The Good Shepherd

Sermon Notes, Good Shepherd Sunday, April 25, 2021 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. Our Gospel reading for today is indeed "Good news." Most of what passes for good news these days is only "not quite as bad" news. The bad news is that we are bracing for a 4th wave of the pandemic. The "not quite as bad" news is that it might be less viral because of vaccinations. I don't know about you but that doesn't exactly make me want to do cartwheels across the floor. Even if I could. But Jesus' words are truly good news. He is the good shepherd. He lays down his life for his sheep. He knows his sheep and his sheep know him. He does not abandon his sheep when danger approaches. He is going to bring more sheep into his flock. It is all wonderfully good news given to us by our resurrected Lord The only reservation, the only not so good news, is that we are sheep. Isaiah was exactly right when he said all we are like sheep and have gone astray. Each has turned to his own way. So if we want to accept the good news we first need to acknowledge the not so good and take on a little ovine humility. To really see how good this news is for us, we need to take a wider look at the context in which Jesus spoke. Jesus' comments are part of a detailed and nuanced answer to an objection by the pharisees. John chapter 9 tells the story of Jesus' healing of the man blind from birth. You know the story. Jesus spits on his hands, makes a poultice of clay and mud and places it on the man's eyes. He sends him to the pool of Siloam to wash and he returns seeing. So far, so good. Good news: the man born blind from birth now can see. The not so good news: Jesus gave him his sight on the Sabbath Day. That brings the Pharisees into the picture to "investigate" the healing. It soon becomes evident that the man's physical blindness is a metaphor for the spiritual blindness of the Pharisees. They are blind to witnessing God's mercy. The miracle violated their understanding of the command to honor the Sabbath. Therefore, it couldn't be of God, profound as it may be. Is it their legalism that blinded them? Did the Law blind them? No. The law was given to enlighten them. Psalm 119:105, "Thy word is a lamp into my feet and a light for my path. " It is not the Law but sin that blinds. Through Adam's sin they (and we too) are made blind to the extent and wonder of God's love for us. Paul says in Romans 3:20, "through the law we become conscious of sin." The Law is given to show us our blind spots, not to create them. Jesus gives his accusers another metaphor to consider. He borrows it from Isaiah. Isa. 53:6. "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way." It's not flattering to us. We don't like to be thought of as sheep. But that's who we are. Jesus knows who we are. He knows we are the sheep but he is not critical of us because we are sheep. God didn't make us to be sheep, we became sheep because of sin. We were made to be shepherds. Having created man in his own image, God said to him, ""Rule over the fish of the sea and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Gen. 1:28. We were made to be the shepherd of God's creation. How then did we become sheep? We sinned. We fell for Satan's lie that being the shepherd of Eden was not good enough. We deserved better. Satan, seeking to disrupt creation, convinced us of a great foolishness, that being a sheep was better than being a shepherd of God. The Fall was a fall in every respect of the word. We fell from being God's companion in the evening. Instead of being the shepherd, we now needed one ourselves. Fall created a job opening in creation: Shepherd. And many have tried to fill that role, some faithfully and some under false and deceiving guises. True shepherds align themselves with the God and minister to his sheep in a way that glorifies God and lifts up the flock. But many are bad shepherds who seek only to raise up themselves or to deliver the flock to their shepherd, the lord of darkness. Jesus' words then come to us as the good news we have been waiting to hear. He is the Good Shepherd we so need to lead us. The Good Shepherd has not left his flock to fend for itself. Here is why this Gospel text finds its place as an Eastertide reading. By his death and resurrection, Jesus entered fully into the life of the flock, even to death, so that through him the sheep may again become God's shepherds. I've often wondered whyt this Good Shepherd Sunday happens in the middle of Easter season. It seems on the surface to be a better fit for Ordinary time, when we study the works and teachings of Jesus. But here it is in the middle of our resurrection feast time. There is a resurrection meaning to Jesus' words. The Good Shepherd knows his sheep and they know him. Such knowledge is gained only by the most intimate of associations. The Son of God taking on mortal flesh and dwelling among mankind is God's way of letting us know Him, in the flesh as well as in Spirit. At the same time Jesus comes to first-hand knowledge of what it means to be human, to suffer human pains, experience human oy, to share in human company and feel human alienation. God and man inhabit the sheepfold together and get to know each other. The Good Shepherd he lays down his life for the sheep. His walk with us could have repulsed him from us. We did everything imaginable to make that happen. But in the end he loved us enough to die for us. The Good Shepherd distances himself from all the false shepherds who step up to claim the sheep from the Father's flock. The imposters have no allegiance to the Father and are easily driven off by fear. Jesus himself faced the greatest fear of all, fear of death, and did not flinch from his task or desert the flock. The flock is in a perilous place. It will always be in peril. The Good Shepherd will be there for us through all challenges. We will fear no evil. And one more thing. The Good Shepherd looks beyond the flock assembled to the flock at large. The flock outside the sheepfold that is in even greater peril than the flock enclosed. The Good Shepherd isn't just concerned about them, he will go to them to bring them to safety, and to the same knowledge of him so that they too will know his voice. What a wonderful thing it is to know that we are known. What a wonderful thing to have a Good Shepherd who will never falter or fail. What a wonderful thing to have a Good Shepherd who enables us to again be the shepherd that God meant us to be. In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.