May 3, 2009. Good Shepherd Sunday.
"I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the
Sheep."
Christ our Lord says these words in a debate with a group of Pharisees
after He healed a man born blind. He warns that the only way to enter
heaven is thru Him (the Door). The true sheep, or followers, of God hear
the voice of the Good Shepherd (Jesus), they follow Him and have eternal
life.
By our fallen nature, we feel much like the Pharisees. We don't like
to listen to what God's Word says. We want to make up our own rules. Or we
feel we can bend God's rules like a pretzel to suit our own desires. Even
for us straying sheep, Jesus came to lay down His life on the cross. He saw
the wolf, Satan, and did not cower. None of us forced Christ to do this.
He did it on His own. He took it up again; for He is Risen (indeed). And
our Good Shepherd continues to call out to us with His voice in Scripture
and Sacraments.
Christ warns about the "hired hand" who does not have a stake (pun of
the day) in the sheep; that is, a person who has no true claim or investment
in humanity. False teachers and phony messiahs (those who teach we must do
something for God to earn His favor) have their own interests at heart and
don't really care about people. They may look and act as if they care, like
a real shepherd. They are only hired men, hypocrites, actors; not steadfast
shepherds (Latin: pastors).
Jesus came to gather and lead us. The devil, the wolf, comes to steal
souls and scatter them from God. If we were left to ourselves, we would
have no hope.
When God uses the idea of "sheep" for us, it's important. Sheep don't
have a stinger, fangs, claws, speed, or muscles to defend themselves or
escape predators. Sheep rely on a shepherd to protect them from dangers.
Sheep overgraze an area and kill the plants: unless a shepherd moves
them along, they will starve. They don't like running water: again, a
shepherd must help them. When they are injured, they can't care for
themselves. Left alone, sheep often have a knack for finding trouble. Yes,
that DOES sound like humans. Just as sheep need a shepherd, people need the
Good One.
And our Good Shepherd knows His sheep. He knows us with love. He
takes us as His own. He reveals His devoted ownership by His actions.
("Noscere cum affectu et effectu" - for you Latin scholars). He did not cut
His losses and leave when faced with problems. He boldly met them head-on:
sin, death, Satan, and hell. And He defeated them by His perfect life as
our replacement, then being our full payment on Calvary as He took our place
under God's wrath: "laying down His life for the sheep."
By His authority as the Good Shepherd, He has taken up His life again.
He is Risen! So by His victory He is able to lead us in life and in death.
Even tho a Christian is lead into the valley of the shadow of death:
as Psalm 23 says, the preposition tells us we are walking THRU death under
Christ's leadership; and not going there to STAY dead. Because He is risen
and has Ascended into heaven, we can be certain by grace we will follow Him
to heaven as well.
As we sang in "I am Jesus' Little Lamb", He knows us each by name. He
knows our weaknesses and failures. He knows our temptations and
foolishness. He knows our futile defenses and false pride. Yet He still
has compassion for each of us. He works in our lives to lead us into paths
of righteousness: HIS, not our righteousness. He fills us with His Holy
Spirit so that we may be willing to follow wherever He leads us.
Sheep that we are, we often follow other voices: our own, the world
around us, or even Satan's! These may seem to lead us to an easier life,
one where we get along with others. But these voices won't lead us into
eternal life.
Still, sadly, we sheep listen. 'Stay home.' 'Go ahead, no one is
watching.' 'What's the harm?' Eventually, such voices can lead us away from
God's flock, where Satan WILL devour us. (1 Peter 5:8).
But there is only one voice we should listen to and follow. "There is
no other Name under heaven, given among men by which we must be saved," as
Peter preached in our First Reading from Acts 4:12 this morning. He is the
Good Shepherd, and only voice. When His Word is proclaimed in church,
Sunday School, and at home: genuine sheep hear His voice and follow where
He leads. No matter how unsafe the path seems, He is there to protect our
faith.
When we are tempted to do wrong, His voice is with us and in us thru
the Word. When we have treated others badly or hold a grudge, He works to
change us to be forgiving. When we have done well, He commends us in His
Word.
'In His Holy Supper, He feeds us with the very body and blood which is
given and shed to rescue us from the wolf of hell. Our eating & drinking
confesses we believe that He is the Good Shepherd Who laid down His life for
us; and that He will Come Again to bring us home to heaven. He feeds us and
bonds with us so we may die to sin and live for Him in righteousness
(Lindemann: The Sermon and the Propers, V.2).'
Since our Good Shepherd has assured His followers of His eternal
destination, we can be confident as we walk by faith (and not by sight 2nd
Corinthians 5:7) in our day-to-day living. Christ Ascended into heaven and
pleads for us.
He continues to speak to us and lead us in His holy Word. He uses the
rod of the Law to warn us away from harmful weeds (sins that will hurt us),
and the staff of the Gospel to draw us to Him so we will grow in
forgiveness, strength, peace, hope, joy, and eternal life.
Pastor Douthwaite puts it this way. In Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves,
the words "open sesame" exposes a cave full of treasure. No words, no
treasure. The same is true for us. Jesus is the treasure. W/o the Word
and Spirit of God to give faith, the treasure remains sealed. Jesus opens
our souls (Luke 24:45) to the riches of grace. He is the Door. (Concordia
Pulpit Resources illustration).
He calls to us as our Good Shepherd to follow Him our whole life to
whatever pastures He knows are best for us. We bleat our thanks and listen
for His voice moment by moment. (16) He calls other sheep, too, so they may
have eternal life.
(17) And, since He laid down His life for the sheep and took it up
again, we DO have the certainty of eternal life in the Good Shepherd. May
we, as His flock, listen and follow in our daily lives, and forevermore.
Amen.
Psalm 23;
Acts 4:1-12;
1 John 3:16-4:24;
John 10:11-18
Almighty God, Merciful Father, since You have wakened from death the
Shepherd of Your sheep, grant us Your Holy Spirit, that when we hear the
voice of our Shepherd, we may know Him Who calls us each by name, and follow
where He leads; thru the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, Who lives
and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Pastor Michael Harman,
St. Peter LCMS - Newell, IA
vacancies at ...
Immanuel, Pomeroy
First Evangelical, Fonda
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