Fourth Sunday of Easter Sermon
Sermon
Location St. Luke – Date 5/3/09
Fourth Sunday of Easter – Year B
Primary Text: Psalm 23, John 10:11-18
Today’s psalm is one we are fairly used to, we hear the 23rd psalm all the time. We see it written in get well cards, funeral bulletins, on hospital walls, and we often look and say “oh, psalm 23, that’s nice,” and move on. This last weekend at synod assembly, the presenter Dr. Nate Frambach from Wartburg Seminary, played a slideshow of pictures as we listen to the psalm, letting us think of the psalm in a different light. It is interesting to get the psalm in our mind in a different light than we are used to so, before I go further I would like to read another version of the psalm and have you close your eyes and think about the images that come to mind. From the Bay Psalm Book, psalm 23:
The Lord to me a shepherd is,
Want therefore shall not I:
He in the folds of tender grass,
Doth cause me down to lie:
To waters calm me gently leads
Restore my soul doth he:
He doth in paths of righteousness
For his name’s sake lead me.
Yea, though in valley of death’s shade
I walk, none ill I’ll fear:
Because thou art with me, thy rod,
And staff my comfort are.
For me a table thou hast spread,
In presence of my foes:
Thou dost anoint my head with oil;
My cup it overflows.
Goodness and mercy surely shall all my days follow me:
And in the Lord’s house I shall dwell
So long as days shall be.
On my trip to Israel, we did not get to see Bedouin shepherds in direct action, but I did hear a story about them. The Bedouin are Arab tribes that live in much of the desert areas of north Africa to the Arabian Desert in Saudi Arabia. They still live much like shepherds and people of Jesus’ time would have lived. There are some differences, they used to be nomadic, but have become somewhat settled, but they still rely heavily on herding for survival. Goats and sheep with a couple of shepherds in tow are a common sight in the hills along the highways of Israel and Palestine. The story I heard focused on how the shepherds care for their sheep at night. They often will be away from the encampment and not have access to a pen or stable for the sheep and will use a natural cave found in the hills. The shepherd will block off all but a hole in the entrance to the cave with brush and branches, and then stand in the hole as the sheep enter the cave. One by one, the sheep will enter passing through his legs as he stands in the entrance. As they pass by, he will feel the sheep with his legs and hands and from that be able to tell which sheep are there and which are not, and to see if they have any wounds or problems. He then curls up in the hole, making himself the final part of the wall, using his body to ward off any would be predators.
That image would be in the heads of those listening to Jesus in our gospel text. The good shepherd not only goes out to search for the lost sheep, but knows all of the nicks and cuts, bumps and bruises of that lost sheep. Jesus says that not only will he protect us, but he will lay his life down for us.
Sometimes it is hard to hear that we are sheep, we get the warm fuzzy feeling of thinking of Jesus as our shepherd, but if we were to think about sheep, the comparison is sort insulting. As I told the children, sheep are pretty stupid, there is a reason that they need a shepherd to keep them together. A sheep left alone will eat some grass, wander a bit eat some more, wander some more and before you know it become lost. It takes a shepherd to make sure that their wanderings stay close by.
But, if we look at it a bit closer, maybe the comparison is valid, we eat and graze close to God, but then something at the top of the hill distracts us so we go over there. We see our new IPod or new job, new car, or any other thing that could be seen as an idol to us and instead of keeping God central, we stray. Then at the top of the hill we see something in the next valley, we insult a friend, lie to a co-worker, fight with a family member, or commit any sin, straying farther and farther from God. And before we know it, we have strayed so far we cannot see God on our own, no matter how we turn we stay lost. But Christ does not just wait for us to return, or only call our name, Christ comes searching for us. Christ comes to us. When we stray, Christ is with us.
In the midst of Psalm 23 we have the statement, thou art with me. This is the central part to this text. In the Hebrew it is literally the case, there are 26 words before and after it. When we walk through all of our pains and sufferings, when we fear darkness and loneliness, God walks with us and guides our path. Psalm 23 goes even farther than that though. The 26 words before “you are with me” all speak of God in the third person. The Lord is my shepherd, the Lord makes me lie down in green pastures. But after, it is in first person. It is you. You are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. The psalmist speaks to God. The psalmist knows God.
That is the main aspect of a shepherd, presence. A shepherd keeps the flock together, not through hitting or punishment, subversion or bribing, but through calling to them. They know the voice of the shepherd, the voice calls them, and they respond because they trust and know that voice. There is no wonder about the placement of this psalm in the order of psalms. Psalm 22, just before it, is one of the other most well known psalms. Psalm 22 is Jesus’ cry from the cross. “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me!” The psalmist cries psalm 23 in the midst of that deepest anguish. In the midst of our own lostness and darkness, pain and grief, we cry.
And we hear the Shepherd’s response.
I am with you,
I will comfort you,
I will anoint your head,
and fill your cup, even in the midst of your enemies I will feed you.
Goodness and mercy shall follow you,
and you will be safe in my house, for I shall block the entrance keeping you safe from harm.
For I know you and feel your wounds, your bumps and cuts, your fear and anguish, your loss and grief,
and I will heal them, I will forgive you,
I will give you peace, I will love you, I will lay down my life for you.
For I am your shepherd, you shall not be in want,
I will lie you down in green pastures,
I will lead you to still waters,
I will restore your soul and guide you along right pathways.
Even when you walk in the valley of the shadow of death, you shall fear no evil,
For I, the good shepherd,
the cornerstone,
the crucified and raised one,
the beloved,
am with you.
