Conviction - Sermon for Cantate - The Fifth Sunday of Easter

Fifth Sunday of Easter – Cantate                
April 28^th, Year of Our + Lord 2024
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches, 
Hill City and Custer, South Dakota
Conviction - John 16:5-15

Audio of this sermon available HERE.

In the Name of Jesus. 

   Last Sunday we considered Confusion, Confrontation and Conviction, Conversion and Confession, which lead us to Joy.  Today, we’ll keep it quite a bit simpler.  Just Conviction.  As in the Holy Spirit will convict the world regarding sin, and righteousness, and judgment.  

   Speaking of conviction, we could use more people with convictions these days.  I’m not yet convinced our democratic republic is destined to fail; I pray not.  But it certainly seems that good citizens with the conviction to act for the public good, even to sacrifice for the good of others, are a disappearing breed.  Politics in a democracy have always tended toward becoming a self-serving cesspool; this is why the Greek philosopher Plato opposed democracy in principle.  Now, I’m not anti-democratic, but there are definitely problems when the citizens of a democratic system lack widely shared values and a common culture.  These shared fundamentals serve to limit the excesses that are bound to come when you have a f “50% +1 vote” way of governing.   

   Democracy in a large multicultural and disunited population leads to purely partisan politics.  Sooner or later, self-interested parties splinter into rent-seeking and tribalism.  Let’s get ours while we can, no matter the consequences for the society at large.  Public life can devolve into a fight to secure an ever-increasing portion of tax revenue and special rights for my team.  Now we’ve connected such normal human tendencies to a 24-7 media culture and a national addiction the interwebs, which isolates and conditions each of us to seek only our personal entertainment and pleasure.  In this brave new world we’ve created, principled conviction as a guide to action is in trouble.  And it’s not just at the highest levels.  Shelee and I are members of a little home owners’ association in Hill City, (speaking of crosses to bear).  Our HOA is worthy of a situation comedy, as 30-some households bicker and gossip and fail to function, in what is a distinctly small-potatoes arena. 

   Our communities and our nation need more citizens of good conviction, people not just looking out for themselves, but also wisely seeking the good of their neighbors. 

   The Holy Spirit convicts as He re-creates.  Believers are made to love what God commands, and to desire His promises.  With their hearts fixed on the true joy of knowing and serving Jesus Christ, Christians live differently.  Faith in Jesus creates good convictions in fallible human beings.  There might be some hope to improve things in our land by looking in this direction. 

   The Holy Spirit creates convictions.  If you trust in the love of God, revealed in Jesus, if you are confident that your eternal future is guaranteed, and your present day is lived under the protective gaze of the God the Father, who is showering good gifts on you, well, then you are free.  You are free from fear and doubt, and you are set free to stand up for truth, for principles, for the good of all, even if you don’t come out ahead.  You don’t need to put others down to make it in life, because, in Christ, you’ve already won.  You don’t need to scheme and strive to get ahead, because life eternal is yours, because of and in Jesus.  I’m convinced that turning around the trajectory of our country and society depends on two things, which are closely related to each other:  promoting Biblical families, and making more Christians. 

   To be clear, I’m not imagining some top-down, “renew America with a great slogan and a national program” kind of thing.  Whatever good has come from the American experiment didn’t happen that way, top-down.  Not top-down from government and human leaders, that is.  Decent government and a good nation are good gifts, and so they do come down to us from on high.  From the Father of Lights, from whom every good and perfect gift descends.  Like we ask for our nation in the song America the Beautiful: “God shed His grace on thee.” 

   But God doesn’t bless a nation by putting a savior in the White House.  God’s grace builds a good nation from the bottom up, from good families building good communities for their children to live in.  And from the influence of God through His Church.  When there is a large core of citizens who by faith in Christ hold true Christian convictions, whose character and actions are being guided daily by the Word of Truth, then benefits spill over for the society. 

   Building a good culture is not the primary goal of Christ and His Church.  A right relationship with God that leads to holy living and eternal life, these are the Church’s goal for the souls she claims as members, and for the souls around her in the world who as yet lack Christian conviction.

