Sermon for Trinity 13

 Luke 10:23-37

The Eighth Commandment

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

What does this mean?

We should fear and love God

so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor,

betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation,

but defend him, speak well of him,

and explain everything in the kindest way.

Our text for our meditation this morning is the Gospel reading of the day, the Good Samaritan. A lawyer was trying to justify himself. Trying to show that he was a good neighbor. He asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Answering, Jesus tells this story.

Jesus is the best storyteller; his stories are so easy to relate to. Because he was able to know human nature perfectly, his stories have these characters that seem more real than real life.

You can just know what that priest in the story was like. He was dressed well, clean and proper. He comes across a bleeding, needy victim of an ugly crime and he says, “Ew! I’m going to pretend I don’t even see that.” You can picture that scene vividly, can’t you? Because you know someone like that. You can be taken aback a little by that scene, can’t you? Because you’ve at times acted like that, for whatever reason, reluctant to help a poor, pitiful neighbor in need. It’s all too relatable.

But I tell you, I can’t relate exactly to one aspect of this parable. I don’t know about all of you, but it’s been years since the last time I was walking along a road and came across somebody laying in the ditch, unconscious, bloody and bruised. Fortunately, we live in an easier world, with less violence and crime than in some places and at other times.

But of course, Jesus’ lesson here can be applied to many situations in life. Every day we have opportunities to answer the question, “Who is my neighbor?” and “How can I show mercy to him or to her?”

I hope it’s rare or never that you have to help someone who has been beaten up by robbers. But I’m sure you will have many times where you can help and show mercy to someone who has been beaten up by just life and the problems of life in this world.

It’s unlikely that in the near future you’ll need to use your first aid knowledge and skills on someone who has been beat up with fists and clubs and has been left half dead. But it’s very likely that you’ll hear someone, some neighbor get beat up with words, until his or her reputation is half dead.

Good Samaritans help their neighbor, according to the 5^th commandment, by tending to the needs of the neighbor’s life and health. Good Samaritans will also help their neighbor according to the 7^th commandment, by helping with the needs of possessions and property. And Good Samaritans will help their neighbor according to the 8^th commandment by protecting and defending the neighbor’s good name and reputation.

We should fear and love God

so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor,

betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation,

but defend him, speak well of him,

and explain everything in the kindest way.

The easiest thing always is to do nothing. To be like the priest and the Levite, who say, “This is none of my business”, turn and walk the other way. But the 8^th Commandment instructs you to do what’s uncomfortable, what’s risky. It’s hard to speak up for someone when the crowd is tearing them apart. It’s uncomfortable to speak well of him, when everyone else is enjoying the juicy gossip.

The Good Samaritan used medicinal oil and bandages to help the wounded, he got him to shelter, and got him cleaned up and fed. How do you help out someone who is being attacked by gossip. I’ve got three examples of things you can say.

1.       “Are you certain about that?” In this world of sin, lies get more traffic than truth. Let’s agree together that we are going to no longer let lies stand, nor half-truths. If we aren’t certain about the story, let it go untold.

2.       “Maybe you should talk to so-and-so about this?” When people are complaining about so-and-so, behind their back, the right thing to do is stop the gossip and lead it toward a conversation of reconciliation. Jesus says, If you’ve got something against another, Go, show him his fault, “just the two of you, and if he listens, you have won your brother” (Matthew 18:15). Let’s agree to no longer be partakers of gossip, but instruments of reconciliation. Direct those with complaints and grievances to work it out face-to-face. Behind the back, it won’t get fixed.

3.       “I think you’ve been talking to the wrong people.” This is a wise one I just heard recently. A good neighbor was hearing some gossip that was just not even believable. So she stopped the gossiper and told them to consider the source of the gossip. Let’s all agree to strive for such wisdom. Realize that there are going to be some around us who love to spread gossip, whether true or not, doesn’t matter as much as if it’s juicy. Choose carefully who you listen to. Gossip spreads worse than contagious diseases. We got some good practice on social distancing a couple years ago. You might consider how to keep a safe distance from those who spread mean lies.

