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The Shepherd
ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN! He is risen
indeed! Alleluia!
Wolves eat sheep. They don’t care whose sheep they eat; they
don’t care that you lose sleep or income. They just want your sheep. Build all
the sheep pens you want. If the wolf wants your sheep, there’s a good chance he’ll
get it. Without a shepherd to fight off the wolves and gather and protect the
sheep, the wolf will have his prey. And when the wolf steals your sheep, it’s
easy to point fingers at others—at coworkers and neighbors, at family and
friends. “Why did you let the wolf cross your field to get to my sheep?” “Why
didn’t you raise an alarm?” “Why didn’t you slay the wolf?” So not only do wolves
drive away and kill the sheep; the devil also uses them to put a wedge between
us, to mar and destroy our life together in Christ.
Now where is Our Lord Jesus in all this? Does He stand idly
by? Or does He lash out against wolves, hunt them down, and give them what they
deserve? When Our Lord was beset by sheep-stealing priests and wolfish
Pharisees, when they sought not just His sheep, but also His life, He did not
let the devil have his day. “He was reviled, but He did not revile in
return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who
judges righteously.” And when He was beaten and murdered by the wolves, He
did not point the finger at His disciples, or accuse them of not defending Him,
or blame them for those who killed Him. Instead, He stood in their midst and
said, “Peace be with you.” He spoke
peace to the very men who let Him down. And He visited the very women who would
not believe that He was still with them.
Doing this, He showed that He was their Good Shepherd, the
true and steadfast Bishop of their souls. He did not do what we do: He did not
criticize or whine or place blame. He did not give in to devilish thoughts and
desires. Instead, He embraced His own and pointed them to their heavenly Father.
He pointed them to the rich gifts He set apart to feeds them.
The Good Shepherd knows His sheep. He knows your fears, your
complaints, your misgivings, your anxieties. He knows you are quick to cut and
run and fall over the edge of the cliff. He knows that you think you know best,
that you are quick to believe He has once again let you down. And He knows that
you foolishly value your stuff more than you take comfort in the Baptism that
makes you a member of His flock or the Holy Supper with which He feeds you.
And so our Lord Jesus, the Good Shepherd, restores your soul.
He lays down His life for His sheep. He lays it down so that He may take it up
again. He lays it down so that you would have His life as your life. He has
come—precisely when wolves come to devour you—so you may have life, and have it
abundantly.
Jesus is not just some hired hand. He is the Good Shepherd. Any
shepherd can chase away wolves, but the Good Shepherd lays down His life for
the sheep—both to drive off the wolf and to make His body and blood into a
sacrament. In this way, our Lord saves and delivers you: by dying your death
and by satisfying you with His body as food.
So Jesus is your Good Shepherd. He spares your life by laying
down His life on the cross, and by giving you His body and blood for you as
Gospel food on the altar. And your response, your thanksgiving, is to take to
heart our Lord's death by feeding off Christ's body and drinking His blood. And
our confession is to say, “I cannot live without receiving the Supper of our
Lord's body and blood.” So let the wolves come. Our Lord Jesus, our Good
Shepherd, still stands among you, still feeds you, still cares for you, and
still guides and guards you with His unsurpassed love. 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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