   A better society is a by-product of the Church converting lost sinners into sinner-saints, bound for heaven and living each day guided by God and His Word.  So, it would seem good for us to understand well how the Holy Spirit works  And our Gospel reading this morning gives us some important clues. 

   On this 5^th Sunday of Easter, our readings begin to prepare us to celebrate the Ascension of Jesus, which this year falls on May 9^th, and then 10 days later, for Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the tiny group of disciples in Jerusalem, jump-starting the growth of the Christian Church.  In our Gospel, Jesus is teaching the Eleven on the night when He was betrayed by Judas Iscariot.  At this climactic moment, Jesus took time to teach about the coming ministry of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus declares: I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. ^[8] And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: ^[9] concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; ^[10] concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; ^[11] concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

   The Holy Spirit will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.  Since He does this convicting work through the Church which He creates and sustains, we need to understand it, so that we can discern between the work of the Spirit of God, and the work of other spirits abroad in the world. 

   Concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me.  Those who believe in Jesus are called and made to be children of God, saved souls.  Believing that the Man from Nazareth is also the Son of God, who has died to take away the sins of all humanity, this is the Way of Salvation. 

   But no one will take a single step on the Way of Jesus, unless first convicted concerning their own sin.  It is no coincidence that the spirits of this age work so hard to re-classify sins as personal choices, immune from judgment.  The secular therapeutic religion of America really only recognizes one sin.  The only thing the culture won’t accept is you suggesting that some crazy thing someone feels like doing is wrong, a sin. 

   The world celebrates the denial of the nature and importance of marriage as a lifelong union of one man and one woman.  Material acquisition is promoted as the meaning of life.  We are told it is wise and good for society to kill babies in the womb, and to hasten the deaths of the elderly and disabled, because they are a burden.  Ubiquitous pornography, ever-expanding substance abuse, legal, illegal and prescribed, these are the convictions of our world today.  Unfettered access to all these horrible things, and many more, such access is defended as a human right.  But if you dare to speak a Word from God against these things, and you are a dangerous bigot, and probably a Nazi.    

   We Christians are called to declare sin to be sin, regardless of the reaction from the world.  To truly love our children and our neighbors, we are called, with all gentleness, humility and respect, to speak the truth of God’s Word, including His rejection of sin.  Because no one will believe that Christ crucified and resurrected is their Savior, today and forever, unless they first understand they are sinners in need of salvation. 

   The Holy Spirit will convict the world concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer.  The Lord had been off-and-on visibly displaying His righteousness to the children of Israel for thousands of years.  They should have believed, from all the signs God did for them to see.  From the plagues that freed them from slavery in Egypt, to the parting of the Red Sea, the Manna and the Quail, down through centuries of miraculous military victories over superior foes, ancient Israel should have seen and believed. 

   Likewise when the Lord took on human flesh.   Jesus begged His own people, “Believe in me on account of the works I do.” (John 10:38, 14:11)  He healed the sick, raised the dead, fed 5,000 from five loaves of bread and two fish.  But salvation will be by faith, or it will not be at all.  As Jesus proclaimed to Thomas: “Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed.”  Believing that, in Christ Jesus, God has given us His righteousness, and so also eternal life, as a free gift, such faith comes only by hearing, by the faith of the heart created by the proclaimed Word of Christ. 

   Jesus is risen and is present with His Church, forever and ever.  But we can’t see Him, nor can the world.  He must be heard to be believed.  Creating faith of the heart, a trust in the Righteous One, who forgives the sins of the whole world, this is the exclusive work of the Holy Spirit.  And He does this work through us, through His Church. 

   We are tempted to try to grow through impressive works.  We may not be able to do visible miracles, but sometimes we build soaring cathedrals, or impressive social programs, or really-with-it youth programs, hoping that people will see these wonders, and believe.  But, that’s not how God works.  If we build beautiful buildings to glorify God, great!  If we show mercy our neighbor because Christ has had mercy on us, that’s right, that’s good.  If we raise up our children in the fear and knowledge of the Lord because we love them, very well.  But our visible impressiveness does not save.  Only the righteousness of Christ, imputed, or credited, given to sinners, by faith, this is the only Way of Salvation.  And the Holy Spirit drives this bus, through His Word. 