With the 8^th Commandment we hear how words can be powerful for evil or for good. Know that your good Lord in heaven wants you to use words for the good, even as He constantly speaks good words to you and for you. At the end of the service he are going to sing “MY HOPE IS BUILT ON NOTHING LESS”

His oath, His covenant and blood

Support me in the raging flood;

When ev’ry earthly prop gives way,

He then is all my hope and stay.

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand.

“His oath, His covenant and blood.” Christ speaks good words. His oath and covenant are that he will care for you, forgive you and love you forever. His words, are coupled with his actions, referred to in the song as “his blood,” his sacrificial dying for us. His words and his actions are powerfully good to save us and sustain us. That’s his mercy.

He calls us to show mercy to others.

When we show mercy, we’re showing Christ’s mercy. We’re showing that we get it. And we want others to get it, too.

Amen.

Sermon for Trinity 11

The Sixth Commandment

You shall not commit adultery.

What does this mean?

We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other.

In Genesis chapter 4, Adam and Eve obeyed God. In Chapter 3 they had disobeyed God. They had disregarded his command and ate the fruit of the tree in the center of the garden. But now they, with repentance and faith, obeyed God.  The Lord God had said, “Be fruitful and multiply.” They obeyed him. “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain . . . And again, she bore his brother Abel” (Genesis 4:1). “Adam knew his wife.” That is a pure and decent way of saying it. They followed the 6^th Commandment, even though it hadn’t been written down yet in any Bible or on any stone tablets. God’s law is inscribed on the hearts of all men and women. Adam and Eve understood clearly that the commandment of God against adultery is a command for husband and wife to love and honor each other. So in knowing each other, loving and honoring each other and having children together they obeyed God. They obeyed him because of his law.

They also obeyed him because of his gospel. God had made a promise that they had heard and believed. God promised them a descendant of theirs, a seed that would grow from their family, would save them -- that the serpent, that old evil foe, would bruise his heal. But the Savior would crush the serpent’s head.

It's impossible for us now to imagine what it must have been like for Adam and Eve. All the rest of their life they were living with this memory, struggling with the reality, that they had paradise and they lost it because they sinned. They went through their days longing for redemption, for salvation, for a new life. And in faith and hope they held on to that promise of the Seed of their marriage and family, the descendant who would come to crush the serpent’s head and all his works and all his ways. So they had babies. And it seems as though Eve like many other pious faithful mothers coming after her for generations, would wonder and hope, is this child to be born the one promised? It took thousands of years of waiting, but then Jesus Christ was born of Mary. And there was glory to God on high and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. 

As we sing in the hymn, “Built of the Rock the Church shall stand, Longing for rest everlasting,” so Adam and Eve and all Old Testament believers were longing for a Savior, “Could this be the Promised One?” They would ask. And that is not a bad way for faithful people to live—longing for the Lord and the life everlasting. We kinda do that too, we believe that Christ will come on the last day. And we are ready for that to be any day, because we will greet him with rejoicing. So every day we could ask ourselves, “Is today the day?”

Longing for the Lord’s salvation, Adam and Eve had babies with the promise in mind that one of their children, grandchildren, great grand children or somewhere down the line, the Savior would be born. In the meantime, they lived together as faithful husband and wife, as devout parents to their children, trying to raise them up as best they could.

As Cain and Abel grew up, they learned the things the children must learn, how to walk, how to talk, how to tend the crops, how to care for the livestock – and significantly how to worship the Lord. When both boys brought offerings to the Lord, it is evident that their parents had taught them about the Lord. There were no preachers around that time. Adam and Eve were the preachers. There were no Sunday school teachers. Adam and Eve taught their children the lessons. This family would sit down to pray, to learn their lessons about God, to serve God with their offerings, the first fruits of their labors.  

