The Voice of the
Shepherd
ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN! He is risen
indeed! Alleluia! Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Do you remember a
while ago, when we heard the account of Jesus calling that woman a “little
dog?” Well, today He calls us “sheep.” And as cute as we think sheep are, and
soft and cuddly, the truth is that sheep are dumb, stubborn animals, prone to
wander off and get in trouble. This is not a flattering thing. To be a sheep
means to confess that you are stupid, stubborn, obstinate, you like to wander
off, and you wouldn't know a wolf until he took a took a bite out of you! But
the news is not all bad. If we have to be sheep—and we do—then the Good News
today is that Jesus, the Son of God, is our Good Shepherd. And with Jesus as a
Good Shepherd, there's nothing to fear. Don't worry about being a stupid,
stubborn sheep. Your Good Shepherd will take care of you and make sure no wolf
eats you.
No matter how
stupid they are, sheep have one thing going for them: sheep have very good
hearing. Amidst all their bleating, a sheep can hear and recognize its
shepherd's voice. From all the sounds around it, a sheep is able to pick out
and follow that one voice that it knows is its shepherd. Jesus says the same
thing: He knows His sheep and He is known by them because they know His voice.
That voice of Jesus is His Word. What does the voice of that Shepherd say? He
says, "I lay down my life for the
sheep." How do we recognize the voice of Jesus the Good Shepherd among
all the voices we hear in this world? The true voice of the Good Shepherd is
the one that speaks of what He has done for us. The voices around us all speak
about what we should do, what we must accomplish, what debt we must pay, how we
must find our way back if we get lost. But the voice of the Good Shepherd calls
us to Himself: the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep, who goes
to the cross and dies as the Lamb of God for the sins of the world. The only
true shepherd is the Good Shepherd.
Any voice which
does not declare the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for you—run away from
such a voice! That's the snarl of the devilish wolf. Though he wants you to
believe that he’s your shepherd, he’s already got his grill fired up, ready to
roast you. The devil, that big bad wolf, wants to snatch you up and scatter
Christ's church. It's always his aim and goal to drag you away from faith and
trust in Jesus alone. He wants you to believe that you can save yourself. He
wants to divide and separate the church so that, instead of a congregation of
those who hear the Shepherd's voice, everyone instead wanders off and does his
own thing. A sheep on its own is in trouble, just as Christians on their own
are in danger. When the wolf gets in, the flock is scattered and troubled! It's
suddenly every sheep for himself, and we are done treating one another like
fellow children of God. Beware that behavior! Repent of the desire to run away
from your Good Shepherd and the rest of the flock! Instead, prick up your ears to
hear the Good Shepherd's voice calling you back to Him and to the flock.
But again, what is His voice?
How do we hear and recognize it? Remember: it’s the voice of the One who tells
us what He has done for us. We recognize His voice through the preaching and
the holy gifts which deliver His death and resurrection to us. The voice of the
Good Shepherd is the one that preaches that the Lamb of God alone takes away
the sin of the world by His death and resurrection. The voice of the Good
Shepherd is the one that calls you to the still waters of Holy Baptism to wash
away the grime and dirt of your wandering. The voice of the Good Shepherd is
the one that comforts you with the rod and staff of Holy Absolution, pulling
you out of the pits and crevices into which you blunder in your sins. The voice
of the Good Shepherd is the one which calls you to the table prepared in the
presence of your enemies, a table filled with the feast of the Lamb's own
flesh, a cup running over with His own blood. The voice of the Good Shepherd is
the one which declares to you that in these holy gifts, He lives in you and you
live in Him, and He will carry you through the valley of the shadow of death to
raise you up on the Last Day. Hear and learn that voice, dear little lambs!
Learn what the voice of the Good Shepherd promises and directs you to receive.
Learn that voice and always prick up your ears to listen for that voice and
hear it! And run away from anyone who calls himself a shepherd but doesn’t
speak with that voice! For it is the voice of the true shepherd that will call
you to Jesus and rescue from the wolves! Rejoice that you have Good Shepherd
who fends for you, keeps you safe, and will bring you to His eternally green
pastures! ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN! He
is risen indeed! Alleluia! In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of
the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The peace of God
which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus
always. Amen.
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