enters the Scriptures during a chaotic period of history

The best way to understand it, is found in a line repeated in Judges
“In those days there was no king in Israel” (Jdg. 18:1 and 19:1)
- and again at the very end of Judges, with an added explanation
“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Jdg. 21:25)
- I have a friend who wrote a book on the Kingdom of God
• and though I enjoyed reading it and trust him as a serious student of the Bible,
◦ I disagree with his take on this verse
◦ he suggests that everyone doing what was right in their own eyes was a good thing
Steve Gregg, suggests that “. . . liberty of personal conscience prevailed, rather than dominated by a human (and therefore corrupt) earthly ruler.”
• but that this isn’t what that line means is proven elsewhere
◦ in Moses’ instructions to Israel when they would enter the land, he says,
“You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes . . . .” (Deut. 12:8-9)
◦ really, all you have to do is read the last three chapters of Judges to see the confusion and tragedy that resulted from everyone doing what they considered the right thing

This morning, we’re going to explore a crucial question:

What are we doing here, for heaven’s sake?
- answers are scattered through the New Testament,
• and it's the focus of Paul’s entire first letter to Timothy
• he intended to go over this in person
◦ but here he provides only a summary statement

Paul explains how we “ought to behave”

“Ought” is not one of my favorite words
- Christian preachers, youth leaders, and Sunday School teachers have used it to control and manipulate adults and children
• so let’s try to get to the heart of Paul’s concern
• Francis Schaeffer, wrote an excellent essay entitled, “The Mark of the Christian”
◦ for centuries Christians displayed their faith with different symbols
◦ “uniforms,” cross necklaces, and annoying bumper stickers

 I’m not convinced we’ve ever truly understood Jesus

At least not as deeply or fully as he intended
- not “as deeply,” because we tend to stay on the surface
• we read the words and verses without penetrating their depth
• we grab at interpretations that make immediate sense
◦ and we settle for simplistic "commentary" explanations
- I don’t think Jesus taught in riddles – sometimes, perhaps
• he did not teach in a secret code that required deciphering
• but it's possible that his intent was that the meaning of his message would be revealed to us
◦ and only then will we be able to live it in truth and deed