I know, it’s hard to think of them as a nice, sweet family, because we just heard again how things turned out. Cain killed Abel, the first murder, actually the first human death. But God didn’t blame their upbringing, or their dysfunctional home life. He doesn’t say, Adam, Eve, what have you done. The responsibility is all Cain’s, “Where is your brother, Abel?” It was Cain’s sin. God had just warned him about it. “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? . . .  Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

What a shame! Such a nice family. And see how those kids turned out. Adam was heartbroken. Eve was heartbroken.

Christians are heartbroken when their loved ones don’t keep the commandments, like this sixth one for example. Adultery is a selfish, inconsiderate act that hurts everyone involved. Divorce hurts. It hurts every relative and it hurts all society. It breaks Christian parents’ hearts when their kids don’t keep the 3^rd commandment and stop going to church. We suffer the most from those sinners who are closest to us.

And as I listen to people talk about the heart-breaking situations in their families, I hear a great deal of shame. I suppose it’s shameful because we have this assumption that good Christian homes should consistently produce good Christian people who always make the best choices and live-long and prosper. When things go bad, it’s a shame. Is it that you are longing for forgiveness for the bad decisions and bad actions someone else is making? Know and believe that the blood of Jesus Christ has removed your sins and covered your shame.

So What’s the use? Why even remember the 6^th commandment. How can we honor marriage and the family when our own lives are so marred by sin and death. Are our families any better than those of the unbelieving world around us?

No, we cannot brag about the goodness and righteousness in our homes and in our families. But we can boast in the Lord who has done good things, and continues to give good blessings.

We must continue to speak to each other and to speak out to the world about the will of God expressed in the 6^th Commandment. He wants husbands and wives to love and honor each other. He warns about the sins of adultery and sexual perversion that have devasting consequences. We can never give up on the ideal of marriage and family – especially because it shows us the love of Christ.

When we know what a good, honorable, love-filled home is, we learn a priceless lesson on the love of Christ. Ephesians 5 --  Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,  that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

Adam, created in the image of God, was to love like God loves. He was given Eve to love and adore. As Adam loved Eve he was teaching a lesson to her and to his sons about Christ’s love and salvation. We’re not going to give up on the truth of marriage and the pure and decent love and honor of one man and one woman. Despite the heartbreaks and shame, we’re not going to give up, because Christ who loves us His church, will not give up on us.

Amen.

 

 

Sermon for Trinity 10

\Romans 10:4 -- For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Every man, woman, boy and girl should know the 10 Commandments. God wants you to know the 10 Commandments. They show you what God wants you to do. That’s the law: God’s statement of what you are to do and not to do. It’s also good to know, as it says in the Epistle reading today that Christ is the end of the Law. That’s good to know. It should be a relief to know.

It’s good to know what’s the end, what’s the point we’re getting at. So as we have been going through the commandments and their meanings, we need to bring up the question, “what’s the end?”

Or perhaps, as we go through these you might be saying, “when will it end?” That’s how the law of God can strike a sinner, making you ask, “Aah! Where will it end?”

Take the 5^th Commandment for example, “You shall not murder.” Those of you who have never killed anyone, may have the quick thought of “No problem.” “I’m clean on that one. Tick, check the box. I’ve finished here.” But oh no, that’s not the end. Jesus says, “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer.” The fifth commandment does not merely condemn the outward act of murder, and end there. It gets at what’s in the heart: anger, resentment, contempt, jealousy, rivalry, impatience, all these vile thoughts and feelings that are basically saying, “I wish that so- and-so would just drop dead.” Likewise with all the other commandments, they don’t end with your outward acts and the outward appearance you can put on to make yourself look right. The commandments keep going until you are guilty of sin.

In this letter to the Romans, Paul reaches out to members of the church in Rome pointing out the difference between those who were pursuing righteousness on the basis of their works, versus those who have attained righteousness by faith. It was specifically the Jews who were relying on their works, their outward zeal for God to make themselves righteous. Because they were so good at following all sorts of rituals and gestures of outward righteousness, they assumed that they accomplished the law, even the end of the law. Verse 3 says, “For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.”

