Psalm 23, Acts 2:42-47, 1 Peter 2:19-25, John
10:1-10
Jesus, the Good Shepherd
In
reading today’s scriptures there is a logical progression, though we may not necessarily
read it in this order. In my mind we first read Psalm 23 and find that the Lord
is our Shepherd and we have everything we need because of him. Second, we read
the Gospel of John to discover that Jesus declares himself to be that Shepherd.
Third, the Acts of the Apostles tells us how the disciples lived because of
their recognition of Jesus as that good shepherd, and finally 1 Peter, where
Peter tells us how to follow our Shepherd. Today’s lectionary can easily be
read in the order it appears in our Bibles.
You all have probably
already noticed that I love the lectionary, especially when it comes to creating
a sermon. The lectionary readings all follow a theme around the church calendar
and none of the scriptures are left out in the course of three years of
Sundays, or in the case of the daily lectionary, two years. The early church
designed a perfect school teacher curriculum. And as a retired school teacher I’m
all about curriculum and very happy that the early believers gave us one to follow.
Today is the fourth Sunday of Easter and the lectionary topic seems to me to be
about Jesus, the Good Shepherd.
“The
Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” For Psalm 23 I like to use the King
James just because that’s what I have memorized and it seems more poetic which
is fitting because all the Psalms are poems/song lyrics. But the point is that
we have everything we need because of the Lord, even in the Valley of the
Shadow of Death, or “the darkest valley,” or lowest point whatever that may be.
He is always there with us. That is the foundation of our Christian faith. As
Paul said in Romans 8, “38 For I am convinced that
neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the
future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor
depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the
love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” That’s how much he loves,
how much of a good Shepherd he is.
In
the reading from John Jesus told the Pharisees that He was the Good Shepherd.
You can see why that might ruffle some feathers, no matter what. He said he was
God. Anyone that says that, in my mind, would have to be suffering from
delusions of grandeur. But Jesus wasn’t just any man, he WAS God incarnate—God become man. And He proved it by suffering on
the cross, dying, and rising from the dead, defeating even death. That’s why we
have everything we need, not because we aren’t sometimes sick, or hungry, or
uncomfortable, but because He came as one of us to show us the way. That’s all
we need. As it says in 1 Corinthians 15:55-58 (KJV)
“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is
thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But
thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Death
has no victory over us because of that. We are fully resurrected with Jesus,
our Good Shepherd.
I
know many people just can’t or won’t believe this. For one thing, we all know
we are sinful and accepting forgiveness is really hard. I don’t know why we
want to cling to our guilt, but we do. We always think we need to do something
more than just accept forgiveness. If you’ve ever watched (and I know you have)
kids playing any sports you can see so many of them beating themselves up for
mistakes. And we all have that tendency to say (hopefully only to ourselves) “What
were you thinking?” It’s hard to shake it off, but mistakes and our sins just
get in our way of moving on. Forgiveness releases that. Forgiveness from God
and each other and ourselves. As Christians we are not only given permission to
move on, we can do that. Another reason it’s hard to believe is because the
story of Christ is old enough that it seems more like a fairy tale than a
reality. But it just as easily seemed like a fairy tale to those during the
time of Christ. They were real people just like us. Jesus’ disciples
experienced it and believed, just like we have. They had nothing to gain by
telling a fairy tale any more than we do. But even Thomas, one of the
disciples, had doubts right up until Jesus had him feel his wounds. We need to accept
that in our non-believing friends while continuing to live out our faith. Seeing
is often believing and along with our faith and love, not excessive nagging,
they often will come to believe. I think one of our biggest witnesses to the
truth of the resurrection and the Good Shepherd is our living proof through our
moving on, our ability to accept and give forgiveness. Again, from John “When he has brought out all his own, he goes
on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” We
have to listen to that voice that tells us we are never alone, we have
everything we need. And I also believe the biggest thing we have to work
on all the time is giving and accepting forgiveness which also requires
admitting sin. As Jesus said in John “I am come that they might have life,
and that they might have it more abundantly.” (Again, sometimes the KJV just
rings with me a little better—Abundant life.) It’s not too good to be true, it’s
just perfectly good, perfectly true.
