Sermon Index
May 8, 2022, Easter 4C, Good Shepherd Sunday
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In January of this year, I was hospitalized for three weeks. During the first week in ICU, I did not have a Bible or hymnal, so when I said my prayers, from memory, I prayed the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, and Psalm 23. The Psalm reminded me that I was loved by God who was with me when I passed through the valley of the shadow of death. I remembered God’s promise to give me an eternal dwelling place. This Psalm gave me peace. Today’s sermon might not speak to your situation today, but someday it might.
Psalm 23 is a favorite psalm of many Christians. It starts like this: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” I will not want anything, because God has given me all I need, contentment. Jesus once said, “I am the good shepherd.” Psalm 23 is not about me or you being a good sheep, because often I am not good and sometimes my life is not good. It is about God being good. He is good and wise and knows what his sheep need. He knows our needs and wants. The green pastures are for food and rest and safety and all the things necessary for life.
“He leads me beside still waters.” The water is calm and it calms our fears and worries. As Christians, we can think of these quiet waters as being baptism. In baptism we become members of God’s flock. God puts his name on us and we are his. Rather than being the Good Shepherd, if Jesus were the Good Cowboy, he would put his brand on us. It is the brand of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. We belong to the Holy Trinity. We are his. And so, he will protect his belongings, he will protect us from cattle thieves and sheep rustlers. He will protect us from the devil and the world. Just as sheep need to drink water everyday, Christians need to remember their baptism everyday. That happens whenever we pray. If you are not yet baptized, you should come to the quiet, soul refreshing water of God. You can be baptized in the ocean, in a river, in a church, or even in a hospital room. Three drops of water from a medicine dropper have all the power of a tsunami of God’s Word and Grace and Promise. That is the still, calm, quiet water which will restore your soul.
“He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Shepherds lead their flock from pasture to pasture where there is nice green grass. Why do they do that? It is for the sheep of course, but the shepherd takes pride in his flock. God takes pride in us. He guides us because that is the right, righteous thing to do. It is the right thing for the sheep, and it is the right thing for God to do. That is the characteristic of God. He does the right thing. It is important for his reputation; it is for his “name’s sake.” He does not take care of us because we are good little sheep and lambs. He takes care of us because the Lord is our God. That is God’s grace. In the New Testament, the “righteousness of God” (Romans 3:21ff.) can be expressed in words like “justification, expiation (sacrifice), forgiveness, and salvation.” This is the work of Jesus Christ. His work of salvation took him on the path to Bethlehem, to Jerusalem, and to the cross, the valley of the shadow of death. There he died and rose again to open the path of salvation for us. In faith we follow Jesus. “He guides me in paths of righteousness, in paths of salvation for his name’s sake.” And therefore, we trust God to lead us in our lives.
There will surely be more than one time in our lives that we will pass through a “valley of the shadow of death.” Like being in a dark canyon, we can be surrounded by the fear of death, disease, and the dangers of life: the warfare and strife and stress. God does not promise to keep us out of such a fearful place. But he promises to be with us. Before his ascension back to heaven he told his disciples, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). The Good Shepherd knows that we need him to be with us. Jesus also had a path in life that went through the valley of the shadow of death. It was dark in the Garden of Gethsemane when he prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). When he was on the cross, the world turned dark for three hours. It was dark in the tomb. But God was with Jesus and raised him on the third day. That is why we can say, “I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” Another reason not to fear is because he is our bodyguard. “Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” We can relax, even in the midst of the shadow and gloom that surrounds us.
Why? It is not because we are good sheep, but rather that he is the Good Shepherd. It is his job to lead us through the valley of the shadow of death. It is his job to bring us to green pastures. It is our job to follow. Why does God lead us? It is because God loves us. Why does he love us? He loves us because he is God. That can be the only reason. And so we follow him. We trust him. We believe in him.
The last part of Psalm 23 is ultimately about eternal life in heaven. “I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” We proclaim victory over the enemies of death, the devil, dangers, and people who hate us. We are seated at the head table at the feast in heaven. People who have been humbled and downtrodden in life are raised to the head table while former enemies look on with envy. People, who have suffered in poverty and want, celebrate in the gracious, lavish hospitality of God. Yes, “surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” in heaven, but already now, in faith and hope, we can see the goodness and love and mercy of God in our lives right now. Sometimes it takes faith and hope to see God in our lives. Sometimes we do not see God, but we hear him. That is what Jesus says in the beautiful words of the Gospel reading for this day. John 10:27-29, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”
Amen.
Benediction
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us[a] that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus
Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church