It is small wonder that the image of the shepherd was frequently upon the lips of the savior. It was a part of his heritage and culture.
Abraham, the father of the nation, was the keeper of great flocks.
Moses was tending the flocks of his father-in-law, Jethro, when God called him into a service. David was a shepherd boy called in from the fields to be the King of Israel.
The imagery of the shepherd was also imprinted upon the literature of the day. The 23rd Psalm is frequently referred to as the shepherd psalm. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.”
This shepherd imagery reminds me of a television special about middle-east shepherds – people who live a life that isn’t radically different from that of their first century counter-parts. It was fascinating to see the lives they led, wandering endlessly in search of fields where their sheep might graze. Every night, the sheep were led into a protected area – a “sheepfold.” Sometimes, there would be three or four or five flocks gathered by a number of shepherds into the same area. The shepherds would take shifts staying up throughout the night, making sure that wolves or other wild animals weren’t able to make their way into the protected area. In the morning, a person would wonder if there was any hope of separating one flock from another. But interestingly enough, it was a very simple matter. Each shepherd went to opposite corners of the field and began to call the sheep. As the sheep heard the shepherds’ voices, they immediately began to move towards the one that belonged to their shepherd. After a few minutes, all the sheep were separated into their own flocks, and the shepherds lead them away. Sheep know the voice of their own shepherd, and they follow it. (David J. Risendal, The Voice of the Shepherd)
Jesus is the good shepherd. The word “good” in Greek is kalos and it implies not only good, but also noble, ideal, true, and faithful. Jesus is the good shepherd, the one who loves us so much he was willing to lay down his life to save us. John tells us, “We know love by this, that Jesus laid down his life for us…and calls us little children to love not in word or speech, but truth and action.” Love in action. That is what we are called to do. We are able to love in an abundant way because God first loved us in Jesus Christ who was faithful in his life and in his death for us and our salvation.
Love in action is not only a spiritual love. We do it all the time when we love the people in our lives. Archbishop Desmond Tutu once said, “When a chap is in love, he will go out in all kinds of weather to keep an appointment with his beloved. Love can be demanding; in fact, more demanding than law. It has its own imperatives. Think of a mother sitting by the bedside of a sick child through the night, impelled only by love. Nothing is too much trouble for love.” Jesus makes it clear as he draws near the cross that his motivation is love. He is choosing to make this sacrifice. He is choosing to be faithful to what God has put before him. (Wiley Stephens, One Life to Give). As the good shepherd, he willingly lays down his life so that you and I may live our lives in abundant love.
Love in action comes to us as we seek support or peace as we go through a tough time. Buoyed by our faith, we know that by the Spirit we have Jesus, the good shepherd, walk with us and guide us as we go. It does not mean that Jesus takes away our trouble, our hardships. No, by faith we have the comfort and hope of the protection of Jesus. Just like a shepherd will protect his flock, Jesus helps to protect us. Many years ago the great preacher Harry Emerson Fosdick told of a teenage girl stricken with polio. As he visited with her, she told him about a conversation she’d had with one of her friends, who told her, “Affliction does so color life.” To which this courageous young girl agreed but said that she would choose which color. At her young age she had already discovered one of life’s great secrets: It’s not what happens to you that matters as much as what happens in you. For faith in God does not so much shield us from danger and death as it gives us the power to overcome it. (Lee Griess, Taking the Risk out of Dying, CSS Publishing Company) We are love in action as we faithfully rest in the care of Jesus our good shepherd.
However, following the voice of our shepherd and loving into action can be risky. One commentator noted how risky it was to be a shepherd at that time. The work was dangerous and menial. It was offensive to the religious elites. “A modern-day equivalent might be for Jesus to say, “I am the good migrant worker.” (Feasting on the Word, B2, p. 450). Think about that for a moment. Jesus as the good migrant worker. The good shepherd is really one our society often ignores, and more recently oppresses. Our Presbytery, became a sanctuary presbytery a few months ago to be a witness for God’s love in action.
One of our churches is now planning on hosting a man about to be deported, love in action. At presbytery, we signed a letter on his behalf, seeking to help him remain in this country. Love in action.
Baptism is God’s Love in Action. I love when we have baptisms! I revel in the joy of sharing in God’s claim on a new life and the joy of the family. Baptism is the essence of love in action. God has already claimed Evie and we as the people of God are simply recognizing the abundant love already given to this precious child. The same abundant love given to each one of us in our own baptism.
Today we have been weaving together love in action with the image of the Good Shepherd. This works because our ability to love comes from the witness of Jesus Christ as our Shepherd, the one who lays down his life, who protects us, and to calls us to be his own. To follow his voice and to respond.
We started this sermon with the shepherds calling their sheep and their responding to their shepherd’s voice. As Christians, we follow Jesus’ voice, the voice of the Good Shepherd. The one whose voice we hear, and we choose to follow. Baptism is the first time we hear the voice of Jesus. The time when we imprint on God’s love and start to follow the voice of our Shepherd. Much like a baby will imprint on their mother’s voice while in the womb, we imprint on God’s love which claims us from the minute we are conceived.
Today when we baptized Evie we were acknowledging that God’s love has already claimed her. She is already God’s most precious child. Baptism is God’s love in action. It is the way we participate in her connection of being known by God. The baptismal vows, the music, and the worship are all part of Jesus’s voice that Evie is now coming to know. A voice that will be with her throughout her life. A spiritual voice that will call her into new opportunities and guide her in times of trouble.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd. We hear our shepherd’s voice when we share in the wonders of worship; the music, the prayers, the word. That is how Jesus knows us and we know him. We hear and follow his voice and we love into action. Amen.