   The Holy Spirit convicts concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.  The world loves a winner, and so the prince of darkness who rules this fallen world must maintain the façade that he is the winner, the champion.  One of the devil’s best tools to keep people lost in darkness and unbelief is to convince them they will be winners, when they have the things he offers. 

    Status, pleasure, wealth, popularity, autonomy, self-actualization, pride-of-self, escape.  These are the baubles the evil one dangles before our eyes, tempting us to think he is truly in charge.  But Satan is judged.  He is the biggest loser, the biggest liar, who only wants to drag human souls behind him to share his misery. 

    The judgment of the devil, all his works and all his ways, was complete, once and for all, when Jesus breathed His last and gave up His Spirit.  In that darkest of all moments, less than 24 hours after Jesus taught about the Holy Spirit’s convicting ways, in the moment of Jesus’ death for our sin, Satan lost everything.  It is finished, and so the devil is finished. 

    The spectacular announcement of Christ’s victory and Satan’s defeat would wait for the 3^rd day, until Jesus burst from the tomb.  Now that announcement is the heart of Church’s message, for herself and the world, because this is the convicting message of the Holy Spirit. 

    Christ is Risen!  Christ is Risen, and so Satan and all the lies and evil he inflicts on humanity are also judged.  With this eternal conviction in our hearts, we are set free to love our families and each other, building one another up in the Name of Jesus.  In this joyful conviction, we are free, as church and as individuals, free to serve the world around us.  We are free to be truly good citizens.  Even more, we are free to live in love and Christian confidence, always ready to give the reason for our hope.  Through such Christian living, God will help our nation.  And even more, much more, through such Christian living, the Holy Spirit graciously keeps us in the Way, and reaches out through us, convicting souls, convicting with the Truth of Jesus, for the life of the world, Amen.      

5 Cs and a J - Sermon for the 4th Sunday of Easter - Jubilate

Fourth Sunday of Easter, Jubilate, April 21^st, Year of Our + Lord 2024
Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches, Custer and Hill City, SD
5 Cs and a J – John 16:16-22

Audio of this sermon, with the readings, may be accessed HERE.   

    Almighty God, You show those in error the light of Your truth, so that they may return to the way of righteousness. Grant faithfulness to all who are admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s Church, that they may avoid whatever is contrary to their confession and follow all such things as are pleasing to You, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   

     To err is human, to forgive divine; so says Shakespeare.  To err means to make a mistake, to mess something up.  Sinning is one category of error, the most important category.  So, we should know that word.  But why do we err?  Why do we so often do the wrong thing, or say things about Christ and salvation that are erroneous, untrue, or think thoughts completely opposed to God’s Word? 

   Consider the Collect of the Day for this Sunday, the summary prayer that collects the themes of the readings.  We prayed the Collect together as we entered into the Holy Space God creates through the speaking of His Word.  We asked God to return those in error concerning His Truth, that they be returned to the way of righteousness.  We prayed that those who have publicly entered into Christ’s Church be enabled to avoid all things contrary to their confession.  And that we follow Christ in a God-pleasing way.  These don’t seem like grand and glorious aspirations.  Today’s Collect is more of a prayer to be drug across the finish line of faith, a prayer for God to protect us from the ruin that is always nipping at our heels.  Which all too often is the prayer we need most. 

     Why do we err?  Why do we turn away from God and His Way?  Well, it is true to say, “Because we are sinners.”  But, is that all we can say?  Can we go a bit deeper, understand a bit more, about why we sin?  I think so.  In fact, I’ve come up with a little memory device that might help us understand and remember something about this life as sinner-saints.   Christians are sinners who have been declared to be saints, decared holy by God, through faith in Jesus Christ.  It’s a challenging life, and we can always use help in remembering the basics of the faith.  So, today, a memory aid for you, an acronym.  I’m sure you’re going to think it’s great! 

