Good Shepherd Sunday: Uniting with the Lover of our Souls

Unedited Manuscript

In the Name of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. So we I didn't mention it when I was introducing the service but we, uh, it is Good Shepherd Sunday. So, um, you might you you might have noticed that in the collect. So in the prayer that we pray, um, before we read the scriptures, we recognize Good Shepherd Sunday and the, the Sunday that we Where we celebrate Jesus as Good Shepherd.

So we we prayed to God, you know, to God, whose son Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd. Of his people. And then we asked that we might hear his voice and follow where he leads right? But we we we thanked God, for being for sending his son to be the Good Shepherd.

I've also I've often struggled with the placement of Good Shepherd, Sunday. It's, it's kind of A strange place at least for me and uh and and so I've been spending like through the years. I've wrestled with okay why Good Shepherd Sunday this Sunday. We we we through Easter tide, you guys might have noticed, we read the resurrection like appearances of Jesus so We write one in John, we read one in Mark, we've read one in Luke.

We, we talk about the resurrection appearances of Jesus and, and yet here on Good Shepherd, Sunday. We're back before he was crucified and he's preaching a sermon about being the Good Shepherd, you know, before he lays down his life, talking about being a Shepherd who lays down his life and I wanted to spend some time.

Reflecting. On why we might? Talk about the Good Shepherd in the middle of Easter diet, you know, and talk about Jesus's. Good Shepherd. So we'll talk about just the fact of good shepherding, we're going to talk about this contrast, Jesus lays out between good Shepherds and bad shepherding and that our readings give us today for sure in the Old Testament in particular and then we'll talk about.

Like why today of all days are we thinking about Resurrection time in Easter diet, are we thinking about a good shepherd? So first, let's talk about the fact of good shepherding, it's Jesus, who is God himself? Is the Good Shepherd. Who will lay down his life for his sheep.

Jesus, who is God himself. Is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the Sheep. The Gospel reading today, started with a simple Declaration of our Lord. I am the Good Shepherd. In in, in John's quote. In this passage, he uses his signature. Eko and me, which is, uh, which is his thing.

Um you guys might be learning that. I've said this probably a lot of times as we walk through John. Um it's kind of his thing to make these egome statements now um, Anyone know Spanish uh, yeah I think we we know Spanish so like, um, Uh when we you like when Greek Greek is like Spanish and if I'm saying I am, In Spanish.

I can just say soy. I don't have to say like, yo soy, right? Like I can just say soy, because there's not really another option. For what goes with that verb. And so, um, Greek is just like that, right? And English, we always have to say I uh like our, our individual words aren't packed with quite as much, meaning As other languages.

But in Greek, you don't need it. And so when Saint John is saying ego and me. He's doing something emphatic. He he's emphasizing that I am and in particular he's using In the Greek, Septuagint of the Old Testament, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. The Divine name was ego Ami, right?

I am ego and me. And so when John's doing that, he's saying, hey, I'm using the Divine name. I mean, so Jesus. Um, putting on the mouth of Jesus. Now, Jesus was speaking for language nerds in here, like me. Jesus was speaking Aramaic, he wasn't speaking Greek and so, but what but John is putting this quote on Jesus lips and using the Divine name and he's doing it on purpose and he asked, Jesus here saying I am the Good Shepherd.

What might that remind us of do we read a Psalm today? The Lord. I am. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want right. I am the Good Shepherd is that these are the beginning words of that song. So Jesus is actually Preaching a sermon, using the beginning words of that.

Psalm equating himself with the Lord, who is the Good Shepherd? I am the Good Shepherd. I am the one who guides who leads you in in places of peace? Who sets a table before you in the presence of your enemies? I am the one.

So God himself is The Shepherd of Israel. And Jesus is saying I'm that, I'm that one. I am the Lord and when we strayed, from God, The Lord, who is the Good Shepherd? He took on flesh. In the person of Jesus Christ, he took on flesh as the Eternal Son of God.

He walked the Earth, he lived with us. He performed Miracles Among Us and then he did what Jesus says right at the beginning of this passage. He laid down his life for his sheep. Right. I am the Good Shepherd. Let me tell you what. That means. That the Lord is my shepherd.

This Lord this God, this God that you worship. Israel is The God Who lays down his life for his sheep. And Jesus is is saying that's me. I am God himself laying down my life. For my sheep. He then can does this like contrasting between like good and bad shepherding, right?

We have this. We and we can first look at the results of bad shepherding and the results of bad shepherding is injury and Scattering. What takes place where there are bad Shepherds. There's injury and Scatter Ezekiel lays out most clearly the picture of bad Shepherds. We read this Ezekiel reading, right?

There are these people who eat the fat of the sacrifices but they don't feed the sheep. This interesting progression in the passage. Where it goes from like, The the the spiritual leaders in Israel. Not feeding the Sheep. To. Devouring sheep. So it's not so like you get this picture of neglect, maybe at first and then ultimately you get this picture of you're devouring, the Sheep, you're destroying.

The Sheep, you're killing the Sheep, you're abusing the Sheep, that's why they're going to be taken away from you. And so, in the sacrificial system that God set up, spiritual leaders were provided for from the sacrifice and the sacrifices were sheep. So spiritual leaders people that led spiritually, the prophets, certainly the priests they were, they were sustained.

By the sacrifices, right? So they prevent they presented sacrifices to their priests. And that's what the priest ate. You know, that was his food and, and they were provided for by the faithful, right? This, and this was the system that God set up and these people, when they weren't feeding the Sheep, they were still eating the fat of the sacrifices.

Sacrifices were still coming. And yet, they weren't feeding the Sheep and ultimately they were devouring. The Sheep to the point. That God said, they're not your sheep. They're not your sheep, they're my sheep and you haven't fed my sheep. Jesus also, lays out bad shepherding but he doesn't pick an image.

That's inherently negative in this part of the sermon. So we We we have Good Shepherd Sunday every year. You guys might be learning. We're on a three-year. We're on a three-year lectionary. And each year, there's a Good Shepherd Sunday on the fourth Sunday of Easter, and we don't read the whole sermon.

Each one, we read a chunk of the sermon, this, this year, in year B. And then we'll read next chunk in year C, then we'll read the beginning. Chunk, In year a right? And so that that's that's how we do it. And La, like last year, we would have read the passage where They're compared to robbers.

Like where there's a like a negative imagery, there's a negative imagery like where you have the good Shepherds and then you have robbers. Entering by different Gates. And speaking with a different voice but that's not what Jesus chooses here. He chooses a more neutral term Hired Hand mithras and so like and so like he he just chooses this like Kind of neutral term something wrong with being a Hired Hand like having a job and making money, right?

Like there's nothing wrong with that but having a job and getting paid and so he picks a neutral term. A term that's used both positively and negatively in scripture because it's neutral and here it's definitely negative, right? But and the issue here is not evil intent, toward the Sheep, like the bad Shepherds of Israel of Israel and Ezekiel But the issue here is just indifference.

Well the the issue what Jesus is pointing to here when he talks about bad shepherding is just indifference lack of care whatsoever. Right. They're not my sheep. So, when the wolf comes, I go because I'm indifferent about the sheep and I'm not, I'm not worrying about, I'm not laying down my, I'm sorry, I gotta die for the Sheep.

If it's me or the Sheep. I'm out. They're not even my sheep. Right. Indifference to the Sheep. Is the issue here. You know. Have you ever experienced Wicked leadership?

Oppressive leadership. This can be in a church or ecclesial settings. This can be in governmental settings. This can be employers. Um, like have we have you experienced Wicked leadership leadership that. Devouring or belittling or Cutting down or weakening. Have you experienced any different leadership?

My my leaders might may not know my name or they don't, they don't care about me. You know. Um, They're indifferent to me. If? Um, people experience this. Um, In churches too. You know, if I If I never came back, no one would notice I was gone. You know?

And, uh, and and things were, it seems that uh, They're indifferent. You know, and I and I just want to name That this has happened in the Christian church. And I'm sorry. Um, I'd like, like, As one of the weirdos that dresses up in the dress, you know? Um, Take take it as a symbol.

Of me saying, I'm sorry. That there are callings that have been bad Shepherds. And then at times, all of us can fall into being bad Shepherds. Um, The way that Jesus has chosen to exhort or exercise leadership in the church is by empowering a bunch of people that have the same problems as everybody else.

That's just how he's chosen to do it. Like, and like, They're not that special like and and if you if you talk to my wife and give give her 30 seconds, she'll tell you that. I'm not I'm not special like I I make like goofy jokes. 90 of every day.

That's how like I spend my life. It's like goofing around like I'm a sophomore in high school, you know, like I I'm not special. And yet God has chosen to exercise leadership through a bunch of people that have the same problems as everybody else. It's as Act of his grace, it's because he's merciful, but he invites us in Um, to this process like a process that he could do better than the people.

He empowers right. And it's it's an activist Grace and mercy but It goes awry and it's not rare. That we mess it up. And so, I'm sorry for the ways that You may have been failed. By Christian leaders. Um, And I am. To be faithful. And, and, and I believe that there are, I mean, There's a lot of AirPlay about Bad Shepherds.

There are tons of thankful Ministers of the Gospel that are doing their best. And that's actually the average that they don't, they don't always have the biggest churches. And the biggest platforms on social media and like, whatever whatever we're seeing, but I'll tell you that the average is faithful, people doing their best, right?

And, and, and I just want, um, So yes, they fail us. Um, we we fail you, you know? Um, And, Um, the average is is, is, is people doing their best to love, God sheep, right? And, and so, Um, but the results of this bad shepherding, when it happens in this passage, Is injury and Scatter the wolf attacks.

And the Sheep are scattered, right? That's that's what this is. What happens when there's bad shepherding, or indifferent. Shepherding is the wolf attacks and the Sheep are scattered. But then he talks about the results of good shepherding. What does Good Shepherding look like? And good. Shepherding, looks like ownership.

And unity. Right. Good Chevy. Looks like ownership and unity.

So, like two things are really emphasized by this passage here, the first thing is like the sheet belonged to Jesus. Did you notice that? By the end of the passage, she's not even. He doesn't even mention sheep until like, the last time. He's talking about the Sheep around him.

He talks about the sheep that aren't in his fold, but by the end, he's just saying The Good Shepherd. I know mine. I know mine. He doesn't even say sheep anymore. They're mine. The Hired Hand. Who runs away. They're not his You know. They're mine and I know them.

And I love them and I lay down my life for them because they belong to me. They belong to me and I know them the way that the father knows me and I know the father We're connected. We're we're we're uniting. We're we're one. I've made myself. With mine.

Because they're mine.

And this the second thing that he emphasizes here, is that the result of this Good Shepherding Because it's a Shepherd that owns the people. Is this Unity? You know, see in a sense, all pastors are Hired Hands. But again, Hired Hands isn't always a negative thing, but the Sheep aren't mine.

Right. The sheep in a flock, aren't mine. They belong to Jesus. And and the the best that A pastor can do. Is reflect the Good Shepherd Jesus as best they can. You know, it's point people to the Good Shepherd. Jesus, the one, who, who owns the Sheep? The one, who the Sheep belonged to?

You belong to Jesus. You don't belong to me. You don't belong to Saint, John's. You don't belong to the Anglican Church. You don't you belong to Jesus? Hits. And and the the best that a pastor can do is point me to him the one that owns you, right? And that leads to Unity.

See, well a lot, a lot of what? Empowers false gospel narratives. Is the lack of unity in the church. If they if if they're all divided from each other, they don't have their story together. How can I trust anything? Do you realize that's like the beginning of like every cult ever is like ever.

It's looking at that saying, they don't have their story straight, we can't trust them. Therefore, I gotta find someone, I can trust. And unfortunately, all the things they start splinter into a million pieces too, right? That's, that's the way this thing works. Because bad shepherding always results in the Sheep scattering, right?

And scattering of the seat, But in as much as we can reflect the Good Shepherd, and and Unite with our Good Shepherd, the one who says we are his We become unified. So the end of the story is the sheep that are not a part of this fold. He's talking about people that aren't Israel.

That aren't part of the Covenant Community of Israel being reached out to and brought in. What's the end of the story? There is one flock. One Shepherd. Jesus. And one flock, that's what Good Shepherding looks like. It draws us into unity and fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Rather than disunity and Chaos and division.

