Reading, Sermon and Prayers for the 4th Sunday of Easter

READING: John 10:11-18

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd, I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father —and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life —only to 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 authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

SERMON

This morning, I would like to describe someone to you. This person has been taking care of you long before you even understood who this person was. This person has endured many sleepless nights because of you. When you were hungry, this person fed you. When you were hurt, this person did everything possible to make you feel better. When you were far from home, this person was thinking of you. This person has made more sacrifices for you than you’ll ever know. This person is even willing to die for you. And, on days like today, this person appreciates it when you acknowledge everything this person has done for you.

Who am I talking about?…….

Yes, the person I am talking about is Jesus Christ, the person who cares for you far more extensively and far more perfectly than even the best of mothers possibly could.

As your Good Shepherd, Jesus has been taking care of you long before you really understood who he was. Jesus has suffered many sleepless nights for you.

Think, for example, of the night before he was crucified – he suffered all night to take away your sins. When you were hungry, both physically and spiritually, Jesus has fed you, through the people in your life. When you were hurt, Jesus was there, working through doctors and nurses to heal you. When you are far from home, Jesus does more than worry about you, he sends his holy angels to protect you. And as far as sacrifices go, you and I will never fully understand just how much he has sacrificed for us. And, on days like today, in fact every day, Jesus appreciates it, and welcomes it, when you acknowledge everything he has done for you.

Today is sometimes called Good Shepherd Sunday. Every year in the Christian church, three weeks after Easter, we celebrate the picture of Jesus Christ as our Good Shepherd.

Why is this picture of a shepherd so common in the Bible? Today, in our society, shepherds are slowly becoming uncommon.

But that wasn’t how it was back then. Every time you travelled, you would see flocks of sheep dotting the hills, and shepherds watching over them. The shepherd and his flock were very common sights as people travelled from place to place.

Back then, sheep-herding was a very common trade. Most shepherds were hired to watch over someone else’s flocks. And these hired people were paid to basically to do one thing – keep the flock alive. They did this by leading them to water, and leading them from pasture to pasture. After one area of grass was all eaten up, they would lead them to another area of grass, another river of water. They would call out to them, and after awhile they would begin to recognize their voice and follow them.

Leading and caring for them was one of the main jobs. The other main job was protecting them.

Wild animals would prey on the unsuspecting flock. Thieves would try to pick one up here and there. King David, who at one time was a shepherd early in his life, recounts how he would fight off lions and bears in order to protect the flock. Now, for those hired shepherds, this wasn’t their favourite part of the job. Many of them would run off if the threat was too much – it wasn’t worth risking your life to protect one lousy sheep.

Jesus compares himself to a shepherd when he says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.”

But not Jesus. He never abandons the flock. And that is one of the main lessons we learn from this image of Christ the Good Shepherd: Jesus never abandons the flock.

As our Good Shepherd, Jesus knew that he would have to sacrifice a great deal in order to keep us as his own. He knew that we and the rest of the flock had been contaminated by sin.

Every time one of the sheep fell into a certain sin, and we do that every day, it was all too evident to Jesus that his flock was sinful, contaminated, in trouble. There was only one solution to this problem, and that solution was this – if the shepherd wanted to keep his flock, he would have to sacrifice himself for the sheep. That’s how he could save the flock.

And so that’s what Jesus did. Think of the sacrifices Jesus made for us! He gave up his throne in heaven. He gave up the praise of angels, and became a human who endured the insults of man. He gave up the use of his divine power. He gave up his honour, his glory, and finally, his life. He refused to abandon us, no matter how much it would cost him. No matter how great the sacrifice. That’s what Jesus is talking about when he says “I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

Perhaps the most well-known symbol of the shepherd is the shepherd’s crook.

The shepherd would use this staff, this crook, to bring in the straying sheep, and to fight off the wild animals. What would the staff of Jesus Christ look like?

Well, perhaps, instead of having a curved end, it would have a line drawn across the top – the shape of a cross. That’s the tool that Jesus used to save us, to rescue us, to get rid of that sin in our lives, to earn for us God’s forgiveness.

The cross – that’s what Jesus endured. He refused to run away. He refused to abandon us. He made the ultimate sacrifice, to keep us as his own.

But after they buried him, we know what happened next. After laying down his life, Jesus took up his life again, rose from the dead. Nothing, not even death, could keep him from being our Good Shepherd.

There is another lesson here for us to learn, and that lesson is this – since Jesus has risen from the dead, he is still our shepherd today. He is still watching over us, still feeding us, still protecting us, and he will never, ever abandon us.

There will be days when we will feel abandoned. There will be all kinds of problems in our life. Whether it is a medical problem, a personal problem, or a job problem.

Just when we feel that we have our life together, something will happen.

And then we feel alone. “Where is God?” we may ask “Where is the Good Shepherd?” We feel like a sheep that has wandered into the woods where there is no food, no water, and we can hear the wolves howling and see the glow of their eyes in the darkness, and we feel all alone, and utterly helpless.

But then to that sheep’s surprise, the shepherd is right behind it, and lifts it up on his shoulders and carries it back to the flock and back to safety.

When we feel abandoned, when we feel like we are in the woods and the wolves are closing in on us, remember that our Good Shepherd is right behind us. He will never abandon us. He lifts us up on his shoulders and he carries us to safety. And on the way, we pass by an empty cross, and an empty tomb, proof that Christ, the Good Shepherd will never abandon us.

May God bless us with the joy and comfort that this picture of Christ as Good Shepherd provides. Amen.

PRAYERS

Let us pray to the Lord, by whose grace we are led in the paths of righteousness.

Strengthen your Church in the desire for true fellowship. Make us one in heart and mind, so that we, may share the riches of your grace with all.