Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Someone Watches Over Us

 



God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon today is The Lord is Our Shepherd and my focus is our Gospel (John 10:1-10). Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

Someone to Watch Over Me by George and Ira Gershwin has been performed by numerous artists since its 1926 debut. It is a ballad and jazz standard in the Great American Songbook. Its memorable stanza goes:

 

There's a somebody I'm longing to see

I hope that she turns out to be

Someone to watch over me.

I'm a little lamb who's lost in a wood.

I know I could always be good

To one who'll watch over me.

 

The sentiments expressed by the Gershwin Brothers stir our longing for someone to watch over us – little lambs lost in a wood – especially when we are tempted to sin or enter the sheepfold by another way. We need a shepherd to protect or correct us. On this Good Shepherd Sunday, I offer an overview of Biblical Shepherds; explain the meaning and model of Christian Shepherds; and finally, reflect on how God calls us to shepherd one another.

First, Biblical Shepherds. Even if we never met one, we know a shepherd is a person who tends, herds, feeds and guards herds of sheep. Like many terms, the word shepherd stems from an amalgam of several words – sheep herder.

The Good Shepherd illustrates God's care for His people as we heard in Psalm 23, our morning psalm – The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. … For millenniums Jews and Christians have taken to heart the words of the psalmist as a way of saying that in our Judeo-Christian tradition, Shepherd is a term used for God.

Those God appointed to watch over His people started out as shepherds. Among God’s great leaders were Biblical shepherds including Abraham, Moses, David and Amos. They protected and corrected God’s people, like good Missouri Synod Lutherans who expertly applied Law and Gospel as needed.

Of course, all Scripture points to Jesus, who fulfilled the Law, Gospel and prophecy. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who watches over us. In His earthly and risen life, Jesus is protector and corrector. Before He ascended into heaven, He appointed others to protect and correct us. My second point, Christian Shepherds.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus called Peter to shepherd His sheep (John 21:15-29). In his First Letter, we read how Peter called wayward Christians to return to the Shepherd and Overseer of souls (1 Peter 2:25). His letter demonstrated care and correct teaching for Christians.

Over time, the Church appointed men like Timothy and Titus to shepherd and oversee multiple congregations. By the end of the first century, the fluid terms of bishop, priest and deacon achieved fixed forms to designate certain functions. The Church recognized Timothy and Titus as bishops because they ordained and disciplined priests and deacons.[1]

Bishop comes from the Greek word, episkopos, meaning overseer. Today, not every Christian denomination recognizes the office of bishop in its structure, however, most recognize those who oversee, protect and correct as pastors. The term Pastor, the Latin word for shepherd, denotes clergy of most Christian denominations.

Pastors perform three basic tasks. Remember this the next time you are standing in line at the airport. Pastors teach, sanctify and administer – TSA – but we will never search your luggage or take away your knitting needles. Pastors teach the Faith in Sunday School, inquiry and confirmation classes, and from the pulpit or over the internet. Pastors form Christians through correct teaching and correct misinformed Christians and catechists when, like in First Peter, false teaching appears under the guise of Christian orthodoxy.

Pastors sanctify – or make holy – when they lead worship and when Christians gather for any type of prayer. Lastly, pastors administer the daily business of the church. However successful, every pastor knows that through the Holy Spirit, Christ continues to oversee and shepherd His Church.

That brings me to my third point: Christians Shepherd One Another. Our reading from Acts is a snapshot of the Church immediately after Pentecost when Peter and the apostles baptized 3,000 people. Today’s passage illustrates their devotion to teaching, fellowship, communion and prayer. Think of Peter and the apostles teaching, sanctifying and administering the church as they tend to the needs of everyone.

Eventually, tending to the needs of everyone overwhelmed the apostles, and the Church chose men like Stephen to tend to duties apart from preaching and sanctifying. These were the original deacons. Today, deacons serve some remote (LCMS) churches, while in most congregations, laymen known as elders are appointed to serve the congregation in its temporal affairs and assist the pastor in his administrative tasks.

In his book Pastors and Elders, Reverend Timothy Mech addresses issues that often arise in congregations.[2] His book answers frequently asked questions: Who is in charge? What are the expected and allowed duties of elders? How should pastors and elders work together? How do members hold elders accountable? How do elders challenge self-absorbed Christians?

