Easter IV, Cycle C

"The Lamb Who is Our Shepherd!"

April 25, 2010

The Rev. Dr. David M. Wendel

Saint Luke's Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs

Lessons: Acts 9:36-43; Revelation 7:9-17; St. John 10:22-30

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

"For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

I know all too well, that our Monday evening book studies are challenging for the average, ordinary Lutheran, and maybe overwhelming for some. I was reminded of that as I was reading the introduction to the present book we're studying, Principles of Lutheran Theology, where Dr. Carl Braaten is discussing the different aspects that inform the doing of theology, and speaking of his own development as a theologian, he writes, "I belong to a particular school of thought—the eschatological school", but then he adds, "but the days when this could be thought fashionable are past". In other words, while he considers himself a theologian of the eschatological school, such a theologian and school are no longer thought "modern" and "relevant" and maybe even "useful" as a theological foundation for doing theology.

As expected, one of the first things we had to discuss in our first evening of this book study, is, "what is 'the eschatological school'?" Well, it is the school of thought that understands all of theology—all thinking about God, as being founded in the "eschatos"—the Greek word for literally, "that which is furthest out". In other words, it is theology grounded in final things, the end of earthly time, the time when Jesus will come again to bring all of human history to climax and culmination. And this theological school of thought first defined and explained by Albert Schweitzer between 1901 and 1906, maintains that Jesus' understanding of final things and the end of time is the key to a right understanding of His life and ministry. In fact, Schweitzer suggested that one must see through the lens of eschatology, to grasp Jesus at all. Which means, if one understands God from this perspective, that all of our lives, all meaning in human life, our reason for existence now as disciples of Jesus, comes not just from Jesus' teachings and miracles, but from the hope that we have for the future—our ultimate future, because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, which assures us finally, of our resurrection after death, to eternal life. And yet this understanding, says Dr. Braaten, is currently out of fashion—when so many scholars don't believe anymore in heaven, or hell, or eternal life beyond this life—because they don't really believe that Jesus was literally, raised from death. And we have to admit, if you don't believe Jesus was resurrected, then you can't have an eschatological theology—because the future doesn't matter. What matters is the here and now—and what you do with your present life, because after this life, it's all over. Which brings us to our lessons for today—and the clear eschatological message presented there: that we have hope now, because we will have a Good Shepherd then. We have hope for living today, because after we die, we will be raised—and not just raised, but raised to live with the Lamb who was slain, who will now be at the center of the throne in heaven, to be our shepherd, forever—leading us to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from our eyes.

Now, we read the Gospel of John, chapter 10, and we hear Jesus speaking about himself, as the Shepherd of the sheep, and we think immediately of Jesus, as our Good Shepherd now, today, leading us, caring for us, warning us against this or that danger or pitfall in life. We are to know his voice and follow him, so that we not fall into a trap! But Jesus, himself says, "My sheep hear my voice—I know them, and they follow me", and then He says, "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish." And here we notice that Jesus, himself is speaking eschatologically, not presenting himself as our shepherd in this life, for this life only, but so that we will follow Him, through death, to eternal life! He says, "my sheep follow me, and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish". So that we see in our gospel lesson, that both His shepherding, and our following, have meaning and purpose, because of the hope and promise of resurrection unto eternal life. And we hear this text in the church year, during the season of Easter, to proclaim to us that Jesus, the firstborn of the dead, will lead us through death, so that as He was raised, we, too will be raised! That though we fear the reality of death, though we see death looming off in the distance as a big, dark hole; though death is the greatest uncertainty we face in life, the good news of Easter is—when we arrive at the end of our own lives, when we totter on the brink, realizing this is the end of this life, for us—at that moment, we will hear the voice of Jesus—we will hear the calm, reassuring voice of Jesus, our Shepherd, who will lead us, from death, to life.

However death happens, the message of our gospel reading, and our reading from Revelation, together, promise us that at that moment when we confront the darkness and uncertainty of our own non-existence, we will not be alone, we will not be abandoned, we need not be afraid, for Jesus will be with us, calling us by name, shepherding us from this life, into eternity—guiding us to springs of the water of life, where God will be wiping away every tear from our eyes. This is what the elder in our reading from Revelation means, when he tells St. John the Divine, "these are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb—and they will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them nor any scorching heat, for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd."

Whether we realize it or not, we are now in the "Great Tribulation"—the great tribulation that is—human life. We are now in the great ordeal, as we struggle with broken relationships, pain and grief, as we suffer with cancer, and illness and the ravages of old age, as we mourn the loss of loved ones to violence, terrorism and war. The truth is, human life is at times a great ordeal, a terrible tribulation, in spite of times of joy and peace and fulfillment. And the greatest ordeal we face, is death itself, because it is for us humans, the great unknown. And yet, our eschatological theology assures us, promises us that Jesus our Savior will be there when we enter that unknown, to lead us from death, to life—from death to eternal life with Him. And that gives us hope. Hope for the future, but also hope for today—hope for the living of our days, here and now. Hope for today, and tomorrow, in spite of our wrestling with illness, strife, and the troubles of this present age—because we know there is an age to come, and that as Jesus walks with us through this life, He will be there to walk us through death, into eternity.

And I don't know about you, but that gives me great comfort. It comforts me greatly, knowing that I won't face death alone, nor will my death be the end of me. But it also gives me great comfort knowing that my believing grandparents and great-grandparents, had the Lamb at the center of the throne, to be their shepherd, to guide them through death to springs of living water. It gives me great comfort knowing that all of our beloved dearly departed members here at Saint Luke's, have died knowing, knowing the voice of their Shepherd, who would lead them into eternal life, where there would be no more hunger, or thirst, or crying or pain, or sickness or disease or death. And it gives me great comfort knowing that you, too, have a Good Shepherd, who leads you in life, who guides and directs you in all your ways, and who will finally take you to dwell in the house of the Lord, forever! And that's why today, we celebrate! We celebrate today, our eschatological hope—and we live our lives, full of that hope, because the Lamb who was slain, is now our shepherd! We live our lives full of that hope, because the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, will lead us and guide us, finally, to dwell in the house of the Lord, forever!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.