Sunday, April 13, 2008
By pastor John Jorgenson
The ongoing message that Jesus taught and continues to teach as we listen is that, like a Shepherd, He came into this world to bring life and to enable us to live that life abundantly. Every day we read news in the paper and see pictures on television about thieves who steal, kill, and destroy. Things haven’t changed much over the intervening years since Jesus began to teach. Therefore let us be thankful and accept this gift of new life that Jesus, Our Shepherd, offers.
The fascinating and interesting thing about Jesus is that the more we know about Him, what He taught, and what He did, the greater respect and awe we have regarding the relationship God has with us as Jesus has presented. The more we study and consider what Jesus intended and what Jesus did the greater the impression we have for Jesus and for His service to us in terms of living a life that is meaningful, a life that has purpose, a life that has value and a life that is worth while.
As an example this morning’s lesson about Jesus being a shepherd is simple. It is direct. It is focused and it is easy for us to understand, even today when we no longer have sheep in our back yard to learn from as an example. This is perhaps the most significant picture we can have of Jesus, Jesus the Good Shepherd.
The area around Judea where Jesus lived is a kind of central plateau stretching from Bethel to Hebron, about some 35 miles long and varying from 14 to 17 miles in width. The ground is rough and stony and had clumps of grass sprouting here and there rather than agricultural fields with grain or various other crops. Being a shepherd in this area was a hard and difficult task.
Tending the flock and watching over them was a constant responsibility. The grass was scattered and the sheep had to scatter too in order to get enough to eat. If the flock became too scattered they were subject to violence from wolves as well as thieves and robbers ready to steal the sheep and sell them in town for food.
Let’s recall our Psalm for this morning:
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
The Lord makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters.
You restore my soul, O Lord, and guide me along right pathways for your name’s sake.
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil, and my cup is running over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Now what does that say about the relationship God has established with each one of us and what does it say about what Jesus has taught us about this relationship with God and the relationship we have with Jesus as shepherd?
This picture, which has many examples in the Old Testament is carried over into the New Testament. Here Jesus is the Good Shepherd who risks His life to save each of us, members of His flock, who stubbornly try to live life alone, independently, in the face of wolves, thieves and bandits, putting our lives at risk for little or no reason.
The term shepherd suggests to us a picture of the unending vigilance and patience of God in dealing with us. It also reminds us of our God-given responsibility to the other members of God’s family whose friendship and concern we enjoy and support as they enjoy and support us in turn.
Jesus also mentions that there are other leaders who promise that if people will follow them they will bring in a golden age. These are insurrectionists who insist that we must wade through blood to achieve the Golden Age. They do not mind dying themselves. They do not mind sacrificing their friends and family if their desire for conquest can be achieved. Jesus told us that these ideas lead farther and farther from God. Jesus taught us that God’s way is that of peace, love and life and if we do that it leads even closer to God. Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. So to be a follower of Jesus means we exercise loving concern for one another, expressing God’s love for us. It is only as we live with Jesus, carrying out what we have been taught, that life becomes worth living and in doing so we begin to live in the real and true sense of what Living really IS in abundance. The Lord is Our Shepherd. We are not in want of anything. That is what this little book is all about - The Small Catechism! It includes God’s love for us. It presents God’s concern for our living abundantly. Jesus’ prayer helps us to be doing just that. Our Baptism opens the door for life and the Lord’s Supper provides for ongoing abundant nourishment for our living! Thank God for Jesus being our shepherd!
Amen.