Wesley Bros: Lo! He Comes

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“I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the LORD.” Jeremiah 23:4

The end is near. Well, the end of the Liturgical Year and our three-year calendar cycle, anyway. Christ the King/Reign of Christ is the last Holy Day of the Christian calendar, punctuating our Thanksgiving Day preparations with a reminder of where we locate hope in final victory. Our incarnate and crucified Savior is the Lord of all. Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, but we trust in the name of the One who is, who was, and who is to come (Rev. 1:8).

Of all the lectionary readings for this Sunday, I’m most struck but the simple verse above from Jeremiah. Chapter 23 invokes woe upon the leaders of God’s people that destroy and scatter the sheep. Then it promises a time when leadership creates a culture without fear. A culture where none shall be missing.  We’re all found, all known, all fearless. Not because of our doing, but because the reign of Christ has come at last.

Hopping In Puddles

Due to traveling and sickness, I’ve had less time to draw comics the last few weeks. But I took time to start giving my 8-year-old daughter art lessons, and we decided we’d also use that time to talk about faith. She used to have a lot of hang-ups about her art and about her dance. She’d be nervous to dance in front of others, she’d ball up and throw away drawings that she thought weren’t perfect. She’d compare her skills to mine, not taking into account that I’ve been drawing 30 years longer than she has.

But lately, her confidence has grown. Her dance is more playful. She’s courageous in trying more difficult art techniques. I’m seeing more of that toddler I once knew who stomped in the mud puddles with glad abandon.

Ev’ry eye shall now behold him,

robed in dreadful majesty;

those who set at naught and sold him,

pierced, and nailed him to the tree,

deeply wailing, deeply wailing,

shall the true Messiah see.

Charles Wesley, Verse 2, Lo! He Comes With Clouds Descending

Storms can be dreadful. The change of seasons can knock the wind right out your sails. Confidence can be hard to find, and we may feel as if we are the missing ones. The coming reign of Christ is one where we all must look upon the One whom we have pierced. I’m not looking forward to that. But I also know that this is the path towards true freedom, and so I put one foot in front of the other one. Each step brings me closer to this victorious and merciful Christ. I await the day when my footsteps will not be dragging, but playfully stomping in the puddles of God’s drenching and overflowing love.

Whether you’re a little girl getting the hang of your cartwheels, or a dad getting back up after a failure, may you find courage in the Great Shepherd of our Souls. And maybe get out there and splash in some puddles and enjoy the “Already” part of Christ’s Already/Not Yet victory over everything that would declare you missing.

You are found. And you will be found.

When not drawing the Wesley Bros cartoon, the Rev. Charlie Baber, a United Methodist deacon, serves as youth minister at University United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill, N.C. His cartoon appears on United Methodist Insight by special arrangement.