   The acronym is CCCCCJ.  5 Cs and a J.  O.K., that’s a lot of alliteration.  Hearing it spoken out loud, I have to admit, CCCCCJ may not be the best acronym ever.  But humor me; let’s see how it works. 

Confusing:  The first C is for Confusing.  The Word of God is good and true and powerful, and without error.  But we are not so wise, so God’s Word is confusing to us.  We often err in our understanding of the Word, like the disciples in our Gospel. 

   Jesus, speaking of His imminent crucifixion, burial and resurrection, tells His disciples:  "A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me."  The Eleven don’t get it.  Even though Jesus had predicted His death and resurrection many times, they can’t seem to understand that Jesus is again referring to it.  This “now you see me, then you won’t, then you will again” is easier for us to understand, since we know the whole story, from this side of the Resurrection.  However, this is hardly the end of statements in the Bible we find confusing. 

   We might even be confused by John’s sweet words this morning about being children of God.  We spend a big part of our childhood wishing we were grown-ups.  God through His Word certainly calls us to grow up, to be built up, to become mature in our faith.  And yet, we are also called to be child-like, trusting, submissive to our loving heavenly Father.   Which is it?  Are we to be child-like, or mature?  It’s confusing, as the Word of the Lord so often is to us.  But then, why wouldn’t the Word of the Creator, the Almighty, be beyond us mere humans? 

    Your Lord does not want you to remain confused.  But which is it?  Are we to be children, or mature? 

    Both.  As is often the case with spritual either-or questions, the answer is both.  Is God one, or is He three?  Both.  The One True God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Is Jesus a man, a flesh and blood human being, or is He God?  Both.  Is the Supper we eat at this altar bread and wine, or is it the Body and Blood of Christ?  Both.  These are mysteries, Godly truths that exceed our capacity to fully comprehend or explain them.  They are also true, precious to us, and to God.  For these mysterious truths are intimately connected to the Good News of our salvation. 

   God in His Word, which He promises is true, indeed, which must be true if we are to have hope, God’s Word declares all these mysteries to be true, and necessary.  God is One, the One Source of all, the Supreme Being, the Almighty Source of all things, all action, all existence.  If there were more than one god, they could not be supreme nor almighty.  God is One, or He is not God.  And yet, if God were not Father, Son and Holy Spirit, then the Father could not send the Son to be our Savior.  Nor could the Son give us the Holy Spirit to sustain our faith and guide us in the Way, while He prepares a place for us in heaven.  God is One in Three, and Three in One, and we rejoice.    

     The responsibility for human sin lies with us humans, and justice demands the debt be paid.  So the Savior must be able to suffer and pay, as a human.  And yet, no mere human could pay for his or her own sin, let alone for the sins of others.  The Savior, to pay the debt of all mankind, must also be infinite, that is, He must be God.  If Christ were not truly God and Man, susceptible to suffering and death, and yet also almighty and indestructible, we would have no hope of forgiveness.  And so we celebrate Christmas, the revelation that the Son of God has become a child, so that we might be redeemed, and be called children of God.           

    There is also a bit of mystery in being forever a child of God vs. becoming mature in our faith.  It is not nearly so deep as the Holy Trinity or the Two Natures in Christ, nor as the Lord Supper.  We can almost wrap our minds around the continual call to be children, joyfully dependent on our Father, while at the same time needing to grow up into Christ and be more and more wise, for ourselves, and for others.  Christian wisdom is founded on the truth that we are always children to God, always dependent, always learning, always growing, always maturing. 

      But back to the problem of confusion.  Our fallen minds are just as impacted by sin as our aging, aching bodies or our sinful desires.  Our reason cannot comprehend all that God has to say; His Word is confusing to us, on our own.  This is especially true when evil surrounds us, when death threatens us, or takes one we love, when we really want the good, but we keep seeing bad.  Always, but especially in times of trial, we must have the Holy Spirit’s help to rightly understand.  And, we know where to turn to hear His voice, and He has promised to help us. 

