Enfolded by Love -- A Message for April 21, 2024

 The Scripture John 10:11-18 

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  

¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.  

¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—  

¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.  

¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.  

¹⁷ The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again.  

¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” 

 

 

The Message                         Enfolded by Love 

 

The Metaphor of Jesus as the Good Shepherd is the most powerful image we have of Jesus. When the women and men of Trinity Christian UCC built this sanctuary many years ago, this image was so powerful for them that they placed it in the stained-glass window to my right. Jesus cares for us as a loving shepherd cares for their sheep. It is comforting for all of us to know that Jesus knows each of us as individuals and makes sure we are each protected and kept together with the other precious followers of God. We each are one of the sheep of Jesus’ flock. 

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday. In our scripture reading from the Gospel of John, Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd. He tells us, his followers, that he will lay down his life for us. We hear Jesus’ words from the vantage point of knowing that Jesus died on the cross for us and for all the people who have lived on earth after the first Easter. Jesus gave of himself as the ultimate sacrifice to free us from the burden of our sins and to give us new life as part of God’s family. 

In today’s teaching, Jesus mentions seeking out and bringing in other sheep who are not from “this sheep” pin. This is a reference to the reality that Jesus came to earth to save all people – people who were Jewish like Jesus and people like us, Gentiles. Through Jesus, we are adopted into the family of God. 

Jesus said that he is the Shepherd who the flock belongs to, not like a paid caregiver who runs away when terrible things happen to the sheep. Jesus is with us for the long-haul...God is with us all the time no matter what. In our lives, we place value on things that sometimes disappear like the paid caregiver. We are disappointed when things we rely on vanish – we all have had friendships change or fall apart, break-ups with romantic partners, been let go from jobs that we expected to last, have had neighbor-friends move away never to be seen again, and had our bodies betray us when we have become sick or broken bones. Nothing we think we have control over is as reliable as Jesus. God will never abandon us or lead us astray.  

Even when we struggle to have faith in God, God does not struggle to have faith in us. Throughout our lives, God is the one constant presence who is with us through the thick and thin. In verse sixteen of Psalm 139, the Psalmist says to God: “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” God knows us before we are formed in our mother’s womb; God knows us all the days of our lives; God knows us after our life on this earth ends and we join God in Heaven for eternity. 

In our lives, when we have both dark days and joyful days, Jesus is a steady, loving presence with us. When we are experiencing merry days, God is there. When we are experiencing sorrow, God is there.  

When we teach our little ones in Sunday school, one of the things we work with them on is memorizing the words of the 23^rd Psalm. We want them to carry the words of the psalm with them all the days of their lives.  Those of us who have been around awhile know that the words of psalms, and hymns, and scriptures pop into our heads when we need them – when we are scared or stressed out, we want to be reminded that Jesus is our Shepherd. So, now say the words of Psalm 23 with me and be comforted in knowing that Jesus will walk with us all the days of our lives and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. 

23 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. 

Surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives, and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever! 

Amen.