Sermon - 2018-04-22
Our readings today all have the common theme of Jesus being the Good Shepherd to God’s People. Today we hear the texts that people typically cling to especially at the event of a funeral. It is here that we meet the very core for many that form their faith and their understanding of God. Psalm 23 and the image that Jesus is our Shepherd is one that is talked about and this brings great comfort to many. It provides an image in which Jesus will ensure that we get the food that we need, will give us water to drink, care for our injuries as we wander through those rocky parts of our lives and even protect us from the wolves that will try and wound us to devour us.
So today, I would like us to stop and consider what it meant for Jesus and those who were listening to Jesus of, “What does a good shepherd look like?” For most of you do not know what it means to be a shepherd at the time of Jesus. Even those of you who grew up on a farm with sheep had different duties than those of the time of Jesus because more often than not, the sheep would be kept in a barn, in a fenced-in pasture, and the times were just plain different.
A shepherd within a family would often be one of the younger sons. A boy who would still be learning about the farm and the necessary work to care for the family. The shepherd would care for the animals who would sustain the family with their wool, their meat, and the wealth that they held for the family. Yet Jesus knew all too well the love, care and meaning that the sheep held to the Father.
One of the first things that the shepherd would be a part of would the care of the sheep from the very beginning. The shepherd would be there at a lambs birth. Watching it run around and enjoy the new life that it had been given. Jumping and leaping around. Enjoying the grass, the others that were around it and learning about everything that was around it.
The Shepherd would be the one to lead all the sheep to the green pastures, where the grass was delicious and water that was cool and refreshing. The shepherd would do this before the sheep even realized that they needed these things. At night, the should be gathered together into a sheepfold or pen. As the sheep entered the pen, the shepherd would look over the animals, care for the wounds and even sing to the sheep to let them know that they safe. Think back, for many of us, our own parents do this work. Making sure we have food to eat, we are taken care of and even more so that we are cared for.
Now, this would be a radical change of thinking of how God approaches us as people. The people at Jesus time had been told that they must come to God. That God needed retribution from you. That it was not enough to come to God but you must bring an animal sacrifice to show God that you wanting a relationship and this would make up for all the wrong you had done. God seemed like a distant judge on a throne that was always seeking your punishment. So when Jesus speaks of God as a Good Shepherd. We would be looking at God in a completely new way. Now think about that for a minute, in this world, the king is the one “who has it all”, the shepherd is one of the lowest held jobs at the time of Jesus.
However, now in our time, The times they are and have changed. There is a rise of broken families, of people having children outside of marriage, and fear that spreads like wildfire that the world is on the edge of a cliff, ready to fall into disaster and all that is holding on to us is a single string. Think about this for a moment, doesn’t that sound like a world that needs a Good Shepherd? A people, a sheep that are wounded and looking for care, mercy, love, and hope.
As we ponder if this world needs a good Shepherd, perhaps our next question should be why aren’t WE, as disciples of Jesus Christ and sheep of his fold, following his example for us. He focuses his time and energy on those who are the weakest and in greatest need within the community. He does not go to those who have wealth or power. He does not even care how many there are, and he is tired. Jesus begins to show the people what the Kingdom of God is truly like. They are able to experience first hand and know that Jesus is the Son of God.
This experience is precisely the kind that church is supposed to feel like. We gather just as the disciples did and help others in their experience with Jesus. So let us as a church never forget that Jesus is calling us to places where he is, and not where we want to be. Jesus is calling us to care for those who are in need, and not to serve ourselves. May we always be in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, our Lord, and our Good Shepherd. Amen.
So today, I would like us to stop and consider what it meant for Jesus and those who were listening to Jesus of, “What does a good shepherd look like?” For most of you do not know what it means to be a shepherd at the time of Jesus. Even those of you who grew up on a farm with sheep had different duties than those of the time of Jesus because more often than not, the sheep would be kept in a barn, in a fenced-in pasture, and the times were just plain different.
A shepherd within a family would often be one of the younger sons. A boy who would still be learning about the farm and the necessary work to care for the family. The shepherd would care for the animals who would sustain the family with their wool, their meat, and the wealth that they held for the family. Yet Jesus knew all too well the love, care and meaning that the sheep held to the Father.
One of the first things that the shepherd would be a part of would the care of the sheep from the very beginning. The shepherd would be there at a lambs birth. Watching it run around and enjoy the new life that it had been given. Jumping and leaping around. Enjoying the grass, the others that were around it and learning about everything that was around it.
The Shepherd would be the one to lead all the sheep to the green pastures, where the grass was delicious and water that was cool and refreshing. The shepherd would do this before the sheep even realized that they needed these things. At night, the should be gathered together into a sheepfold or pen. As the sheep entered the pen, the shepherd would look over the animals, care for the wounds and even sing to the sheep to let them know that they safe. Think back, for many of us, our own parents do this work. Making sure we have food to eat, we are taken care of and even more so that we are cared for.
Now, this would be a radical change of thinking of how God approaches us as people. The people at Jesus time had been told that they must come to God. That God needed retribution from you. That it was not enough to come to God but you must bring an animal sacrifice to show God that you wanting a relationship and this would make up for all the wrong you had done. God seemed like a distant judge on a throne that was always seeking your punishment. So when Jesus speaks of God as a Good Shepherd. We would be looking at God in a completely new way. Now think about that for a minute, in this world, the king is the one “who has it all”, the shepherd is one of the lowest held jobs at the time of Jesus.
However, now in our time, The times they are and have changed. There is a rise of broken families, of people having children outside of marriage, and fear that spreads like wildfire that the world is on the edge of a cliff, ready to fall into disaster and all that is holding on to us is a single string. Think about this for a moment, doesn’t that sound like a world that needs a Good Shepherd? A people, a sheep that are wounded and looking for care, mercy, love, and hope.
As we ponder if this world needs a good Shepherd, perhaps our next question should be why aren’t WE, as disciples of Jesus Christ and sheep of his fold, following his example for us. He focuses his time and energy on those who are the weakest and in greatest need within the community. He does not go to those who have wealth or power. He does not even care how many there are, and he is tired. Jesus begins to show the people what the Kingdom of God is truly like. They are able to experience first hand and know that Jesus is the Son of God.
This experience is precisely the kind that church is supposed to feel like. We gather just as the disciples did and help others in their experience with Jesus. So let us as a church never forget that Jesus is calling us to places where he is, and not where we want to be. Jesus is calling us to care for those who are in need, and not to serve ourselves. May we always be in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, our Lord, and our Good Shepherd. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment