We're In This Together!
Posted on Apr 26, 2015 by David Whetter
Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, who abides in which of us. Amen
“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul” Psalm 23:1-3). This is a verse that for most of us brings comfort and reassurance. Many read and recite this verse in times of struggles, illness, pain and sorrow and even death. Psalm 23 is what I call a feel good text. And our Gospel text today is another one of those feel good texts, isn’t it? It begins with Jesus saying, “I am the good shepherd “ (John 10:11). Jesus, our Lord proclaims that he is our shepherd. He will protect us. He is there for us and no matter what the situation, he will be there even if it means giving up his life. What a wonderfully comforting statement!
But, as comforting as these texts are, I find it fascinating to take a look at the context of what was going on around these texts. Take Psalm 23 for example, as I noted above we want to hear this comforting text in the midst of our troubled lives and, yet, Psalm 22, the text directly before this, it begins with “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping … O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;” (Psalm 22:1-2). The Psalmist goes from crying out, where are you O Lord, I search for you but can’t find you to You, O Lord, are my shepherd and you are always with me.
In our gospel text, as comforting as it sounds, Jesus was not having a warm fuzzy conversation with his followers when he said, “I am the good shepherd.” No, Jesus was in the midst of conflict. Shortly before this, the religious authorities had brought a woman to him that had been caught in the act of adultery and they wanted to stone her to death, but Jesus, instead of just blindly following the law, challenged those who wanted to stone this woman to only do so if they, too, were sinless. The authorities didnot like the fact that he challenged them and that he “showed them up,” so they continued to pursue him and challenge him and he challenged back and even proclaim to be one with God. There response was to attempt to stone Jesus (Chapter 8).
Then as he went on, on the Sabbath, he healed a man who had been born and again he enters into conflict with the religious authorities. It is at this point that Jesus began to explain to those who were in conflict with him who he really was and it was then that he began to say things like “I am the gate for the sheep” and “I am the good shepherd.” These words were not words of comfort to those religious leaders. No, they were words of discomfort. You see, unlike those leaders, who saw themselves as the shepherds of he flock of Israel and the rulers and masters of that flock, that were there to be served, Jesus said no, you may be a shepherd, but “I am the good shepherd.” What makes Jesus the good shepherd? Well, first and foremost a good shepherd is will to die for his sheep. A good shepherd will put his flock first to keep them safe. This is something the religious authorities were not willing to do. We see this even today in the church don’t we. We often see church leaders who are more interested in preserving their own positions, or who are more interested in preserving a denominational dogma, or preference, than truly doing what is right for the whole flock.
The other thing that makes Jesus a good shepherd is that he knows his flock. That is he has taken the time to eat with them, live with them, and he came to know there real needs. And in turn, his flock got to know him and they knew he would always be there for them, even when things got a little dicey, or even down right dangerous. His flock knew that no matter what, they, shepherd and flock, were in it together. And, the last thing that made him the good shepherd was, and is, that he is the shepherd of those sheep who are not even part of the flock. He is willing to walk with, serve and protect even those who are outside his flock. Now that is a good shepherd!
So what does this mean for us today? Well, first and foremost, we know that no matter what is happening in our lives, Jesus promises to be with us. He won’t take away our pain, our loss, our sorrow, but he will feel it with us, he will guide us through it and he will love us. Jesus will not run away when things get rough like the hired hand will run away. The Lord is our shepherd and we shall not want.
Secondly, Jesus challenges us to be like him and to be good shepherds to others. You see, we are in this together! We are not alone in this world, in our struggles, or in our joys. No, we are a faith community and we are to be good shepherds to and for each other. We are called to lay down our lives for each other. Now that doesn’t mean we have to literally die for another person. To lay down one’s life for another also means extending help, as much as you can, when another is in need.
We too, are called to be good shepherds. As I look out I see many good shepherds who know we are in this together. Later this week, you will receive a note from me about a new ministry here at Salem that is about being good shepherds. This ministry is our new Visitation Ministry. Ten people have volunteered to be active in visiting shut-ins, the sick, the lonely, or anyone who just needs someone to talk to. This is a ministry of presence and these people are willing to give of their time and energy just to be present with those who feel the need to be with someone. Now you may be thinking, well, what’s the big deal, that is something pastor should be doing? But, according to scripture that is not me role. The pastor is to equip the saints for this work (Ephesians 4). There are many inside, and outside our community, who are in need of a visit, and these folks will give of their lives to make sure that happens. I am very excited about this new ministry.
But that is just one ministry focused on being good shepherds here at Salem. This list is strong here at Salem. Ministries such a Pantry Pack, Children’s Memorial, The Welcome Team, Fellowship, and so many more are all focused on serving the needs of both those in and outside our community. We offer these ministries not because we have to, but because we know we are in this together, and it is not about whether or not people deserve these ministries, we offer them because people need them. To respond to Jesus’ call for all of us to be good shepherds, we know our ministries can’t be about buildings and money. No, we are here to be shepherds, not only to those in our flock, but to those who are not, as well.
A couple of weeks ago as the staff studied this text, John said why do we always make things about us and them when everything should be about us and Him? John is right, we offer ministries that reach out to all in need not because we want to help those other folks, whoever they are, no we do these things because we want to serve our Lord. We do these things in response to his love and grace and forgiveness. We are generous with our lives, because he was generous with his life.
Our Good Shepherd, laid down his life to show us that we are in this together. My prayer today is that we as individuals, and as a faith community, can continue to focus our main efforts on him and his love for the world and not on our needs and our desires. May we always be like our master and be good shepherds. Amen.