Sunday, April 22, 2018

Lambs of the Good Shepherd - John 10:11-18

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When we hear this morning’s Gospel lesson, our minds gently wander – much like a sheep, actually – to a picture of a lush hillside carpeted with thick, green grass, a stream of water that laughs and chuckles in frivolity as it splashes over dark, water-worn, glass-smooth rocks and boulders. The tree-line stands in stoic guardianship in the distance. Then, you hear it: the giddy call of playful, little lambs as they rise up from the dell and come around the hill, bouncing and dancing towards the pastures green and waters sweet. Above it all is the baritone voice of the shepherd, calling the lambs by name, keeping the sheep close and under his watchful eye. This is called a pastoral scene. Pastor, from the Latin word for shepherd.

Ah…those lambs. Those precious, giddy, lambs. Those innocent, white-as-snow lambs. That’s the picture we love to have of ourselves as we hear these words of Jesus in this morning’s Gospel lesson and we love to sing about it: “I am Jesus’ little lamb…”

Oh, the joy of being a lamb of the Good Shepherd. We know His voice, how He speaks to us in love. We know His Words He speaks to us in blessing.  We hear His instructions of how to live together as His sheep. “The Lord is my shepherd,” we recite, “I shall not want.” (Ps. 23:1)

Then why, some days, does it feel like instead of being His darling, little lambs we are instead the black sheep of the family – not because of what He has done, but because of what we do?

Am I Jesus black-fleeced sheep?
From His gentle arms I leap.
Stubborn, ornery and self-serving,
To myself, my love is turning
From my neighbor and my God
Down this slippery slope I trod.

Like a stubborn lamb, we deliberately and willfully do what we want instead of hearing the Shepherd and listening to His voice. We hide the secret Facebook relationship and the Instagram photos, we disguise the gambling debt, we camouflage the physical harm we do to our bodies with the pills, we pretend this week’s drunken binge was different.  Like a foolish lamb, who wanders away from the Shepherd, we trick ourselves into thinking those harsh, sharp words said to our spouses and children didn’t cut that deeply, we out-and-out lie to ourselves by pretending that we can take care of ourselves and everything is under control. Like a coy lamb, not realizing the danger of hiding from the Shepherd, we hide our guilt so well that we can almost convince ourselves our sin doesn’t exist – almost, being the key word.  We justify it by saying, “Well, we’re not as bad as so & so,” or “At least I didn’t do what that sheep did.” We play the game, until, like a lost lamb, we find ourselves so enwrapped in the darkness that we don’t know where to turn. To paraphrase Psalm 49, in fear we wonder if this is the end; if death is to be our shepherd, with our forms consumed and no place left to dwell (Ps. 49:14-16)?

“Suddenly the Wolf will howl,
Serpent hiss, and Temptor scowl.
Trapped, alone, snared in temptation,
I feel I’m his bound-up victim.
Dearest Shepherd, hear my sigh:
I repent; to you I cry!

Repentance: this is the cry of a helpless, lost lamb.  Repentance confesses that these sins have gotten us nowhere except lost and separated from the Good Shepherd. Repentance drags them out of the darkness, out of the wilderness, and out into the Light. Repentance forces us to identify what we have done and what we have left undone. Repentance is sorrow over what we have done and what we haven’t done. Repentance is admission that we cannot save ourselves, no matter how hard we try; but, at the same time, we no longer want to continue doing what it is that we are doing. Repentance cries out, to paraphrase Romans 7, “Who will rescue this lost sheep from this body of death?”

Repentance – Christian repentance – has one more key aspect besides sorrow and the desire to stop being foolish sheep: faith. Faith says, “yes, I am a terribly sinful sheep, but I have a greater Good Shepherd.” Repentance turns, in faith, to the Good Shepherd and says, simply, “Lord, have mercy on me a sinful sheep.”

There is only one thing to do with sheep like this – disobedient, wandering, spiteful sheep. Someone must die.

“I am the Good Shepherd,” Jesus says, “and I lay down my life for the sheep.”  That is a marvelous twist: the Good for the sinful; the holy for the unholy; the blameless for the fault-stained; the Shepherd for the sheep. Four times in these few verses, Jesus repeats the theme: I lay down my life for the sheep.  Death is not our shepherd (Ps 49:14), but death is the price our Shepherd receives for us. This Good Shepherd literally trades Himself, His life and His death for our death… and for our life.

I remember hearing the story of Gelert, the great wolfhound of Llywelyn the Great of Wales. “In this legend, Llywelyn returns from hunting to find his baby missing, the cradle overturned, and Gelert with a blood-smeared mouth. Believing the dog had savaged the child, Llywelyn draws his sword and kills Gelert. After the dog's dying yelp Llywelyn hears the cries of the baby, unharmed under the cradle, along with a dead wolf which had attacked the child and been killed by Gelert. Llywelyn is overcome with remorse and buries the dog with great ceremony.” In the small town of Beddgelert, Wales, there stands a statue to honor the legend of the faithful dog who traded his life for the life of his master. [1]

Our Good Shepherd is not a legend; our Good Shepherd is no longer dead and buried in a hillside in Israel. Jesus is the living fulfillment of every shepherd of the Scriptures. Where David used three stones to slay Goliath, Jesus had three nails driven into His hands and feet. Where Amos of Tacoa had to say, “Thus saith the Lord,” Jesus would say, “I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” Where the shepherds worshipped the newborn Jesus wrapped in humility, Jesus stands in glory, resurrected and alive.

Our Good Shepherd, who laid down His life for the sheep, has also taken it back up again, just as He promised. He now stands victorious, having conquered death and the grave, redeeming us from the eternal death our wandering lostness deserves.

And, to help us remain faithful and live in His grace, He gathers us into a flock called a congregation that is cared for by a shepherd called a pastor. In the Greek New Testament, the word for church means “the called out ones.” We have been called out, and then called together, by the voice of the Good Shepherd. We call this a congregation. Congregation is derived from the Latin congregatio which means, literally, the herded-together ones. And called together, herded together, we live together, work together, play together; we worship together, receive the gifts of God together. We watch out for each other in times of sorrow and struggle, walking along side each other so that no one is left alone. We repent together and receive the gifts of forgiveness together. Together, we hear the voice of the Good Shepherd. He speaks His Word to us, He leads us to Baptismal waters and feeds us His body and blood, He binds us up in His love, He seeks out, rescuing and redeeming those who are lost.  

I started this sermon by singing about how it sometimes feels like we are the black sheep of the family. Now, let’s sing about who we are, herded together in the blood of the Good Shepherd. Open your hymnal to #740. And, together, as baptized, forgiven, redeemed little lambs of God, we are able to sing:

“I am Jesus little lamb, ever glad at heart I am;
For my Shepherd gently guides me,
Knows my needs and well provides me,
Loves me every day the same,
Even calls me by my name.”
[2]



[2] “I Am Jesus’ Little Lamb.” Lutheran Service Book #740. Public domain.

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