Alleluia! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Christ the Good Shepherd is a common image in the Church and that image has been the subject of church art throughout the centuries. We have our own piece of Good Shepherd art in our sanctuary. Right over there stands the Good Shepherd statue. Jesus is there with His shepherd’s crook in one hand, a lamb in the other, and an adult sheep close by. That statue not only reminds who Christ is, but who we are as well. When we look at that statue, when we look at any Good Shepherd art, Jesus isn’t the only one pictured; we’re there too. We’re the sheep. We’re His sheep kept secure in His care. We’re His sheep kept secure unto everlasting life. That’s the promise Jesus gives to you.
In the Gospel reading today we heard an exchange between Jesus and some of the Jews who opposed Him. It was at the Feast of Dedication, what we know as Hanukkah, a celebration of the rededication of the temple after a foreign ruler (Antiochus IV Epiphanes) desecrated it by sacrificing a pig on the altar to Zeus. While Jesus was at the temple the Jews surrounded Him and they bluntly asked if He was the Messiah. Apparently everything He had said before and all the miracles they saw and heard Him do wasn’t clear enough. They wanted Him to tell them plainly. They wanted to hear Jesus say the words, “I am the Christ.”
Their blunt question required a blunt answer. Jesus plainly said, “I told you, and you do not believe” (Jn 16:25). I told you that I am the Christ. The works that I’ve done in the Father’s name witness to me. It’s clear for your eyes to see and your ears to hear, but you don’t believe. You refuse to believe, because you are not part of my flock. Those who opposed Jesus did so because they refused to believe. They weren’t part of His sheep; and therefore, they couldn’t know the Shepherd. But you do. You know your Shepherd. You know Him because you’ve heard His voice and received the gift of faith in that hearing.
God clearly says in Paul’s letter to the Romans, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ” (Rom 10:17). You sheep have heard that Word of Christ. You’ve heard the Good News of the Lamb of God who is your Shepherd. You’ve heard how your Good Shepherd laid down His life for you; sacrificing Himself for you on that altar of the cross, dying to pay for your sin, dying to redeem you. You’ve heard the Word of Christ, baptized in His name. You’ve heard the voice of your Shepherd, speaking through His under-shepherd pastors, absolving your sins. You’ve heard your Shepherd’s word of promised forgiveness, life, and salvation as you feast upon His very Body and Blood. Your Shepherd speaks. You hear His voice. You know Him. And He knows you; each and every one of you.
I grew up on a family farm. We didn’t farm the land, we leased it out to some else, and he raised cattle. I grew up literally seeing a bunch of cows across my front yard. And even though I saw those animals almost every day, I couldn’t tell them apart. They all looked the same. They were all just cows. But somehow, that farmer knew those cows as individuals. He knew when one was sick or ill. He could tell when things were a bit off. And that’s how it is with Christ the Good Shepherd.
Jesus’ flock is so much larger than that herd of cattle, and yet He knows each and every one of His sheep as individuals. He knows you. He knows when things are a bit off. He knows your illness and pain. He knows what troubles you. He knows your sin and guilt. He knows your fears. And He answers all of that with His forgiveness and the promise of everlasting life.
In that exchange at the temple, Jesus didn’t just respond to His opponents; He also made a promise to you His sheep. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. … [N]o one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (Jn 10:27-29). You are under the eternal care of your Good Shepherd. You are that lamb in that statue held by your Lord, kept secure in the everlasting life He won for you. You’re kept secure even though we live in a world filled with wolves.
As St. Paul met with the pastors from the Ephesian church (Ac 20:17-35), he warned them that wolves would come in and try to take God’s sheep. They’d lead people away by speaking twisted things. They wouldn’t rightly speak the Word of Christ. Paul calls these false teachers wolves because wolves mean death for sheep; and false teaching means death for us, leading away from the life of our Good Shepherd.
We need to be alert to this. We need to be aware of this, because we’re sheep. Like sheep, we easily stray. We easily wander off and go after things that appear pleasing to us; but in that wandering we walk away from the security of our Good Shepherd. Yes, Christ promises that nothing or no one can snatch us from Him, and this promise is a comfort to be sure. But we can’t forget that just because nothing can snatch us away, that doesn’t mean we can’t wander away ourselves. Knowing there are wolves out there in sheep’s clothing we have test everything against the Word of Christ, making sure what we hear is the truth. We seek out our Shepherd’s voice because that’s where our security and everlasting life is found.
We usually think of sheep has being dumb and dirty animals. We don’t usually like be associated with them; but there’s nothing better than being a sheep in God’s flock. A good shepherd makes sure his flock is secure. He makes sure they have everything they need: water, pasture, shelter, protection from predators. That’s what our Good Shepherd gives to you: the water of Baptism, the pasture of His Body and Blood, the shelter of His Church, and His cross and resurrection that saves you from sin, death, and the devil. There’s nothing better than these gifts, and so we thank our Good Shepherd for these things. We join in that heavenly worship, clothed in robes of white washed in the blood of the Lamb. We sing His praises so that others might hear His voice, know Him by faith, and receive His promise of life.
You know your Good Shepherd. God has made Him known to you through His Word and deeds. You know His voice as He speaks to you through His Word. You’re kept secure in His arms, nourished unto everlasting life through His Sacrament. No one and nothing can snatch you away. With this security sing your Shepherd’s praise. Praise Him for what He has done. And with that praise, point others to the Good Shepherd so that they too can hear His voice and receive His life. In Jesus’ name…Amen.
Alleluia! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
No comments:
Post a Comment