M: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
C: He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
The hymn
chosen for the Verse of the Day is based on the words of the prophet Samuel. It came after a series of events, some bad
and some good. The bad events had to do
with the Israelites being unfaithful to the Lord. They had adopted the spirit and religion of
their culture. They were a practical
people, doing whatever seemed to bring prosperity and joy to them. If turning to Canaanite gods made them richer
(or so they presumed), why not? The Lord,
however, was not willing to let them drift off into damnation, much less to
threaten the promise of a Savior through this nation. To drive them to repentance, the Lord afflicted
them with hardship and oppression. He
raised up the Philistine nation against them.
Then came the good. The prophet Samuel gathered the people in
repentance. While the people worshiped,
the Philistine army mobilized against them.
Israel cried out to their Savior-God.
“The people of Israel said to Samuel, ‘Do
not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us from
the hand of the Philistines’” (1 Samuel 7:8). While the prophet made
the sacrifice and the people worshiped, “the Lord thundered with a mighty sound that day against
the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before
Israel” (1 Samuel 7:10).
It was an event
that deserved recognition and remembrance.
The Lord had proved faithful yet again, and God’s people were
delivered. Therefore, “Samuel took
a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for
he said, ‘Till now the Lord has helped us’” (1 Samuel 7:12). Samuel reminded Israel how faithful God had
been in the past. He did not question
God’s faithfulness for the future.
Rather, he reminded the people that they needed to remain faithful to
their Lord. He alone saves. He alone protects. He alone is the faithful shepherd.
An
anniversary of a congregation is also an event that deserves recognition and
remembrance. For forty years, God has
gathered here a group of people who delight in hearing the voice of the Good
Shepherd. He has brought little lambs
into the fold through the waters of Holy Baptism. He has nourished and sustained the flock by
feeding them in the Holy Supper. He soothes
weary and anxious sheep by his words of Holy Absolution. He has blessed newly-weds. He has consoled people at the sick bed and
the grave site. He has not owed us these
things. But he is the Good
Shepherd. He serves his flock not because
the flock is cute or even good, but because he is merciful and faithful. He alone saves. He alone protects. Jesus is the faithful shepherd.
Jesus declared, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for
the sheep” (John 10:11). Jesus does everything for the good of the
sheep. That is because sheep are
helpless and defenseless against all enemies.
If you saw sheep being tended in Michigan, you would see them kept
safely in a fenced in area. They can be
left alone since there are not many predators around to threaten them. But in Jesus’ day, the sheep were taken out
into wilderness areas to graze. There
were no fences to keep the sheep penned in or to keep wolves out. They were in constant danger. Their only hope was to have a shepherd watch
over them.
Not every shepherd was a good shepherd.
Often, the job was given to a teenager such as David. But not every teenager was enthused about the
job. If a hireling saw a wolf coming
against the flock, he was not willing to risk his life or to shed his blood for
a sheep. He had nothing invested in the
flock. The sheep weren’t his, so it was
easy for the hired hand to abandon the flock, to save his own skin, and to let
the sheep be devoured and destroyed.
We, too, have enemies that have us marked for destruction. Our enemies are sin, death, and the
devil. Sin infects us all. We prove we are sinners with sinful thoughts,
words, and actions. Sin brings wrath and
results in damnation. Death is your enemy. The grave calls your name and summons you to
the place it holds for you. And the
devil is your enemy. He accuses you over
and over and claims you as his own. All
we, like sheep, are easy-pickin’s for our enemies. We cannot outmaneuver them, outsmart them, or
fight our way free from them. The only way
sheep can be spared from predators is by a good shepherd, and so it is with
you. But good news! You do have a good and faithful shepherd, the
Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord has a great deal invested in you. He is your creator, and he loves what he has
created. So, he became a man to rescue
mankind from sin, death, and the devil. Jesus
stood between us and our enemies, and he let these enemies do to him what they should
have done to us. Jesus took up our sins and
suffered for them in our place. He laid
down his life and submitted to the grave so that he could overcome it for
us. He let the devil do his worst to
him. The devil thought that by
destroying Jesus he could keep his claim on all mankind forever. He sank his teeth into Jesus to kill
him. Jesus gave up his body and shed his
blood to save the sheep. This is how
Jesus demonstrated that he is the good and faithful shepherd; for he said: “I
am the good shepherd. The good
shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
Jesus is the faithful shepherd, but he is not a dead shepherd. He has done exactly as he said he would: “The
Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may 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 I
have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my
Father” (John 10:17-18). Jesus is
the good shepherd. He is the faithful
shepherd. And he is the living shepherd. He has risen from the grave to assure you that
he has conquered your enemies and has set you free from them. If he is risen, the payment for your sins is
complete; they cannot condemn you. If he
is risen, the grave has been robbed of its power. Jesus will raise you from the dead at the
resurrection on the Last Day. If Jesus
is risen, he has conquered Satan, has crushed him underfoot, and strips him of
any claims on you.