Human nature tries to find its own righteousness. But God’s righteousness is Christ. He is the end of the law for all who believe. God gives you the end. It is the person, Jesus Christ. God doesn’t want anyone to die. So He gives Jesus Christ, the Resurrection and the Life. He is the opposite of the murderer. He lays down his life so you can live. He died so you don’t have to die eternally. He takes your away your guilt for not following the law. He gives you his righteousness. When is this all going to end? When Jesus says to you, I forgive you all your sins.

Actually that’s the end God had in mind all along. That’s the intended end point. From our perspective we hear, “Christ is the end of the law”, and we say, “Finally! Our struggle is ended because Jesus died for us. Our sin is atoned for. Our regrets are washed away. Our guilt is removed. We can stand righteous before God.” From God’s perspective, that was the end all along. The end of the law, the goal, the intention of telling you things like, “Do not murder” is Christ, that you believe in Him and find your righteousness not in yourself but in him. That was the end God had in mind all along.

You can see this with the first murder that ever happened. Cain killed his brother Abel, because of jealousy and out of spite. And God came to Cain and said, ““Where is Abel your brother?” (Genesis 4) That was a hard law question; it brought out the guilt. And the Lord said, “What have you done?”

God’s law says, “Do not murder.” The point to all humanity is clear. Don’t go around killing each other. Respect life. Respect God. He is the One who gives life and controls life and death. You don’t. You don’t get to decide who gets to live and who should die. Don’t despise the life God gives to the other guy. And the other guy should hear that too – for your good and your safety. You want the other guy to hear God commanding him not to murder you. That’s the point of the 5^th Commandment.

But God’s end point for the 5^th Commandment and all the commandments is that a guy like Cain, or any sinner would see their sin, and be sorry for it. God’s end point is that no one can find their own righteousness, but instead, believe in the righteousness of Christ.

That’s the end, that’s the goal.

Look to the end. Keep your eye on the goal, which is Christ. Like running a race, focus on the finish. Don’t have your head down looking inward at yourself. That’s what those are doing who think they can have righteousness themselves, by their own work. If your looking inward, looking to your own self and your own power you will stumble. The Bible says, “Christ is a stumbling block, a rock of offense” (Romans 9:33). If you are not running to Him, you’ll stumble on him. What a shame that’ll be. But then the Bible says, “whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

The only hope for the world and any sinner in it, is Christ. Those who do not have him as their end, stumble on him. He is in their way because they are running after something else. And eventually they stumble over him, and their end is destruction and shame. Even in his own temple Christ found those who were not focused on him and his righteousness. Jesus Christ visited the temple in old Jerusalem, and he found people chasing after other things. He warned them of the destruction that was coming. He said it was because “you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Friends, know the time of your visitation. God comes to you. He visits you and speaks to you. Each week, in church, every day in your heart, he says to you, “Follow my commandments. Repent of your sins. Believe in me. Believe in my Christ. Don’t have your own ends in mind. But know Christ. He is your end point. Your focus and your goal.” Amen.

Sermon for Trinity 8

 

THE THIRD COMMANDMENT

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

 

What does this mean?

We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.

 

Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets” (Matthew 7:15). He warns his little flock, telling them to expect that there will be “wolves in sheep’s clothing”.

You know what that’s like. You’re hearing the voices of false prophets all the time, spewing forth ideas about religion, or ethics--what’s right and wrong, ideas about the philosophy of life; ideas that clearly go against the Word of God.

Some of these false prophets know exactly what they are doing: they are intentionally subverting the Lord and His good ways.

But many of the proponents of false ideas do so because they have been deceived, led astray. Unwittingly, carelessly, they pass on the ideas of false prophets who have gone before them which appeal to their sinful minds--deceived to think they are doing good, even as they live and work against the Lord and His Word.

