The Second Sunday after Easter

Misericordias Domini: The Second Sunday after Easter




Hymn #188
The Invocation p. 5
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 6
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 7
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 9
The Epistle and Gradual 1 Peter 2:21-25
The Gospel John 10:11-16
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Apostles Creed p. 12
Sermon Hymn #191
The Sermon
The Good Shepherd

The Prayers and Lord's Prayer p. 13
The Benediction p. 14
The Closing Hymn #656





KJV Titus 3:9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. 10 A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; 11 Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.

KJV 1 Peter 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: 24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

KJV John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

“I am the Good Shepherd: the Good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep.”

Sadly, most people are not familiar with the images used by Jesus in this simple but profound sermon. Sheep farming is rare. I read recently that most sheep farms in the US are run as hobbies and tax dodges for the wealthy.

We had family friends who raised sheep, and that made us familiar with the nature and behavior of those creatures. As children, we played around the sheep and had fun with them. The two boys and their sister were strong and full of mischief, but they were not destructive.

We got some sheep to aim themselves into the corner where the fence came together. Sure enough, the other sheep crowded around them and tried to follow them. Soon we had a large group of sheep, all pushing forward against the fence. I thought we made a terrible mistake. Thinking the sheep might be stuck in that position until dawn, I tried to pull them away and separate them. The sheep resisted and kept pushing forward. Our friend laughed at my predicament and said, “Don’t worry. Leave them alone. They will back away later.” I waited for the drama to unfold later, but nothing happened. The sheep finally wised up.

“For ye were as sheep going astray: but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.”

The poetry of this passage comes from the way in which shepherds cared for their sheep in the time of Jesus. At night, all the shepherds kept the sheep in a communal pen with the guard across the doorway, protecting them. The only way a predator could get at the sheep was to climb over the fence or to climb over the guard at the door. In the morning, the individual shepherds came to the pen and called their sheep by name. Each sheep had a name like White Nose or Fat Tail. The shepherd knew his sheep and the sheep knew his voice.

KJV John 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. 6 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. 7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. 17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. 19 There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings.

When Jesus said, “I am the Good Shepherd,” He was using a term which really means, “I am the Unique Shepherd,” but that does not translate well. We all know of the Good Shepherd as Christ, the only Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep.

The shepherd imagery comes from Old Testament times and from the economy of the New Testament times as well. Mutton and wool are not essential to us now, but they were the mainstay of the People of God. Sheep and goats travel well with their owners and provide a vast array of useful products.

Sheep are especially vulnerable and foolish, so God chose to compare us to sheep, making Jesus the Good Shepherd.

From Isaiah 40, a familiar passage in Handel’s “Messiah:”
He shall feed His flock like a shepherd,
He shall carry the lambs in His arms,
And gently lead those with young.

The words of the 23rd Psalm is so familiar that people forget a sheep seems to be the author:

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he
leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths
of righteousness for his name's sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with
me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence
of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil;
my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the
days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the
Lord for ever.

The Good Shepherd provides us with the spiritual nourishment we need from the Means of Grace. He guides us and leads us toward all good things. The Bible does not emphasize material needs first, but spiritual needs. Man worries about material needs most of all, spiritual needs least.

Material needs are the small things in life, from God’s viewpoint.

“Seek first the Kingdom and its righteousness, and all these things will be yours.” The only way we can seek the righteousness of the Kingdom is through Christ. His righteousness comes to us through the Word and Sacraments, never apart from the Word and Sacraments.

In this way, God chose to give us assurance of His forgiveness. If we depend on feelings, or a beautiful sunset, or works, the foundation of assurance is weak and transient. The Word—visible and invisible—does not change or vary. The Holy Spirit at work in the Word prompts faith.

People do believe. The grace coming through the Word and Sacraments begins and sustains faith in God’s Promises. Through faith in Christ, we receive the blessings promised. The Gospel Promises promote Gospel fruits, such as prayer and good works for our neighbors.