    Thankfully, our confusion does not disqualify us from the kingdom.  We will not reach perfect understanding in this life, but God will keep us in faith, by His Word.  He has promised.  At the same time, confusion is not to be accepted, nor used as an excuse to give up trying to grow in the Word.  In fact, the first and last step in seeking wisdom is always to hear and ponder and seek understanding in God’s Holy Word.   

Confrontation and Conviction:  The next two Cs are Confrontation and Conviction.  Sometimes we may plead confusion as an excuse to quit seeking God’s Truth, but in reality we have other reasons for rejecting a particular Word of God.  Some passages of Scripture and some articles of the faith are all too clear, but we simply don’t like them, because of the way they confront us in our sin.  We may proudly reject God’s permanent call to be His child.  We may deny the Word that says suffering is a gracious thing.  We may explain away or simply ignore the “Thou shalt nots” that we don’t like.  Every thought, word and deed that is contrary to God’s way of righteousness, every hint of selfishness, every perversion of a good gift into an evil excess, such as we do with sex and food and money and technology and personal freedom, every time we declare our independence from God, every time we sin, God’s Word confronts and convicts us.  And our sinful natures’ hate that. 

     Our sinful natures do not want to die.  Submitting to the truth of God’s Law, submitting our wills to His will, is to kill our sinful nature.  We as sinners naturally give in to the power of sin, and reject God and His Word.  With the Holy Spirit’s help, we as children of God are called to fight our sinful inclination.  This struggle with sin is a daily affair, which may even tempt us to give up trying.  But, because God wants you, His Word still comes.  The conviction that His Truth brings into our souls tempts us to run away, tempts us to defy and flee the God who seeks to be close to us.  But where can we hide from God? 

     Conviction, of course, brings guilt.  Many times the worst suffering for the Christian is dealing with the conviction that God’s Word brings, revealing sins we thought we had hidden, even from ourselves.  But no matter how we try to hide, God in love continues to confront us with His convicting Word, so that He can bring us to this morning’s final two Cs.

Conversion and Confession:  These are the last two Cs.  When we are guilty, when we are broken, when confusion and conviction bring us to our knees, when our struggle to understand God’s Word combines with the realization that we are guilty sinners, unworthy of God’s care, then, God in His amazing grace converts us, again.  When we are weary and heavy laden, when we realize that our way ends in ruin, God sends His Word again, His better Word, His converting Word.  God sends the Word of Jesus, risen from the dead, reaching out His arms to show us His nail scarred hands.  Jesus comes, saying “Peace to you.”  “Fear not, I have overcome your sin, your guilt, your death.”  “Fear not, you are forgiven.”  “Your sins, which were as red as scarlet, are covered over and made white as snow by my cleansing blood.”       

     And so, like newborn babes, we crave the pure spiritual milk of the Gospel.  Astounded by God’s forgiving love, our hearts cry out “Abba, Father.”  The knowledge of our sin makes us realize we deserve to be orphans, spiritually father-less, without hope for the future.  But the Father comes to us through Jesus, and with Thomas we confess, “My Lord and My God.” Like a woman who endures the pain of delivery and then rejoices that a child has been born into the world, we rejoice in Christ’s forgiving love, that gives us new birth, that converts us, and makes us confess His Holy Name. 

Joy:  The J is for Joy.  As in, what joy to confess that for the sake of His Son, the Father calls us His beloved children.   The Holy Spirit re-creates our hearts by this word of grace, by the Word of Jesus, crucified and resurrected.  God re-creates our hearts, turning us from confusion and sin and guilt, turning us to see our Savior, reaching out to us again, speaking words of blessing, gathering us to His table, reminding us that the promises He made to us in our Baptism last forever.  In joy we confess: God’s own child I gladly say it, for the Father has called me by the forgiveness and love of His Son. 

