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BREAKTHROUGH
Open-ended, Life-centred, Gospel-Focused Explorations of the Hebrew Bible Readings from the Australian Prayer Book.
  Jeremiah 23: 1-6...Christ the King / The Reign of Christ, C...(For Lk 23:33-43, scroll.)

NOTES: 1] Read the Hebrew Bible in the light of our Christian understanding of God revealed in Jesus. 2] Born about 646BC, JER was called to be a Prophet in 626-7, & lived through the siege of Jerusalem & the captivity of its people by Babylon in the mid 580's. 3] After an attack on 'false shepherds' (rulers & leaders, religious & political) JER soars in vv.5-6 to one of the highest peaks of the H.B.

WARMING UP:  Do we really trust any of our would-be rulers / leaders? (There's a Federal Election in Australia on Nov.24th!)

TREASURES OLD & NEW: Identify God at work in anything this week?

ENTERING INTO THE STORY:
1-4     
Would our political leaders be amazed (both our old ones if returned & new ones if they 'get in') if we or anyone else 'on God's behalf' accused them of 'destroying & scattering the sheep of my pasture'? How might our religious leaders react to such an accusation? What kinds of leadership 'destroy' people? What kinds of leadership 'scatter' people as distinct from bringing them together? As 'Oneness' is the very nature of God (something at the heart of our Faith) oughtn't making & keeping people one be a top priority for leaders of every kind, at every level? Does our nation suffer as a people from: a) that free & easiness that sees God as only one option among many, & b) that when we threw our old bath-waters out we also threw out God in any definitive sense? How much destruction & scattering of our  people can be traced back to leadership in church & state that let this happen? Even encourages it?
            How much do we believe our leaders of any kind 'attend to us'? Maybe our political systems lead to politicians looking after themselves more than us? Is this where we need a radical break with 'human nature'? Are there more 'folds' than just the church into which people need to be brought back, made fruitful, & multiply?
Given Jesus' portrayal of Himself as the 'Good Shepherd', why is his model of compassionate leading & caring so unattractive to people (including us?) & so hard to accept today? If God were to raise up new shepherds - in any sense - over us, what would we look for as a test of their commitment to the kind of God-agenda JER spells out here? How many of us realise we are afraid, dismayed, missing in God's eyes?

5-6      It's all very well that God 'raised up for David a righteous Branch', but that was 2000 years ago & what's changed? Can we expect God to do it all over again? Might the so-called 'Second Coming' be more about Jesus becoming real in us again than some of the other interpretations, including the hell-fire, destruction & damnation ones? In today's so-called democracy, do we all have the same responsibility as our leaders to 'execute justice & righteousness in the land' so far as it is within our power? If we are to be 'saved' & 'live in safety' can we really leave it to our leaders today any more than God could leave it to Hebrew ones back then according to JER?
           If 'the Lord is our righteousness', what on earth are any of us doing looking elsewhere for our true leadership - not to mention our true Salvation?