John 10:11-18
Psalm 23
The Lord be with you
And also with you
Let us pray...
Prayer:
Creator, Sustainer, Almighty God, You who speak to your children today as you have in the past and will in the future. We have come before your throne in prayer. We ask that your Spirit would fall down upon us and that we would hear the word you have for us today. May we have eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart that is open to your voice. Speak Lord; your servants are listening…
A Reading from the Gospel of John…
All this talk about shepherds this morning has got me thinking…Who are the shepherds in my life? Why have they been shepherds for me? What is a shepherd any way…what do they actually do? Well… the definition of a shepherd is:
• watch over like a shepherd, as a teacher of her pupils
• a clergyman who watches over a group of people
• tend as a shepherd, as of sheep or goats
• sheepherder: a herder of sheep (on an open range); someone who keeps the sheep together in a flock
These are great definitions of a shepherd but there is one thing that is missing. We can learn lessons from the shepherds in our lives. They not only watch over us but they also teach us things we need to know in life. They give us those lessons that other people in our lives can’t. For instance…my children ((believe it or not) are shepherds in my life…They teach me how not to take myself so seriously (especially Ms. Shanequa)…They teach me how to love life and laugh with all my heart…They show me how to take something ordinary and turn it into something extraordinary…they have taught me how to love unconditionally…With all my heart. I thought I was going to teach them but they in turn have also taught me.
The patriarchs in the Old Testament were also shepherds. People like Abel who gave the first fruits of his labor to God, Abraham who went where God told him to go without question. As a matter of fact…Moses and David were shepherds of sheep before God called them to be shepherds of His people. You have women like Deborah who lead God’s people and Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel who trusted in God to provide an heir for their husbands. You have Ruth and Esther who trust God to make a way when there seemed to be no way. And then we have Mary of the New Testament who trusted God with her life when she said yes to what God wanted to do in her life. The list goes on. These patriarchs and Matriarchs are people who we can learn from. There is also another shepherd…in all of our lives…that we can take lessons from. This shepherd is described in the John passage this morning as the Good Shepherd. It is our risen Lord Jesus Christ.
In this passage we can see a shepherd at work…we can see the lessons from this shepherd if we but open our eyes to see and our minds to understand. Let’s look at the scripture from John…“The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep”…this shepherd cares for the sheep; this shepherd devotes their life to the sheep. The lesson that we learn is that we too can be that kind of shepherd to the sheep around us. Being a shepherd in this world requires a devotion to God, a life that is devoted to the commission we receive as believers…to “go out and make disciples of all people”. (Caring for the sheep in this world…those who are in the sheep fold and those who are not.) They are sheep without a shepherd to fashion themselves after. By being that shepherd to others, we can make God’s presence real in their lives through us. We need to love them as the shepherd loves the sheep.
“I have other sheep that are not of this fold I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.” We need to be that “good shepherd to the world around us. Through us, God can provide food (not only for the body but for the soul), psychological needs (just giving a listening ear to those around us can help them psychologically…just knowing someone cares enough to listen is an uplifting event in their life)…fill others cup to over flowing (As we minister to others we can fill their cup of hope, peace and joy that it will run over to others and makes a difference not only in their lives but in the lives that they touch in return)
But in order to do this…there is another lesson that we need to learn from our Good Shepherd. In the psalm we read this morning…Psalm 23…it tells us that we are lead to still waters and find rest. We need to make sure that we ourselves find rest for ourselves. In order to take care of others and be their shepherds, we need to take care of ourselves, physically, spiritually and mentally. The world we live in today tells us that if we are idle, not running around doing things that we are lazy. You have to work to have everything that you need. When you cease working you are not focused on the right things in life.
Well…we can learn from our Good Shepherd about that. Even He went away from time to time to rest and recharge himself in order to continue His ministry to the least, last and forgotten in the world. Jesus went away for a time of prayer and meditation. We too can refresh and refill our souls with time away to just be and spend time with our Creator God. The Good Shepherd provides all that we need, not society and it’s never ending business. The Lord is our Shepherd, the Good Shepherd. In Him, we have everything we need. But the one thing we need to do is to slow down and bask in His presence.
We all need a shepherd in our lives, someone to lead us in the way we should go. Who are the shepherds in your life? Whose example will you follow? Will you follow the example of the world around us with its business that causes us unrest? Being like the hired hand that does not care for the sheep because they are not their own? Or will you follow the Good Shepherd? Will you care for yourself and other sheep? Will you reach out to those sheep that are not in the sheepfold and need a shepherd voice to lead them home? The choice is ours to make. Will you echo the words of Joshua in saying “But as for me and my house…we will serve the Lord.”
Amen.
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