  The light of the Gospel shines on us, and our hearts are filled with joy.  Like Mary Magdalene, Peter and John, like Thomas, our doubts are dispelled by the voice of the Risen Christ.  Like a mother, overwhelmed with love and joy to be holding her newborn baby, we rejoice in the Gospel, knowing that we have been re-born, through God’s grace.  Like a guilty criminal, surprised to hear the judge announce his pardon, we are amazed at the blessing we’ve received.  Confessing Jesus’ victory for us, we go forth in joy. 

    This confession and the joy it brings is what we asked for in the Collect of the Day.  So, let’s pray it one more time: 

     Almighty God, You show those in error the light of Your truth, so that they may return to the way of righteousness. Grant faithfulness to all who are admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s Church, that they may avoid whatever is contrary to their confession and follow all such things as are pleasing to You; for in You and Your salvation You provide true joy for us, the joy that flows from Your peace, which is beyond understanding and which keeps our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, unto life everlasting, Amen. 

 

Good Shepherding and Good Sheeping -- A Sermon for the 3rd Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday

Third Sunday of Easter, April 14^th, Year of Our + Lord 2024
Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches
Custer and Hill City, South Dakota
Good Shepherding and Good Sheeping: John 10:1-18

Sermon Audio available HERE. 

Christ is Risen!

   Who is your shepherd? Are you a wise sheep? Are you shepherding anyone?  Are you shepherding anything? 

   On this Good Shepherd Sunday, my first question seems excessively obvious.  Jesus, who laid down
His life, and has taken it up again, He is our Good Shepherd.  Christ is Risen, and He is our Shepherd.  Case closed.  No question.   

    But is He?  Are you following Jesus as a sheep follows a shepherd? Jesus focuses on hearing and following His voice.  The disciples struggled to understand what Jesus meant by declaring “I AM the door of the sheepfold.”  That is pretty hard to wrap your mind around.  So Jesus laid aside the mysterious “I AM the door” metaphor, and switched to a relationship they could better understand.  Sheep and Shepherd.  God had long talked about Israel as His flock, and He as their Shepherd.  Ancient Israel depended on shepherds and sheep for clothing, milk, and meat, not to mention writing material.  They get sheep and shepherds.  They can grasp that God’s people is the flock, and Jesus is the Shepherd.  

    And, when the Lord says His sheep listen for and hear His voice, it doesn’t take a Master of Divinity degree to understand that our Savior is pointing us to His Word.  Followers of Christ live in this world for as long as the Shepherd wills, and necessarily we interact with the culture and the economy; we hear many voices, many strange voices.  But the Word of Christ, recorded and preserved for us in Holy Scripture, the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, is our authoritative voice, our primary and final tool for interpreting the world and our lives.  The Bible is to guide our choices and interaction with the broader world. 

    Can we say this is true for us?  Are we mostly guided by Christ and His Word in our day to day lives?  Or is the Word of God more like a weekly reminder, that is quickly drowned out by the cacophony of voices and kaleidoscope of images that bombard our senses, from early morn till late at night?  Are we truly hearing the voice of our Shepherd and following Him? 

    It doesn’t help that today following any shepherd is distinctly out of fashion.  Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it is out of fashion to admit that we are following someone.  “Chart your own path, be your own person, make your own way in the world.  Just do it, they say.”  But amen, amen I say to you, the truth is we are all following someone or something.  The world suggests we can and should all be self-directed, autonomous, free agents.  But this is silly.  This mantra is a really play for control, by manipulative people and powers who want you to follow them.  And we will follow someone, consciously or not, because we are creatures made to follow our Creator. 

    The declaration of independence from God that was our fall into sin means that we do not naturally follow God’s good shepherding.  But if you imagine you aren’t following something or someone, be careful.  Because this is not how we human beings are made to be.  We will follow the Lord, or we will follow someone else.  It may be a philosopher, or a social trend, or a popular leader.  But we all follow something or someone.  The key question is: Are we following a good shepherd, or are we following foolishly after folly?

