Easter IV, Cycle A
The Rev. Dr. David M. Wendel
Saint Luke’s Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Lessons: Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 23; 1 Peter 2:19-25; St. John 10:1-10
Almost anywhere you turn, in everything you read today, folks are crying out for relevance. People want education that’s relevant to real life—practical and applicable. People seem to be obsessed with books and TV shows that relate to their life problems—giving birth to an exploding self-help industry that is ultimately relevant, because it’s all about you—or rather, me. And that seems to be what people want today—not just in the world, but in the Church, as well! So much so that in some congregations, scripture itself has been given the back seat, to what some call, psycho-babble; as preachers dish out all kinds of advice on marriage, and relationships, and child-rearing, and money-management, and shoot, I even read a so-called sermon once about how to buy a car—all in the name of “relevance”. All because pollsters and the media tell us that what is really wanted today, is relevance!
And then, we come to our Confirmation Sunday, and the Gospel lesson, in fact, each of our lessons, and the psalm, talk about, shepherds! And I ask you, what could be more, irrelevant, than shepherds! I have no doubt, there are a few of us here who have had some limited involvement with sheep. Someone who grew up in rural Wyoming, or west Texas, or some such place where sheep were raised, and sometimes seen to graze on the tender grasses of fenced plains. But it’s not necessarily sheep that are distant from us, and outdated—but shepherds! Even for those who may have grown up around sheep, shepherds who tended the sheep, and slept out in fields with their sheep, and led their sheep around to green pastures—are foreign to us, today. And so, you’d think a preacher, preaching to confirmands in the year 2002, or to a congregation in the early years of the third millenium, would avoid biblical texts about shepherds altogether. Because they’re just not relevant, enough, to be meaningful to people today. Or, are they?
Because for all this talk of wanting relevance—for all this talk of using images and stories and ideas that are not outdated, but contemporary and modern, people today, yes, even young people today, continue to be drawn to this image of the Good Shepherd, caring for His flock, guiding them from danger, protecting them from any kind of violence and harm. Christians today may not know much about the Bible, but most every Christian alive, can tell you that Jesus is our Good Shepherd! And we have to ask why that is? What has made this ancient figure, the shepherd, so relevant, so up-to-date, so beloved by people of all ages? Could it be, that we realize how desperately we need a shepherd? Could it be that we have indeed, as Peter writes in our second lesson, gone astray, like sheep who have wandered off, and now we need a shepherd who will find us, and save us and bring us back to the flock? Could it be that, tired of the thieves and bandits and false shepherds who have betrayed us and lied to us and then left us to the wolves, we know our need for a shepherd and guardian who is trustworthy; a shepherd and guardian who will never leave us, and indeed, would give His life for us?
I have to believe this is it! That this is why the good shepherd image has remained, so cherished and beloved, by Christians, even in this post-modern era. Because we know we need a shepherd, like Jesus. And when we hear Jesus’ voice, we know it, and we know it is honest and speaks the truth, and so, like sheep who know their shepherd, we run to Him. We run to Him, with all the heart and soul and breath that we have, eager to have a true protector and Savior and friend. On our good days, we run to Him. On our bad days, we are still, unfortunately, sheep that stray. On our bad days, we allow ourselves to be tempted by friends who would take us down the wrong path. On our bad days, we find ourselves, lying and stealing and cheating. On our bad days, we may find ourselves abusing alcohol, using illegal drugs, letting our anger get out of control, so that we harm our family, neighbors and friends. On our bad days, we are not running to our Good Shepherd, but running from Him, so confused and frightened that we don’t really know which way we’re running, even when we’re running straight toward a high and dangerous cliff! We sheep are sometimes lost, and alone, and in great danger in life. And it’s at those times, that the shepherd comes to us; and calls out to us; and is searching for us, with all His heart and soul. And it is at those times, that He has to find us, and bring us back, to the fold, to our senses, to the right path, in life. And I wish I could say that I’ve been the undershepherd who has been out there beating the bushes, trying to find every lost sheep. But the truth is, no pastor, no individual Christian can be the Good Shepherd. We fail miserably, too, at times. Because, we all, are in need. You, and I, and our fellow members, and our kids and our parents, and our youth and our elderly—we are all, sheep, who at times go astray. And the good news is, Jesus is our Good Shepherd. Jesus comes for us. Jesus guides us and calls for us, and protects us. And, Jesus leads us. Yes, Jesus goes before us, in life, clearing the way, and trying, with all His life, to make the way safe for us. And that’s the most interesting thing about shepherds. That good shepherds don’t follow along behind, they lead the way, and their sheep know them and trust them and follow them. That’s the kind of shepherd Jesus is. So much so, that He even went before us, in death, to show us the way, through death, to eternal life.
When Jesus says that He came that we may have life, and have it abundantly, surely He was talking about life, here and now—about filling our lives, abundantly, with joy and peace and love and security. But even more, He’s talking about giving us life, and abundant life, in the hereafter. He’s talking about giving us the truly abundant life, that is life, forever. Life, never-ending. Life with Him, and with all His sheep who have gone before us, and who will come after us. That, is abundant life. And our Good Shepherd into that eternal-life, by leading the way for us, through death. And it is the hope and promise of that, life, to come, that gives us courage to live as the sheep that we are, here and now. Sheep that trust the shepherd. Sheep that hear the shepherd’s voice, and come to Him. Sheep that follow the shepherd. Sheep that run from strangers and thieves and bandits, and run to, the Good Shepherd. Sheep that know that in Jesus, we have the shepherd and guardian, not just of our lives, but of our souls.
Oddly enough, St. John tells us that when Jesus used this figure of speech with his first disciples, they didn’t understand what he was saying to them. But we disciples, here 2000 years later, understand fully what Jesus meant. That we are sheep who go astray at times. That we are led astray by thieves and bandits and strangers in life. That we desperately need, a Good Shepherd, who will care for us, and lead us, and feed us, and bring us to eternal life. And Jesus, is that Good Shepherd. And how could anyone, or anything, be more relevant to us, sheep, than that—than Jesus, our Good Shepherd! Amen.