Loving God, your care for us goes far beyond that of a shepherd watching over his sheep. Help us this day to be aware of the love that you have for us and to give thanks for the new life that you give us through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

I don’t know how much time any of you have ever spent with sheep, but they’re really rather helpless animals. I remember an old Far Side cartoon where a bunch of sheep are standing around at a party with no collies or shepherds present. They’re saying to each other, “This is terrible! Nobody knows where to stand or what to do.” The next comment is, “Thank God -- Here comes a border collie!”

The cartoon isn’t too far from the truth. Without somebody to lead them to good pasture or to good drinking water, sheep won’t necessarily find it. Without somebody to lead them in and out, sheep quite easily get lost. Without somebody to rescue them, sheep are sitting ducks for predators. Sometimes, sheep even need to be saved from themselves. If sheep get themselves onto a ledge or get tangled up in the brush, they can’t get themselves out again. If sheep manage to fall over onto their backs, most are so top heavy that they can’t get back onto their feet without somebody to lift them up. Sheep need a lot of help!

And so, what does it say when, scripturally speaking, we are described as sheep, with the Lord as our Shepherd, and Jesus the Good Shepherd? Are we as helpless as sheep? In some respects, yes – in other respects, perhaps no. For one thing, when it comes to our relationship with God, we are pretty much in the same position as sheep. There is nothing that we can do that will make things right between us and God. In other words, there is nothing that we can do to make up for human sinfulness and make ourselves righteous in God’s sight.

In fact, that’s why Jesus came into the picture in the first place – in order to do what we could not do for ourselves. As the only one who ever lived a sinless life and who lived in perfect love for God and for others, Jesus is the one who broke the power of sin. As the only one who could give himself for the life of the world, Jesus submitted himself to the most vicious cruelty that human beings have to offer, and in the end, gave his life. Not only the power of sin was broken, but also the power of death, as Jesus claimed victory in the resurrection. Now, we can share in the same victory and the same power through faith in Jesus Christ.

At the same time, though, we continue to live in the valley of the shadow of death. Faith in Jesus Christ does not spare us from experiencing trials and tribulations as we make our way through this world. Those are simply part of life in a world full of sinful human beings. However, faith in Jesus does give us strength that is far beyond our own, trust rather than fear, as well as the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

That last one I’m going to come back to in a minute, because I know it sounds scary to many people. First, though, a little bit about fear: Psalm 23 says, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; for you are with me” (v. 4). God is with me. I do not need to fear.

Exactly how many things do you think there are right now that people are afraid of? We could start a list: swine flu (which isn’t called that any more), terrorism, floods, job loss, financial losses, cancer, illness or injury, theft. If you really wanted to, you could spend your whole life in fear, worrying about something, because there are always bad things that could happen to you or your loved ones -- and advertisers prey on that fear. But is that really any way to live?

For those who put their faith in Jesus Christ, the same things can happen to them but are not a cause for fear. Death is not a cause for fear, for “whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s” (Rom. 14:8). Loss of material things is not a cause for fear, for those who seek God’s kingdom above all else will have their basic needs taken care of (Mt. 6:33). Illness is not a cause for fear, for Jesus is quite capable of healing those who come to him in faith. One of the best verses in the whole Bible is this: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 Jn. 4:18). Isn’t living in love for God and for others so much better than living in fear?

Earlier I mentioned how helpless sheep can be, as well as the presence and power of the Holy Spirit for those who believe in Jesus. The good news is that even though we are helpless when it comes to our own salvation, we don’t remain that way.

The Scripture readings that we heard today describe people who don’t sound in the least bit helpless. In the reading from Acts (4:5-12) we heard about Peter being dragged in as a prisoner before some of the religious leaders in Jerusalem. The day before, Peter and John had healed a crippled beggar in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth (Acts 3). As Peter stands before his accusers, he is filled, not with fear, but with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit gives to Peter the words to say as well as the boldness with which to say it.

Meanwhile, in the reading that we heard from 1 John (3:16-24), we hear about people laying down their lives for one another, helping those who are in need, and receiving whatever they ask for in prayer because they are living and asking according to God’s will. This does not sound like people who are helpless. Rather, these are people who live by the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. These are people who live believing in Jesus.

In fact, the Holy Spirit is given to all those who believe in Jesus and can be understood as the power of God or the Spirit of Jesus at work in our lives. It’s not a scary thing like possession or something, for God never overrides our own will. God never forces people to believe or to do anything. The Holy Spirit works in us only when we are open to it and ask for God’s presence and power.

As for the bit about being sheep, we might have to admit that there are things in this world that we have very little control over. We can’t control or predict natural disasters. We can’t control the actions of others. We do not have power over life and death, regardless of how many precautions we might take. Sometimes there are things that happen to us that are simply beyond our control.

Those are the times when we are very much like sheep, and need the Good Shepherd who will lead us from death to life, from illness to health, from weakness to strength, and from fear to love. “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; for you are with me” (Ps. 23:4). “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want” (Ps. 23:1). Amen.

Easter 4(B)      Psalm 23
May 3, 2009      John 10:11-18
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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