Jesus indicates what it will be like on Judgement Day. Many will say to Jesus, when he comes to judge the living and the dead, “Lord, Lord, we have been prophesying in your name. We cast out demons in your name. We did great things for you.”

And Jesus responds to those poor misguided souls, “I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23).

That’s what they will hear. In this life they were happy to follow and spread ideas of religion and the philosophy of life that were against the Lord and His Word. The were happy to come up with ideas out of their own imagination. But come Judgement Day they will hear, “Depart from me.” And then there is only hell. Hell was created for the devil and any angels or archangels or men or women who depart from the Lord.

Hell is not a pleasant thing to talk about. It’s not a comfortable easy thing to think about. But we must. Remember what the Holy Spirit said in the Old Testament reading from Jeremiah about those who say to those who despise the Word of the Lord, “‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you’” (Jeremiah 23:17).

It is better to warn of hell, than to deny it or ignore it. There will be disaster for those who follow their own ideas of religion and the philosophy of life.

And they have no excuse, for God himself gives true religion and the true meaning of life in the preaching of His Word for you.

We are pleased to confess this each time we remember the Third Commandment. God has not left us to our own devices, our own imagination, our own hearts and minds to figure all things out. He gives us the preaching of his Word to hold sacred and gladly hear and learn.

Over the years, Lutherans have observed the ways people try to know God and His ways – how they’ve tried to build a relationship with God, even make deals with God. Already back in the 1500s, Martin Luther and his co-reformers pointed out how so many turned to human experts like popes, and priests and scholars who could mediate the way to know God and his ways. You can’t rely on human experts, even if they are powerful, captivating personalities, if they prophesy contrary to the Word of God. All humans have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

Lutherans observed that many tried to find within themselves the ideas of religion and the way of life. Some rely on their own reason and intellect, supposing themselves to be smart enough to figure things out. Others rely on their own hearts, their emotions—what feels right, that becomes the deciding factor. But human reason and emotion are full of sin and incapable of grasping God. Imagination is a Fawlty guide. Emotions are shaky ground on which to base your life and faith.

So in 1530 our Lutheran forefathers confessed before the world and the Roman Catholic Emperor at that time, these words: “God cannot be dealt with, he cannot be apprehended, except through the Word.” (The Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article IV, “Concerning Justification”.)

That’s why God wants you to know and keep the Third Commandment. “Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy.” Never despise or neglect God’s Word and its preaching. But hold it sacred. Gladly hear it. Gladly learn it. And by it, as through means, apprehend God.

That commandment is for you, who gladly hear and learn the Word. That commandment is for me, that I diligently work to preach it to you and those not here. Pray for this please.

The Holy Spirit says in the Jeremiah passage for today, “Is not my word like fire and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” (23:29)

The word of God is power. Power is the ability to do work, to accomplish great things. The Powerful Word of God does things. So, Let it be so. Hear it. Believe it. Let it guide you, shape you, comfort you.

Jesus says a good tree is recognized by its fruit. Your Lord Jesus is recognized by his good fruit – His word. His word of Law that tells you what to do for your own good and tells you when you have done wrong, to admit it and do right. And his word of Gospel, which is His word from the cross, where in his dying breath He says to his Father in heaven, “Forgive them.” And to the believer with him there, he doesn’t say, “Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness”. He says, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” Amen.

From the Association of Confessing Evangelical Lutheran Congregations (ACELC.net) -- Ten Theses on God's Arrangement of the Sexes

God created us male and female. In his image he created us. Lately we have all been hearing the ungodly words of those who wish to distort the truth about who we are and what it means to be male and female. In every age, the Christian Church must confess God's truth and respond to the lies of the world and the old evil foe, Satan, which deny and attack God's truth. This statement from ACELC.net is faithful to the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions of our faith. Studying it will serve us well to review what God says about the two sexes he wonderfully made. We encourage you to read (pdf) or listen to (YouTube) this statement of Christian confession.