The ultimate responsibility of shepherding the Church, however, falls neither to the pastor nor the elders, but to the parents. Parents bear responsibility for teaching their children God's Word so that the Faith may remain alive and grow.

Godparents, pastors, elders and catechists assist parents in their duty to shepherd their children. Together, we ensure that everyone enters the sheepfold by the door and does not climb in some other way.

With Mother’s Day soon approaching and this being Good Shepherd Sunday, let me tell you how my mother taught me pastoral theology. Mom taught me how to pastor by showing me how to grow tomatoes. She was much better at growing tomatoes than I will ever be.

Every spring our family planted more than 100 tomato plants, which sufficiently fed our family of five. When the weather broke – usually around Mother’s Day – we tilled the garden for tomatoes and many other vegetables.

We dug holes, planted, fertilized and watered our plants. Through the summer, we weeded and watered; checked for bugs and blight and discarded rotten tomatoes.

We harvested tomatoes for salad, sauce and juice. We buried the discarded skin and seeds which produced a later crop. Since we were 4-H members, we entered our prize tomatoes in exhibits at local fairs.

Growing tomatoes taught me three practical necessities about pastoral ministry: nourish, reserve and share. Parents, pastors, elders and all members need to nourish, reserve and share their faith.

First, nourish. By exercising our faith – by attending worship, reading God’s Word, taking Communion, seeking forgiveness and attending religious education classes – we nourish ourselves.

Second, reserve. 36 years of ministry taught me there are times when we cannot nourish ourselves adequately. There will be times when troubles and temptations attack us. … We need a reserve. There will be times when caring for sick children or frail parents exhaust us. There will be times when completing projects, cramming for exams or meeting deadlines consume us. There will be times when we do not have the luxury to bathe ourselves in God’s Word or enjoy the feast of His banquet. We can only birdbath and eat on the run. During difficult times, we need that reserved Mason jar of tomatoes in the pantry. That is why my mother taught us how to can tomatoes. That is why she taught us to memorize Scripture passages and prayers because she knew we would someday need a reserve – of spiritual food that God provides to nourish our bodies and our souls.

Third, share. When God blessed us with plentiful tomatoes, we shared them with others. We shared tomatoes with friends, neighbors, pastors and the less fortunate. Mom taught me to practice charity by sharing God’s abundant blessing with others. That said, we will bring some here in due time. How do we share God’s abundant blessings with others?

Take a moment, look around and notice something that you have never noticed. Notice who is missing. Given that we are in a new location, who is not here today that you normally saw at the other church? Who was here on Easter or last Sunday, but did not return today? More importantly, who has not been here for a month, a year? Who has not been here since I have been here and is still not? Make a list of names of people you have not seen in church, and when you go home, call those individuals.

You may be thinking that I am kidding. I am not. … Do not protest by thinking, “That’s not my job. That’s my elder’s duty.” … True, it is not your job. True, it is your elder’s duty. … Sharing with a little lamb who's lost in a wood how God abundantly blessed you today during this time of worship is not a duty or a job, it is a privilege, your privilege, my privilege. … Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ risen from the dead for the forgiveness of sins is not a job to be completed, but a privilege shared by all.

In this liturgy, God nourishes us so abundantly that we have enough reserved in our spiritual pantry not only for those times when life tests us and Satan tempts us, but also enough to share with others.

Lest thieves and robbers enter the sheepfold and steal souls for Satan, we – pastors, elders, parents and members – must nourish, reserve and share our faith. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God the Father and Christ His Son charge you to watch over one another as good shepherds, to protect and correct one another.

By teaching me how to grow tomatoes, mom taught me how to be a good shepherd. She taught me to nourish, reserve and share. I am sure your mother taught you the same. This year, honor your mother by sharing the Gospel with others. Share with others how God has blessed you today and ask them the same. And when you listen to their blessed answer, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.



[1] See 1 Tim. 5:19–22; 2 Tim. 4:5; Titus 1:5.

[2] Timothy J. Mech, Pastors and Elders: Caring for the Church and One Another. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2011.

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