The Good Shepherd lesson teaches us about the crucifixion and the resurrection - I lay down my life for the sheep and take it up again.

This message also emphasizes the personal relationship between the Good Shepherd and the believer. That should never be forgotten. Jesus knows each and every one of us by name. He knows us and we know His voice.

Believers do not listen to the voice of others. That is why false teachers make disciples so easily. They get to work with the vast majority who do not believe, the masses who see religion as a pacifier or a meal ticket. They demand wolf-preaching and they get wolf-preaching.

This great love of false teaching bothers faithful pastors and members, but it must be so. They want and need each other. They hate sound doctrine and persecute it. The correct teaching of the Bible is never loved by the masses. If they cannot attack the message directly, they attack the bearer of the message.

But we have this great Promise, that the Shepherd is as anxious for us as we are for Him. A shepherd can only have pity upon helpless sheep that wander and get themselves into trouble, fatal trouble. Our sinfulness is our great burden, and Christ takes that upon Himself.

If someone does something wrong, we want our pound of flesh. But the Parables of Forgiveness teach the opposite about God’s nature. In the Lost Coin, Lost Sheep, and Prodigal Son, the nature of God is rejoicing over the lost being found again.

KJV Luke 15:4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? 5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. 7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

Lately I have had trouble getting my own homework in on time. One week I used “The Prodigal Son returns” on the email with my homework. Another week I quoted Shakespeare:

The Quality of Mercy

The quality of mercy is not strained.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown.
His scepter shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings.
But mercy is above this sceptered sway;
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings;
It is an attribute of God himself;
And earthly power doth then show like God's
When mercy seasons justice.
The Merchant of Venice, by the Earl of Oxford (Shakespeare)

Shakespeare’s plays show that he was a Christian, perhaps a Protestant who became a Catholic at one point. The words of this passage are the essence of the Gospel, and they might have been used to calm the fury of Queen Elisabeth. I have found it effective in dealing with professors.

The Gospel promotes mercy in those who hear the message. Jesus came to us in mercy so that we would enjoy His love and mercy forever.

As the Good Shepherd, He does more than lead us to green pastures through the Word. He also uses His staff to warn away and punish false teachers. Every pastor and Christian has that obligation, to emphasize sound doctrine and reject false doctrine. Our relationship to Christ is not sustained by warm and fuzzy feelings, by vague and conflicting words, but by the Very Word of God, which conveys Christ’s mercy to us in clear, plain words.

He laid His life down and took it up again, for our sakes.

KJV John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Collect
Lord God, heavenly Father, who of Thy fatherly goodness hast been mindful of us poor, miserable sinners, and hast given Thy beloved Son to be our shepherd, not only to nourish us by His word, but also to defend us from sin, death, and the devil: We beseech Thee, grant us Thy Holy Spirit, that, even as this Shepherd doth know us and succor us in every affliction, we also may know Him, and, trusting in Him, seek help and comfort in Him, from our hearts obey His voice, and obtain eternal salvation, through the same, Thy Son Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.


QUOTATIONS



"You may say: 'I want to remain in the heterodox church in order to accomplish good in it, namely to prevent it from losing the truth altogether.' If you happen to be in a heterodox church, then first of all, bear witness to the truth clearly and definitely. If they listen to you, good. Under certain circumstances, you can wait a little, to see whether the truth is accepted. But as soon as it is clear that they will not accept the truth, you must separate yourself from that group which holds to the error. If you, nevertheless, remain in it, then you are no longer reinforcing the truth, but rather, the error...It is an absolute contradiction to be both a witness-bearer for the truth, and an associate of false teachers."
Francis Pieper, The Difference Between Orthodox And Heterodox Churches, and Supplement, Coos Bay, Oregon: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1981, p. 49.