Ten Theses on God’s Arrangement of the Sexes

video

Sermon for 4th Sunday of Easter

 Jesus said, “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me” John 16:16.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

Easter continues. In fact, every week we gather on this day, the Lord’s day, in remembrance and celebration of the Sunday resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And the believers in Jesus will continue to do so until the end of time.

“A little while” – That’s what Jesus calls this time we are in right now, the time between his first coming and his second coming – the time between when he came here to earth to die on the cross and rise again and the time in the near future when he will come again to judge the living and the dead. His disciples are expected to wait this little while with faith and the expectation of great and joyful things to come when their Lord Jesus returns. As he says, “So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (vs. 22).

That’s the life that we who are his disciples have now, as we wait with joyful expectation to see him.

We have this life after Easter.

Psalm 116 gives a handy way of describing what this life after Easter is like. I am going to introduce this Psalm today, and include it in services in the weeks ahead, that by continued praying it and remembering it, the words will stick in our minds and the meaning will stick in our hearts.

Psalm 116:12 What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me?

Consider all his benefits. We are beneficiaries of a great and wondrous treasure. This treasure has been paid for, not with money, not with gold, but with the precious blood of Christ and his innocent suffering and death.

Life after Easter is given meaning when we consider this question, “What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? What do you and I, the beneficiaries of the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and all the benefits that flow from Christ, what do we do now, what love, what life do we render to the Lord?

The next verse of Psalm 116 says, I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.

This is a vivid picture of our life after Easter. We are given the bountiful benefits of our Lord’s death and resurrection in the cup of blessing that he pours out for us now, in our life time. We meditate on the great things our Lord has done for us.  He has given us pardon and forgiveness for all our sins. He has rescued us from death and hell. He has given us life – life to the fullest now and life forever with him in his Kingdom. What’s the best way to render our puny thanks for that? How can we ever pay the Lord back for his incomprehensible gifts to us? What’s a fair amount to give him in return? It’s way beyond anything we are capable of producing and giving to him. Instead Psalm 116 leads us to say, I will just keep on taking the salvation my Lord is giving. I will keep drinking from the cup of salvation. When I am at a loss to do anything that could properly, fully render my thanks, I will just take more of his benefits to me. It is a foolish and futile notion to think we can somehow repay God for salvation and eternal life.

Who among us can fully repay our mothers for all they’ve done for us? She nurtured you in her womb. She went through an uncomfortable process to give birth to you. She prayed for you, nursed you, got up in the middle of the night for you, worried about you when you were out too long, taught you lessons about earth and heaven. And in return you might give her some tokens, flowers, a nice brunch, but you can’t really give her enough to make up for it all, and that’s not what she would want anyway, is it?

So much more, the relationship between you and your Lord God. You say, “What should I do to say thanks? He says, “Here, have more. Receive again today the blessings given you at your baptism”, he says, “Where I washed your sins away and gave you new life. Come soon and often to my table and eat the body of Christ and drink from the cup of salvation. Call on my name every day, and I will be there and will bless you again and again. My Spirit will be with you, to comfort you, bless you, prosper you and guide you into the new life I have appointed for you.”

Psalm 116: “I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.”  Led by the Spirit of God, filled with the blessings of the cup of salvation you are now led to fulfill the vows you have made to the Lord. That’s your calling and vocation in life.

Today we think of this especially with the graduates we are recognizing and honoring. Katie and Grace, I’d suggest you use this time of your graduation to remember and give thanks to the Lord to all his benefits to you. And then consider your vocation.

Vocation is a noun, but it is based on a verb, an active verb with a subject and a couple of objects. God is the subject. You are the object and the things he has in store for you are the objects. He who has created you and redeemed you, now calls you to great things, this new life in Christ. With the aid and comfort of the Holy Spirit, he gives you a life to live in service to him and to others. He calls you to be his daughters and so his representatives here in this life in this world. You are called to show mercy to others as he has shown it to you. He calls you to bless others with the words you speak and the smiles you share and the work you do.