    Bad shepherds abound, a dime a dozen.  Jesus says a good shepherd knows his sheep and cares for them.  He defends them from wolves, and is even willing to lay down his life for his sheep, regardless of how foolish they may be.  Bad shepherds fleece their flock, using and even devouring them, all the while making a great show of how much they care for the sheep.  But bad shepherds don’t love their sheep.  They abandon their followers, when danger draws near, or when they cease to be useful.  I’ll let you fill in the blank with the shepherd who has disappointed and perhaps deeply injured you.  Maybe a politician?  A boss?  A relative?  A pastor?   

    Shepherding isn’t just about Sunday morning.  All of life is a gift from God, however we may use or misuse it.  So, any bad shepherding or any foolish sheepishness has a relation to God and true religion, because God cares about His whole creation.  Good shepherds help us know God, and walk in His path.  Bad shepherds pervert all that God wants for His creatures. 

    We need to realize shepherding is a really broad term.  Shepherd and pastor are the same word.  But shepherding is not just a religious concern.  King David was a shepherd, charged with leading and caring for the nation of Israel, with slingshot and lyre, sword and Psalm.  Moses was certainly called by God, and served a priestly function.  He was also a shepherd, literally tending the flocks of his father-in-law.  And, Moses was a political leader, both before and after he stepped up to serve as the redeemer of Israel. 

    We used to commonly use ‘shepherding’ as a leadership verb, and in a positive way.  As in “this community leader will shepherd this worthy project to its completion, for the good of all.”   But today formal authorities are automatically suspect, and nobody is supposed to want to be a follower.  We are all supposed to be self-actualizing, in charge of our own lives, not following anyone or anything but our heart.   

    But, can we even claim to be shepherding our own lives?  For the Christian, the first thing to consider when asked this question concerns, as we said before, God’s Word.  Does His Truth occupy the center of our lives?  Do the principles of loving God and neighbor guide us, however imperfectly we fulfill them?  Do we take responsibility for the redeemed life God has given us?  Do we get out of bed with a Godly purpose in mind for our day?  Or do wake up thinking only of our goals?  Or perhaps we awake with a vacant stare, waiting to be told what’s important, waiting to be fed through a screen, waiting to be told what direction our thoughts and actions will have today. 

    Our Good Shepherd comes to us today to re-establish good shepherding, and good ‘sheeping,’ according to His definition.  At the heart of good shepherding and ‘sheeping’ is the Cross and Empty Tomb.  And we’ll come back to that. 

    But before we do, let focus a bit more on this:  the principles of shepherding that Jesus declares today are for more than eternal salvation; they are for all of life.  Now, don’t hear me wrong.  The Good Shepherd is most importantly and ultimately concerned with your eternal salvation, with greeting you in heaven.  God’s most important goal, and the most important priority, for yourself and your loved ones, is to arrive at that blessed moment, when your Good Shepherd will embrace you in His arms and wipe away all your tears, adding you to the forever joyful congregation of all the faithful departed.  Keep your eyes on that prize, by deepening and feeding your faith, daily. 

    And, at the same time, never forget that your eternal life began the day you were baptized.  Which should make some difference in how you live, now, today.  Even as we look forward to the joy of heaven, we are called to be wise sheep, and also to good shepherding, right now. 

    The same principles we can draw from our Good Shepherd going to the Cross and bursting from the Tomb should govern and guide every facet of our lives as Christians.  For the dynamics of God’s saving work for mankind also reveal who God is, within Himself.  That reality, preached by Jesus today, is God’s desired foundation, the principle of life, that He would have define every area of our lives.  To be known by Jesus and to know Him is to be drawn into the mystery of Godly shepherding, and Godly ‘sheeping.’  And here is where true security and love and joy are found. 

    The Way that Jesus saves us is not unique to His relationship to us.  It is also essential to the reality of who God is and how the Father and the Son relate to each other.  Think for a minute about how Jesus compares His relationship to us with His relationship to His Father.  ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 

    We might expect Jesus to say something like, “just as the Father knows me and I know the Father, and we rejoice in our shared glory forever and ever.”  But that’s not what Jesus says.  He connects the mutual self-knowledge He shares with the Father with laying down His life, for us.  Right in the middle of Jesus’ mutual knowledge shared with His sheep, and also in the middle of Jesus’ eternal shared knowledge of His Father, is His self-sacrifice.  The Cross is essential not only to the relationship between Jesus and us, it is also essential to the relationship between God the Father and His only begotten Son.  The priority of rescuing the sheep and the willingness to endure the pain of the Cross, pain for both the Son and the Father, this terrible and wonderful act of justice and love, defines who God is.