And that's because there's a Resurrected Lord leading his church and maybe that as we're heading toward the end of things for today. Maybe that's, that's why we Do this on in the middle of Easter tide, you know it's like is is that the relationship of the resurrected Lord to us is that of the shepherd And how much good is a dead Shepherd.

If the shepherd's daddy's, not very good Shepherd. Right, like it. Like you can't be a good shepherd and be dead. You have to one of those things can be true and so we we serve A Risen Lord Christ. And the way he relates with us is a risen Lord Christ.

Is a Shepherd. Who knows his sheep and loves his sheep and laid down his life for his sheep and leads us along. So we are called in this Easter tide to follow the living, Good Shepherd, You know, Shepherd is a really unique piece of imagery, right? There's a lot of things.

We there's a lot of images we can draw from to talk about Christ. Shepherd's, kind of a unique one. Like Christ is the king. Of the world that's been something that's like I don't know. For those of you like that, spend too much time on social media that's been something that's like people are fighting about.

They're wanting to say Christ is King. And uh, and and they're wanting to say that publicly and they're wanting to get in arguments about it and Christ is King. So, by the way, say that that's great, you know Christ is the king but and and that's true of us.

But what Jesus is reflecting on today is that he's a shepherd. Social Royal image. So that's, that's the most Mighty image, that's less. That sounds a lot less like crushing enemies. And like, you know, like like a Shepherd and like, like just a guy leading, some sheep protecting him from the threats, you know?

A Shepherd and Jesus is that, and Jesus has just reflect me today on on him, as our Shepherd, as the one who loves his sheep, lay down his life for his sheep and leads his sheep today. So I want to just hit the pause button for a second, listen.

Christians Proclaim that Jesus rose from Libya. And it's a wider.

Christians Proclaim that Jesus. Was like completely dead. Gotta walk out of grave and is still alive today. Like we Proclaim that, that's a big deal. Like if that happened, that's a big deal. And the way you relate with us, Is as a Shepherd leading sheep that he loves. And so our call this Easter tight is to follow this.

Good Shepherd. Who is leading us the one who laid down his life? For his sheep. Do you live? Like you have immediate access to the Risen Lord Jesus by the indwelling. Holy Do you live like that? Like you have immediate access to the god of the universe who rose from the dead?

Who is your Shepherd? Who says my sheep know my voice and I love them. Do you live your life? Like you have immediate access to him? The one who gave his life and is gently leading you right now. So how like we follow him this Easter tide? How do we do that?

We listen for him. We listen that was what we prayed in the collect. It's what we read in a different part of the sermon. But that we prayed that that we would know his voice and follow, where he leads. Right. We connect with him. We um, Unite with him.

That's what the Eucharist is all about. We receive the body of the Risen, Lord, Jesus! We ingest the body of the Risen, Lord. Jesus, we become one with the body of the Risen Lord. Jesus.

We Unite with him in the in our prayers, you know this, uh, This this week, I was spending a lot of time in my Breviary I told you guys about last week, huh, I was nerding out on it. I, I picked up my children from Laura's, I was gonna come in because I was so excited about my Breviary because it had all the chance, but then I left it at home, um, but it has the prayers set to chant which I'm like, I'm so excited and then one of the things I was doing is I was I was praying.

I was chanting um, complime which is the prayers we say before bed and on Friday night, The verse was from Song of Solomon. Which only God in the Bible because the church and Israel recognized it as an allegory of our relationship with Jesus. If you realize that, right? That's the only reason it got in there, they weren't just, they weren't saying, well, we just need a bunch of talk about sex.

The Bible, we're missing that, you know? So I but they read it as an allegory of our connection with God, and, and our connection with God. And so like, and and what, what, what? Well, the, one of the verses we read was, I am my beloveds and he is mine.

And I just paused and sat in that for a few moments and said, well, What's it mean to like be known by God and it's and to know the one who loves my soul, the lover of My Soul. It like to be known by him and to know him.

I want that, man. So that's what it means, like, walk with and the, the shepherd, who leads his sheep gently. And every worship Gathering that we have is an invitation to unite with the Risen Lord, Jesus, who is the lover of our soul. So let us come before the table.

To the Lord who is present to us when it makes himself present to us to the Risen Lord, And let us receive him freshly. And let us Unite with him and walk with the Savior who calls us by name and who calls us his beloved. Amen.