We are wishing you the best today. But of course, things won’t always go smoothly and easily. You know how life here goes. But we go forward with life in faith and trust, with the promises of Jesus our Lord who says to you, “You have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (John 16:22). Amen.

 

Sermon for the 3rd Sunday in Easter

Jesus said, “So there will be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:16).

As we meditate on the words of our Lord today, the images of green pastures and pools of still waters, are sure to bring comfort to the soul, peace to troubled consciences, and a sense of security to frightful hearts.

The rod and the staff of the Good Shepherd comfort the sheep. The rod the shepherd has is to ward off the enemies: the lion, the wild dogs that would harm the sheep. And the staff -- a shepherd’s staff has a crook in it, like you see in the bulletin cover today. That’s to reach out and hook a sheep by the neck or leg, to pull it back in the right direction, to keep her from wondering off or falling into danger. There’s no comfort, peace, or security in just letting the sheep wander off wherever they want to go. The Good Shepherd is gentle and loving, even as he directs and sometimes even disciplines. Comfort, Peace and security comes went the enemies are beaten off, and because so often, a sheep is its own worst enemy. It takes a rod, and it takes a staff to be a good shepherd.

The Epistle reading, 1 Peter 2 talks about the Shepherd and the sheep. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25For you were straying like sheep.” As the shepherd must correct his straying sheep with rod and staff, so it is with our Good Shepherd Jesus. His word is his rod and staff to guide us and to redirect us away from our misguided attitudes and sinful desires.

That’s actually what he was doing that day when he said these words, “I am the Good Shepherd”. The audience for this sermon of Jesus included his disciples, but also a bunch of Pharisees and a formerly blind beggar man. Just before this, Jesus gave sight to the blind man and the Pharisees were all upset about the miraculous healing. You see, Jesus had done this work on the Sabbath and that was against their rules. With no mercy at all toward the poor blind guy, they were vehemently arguing and insulting Jesus. It's like they were mad because the Lord was merciful.

These Pharisees think that they themselves are the big deal. They despise others who are not like them, or who don’t meet their exalted Pharisaic expectations.  And Jesus tells 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.”

Jesus was all about mercy. And with the rod and the staff of his word, he directs his listeners to show mercy, likewise. That means you have to look at others as God sees them. God shows no partiality toward souls, nor should we, his people.

There is another example of this in the book of James, chapter 2:

“My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man.”

This is one of those passages that hits the sinful heart like a rod. It has to hit to the heart because we can use outward “proper” behavior to hide the evil, unmerciful thoughts going on inside.

So hear how Jesus talks to the Pharisees when they have these unloving hearts. He says, “I am the Good Shepherd. I know my sheep.”

Is there anyone you despise, that you can’t respect because they are different than what is commonly accepted? Consider this, what if they are sheep of the Lord’s one flock. What if they, like you, know Psalm 23 and pray it? Jesus says, “there will be one flock, one Shepherd.” And he, not you, not me, he is the one who makes the call as to who is in that flock.

This is not to say that all bad behavior is excused. That’s what the world around us has got wrong with the buzz word “tolerance”. They use that word to talk about bad behavior, immoral, perverted behavior that goes against God’s word and creation. The world says tolerance means you cannot critique immorality, you cannot guide children and others away from bad, unhealthy choices and disfunctioning. When really, to be merciful toward your fellow human being means talking about, speaking up for what is good and right and God-pleasing. In mercy we Christians invite others to join us in sorrow for our sins, both sins of outward bad behavior and sins of hidden bad attitudes in the heart.

Then when we and they turn from sin and turn again to follow our Lord we hear his voice. He says “14I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

In what way is He our Good Shepherd? Two things: First He knows us, and we know him by faith. And second, He lays down his life for the sheep.

He is your Good Shepherd like so. He guides you to Himself and to follow in His ways, and He dies for you. He loves you and me and all sinners. He doesn’t act out of frustration with us for our intolerable behavior and attitude. No, but in mercy he guides us with rod and staff and he forgives us with his holy precious blood and his innocent suffering and death. Amen.