"As Luther says: You 'cannot remain in the same stall with others who propagate false doctrine or are attached to it or always speak good words to the devil and his crowd.'" [XVII, 1477; probably St. Louis edition]
Francis Pieper, The Difference Between Orthodox And Heterodox Churches, and Supplement, Coos Bay, Oregon: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1981, p. 49.

"Every departure from God's Word, every error, is dangerous to the soul. There is a fearful, diabolical power in error; for every error is the devil's work, and through fellowship with error a person puts himself under the influence of the devil. Here human reason is helpless."
Francis Pieper, The Difference between Orthodox and Heterodox Churches, and Supplement, Coos Bay, Oregon: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1981, p. 42.

"Let us therefore beware, lest by practicing fellowship with the heterodox we put ourselves carelessly into danger, and thus lose our salvation." Francis Pieper, The Difference between Orthodox and Heterodox Churches, and Supplement, Coos Bay, Oregon: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1981, p. 42. "Finally: heterodox churches are in a continuous state of warfare against the orthodox Church, against that Church which, in conformity with the will of God, confesses all parts of the truth. Heterodox people revile and persecute those who abide by God's Word. Surely, an evil work!"
Francis Pieper, The Difference between Orthodox and Heterodox Churches, and Supplement, Coos Bay, Oregon: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1981, p. 44.

"If any one shows us that even only one pastor preached false doctrine, or that even only one periodical is in the service of false doctrine, and we did not remove this false doctrine, we thereby would have ceased to be an orthodox Synod, and we would have become a unionistic fellowship." [the one after only is italicized each time] Lehre und Wehre, Jahrgang 36, Nummer 8, S. 262-3
Francis Pieper, The Difference Between Orthodox And Heterodox Churches, and Supplement, Coos Bay, Oregon: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1981, p. 55.

"We have no intention of yielding aught of the eternal, immutable truth of God for the sake of temporal peace, tranquility, and unity (which, moreover, is not in our power to do). Nor would such peace and unity, since it is devised against the truth and for its suppression, have any permanency. Still less are we inclined to adorn and conceal a corruption of the pure doctrine and manifest, condemned errors. But we entertain heartfelt pleasure and love for, and are on our part sincerely inclined and anxious to advance, that unity according to our utmost power, by which His glory remains to God uninjured, nothing of the divine truth of the Holy Gospel is surrendered, no room is given to the least error, poor sinners are brought to true, genuine repentance, raised up by faith, confirmed in new obedience, and thus justified and eternally saved alone through the sole merit of Christ." (Closing of Formula of Concord, Trigl. p. 1095)
Francis Pieper, The Difference Between Orthodox And Heterodox Churches, and Supplement, Coos Bay, Oregon: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1981, p. 65. Tappert, p. 632. Heiser, p. 294. FC SD XI, #94-96.

"That is the reason why our Church from the very beginning declared that it requires its preachers 'not to depart an inch' from its confessions, not to turn aside from the doctrines laid down in them, non tantum in rebus, sed etiam in phrasibus, that is, both as regards the matter offered in their sermons and the manner of their teaching."
C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction between Law and Gospel, trans., W. H. T. Dau, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1928, p. 277.

"On the ground of these and many other testimonies the Church has always taught with unanimity that, when a saint knowingly and purposely acts contrary to God's command, he is no longer a saint, but has lost the true faith and cast away the Holy Spirit. But if he turns again, God will keep the gracious oath which He has sworn, saying: 'As I live, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.'"
C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction between Law and Gospel, trans., W. H. T. Dau, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1928, p. 219. Ezekiel 18:23.

"But when a person persists in his sin against his conscience, though he knows it to be a sin, and continues sinning purposely for a long time, he no longer has faith and cannot truly pray to God; the Holy Spirit leaves his heart, for another spirit, the evil spirit, rules in it, whom the sinner has admitted into his heart. To him the Holy Spirit yields His place and departs."
C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction between Law and Gospel, trans., W. H. T. Dau, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1928, p. 220.