4th Sunday of Easter
May 7-8, 2006
Text: Acts 4:1-12, 1 John 3:16-24, John 10:11-18, Psalm 23
Vicar Michael Monterastelli
In the Name of the Father and of the a Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
“For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
Dear fellow sheep who are guarded by the Good Shepherd,
Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
No matter where you come from, it is quite humbling maybe even insulting to hear that you are like sheep. Sheep are not strong, fast or smart. They are easily hunted by wolves. They are under constant threat of attack and often too dim-witted to notice. And if that wasn’t enough, sheep are prone to wander away from the shepherd and his flock, where they get themselves into life threatening situations and die alone if isolated from the shepherd’s care. They follow dead-end trails, drink from polluted puddles, get lost in dark crevices, they sometimes lie down and are unable to stand themselves up again.
Who knows how these poor, dumb and easily misled creatures can survive the wolfish dangers of this fallen world.
God does. He provides shepherds to be their guardians. It is their duty to gather, guide, protect, and to feed and water the whole flock every single day and every single night. Sometimes the shepherd was a member of the family who owned the sheep. Sometimes the family would hire a stranger to at least guide and feed the sheep.
A hireling would not always protect the sheep. Rather than risk his own life to save the flock from the threat of wolves, thieves and robbers, a hireling would run away to save himself. He does not care for the entire flock as much as he cares for himself.
Jesus is no hireling! He calls Himself not just a shepherd, but the Good Shepherd. When the wolves came, He did not abandon His sheep, even though His sheep abandoned Him. He let the wolves have their way with Him. He let them bite. He let them chew. He laid down His life and took it up again. Alleluia! He is Risen! He has authority to do this. He has this charge from His Father.
Like real sheep, you are prone to wander off, where you get yourself into life threatening situations, where you can die an eternal death if isolated from your Shepherd’s care.
Much too often we follow dead-end trails, drink from polluted puddles, get lost in dark crevices. Like sheep we may lose our footing, unable to stand ourselves up, and (unless the shepherd comes along) we would perish forever.
We follow dead-end trails when we search for meaning or set priorities where Christ is not the source of meaning or the center of our priorities. If we focus on things God does not call good, we follow a path to nothing but evil. If we follow temptations to live apart from the presence of Jesus, we follow a dead-end trail that will end in despair. If we try to focus on the emptiness or the “nothing” of eastern philosophy and religion, as if nothing is important or desirable, then we give up that which God would have us desire more than anything in all creation. Such philosophies are dead-end trails. If we focus on the false criticisms of God’s revelation of Himself through the record of Scripture, then we put ourselves above God. If we think we can be God’s judge and criticize how He does things, we are following a dead-end trail.
The path which your Lord would have you follow is narrow but it is good, right, and salutary. It leads to a sure and certain joy which this world cannot give you. It leads to the eternal presence of God’s own loving Son. He cares for you so much He has followed you down and faced the ultimate dangers of your chosen path for you.
He follows you so He can bring you back with Him to the safety of His saving presence among His flock. And He does.
By the Spirit of God who does everything-He-does through His Word, He has drawn you here today and enabled you to be here to continue hearing His Word.
He has brought you into His most holy presence to give you what you need most. He gives you Himself. And with Him, and Him alone, there is eternal life. By forgiving your sins He is guiding your feet on the path to eternal life. This crimson path leads from the cross to you today.
Along the way He provides food to eat and fresh water to drink. In the Divine Service, in Bible study and reading He feeds and waters you, His beloved sheep, to make you strong for the journey and to fill you with life. But foolish sheep that we are, we too often search after the unhealthy food or drink. We drink from the polluted puddle called the pursuit of happiness. We pursue happiness in the world as if the pagans of the world know more about God than He is telling His Church. Some people, maybe someone in your own family, maybe even you pursue happiness at the bottom of liquor bottles, wine glasses, beer cans, or pill bottles. We may watch too much TV. We may listen to music which glorifies selfish pleasure or dark despair. We may search endlessly for happiness from the next great life changing acquisition.
A car, a house. A dream vacation or the latest fashions. For sheep who are sick with sin, polluted puddles seem attractive and satisfying.
