Sermon: 3 May 2020 (Fourth Sunday of Easter) - Psalm 23:1-6, "The Lord is My Shepherd”
“The Lord is my Shepherd
I shall not want...
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever”
Psalm 23:1, 6
Brothers & Sisters in Christ,
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
The Fourth Sunday of Easter is known as “Good Shepherd Sunday.” The Readings always talk about sheep and shepherds. And that’s where our readings take us today.
Psalm 23 is always a favorite for many of us. It beautifully speaks of God’s care for us. It speaks tenderly and clearly about what Jesus, our Good Shepherd, does for us. In fact, when taken along with our Gospel Reading today we have a beautiful picture of what actually happens in our Worship Service.
As Lutherans we understand Worship clearly as being primarily God’s work. He comes to us in His Word, calling us to repentance, and we repeat back His Word, acknowledging our sin, agreeing with God that we are sinners. Confessing our sin He offers us the forgiveness won by Jesus for us on the Cross of Calvary. And hearing God’s Word of forgiveness we receive just that, forgiveness and life in Jesus Name. He does the work. He offers the gifts. We receive and respond with thanksgiving and praise.
That’s the rhythm of Worship. That’s God’s plan to forgive and sustain us through this life. That’s God’s plan to bring us into life eternal.
Notice that type of rhythm in God’s Word today.
In the Gospel Reading Jesus Declares Himself the “Good Shepherd”
Jesus speaks clearly in the Gospel today. “I Am” is a phrase He uses several times in John’s Gospel. Those words take us back to the days of Moses. It was at the Burning Bush in Exodus 3, when Moses asked for God’s Name that He revealed Himself simply as “I Am”, Moses was to tell Israel and Pharaoh that “I Am” sent me. When Jesus says “I am…” the people listening immediately saw the connection. This man, Jesus, was declaring Himself to be none less than God, the One who revealed Himself to Moses, to Israel and to Pharaoh. Jesus is declaring Himself the great “I Am.”
And as the great I Am He says He is the “Good Shepherd.” The Good Shepherd, in contrast to others, is the One who truly cares for His Sheep.
The other shepherds, “All who came before Him”, specifically the Jewish leaders of Jesus day, He describes as “thieves and robbers.” (John 10:9) They were out for themselves. They sought power, honor and glory. They sought to have people follow, obey and honor them while failing to give honor to God. The people were being led by their leaders to believe they could be righteous in and of themselves. Their works could make amends with God for any sins they committed. Just listen to and follow those leader’s direction and they would be fine, so they were told to their detriment.
Right there that they have departed from the Kingdom of God. God’s Word declares that we are all “dead in our trespasses” and unable to save ourselves. We are turned away from God and in need of help. Confessing our sins God invites us to receive what He has earned for us: the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting through faith in Him. Those leaders, in directing them away from God were thieves and robbers stealing people, stealing souls away from God. Jesus did not mince words about what they were.
Jesus was also quite clear that His sheep did not listen to those thieves and robbers. His sheep heard His voice and followed Him. They heard His call to repentance and received His offer of forgiveness and life. They were safely in His sheep pen, in His Kingdom. That’s what He desires for all people.
So in our Gospel reading today we hear Jesus declaring Himself as the Good Shepherd. In the Psalm we hear our own response to that as we respond to God’s action in our lives and we declare Him to be our “Good Shepherd” as well.
Jesus is Our “Good Shepherd”
In fact, the Psalm is much more personal. The psalmist speaks very personally for himself saying “the Lord is my…”(Psalm 23:1) And the psalmist goes on from there to declare clearly what Jesus does for Him. We too, knowing Jesus as the One Who has received us into His Kingdom through Holy Baptism, can declare the same about Him.
He is “My Shepherd” (Psalm 23:1) Here the psalmist and each of us personally see Jesus care. The Shepherd is the One who watches over the sheep, Whose care is focused on protecting and caring for the safety of the sheep.
Oh yes, in other places in Jesus makes it clear that some shepherds were looking out for themselves, but Jesus is different. His care is focused solely on the sheep and not on Himself. Their needs and their safety are what matter. And here in Psalm 23 we acknowledge that about Him. He leads us to places that are safe, to places where we can be refreshed, to places that have eternal value to us. We look to Him and He cares for us. He says, “I Am” and we say “You are” the Good Shepherd, “You are my Shepherd.”
He “comforts me” (Psalm 23:4) What kind of comfort are we talking about though? Simple troubles of this life? Troubles of the soul? The answer to both, of course, is yes. He does comfort us in the troubles of this life, as we face challenges on a day to day basis. Challenges of dealing with a world turned upside down by a virus. Challenges of dealing with new ways of working, shopping, travelling, daily routines disrupted… you name it.
But much more so, He comforts us by the assurance that we are just passing through this world and are, by His shed blood, headed to life eternal with Him. He focuses our eyes on the glories of life eternal with Him. He calms our day to day fears by giving all that we need to see us through this life. As Baptized members of His Church we are in His Sheepfold, safe from predators and assured of His care both now and forever.
And with that comes His reassurance of victory. Through His life, death, and resurrection He has defeated the power of sin, death and the devil. The “feast” or “table” (Psalm 23:5) He assures us of is a victory feast. He was victorious on the Cross and His resurrection assures us that His promise of life eternal, resurrected with Him, is sure and certain. Isaiah 25 speaks of just such a victory feast on the Mountain of God. There, in eternity, we shall savor the glories He sets before us.
And finally, the great joy He has set before is dwelling in His house “forever.” (Psalm 23:6) That’s the eternal perspective He wants us to have. That’s why this psalm is so comforting at a funeral service. Life may appear to have ended here in this world with a lifeless body. But the resurrected body of our Lord on Easter assures us that the truth is in His promise. Because He lives, we too shall rise. Because He has gone to prepare a place for us in eternity surely, He will return to take us to be with Him. Although we endure seemingly endless difficulties arising from sin in our lives and the world around us, the rhythm of Worship, of God’s Word, speaks the truth to us. It acknowledges our sin but calls us to repentance, faith and life. It reminds us of our God Shepherd, His love and care for us as we pass through this world. It reminds us of His care now and the glories of heaven. Baptized and believing His promises, we are in His Sheepfold now and will be forever. Amen.
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!