The audio can be found at: [ https://soundcloud.com/tigerowl/easter-4-a-2014 ].
The text Follows:
We
have three lessons that focus on the Good Shepherd. Often we speak of Jesus as the Good
Shepherd. There are times when people
look at me, sometimes out loud, but often in thoughts, their eyes seem to say
that I am the shepherd. Recently, I
asked one of our members if another member could be a closer contact for them,
so in essence I was asking them to be a shepherd. Our confirmation students recently wrote
letters asking for members of the congregation to serve as their mentors for
the coming year. These mentors are being
asked to shepherd these young members in our midst. In many ways we all share in our roles shepherds
in the body of Christ.
We
have several persons who are in new member’s class. They have chosen to join this congregation,
this flock. For in our midst, they feel
that they hear the voice of the shepherd and it is with this flock that they want
to travel and follow the shepherd.
Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and
fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 2:43 Awe came upon
everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. 2:44
All who believed were together and had all things in common; 2:45 they would
sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had
need. 2:46 Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they
broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, 2:47
praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number
those who were being saved.
I
must admit that it seems like every week is a tough week, when it comes to
living together in community. For over a
month, families in Northern Nigeria have been seeking the return of their
daughters, who have been kidnapped.
Violence attributed to religious differences seems to be overpowering
common sense. Religious leaders of all
faiths have condemned this taking of young girls from a school and then stating
that they are to be sold as wives. And
that does not account for the villages and towns that have been decimated. Sin still happens, even when there is a
shepherd in Town. Perhaps that is the place of the church, to be a safe place,
a sanctuary, where shepherds and sheep dogs are available.
We
may already be meeting the challenge to this church and others to be one of the
places of safety (another meaning of "saved" in v. 9), and, perhaps,
places for the grieving to lament before God.
Perhaps the church is a pasture for the feeding of the flock, as we come
and hear the words of God and share in the meal that is presented at the
table. For those joining the
congregation, they have chosen this place to be a place of salvation and grace. They will publicly announce that they want to
continue in their lives as people saved by the grace of God through the loving
act of Jesus Christ upon a cross.
1 Peter 2:19 For it is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you endure
pain while suffering unjustly. 2:20 If you endure when you are beaten for doing
wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it,
you have God's approval. 2:21 For to this you have been called, because Christ
also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his
steps. 2:22 "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his
mouth." 2:23 When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered,
he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.
2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from
sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 2:25
For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd
and guardian of your souls.
There
are others in our midst, who come faithfully.
They too are a part of God’s enduring plan. They lead, they teach, they clean, they sing,
they read, they study, they work, they are the people of God who find their
support in this flock. This is not
unlike a small town. This congregation serves as a well that continually offers
a cup of water to the thirsty and a morsel of food to the hungry. As I have looked at the directory of the
church, it is clearly a place that has been at the center of this community. Many
of you have lived within 10 blocks of the church. That is a significant number. This neighborhood is like your flock’s village,
your grazing ground. This is home
turf. This is comfortable turf. This is a place you know and love, even those
of you who now live beyond that 10 block target.
We
lift up the caring hand of the shepherd who knows the sheep and says that the
flock is larger than you imagined. The
grazing land is broader than the eye can see or the feet can walk. Our hope is that we can find leaders in our congregation
that can continue to reach out and support those who are new to the
community. An even greater challenge is
to let go of those who have been in our midst who find new places to work and
live that are no longer a commuting distance form Christ Lutheran Church. In the past year a number of our members have
relocated out of the neighborhood, or out of the state. Our task is to share with them the pain of
leaving and the guidance to find a new community who will meet their needs.
John10:1 "Very truly, I tell you, anyone who
does not enter the sheepfold by the gate
but climbs in by another way is a thief and
a bandit. 10:2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the
sheep. 10:3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and
leads them out. 10:4 When he has brought
out all his own, he goes ahead of them,
and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 10:5 They will not
follow a stranger, but they will run from
him because they do not know the voice of strangers." 10:6 Jesus
used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
10:7 So again Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 10:8 All who came
before me are thieves and bandits; but the
sheep did not listen to them. 10:9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me
will be saved, and will come in and go
out and find pasture. 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
I came that they may have life, and have
it abundantly.
How
do sheep hear and what do they hear when they are noted to respond to the voice
of the shepherd. The ambiguity of
"phone" as "sound" or "voice" may be intentional.
Somewhere I remember hearing that each shepherd had a special whistle or sound
that called his own sheep. While the sheep were grazing on the hillside,
different flocks would mingle together. When it was time to return to the fold,
the shepherds made their sounds and their own sheep knew that sound and went to
it.
However,
I know (from watching National Geographic specials) that there is often a sound
(and smell?) connection between young animals and their mothers. The offspring recognize their mother's call
and follow it, but not that of another. Perhaps that is why on this day we
remember the household shepherd who seems to be the rock to who many of us turn
for guidance and support. That image, as well as the shepherd calling his own
sheep by name, denotes a close intimate relationship between shepherd and sheep,
not unlike mother and children.
We
have tended to see our Christian life as that which happens in the sheepfold
(i.e., in church) -- when we can all be huddled together in the safety of the
enclosure. In sports, the purpose of the
huddle is to inform and encourage each member of the team on how we plan to win
a victory. If they only stayed in the
huddle talking about what they are going to do, holding hands, slapping each
other on the butts, etc., nothing will get accomplished. That is avoiding the contest which can take a
lot of effort and cause a lot of pain, but which God has guaranteed we will
win. Note that the shepherd leads the
sheep *out* of the fold in v. 3. V. 9 talks about coming in and going
*out*. We need to discover better ways
of helping our people live Christ centered lives in this sinful, difficult
world. Perhaps a start would be not to
degrade any human being, yet, at the same time, be aware of the reality of evil
that can exist in individuals.
Maybe
as we seek to dedicate our lives to Christ, as we seek to consecrate our
ministries to the Lord, maybe we need to repeat again the psalm that seems to
give strength in all times that seem illogical, at all times it defies explanation,
Yet at all times when we need to recognize the identity of the shepherd, we say
Psalm 23.
AMEN.
My
thanks to the following colleagues: BRIAN STOFFREGEN, MIM WOOLBERT, KARA
SKATRUD, FRED REISZ, MJOHNS, LARRY GERBITZ, GEORGE VILLA, JOHN PRIEST
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