Lord, you are with us.
Amen
Location St. Luke – Date 5/3/09
Fourth Sunday of Easter – Year B
Primary Text: Psalm 23, John 10:11-18
Today’s psalm is one we are fairly used to, we hear the 23rd psalm all the time. We see it written in get well cards, funeral bulletins, on hospital walls, and we often look and say “oh, psalm 23, that’s nice,” and move on. This last weekend at synod assembly, the presenter Dr. Nate Frambach from Wartburg Seminary, played a slideshow of pictures as we listen to the psalm, letting us think of the psalm in a different light. It is interesting to get the psalm in our mind in a different light than we are used to so, before I go further I would like to read another version of the psalm and have you close your eyes and think about the images that come to mind. From the Bay Psalm Book, psalm 23:
The Lord to me a shepherd is,
Want therefore shall not I:
He in the folds of tender grass,
Doth cause me down to lie:
To waters calm me gently leads
Restore my soul doth he:
He doth in paths of righteousness
For his name’s sake lead me.
Yea, though in valley of death’s shade
I walk, none ill I’ll fear:
Because thou art with me, thy rod,
And staff my comfort are.
For me a table thou hast spread,
In presence of my foes:
Thou dost anoint my head with oil;
My cup it overflows.
Goodness and mercy surely shall all my days follow me:
And in the Lord’s house I shall dwell
So long as days shall be.
On my trip to Israel, we did not get to see Bedouin shepherds in direct action, but I did hear a story about them. The Bedouin are Arab tribes that live in much of the desert areas of north Africa to the Arabian Desert in Saudi Arabia. They still live much like shepherds and people of Jesus’ time would have lived. There are some differences, they used to be nomadic, but have become somewhat settled, but they still rely heavily on herding for survival. Goats and sheep with a couple of shepherds in tow are a common sight in the hills along the highways of Israel and Palestine. The story I heard focused on how the shepherds care for their sheep at night. They often will be away from the encampment and not have access to a pen or stable for the sheep and will use a natural cave found in the hills. The shepherd will block off all but a hole in the entrance to the cave with brush and branches, and then stand in the hole as the sheep enter the cave. One by one, the sheep will enter passing through his legs as he stands in the entrance. As they pass by, he will feel the sheep with his legs and hands and from that be able to tell which sheep are there and which are not, and to see if they have any wounds or problems. He then curls up in the hole, making himself the final part of the wall, using his body to ward off any would be predators.
That image would be in the heads of those listening to Jesus in our gospel text. The good shepherd not only goes out to search for the lost sheep, but knows all of the nicks and cuts, bumps and bruises of that lost sheep. Jesus says that not only will he protect us, but he will lay his life down for us.
Sometimes it is hard to hear that we are sheep, we get the warm fuzzy feeling of thinking of Jesus as our shepherd, but if we were to think about sheep, the comparison is sort insulting. As I told the children, sheep are pretty stupid, there is a reason that they need a shepherd to keep them together. A sheep left alone will eat some grass, wander a bit eat some more, wander some more and before you know it become lost. It takes a shepherd to make sure that their wanderings stay close by.
But, if we look at it a bit closer, maybe the comparison is valid, we eat and graze close to God, but then something at the top of the hill distracts us so we go over there. We see our new IPod or new job, new car, or any other thing that could be seen as an idol to us and instead of keeping God central, we stray. Then at the top of the hill we see something in the next valley, we insult a friend, lie to a co-worker, fight with a family member, or commit any sin, straying farther and farther from God. And before we know it, we have strayed so far we cannot see God on our own, no matter how we turn we stay lost. But Christ does not just wait for us to return, or only call our name, Christ comes searching for us. Christ comes to us. When we stray, Christ is with us.
In the midst of Psalm 23 we have the statement, thou art with me. This is the central part to this text. In the Hebrew it is literally the case, there are 26 words before and after it. When we walk through all of our pains and sufferings, when we fear darkness and loneliness, God walks with us and guides our path. Psalm 23 goes even farther than that though. The 26 words before “you are with me” all speak of God in the third person. The Lord is my shepherd, the Lord makes me lie down in green pastures. But after, it is in first person. It is you. You are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. The psalmist speaks to God. The psalmist knows God.
That is the main aspect of a shepherd, presence. A shepherd keeps the flock together, not through hitting or punishment, subversion or bribing, but through calling to them. They know the voice of the shepherd, the voice calls them, and they respond because they trust and know that voice. There is no wonder about the placement of this psalm in the order of psalms. Psalm 22, just before it, is one of the other most well known psalms. Psalm 22 is Jesus’ cry from the cross. “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me!” The psalmist cries psalm 23 in the midst of that deepest anguish. In the midst of our own lostness and darkness, pain and grief, we cry.
And we hear the Shepherd’s response.
I am with you,
I will comfort you,
I will anoint your head,
and fill your cup, even in the midst of your enemies I will feed you.
Goodness and mercy shall follow you,
and you will be safe in my house, for I shall block the entrance keeping you safe from harm.
For I know you and feel your wounds, your bumps and cuts, your fear and anguish, your loss and grief,
and I will heal them, I will forgive you,
I will give you peace, I will love you, I will lay down my life for you.
For I am your shepherd, you shall not be in want,
I will lie you down in green pastures,
I will lead you to still waters,
I will restore your soul and guide you along right pathways.
Even when you walk in the valley of the shadow of death, you shall fear no evil,
For I, the good shepherd,
the cornerstone,
the crucified and raised one,
the beloved,
am with you.
Lord, you are with us.
Amen
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