Easter 3 2019 Misericordias Domini

Good Shepherd Sunday

1 Peter 2:21-25

May 5, 2019

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

Alleluia! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed, alleluia! Today, we focus on one of the most familiar, one of the most clear, one of the comforting images in all of Scripture, that of Jesus as our Good Shepherd.   In doing so, we just keep celebrating Easter!  Because the father of sin had shut the sheep up in hell, giving them to death to feed on, (Cyril of Alexandria), Christ our Good Shepherd breaks the jaws of the grave and opens up life to all believers, delivering people from death and the devil.  He leads through the valley of the shadow and death and into the green pastures of our eternal home.

Christ alone could bear the cross, and He bore it alone.  The Good Shepherd did not send after the sheep, He went after them, in His body on the tree.  His goodness and mercy pursues those lost and lonely, those who are prone to wandering away from the flock of the Church.  For as St. Peter says in our Epistle, “For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (1 Peter 2:25). Because Christ is the first-fruits of those to be raised, our future and hope are as certain as His resurrection and His life.

 Jesus’ dying was far more than your pardon. He came not only that your sins would be forgiven, but also that you might die to sin and live to righteousness.  You are healed by His wounds, not just healed from your own wounds, but healed to provide a wholeness, a restoration for eternal life.  He came not just that your wandering be overlooked but that you should cease to wander; not only to bring us back to the fold, but as your Shepherd to keep you in His love and care.

And this is very important, that Jesus leads and that we follow.  There’s an old story, I’m not sure if it’s true, about a pastor who was leading a group of Christians around Palestine.  (In a church leadership book called “They Smell like Sheep,” Dr. Lynn Anderson tells a story when he visited Palestine several years ago.)  Their tour guide was explaining the lifestyle of the people in Israel and the warm hearted portrayal of the ancient shepherd-sheep relationship – how the shepherd feeds and cares for them.  He pointed out that shepherds don’t drive the sheep, but leads them because they hear his voice and follow.  Then the tour guide talked about how he had once given this same speech when he realized no one was listening to him anymore, but staring outside.  As he looked outside, he saw a guy chasing a flock of sheep.  He was throwing rocks, whacking them with sticks, and having the sheep dog herd them from behind.  The tour guide was furious because he was being contradicted, so he jumped out the bus, ran over to the man and started chewing him out for not shepherding according to his story.  The guy was really confused, but then blurted out, “Hey man, you’ve got me all wrong.  I’m not a shepherd, I’m the butcher!” ^[1]

The point is this: Where Christ leads, Christ precedes.  There is nowhere that we can go that Christ has not already been, through sorrow and suffering, through joy and happiness, through death and resurrection.  Both sacrifice and example meet in the character of the Good shepherd, who not only laid down His life for the sheep but goes before them that they should follow His steps.

Jesus’ words as the Good Shepherd illustrate the newness of life into which we have entered with Christ. Shepherds lead their sheep.  Sheep follow their shepherd. That’s what St. Peter is talking about, that Jesus serves as an example. You are to trust and believe in Christ, but also to follow Him, follow His example of love, of selflessness, of confidence in the judgment of God. Walk where He goes, follow where He leads.  While you may not always know where you are, you do know where you are going.  Imitate what He has done. Love what He has loved. And finding in you the mercy and grace of the Good Shepherd, serve others as He has served. He did not lose His eternal riches in poverty, nor glory in lowliness, nor immortality in death.  Though mocked, He did not respond in kind or with threats, but He entrusted Himself to His Father.  He did not lie or deceive.  He entrusted Himself to God the Father. He did not sin. Jesus’ death was for you.

Peter calls us to do what God’s Word teaches.  So you also, follow in His footsteps. You are to be good sheep, grateful followers of the Good Shepherd.  It is an honor to be part of His flock under His care.  Trust and believe in Christ; follow Him, follow His example of love, of selflessness, of confidence in the judgment of God.

You are to bear the cross, if God wills, just as His Son did for us. This is how you live in the unfairness of the world.  For to this you have been called, to do good even in the midst of suffering and even if it caused suffering.  You are to be patient not only when suffering justly, but also when suffering wrongly. You must be ready to suffer for doing right. If God gives you a cross to carry, then He also promises to be there for you. He cares for you in the midst of suffering as a Shepherd cares for His sheep, with peace and love and comfort. As the victor over the grave, Jesus knows and is known by His own.

The Good Shepherd leads through suffering, but there is also a fellowship which the Easter victory brings home to every believing heart.  The love of Christ constrains us to a risen life of love, of love toward our Shepherd and toward our other sheep. You must lend our efforts to the care of souls. So when you look around and notice that someone isn’t here on a Sunday, or has missed a month, give them a call.  Don’t wait for someone else to do it.  In the same way, if you see someone who is wandering from God’s way into sin, don’t wait for them to come to you to ask permission, because that isn’t going to happen, but go to them, call them to repentance if necessary, with the goal of that they are returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of their souls. Let them know they are cared about, that they are known by the Good Shepherd. For Christ is our Good Shepherd, and we shall not want, for “Do not fear little flock, for it is your Father’s good please to give you the kingdom.”