    In case we miss the point, Jesus doubles down on this mystery, a few sentences later.  ¹⁷ For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.  Did you catch that?  Jesus says the reason the Father loves Him is because of His self-sacrifice.  Does this mean that the Father wouldn’t love the Son if He hadn’t gone to the Cross?  No.  The love shared between Father, Son and Holy Spirit is eternal, unchanging, it has always and will always be the same. 

    So, that the Father loves the Son because of His self-sacrifice means that the Son was always laying down His life, for us, and for His Father.  From eternity, the Cross was always in view.  Selfless sacrifice for the good of others, doing whatever it takes in order to have a beautiful flock of believers to bless forever in heaven, this has always defined who the Son is.  It is almost as if He is the Lamb of God, slain from before the foundation of the world.  (Revelation 13:8) Which He is. 

    How sure is God’s love for you?  How much does God want to have you and the rest of His flock with Him forever and ever?  So sure and so much that, even though God knew exactly how things would turn out, how we would wander, how earthly shepherds would time and again abuse others, how painful it would be to win us back from Satan, even though the Father, Son and Holy Spirit knew all this, before time began, they created us anyway.  God freely and lovingly chose to create us, for the joy of having us for His very own, even though this meant the Cross was always in view.        

    Sacrificial love is at the heart of God.  Within the Godhead, this sacrificial love is both freely given and entirely deserved, entirely earned.  Loving freely and also serving perfectly are both natural to who God is. 

    For us, whose sins required Jesus to lay down His life for us, God’s sacrificial love is undeserved.  And yet, God has freely loved us in precisely this way.  So also, as children of God, as sheep of His sheepfold, sacrificial love and the forgiveness it delivers should be at the heart of everything in our lives. 

    Each of us are given roles where we are followers, sheep to someone else’s shepherding.  As sheep to imperfect earthly shepherds, we know this will be a bumpy ride.  So, we are called to wise cross-bearing, always trusting that our eternal deliverance is already assured, by the Cross Jesus bore for us.  God grant us the wisdom to stay close to our true Good Shepherd, through His Word, through His feeding, so that we can both rightly discern good and bad earthly shepherding, and know best how to follow, or choose not to follow.   

    Each of us has also been given roles where we are to shepherd someone or something.  We are all given faith, and the charge to follow Jesus.  And we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that God is at work in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13)  Christian living is holy and awesome, because the Holy, Holy, Holy LORD is with and at work in every believer. 

    God grant us wisdom to truly follow Jesus in the path He has set before us, to follow by hearing Him, and gathering to the places He has promised to be serve us.  To prioritize hanging out in His good pasture, that we may know Him and the power of His resurrection. 

    We all have many other roles, callings, as fathers and mothers, as children, brothers and sisters, as citizens, and as Christian friends and neighbors, to fellow Christians and to unbelievers.  In these relationships, we are given moments to follow, and moments, even whole lifetimes, to lead, to shepherd others.  God grant us wisdom to remember how Jesus shepherds us:  not with threats or force, not with anger, but with self-sacrifice and wisdom.  Our sacrifices for others do not save us, but we can sacrifice for others because we have been saved, by the self-sacrifice of Jesus.  And our Good Shepherd will be in the midst of all of it.  Indeed, this is the height of living, the most human we can be, when we give ourselves for others.    

 Christ is Risen! 

    The great Shepherd of the Flock of God has laid down His life, and taken it up again, for you!  Rejoice in His victory, which is your victory.  Marvel at His love.  Receive it every day, and so be filled to overflowing, made ready to share that love with others.  And the Peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds with Christ Jesus our Lord, unto life everlasting.  Amen.