The truth of God reminds us there is no chemical strong enough to make your suffering end. There is no product perfect enough to fill the emptiness inside you. And without Christ in the middle of your life, you are empty.
There is no philosophy wise enough to remove the suffering caused by the world’s sin. But there is, standing here in the midst of you now, the Good Shepherd. Repent. As you hear the words of His voice, Repent! With His own words He says: “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.” This is how you know that He deeply loves you.
Along the path that leads through the valley of the shadow of death, Jesus provides the lamp to light the way. He is the light. He is the way. He is the door through whom we enter the sheepfold. He is the Shepherd who leads us. His is the blood that washes our robes and make them whiter than wool. He is all in all. But sometimes our priorities get muddled. We get distracted. We get scattered like sheep without a shepherd. We end up in pretty dark places.
We may find ourselves in the dark crevice of worry; worried about our own welfare and about final exams and projects at school, at the office, or at home. We find ourselves wallowing in the dark crevice of self-pity, overwhelmed with worldly concerns. We travel so far down these dark crevasses there seems to be no way out. Despair grows, hope is lost, and we become care-less and empty.
But Your Lord is anything but empty. He is full. And He fills you with what He is. He came from heaven to earth so that He may carry you through the dark crevice of death, back to the Father. He comes, even now, so that you may have life and have it to the full.
Dear Christians, it’s no coincidence that God uses the image of a shepherd. He is the Good Shepherd. We are a flock of sheep ready to stray and scatter. But He continually gathers us back together. Sheep cannot shepherd themselves. They need a shepherd who will search them out, bring them back to the fold, look after them, bring them to safe waters from which to drink (deeply!), and protect them from wolves. In Jesus, the Lord gives you everything you will ever need. His rod and staff, comfort you. They keep you from straying and protect you from worldly wolves. He makes you lie down and rest in green pastures. He restores your soul. He prepares a table before you in the presence of your enemies.
He anoints your head with oil, and fills your cup to overflowing. His goodness and mercy follow you every day of your life. You will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Amen.
Now the peace that passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Text: Acts 4:1-12, 1 John 3:16-24, John 10:11-18, Psalm 23
Vicar Michael Monterastelli
In the Name of the Father and of the a Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
“For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
Dear fellow sheep who are guarded by the Good Shepherd,
Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
No matter where you come from, it is quite humbling maybe even insulting to hear that you are like sheep. Sheep are not strong, fast or smart. They are easily hunted by wolves. They are under constant threat of attack and often too dim-witted to notice. And if that wasn’t enough, sheep are prone to wander away from the shepherd and his flock, where they get themselves into life threatening situations and die alone if isolated from the shepherd’s care. They follow dead-end trails, drink from polluted puddles, get lost in dark crevices, they sometimes lie down and are unable to stand themselves up again.
Who knows how these poor, dumb and easily misled creatures can survive the wolfish dangers of this fallen world.
God does. He provides shepherds to be their guardians. It is their duty to gather, guide, protect, and to feed and water the whole flock every single day and every single night. Sometimes the shepherd was a member of the family who owned the sheep. Sometimes the family would hire a stranger to at least guide and feed the sheep.
A hireling would not always protect the sheep. Rather than risk his own life to save the flock from the threat of wolves, thieves and robbers, a hireling would run away to save himself. He does not care for the entire flock as much as he cares for himself.
Jesus is no hireling! He calls Himself not just a shepherd, but the Good Shepherd. When the wolves came, He did not abandon His sheep, even though His sheep abandoned Him. He let the wolves have their way with Him. He let them bite. He let them chew. He laid down His life and took it up again. Alleluia! He is Risen! He has authority to do this. He has this charge from His Father.
Like real sheep, you are prone to wander off, where you get yourself into life threatening situations, where you can die an eternal death if isolated from your Shepherd’s care.
Much too often we follow dead-end trails, drink from polluted puddles, get lost in dark crevices. Like sheep we may lose our footing, unable to stand ourselves up, and (unless the shepherd comes along) we would perish forever.