We
all can have that abundant life, but the thing that separates us sheep from the
others is our belief. Nothing else. We aren’t better, we just know that we’ve
been given “goodness and mercy…all the days of [our lives]: and [we] will dwell
in the house of the Lord for ever.” We shall not want. We also won’t
follow other voices that suggest everything He gives us is less than enough. We
don’t need to do anything to be forgiven. We don’t need to find “New Age”
ideas, because there is nothing more renewing and new than God becoming a man
in Jesus, taking on all of our sins, throwing them away, and rising from the
death all of that brings. That simple belief is the only thing that separates
us from the rest of the lost sheep. That is the voice of our Master. Anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by
the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. As
Jesus said in John, “2 The one who enters by the gate is the
shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for
him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and
leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes
on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But
they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because
they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” That doesn’t mean we haven’t heard a
stranger’s voice, maybe even contemplated it, but in the end we continue to follow
our Good Shepherd because He gives us everything. “I shall not want.”
But
let’s go on to Acts and hear how the early Christians lived. “42 They
devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the
breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone
was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All
the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They
sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every
day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke
bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising
God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their
number daily those who were being saved.” It really sounds like they had
the good life together and it’s tempting to think that it was just better for
them and that maybe things have fallen apart since then. I mean, we all read or
watch the news. We’ve also heard stories of “the end times.” That’s a HUGE temptation
of modern American Christianity. But the truth is that we are part of that
number that was and is being added daily. Christianity has crossed cultural barriers
and how we live our daily lives is now different from the early disciples. And,
lest we forget, we are all still human, tempted in many ways and things just
happen so that we do experience the “dark valleys” of the Psalm.
Peter
addressed it in his first letter that we read today and I’ll read again: “19 For
it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering
because they are conscious of God. 20 But how is it
to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if
you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21 To
this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving
you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
22 ‘He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth.’
23 When they hurled their insults
at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no
threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 ‘He
himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross, so that we might die
to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed.’ 25 For
‘you were like sheep going astray,’ but now you have returned to the
Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”
Sometimes
we throw that WWJD around a little too lightly. But Peter tells us to follow
Christ’s example, so we should. And I don’t think Jesus ever said to anyone, “What
would I do?” Instead He just did it. That’s how we need to be. It’s only good
to ask ourselves that in the same manner of his example of humility and
acceptance. According to a recent (this last week) survey by the Wall Street
Journal, only 12% of the US population considers themselves “very happy.” That’s
the lowest percentage they’ve ever polled. I suspect some of those polled might
also have been Christians because sometimes even we Christians forget that we have
everything we need even in the darkest valley. I certainly know I forget. I
sometimes see my cup and think it’s only half full when, in fact, it’s running
over. I have everything I need even in the darkest valley. I have no reason to
be anything less than very happy.
I’m here
to tell you that reading the scriptures will quickly bring you back to the realization
that we do have a Good Shepherd. You will hear His voice right there. Look at
what Paul told the Philippians: “10 I rejoiced greatly
in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were
concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I
am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be
content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know
what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned
the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or
hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I
can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Or the King James: “I can
do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
I know
full well that I am not telling you anything new that you don’t already know,
but I know that we sometimes just have to told to be happy. And that, of course,
is an oversimplification. But as Christians living in fellowship with one
another and our Lord, we can be very happy just by listening to His voice (read
the scriptures!), praying together, and knowing “The Lord is our Shepherd, we
have everything we need.” And coming together here is just a reminder that
Christ is Risen, there is no sting in death, so we need to go forth and be
happy, sharing that good news through our faith because Jesus is the Good
Shepherd, we have everything we need.
Amen
