I was once watching a television show
in which they had a real life doctor,
and a doctor called a reflexologist,
which I had never heard of before.
But a reflexologist is somebody who believes
that really the solution to many of your life's pains
is literally in your own hands.
They brought up somebody on stage who said that she had
had trouble sleeping, that,
just low energy, and that had been going on this way
for a very, very long time, and she didn't know
what to do about it. And so the reflexologist
told her to put up her hand,
and to take the thumb of her opposite hand,
and to dig it, dig its nail into the middle
of her opposite thumb and start rubbing it around,
and they said, you should feel like there's a little,
little metal ball it feels like, right in the middle there,
and he said, just do that for a while,
and do that for a little bit every day.
And eventually, you'll be able to sleep well again.
She didn't fall asleep on the spot,
(laughs) so I don't know if it was accurate or not.
But, she went on to say that the solution
to a lot of our pains are literally in our hands.
She went on to say that, if you're having
right shoulder pain,
then you should take your thumb,
and dig it right here,
underneath your pinky in the opposite hand,
and just rub that around for a while.
If you're having left shoulder pain,
just go to the other finger,
and start doing the same thing.
If you're having stomach issues, or digestive issues,
they said, just aim for the middle of your palm,
and just rub around real gently, just like that.
If you're having spinal pain, they said,
turn the hand around, and picture your spinal cord
going up and down, and just aim for the spot
where, that would be the equivalent
of where your pain is, and start rubbing,
and eventually your pain will go away.
Just reminding us, or encouraging us,
to think about maybe the solution to all of your pains
is literally in your hands.
Now, that's a wonderful promise to be able to believe,
if that were really true, and maybe it is.
And maybe right now, you're all just
(laughs)
you're all rubbing your palms,
to see if your pain is going to go away.
In fact, I'm guessing some of you might at least try this,
because often we go through life, and it feels like
the solutions to our pains
are completely out of our hands.
Like, if you've ever knelt by the hospital bed
of someone that you love, and the doctors
don't have any clear solutions for what's happening.
That can be really hard, and you feel like
this is out of my hands.
Or if you've ever messed up, you've made a really
big mistake that hurt someone,
and you don't know how to move forward again,
feeling confident in yourself, or being able
to show the other person that you really
do care about them can feel like,
it's out of my hands.
There are a lot of things that make us feel vulnerable
or helpless to what's going to happen in the future.
And Jesus, in fact, one day He saw an entire group
of people that He identified as feeling the same way,
completely helpless to be able to help themselves,
and eliminate whatever pains
were going on in their lives.
In the Gospel of Matthew, we see Jesus,
we see Jesus looking out on a crowd of people,
and He saw something when He did.
It says, "When Jesus saw the crowds,
"He had compassion on them,
"because they were harassed
"and helpless,
"like sheep without a shepherd."
That word harassed is really important.
You think of something that harasses you,
something awful that just comes after you
again, and again, and again, and again,
and that can be sickness, it can be trouble,
it can be temptation,
it can be doubt, it can be worry, it can be fear.
But that's what Jesus saw.
People who were being assaulted
in the most vulnerable parts of their hearts
and of their minds, and He had compassion on them,
because they were like sheep without a shepherd.
They were like sheep without a shepherd.
But you know why Jesus was there?
Because He wanted to show them that they weren't
actually without a shepherd.
Jesus said in the Gospel of John, chapter 10,
which is known as The Good Shepherd chapter
in the Bible, He said, very simply,
"I am the good shepherd,
"and I lay down my life for the sheep."
Now think about what happened when He laid
down His life for the sheep.
Our sins were forgiven, which means
He proved that He could overcome sin
for all of God's children.
And Satan was overcome, which means He proved
that He could overcome Satan for all of God's children,
and death, when He came out of the grave,
was shown to be weaker than His power and His ability
to overcome death,
and He guaranteed a day when all of your troubles
will just be wiped away.
All of that happened when He laid
down His life for the sheep.
Now I want you to think about the pain,
your deepest pains in your hearts and
in your minds right now.
It falls underneath one of those categories.
The categories of sin, Satan and his temptations,
death, or just any trouble in the entire world.
And if the good shepherd has already overcome them
by laying down His life for the sheep,
then you're not actually helpless anymore.
You have a friend with you.
A shepherd
who is really good to you.