We follow dead-end trails when we search for meaning or set priorities where Christ is not the source of meaning or the center of our priorities. If we focus on things God does not call good, we follow a path to nothing but evil. If we follow temptations to live apart from the presence of Jesus, we follow a dead-end trail that will end in despair. If we try to focus on the emptiness or the “nothing” of eastern philosophy and religion, as if nothing is important or desirable, then we give up that which God would have us desire more than anything in all creation. Such philosophies are dead-end trails. If we focus on the false criticisms of God’s revelation of Himself through the record of Scripture, then we put ourselves above God. If we think we can be God’s judge and criticize how He does things, we are following a dead-end trail.
The path which your Lord would have you follow is narrow but it is good, right, and salutary. It leads to a sure and certain joy which this world cannot give you. It leads to the eternal presence of God’s own loving Son. He cares for you so much He has followed you down and faced the ultimate dangers of your chosen path for you.
He follows you so He can bring you back with Him to the safety of His saving presence among His flock. And He does.
By the Spirit of God who does everything-He-does through His Word, He has drawn you here today and enabled you to be here to continue hearing His Word.
He has brought you into His most holy presence to give you what you need most. He gives you Himself. And with Him, and Him alone, there is eternal life. By forgiving your sins He is guiding your feet on the path to eternal life. This crimson path leads from the cross to you today.
Along the way He provides food to eat and fresh water to drink. In the Divine Service, in Bible study and reading He feeds and waters you, His beloved sheep, to make you strong for the journey and to fill you with life. But foolish sheep that we are, we too often search after the unhealthy food or drink. We drink from the polluted puddle called the pursuit of happiness. We pursue happiness in the world as if the pagans of the world know more about God than He is telling His Church. Some people, maybe someone in your own family, maybe even you pursue happiness at the bottom of liquor bottles, wine glasses, beer cans, or pill bottles. We may watch too much TV. We may listen to music which glorifies selfish pleasure or dark despair. We may search endlessly for happiness from the next great life changing acquisition.
A car, a house. A dream vacation or the latest fashions. For sheep who are sick with sin, polluted puddles seem attractive and satisfying.
The truth of God reminds us there is no chemical strong enough to make your suffering end. There is no product perfect enough to fill the emptiness inside you. And without Christ in the middle of your life, you are empty.
There is no philosophy wise enough to remove the suffering caused by the world’s sin. But there is, standing here in the midst of you now, the Good Shepherd. Repent. As you hear the words of His voice, Repent! With His own words He says: “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.” This is how you know that He deeply loves you.
Along the path that leads through the valley of the shadow of death, Jesus provides the lamp to light the way. He is the light. He is the way. He is the door through whom we enter the sheepfold. He is the Shepherd who leads us. His is the blood that washes our robes and make them whiter than wool. He is all in all. But sometimes our priorities get muddled. We get distracted. We get scattered like sheep without a shepherd. We end up in pretty dark places.
We may find ourselves in the dark crevice of worry; worried about our own welfare and about final exams and projects at school, at the office, or at home. We find ourselves wallowing in the dark crevice of self-pity, overwhelmed with worldly concerns. We travel so far down these dark crevasses there seems to be no way out. Despair grows, hope is lost, and we become care-less and empty.
But Your Lord is anything but empty. He is full. And He fills you with what He is. He came from heaven to earth so that He may carry you through the dark crevice of death, back to the Father. He comes, even now, so that you may have life and have it to the full.
Dear Christians, it’s no coincidence that God uses the image of a shepherd. He is the Good Shepherd. We are a flock of sheep ready to stray and scatter. But He continually gathers us back together. Sheep cannot shepherd themselves. They need a shepherd who will search them out, bring them back to the fold, look after them, bring them to safe waters from which to drink (deeply!), and protect them from wolves. In Jesus, the Lord gives you everything you will ever need. His rod and staff, comfort you. They keep you from straying and protect you from worldly wolves. He makes you lie down and rest in green pastures. He restores your soul. He prepares a table before you in the presence of your enemies.
He anoints your head with oil, and fills your cup to overflowing. His goodness and mercy follow you every day of your life. You will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Amen.
Now the peace that passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
posted by Luther Memorial Chapel at
5/14/2006