There is no “if” in regard to Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus Christ is risen from death—a fact
witnessed by his disciples, confessed by their words and lives, testified even
by their blood. It is a confession that
has persisted in Christ’s Church to this day, granting peace to troubled hearts
and producing godly lives in sinful people.
Since you have been baptized into Christ, the Holy Spirit has worked in
you a trusting heart, confessing lips, and loving hands. You belong to Christ and receive all the
benefits he has won for you. Jesus lives
and reigns, forever serving as your faithful shepherd. He
alone saves. He alone protects. Jesus is the faithful shepherd.
The
enemies still seek to devour, though. Sin,
death, and the devil have been defeated by Jesus. Nevertheless, they still claw at and threaten
and taunt God’s people. They are like chained-up
dogs which bark and snarl at us. We don’t
see the chains, and so we fear that they pose a serious threat to us. Of course, if we wander over to them, they are. We become easy pickin’s again if we think we
can play with these enemies. Since we are
sheep, we are still prone to wander.
That is why we still need our Good Shepherd. Only when we are with him are we safe. And the only way we stay near our Good
Shepherd is by listening to his voice.
Jesus is your faithful shepherd. He does not tire of speaking to you words of
comfort, forgiveness, and encouragement.
If he gives you a strong nudge or whacks your side, it is because he
does not want you to drift off into dangerous territory. So, yes, he will seem harsh to you—not because
he is mean, but because he loves you. He
does not want you to be enticed away from the safety of the fold. So, if you do not want to perish, listen to
your faithful shepherd. The path he
leads you on may seem difficult, but it is the only path of righteousness there
is, and it leads to eternal life.
Jesus is the good and faithful
shepherd. His disciples were content to
have this Good Shepherd all to themselves.
But Jesus was not just for them.
He told them, “I have
other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also,
and they will listen to my voice. So,
there will be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:16).
Who are these other sheep? Who
would be these strangers in God’s flock?
Though they would be strangers to Israelites, they would not be
strangers to the God who created and redeemed all mankind.
Jesus is the faithful shepherd, faithful to all creation. He takes away the sin of the world, and so he
wants all the world saved. You are among
the Gentiles who have been added to the fold of the Holy Christian Church. The chosen of God come from every nation,
tribe, race, and language. So, the
confession of faith in the Good Shepherd is made in Hebrew, Greek, German, Finnish,
and English. And there are still other sheep
who need to be gathered in among us. May
God grant us the wisdom, the courage, and the commitment to have this congregation
of the Good Shepherd also have its confession made in Japanese, Chinese, Hindi,
Urdu, and whatever other language may be strange to us. And sure, may God grant us more Americans,
too.
How would God do this? Just as
Jesus said, “They will listen to my voice” (John 10:16). The voice of Christ is heard as the Church
confesses and proclaims it. We confess
it as God’s flock gathered in worship.
And we confess it as precious lambs who go out into a world of lost
sheep. Remember: Your enemies are sin,
death, and the devil. Only these could cause
you to perish. Your enemy is not people
who want nothing to do with the Good Shepherd.
They cannot kill your soul. If they
seem like enemies, it may be because they don’t know that Shepherd is good,
faithful, and merciful. They will only
know it when we confess it. By our confession,
they will recognize the real enemy—sin which damns, death which destroys, and the
devil who deceives and devours. But
then, they will also know the Good Shepherd who sets them free, who laid down
his life to save theirs. And they will
delight in his voice. Unlike the enemies,
Jesus forgives, saves, and restores mankind to glory. In Jesus, they will find salvation, safety, peace,
and hope. This is why we continue to
gather to hear his voice. And it is why
his voice needs to be heard in the world as well.
Jesus is the good and faithful shepherd.
For 40 years, his voice has been heard at this Good Shepherd congregation
to bless and to save, to give comfort and peace, to provide strength and
encouragement. “Till now the Lord has helped us” (1
Samuel 7:12). Since he is faithful, he will remain our help
and our hope. Our prayer
is that we will always be faithful to our Good Shepherd.
God, bless us with courage and wisdom to confess your salvation—not because we are great; for, we are but sheep. But you, O God, are our Good Shepherd, our Savior, and our faithful God. Bless us. Have mercy upon us. And fill us with your love so that it pours out upon others.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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