Introit (Psalm 33)
St. John 10:11–18
In the name of the Father and of the + Son
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Last week, our Introit called us newborn
infants. While we might think babies are cute, they’re not something we aspire
to be. While we might be nostalgic for childhood, we enjoy the knowledge and
strength of adulthood and don’t really want to go back to being helpless. Just
go visit anyone in a nursing home, and they’ll tell you they don’t like not
being able to do anything for themselves. Being called a newborn infant is no
compliment.
This week, our Gospel reading
calls us sheep. Like babies, they seem cute and cuddly, but they’re weak,
timid, and a bit mindless. Sheep are not known for bravery and strength, and
they easily get lost. So being called a sheep is no great compliment either. Being
called an infant means we must depend on the pure wholesome milk of God’s Word.
So also being called a sheep means we must depend on God our Shepherd. We can’t
fight our own battles or save ourselves from danger. All we can do is hide
behind the Good Shepherd, and eat only from His pasture, and only follow Him.
So this Good Shepherd Sunday is
not just about how weak or stupid we sheep are, but more importantly, how good
our shepherd is. The old Latin name from the Introit connects well with the
Gospel about Jesus the Good Shepherd. Misericordias
Domini – the steadfast love of the Lord, or the mercy of the Lord, or as
the King James put it, the goodness of the Lord. This Sunday tells us once
again that we have a loving, merciful, good Lord and Shepherd, and it also
tells us once again what He does for us.
Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. Those who fear the Lord are those who hope
in His love. The fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom. We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things. The
fear of God is an aspect of faith in God. It is combined and tempered by trust,
hope, and love. We have fear, awe,
and reverence to the God who made us and saves us, the Lord who keeps His eye on us, like a shepherd keeping watch
over his flock. And He doesn’t simply
look on from afar. He doesn’t merely
watch us while we wander into disaster and death. But He keeps an eye on us in order that He may deliver our souls from
death and keep us alive in famine. He
rescues us from the jaws of the demonic wolves. He saves us from wandering over the cliff of our sins. He feeds us with His Word of Truth,
while the world suffers the famine of lies and false teachings. There is nothing we can do to save
ourselves. Like ignorant sheep, we
are unaware that the devil is crouching just behind the bushes. If we were left to ourselves we would
have perished long ago. But the Lord
our Shepherd watches over us. Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield. He protects
us even when we don’t realize we need protection. He has a better life for His little flock than any of us can even
imagine. We think this world is
pretty great, and as wonderful as it is, it is full of danger that we don’t
fully realize. But our Shepherd sees
it and He knows how to guide us safely through. So for our own safety, we must be His little sheep and follow Him.
These Introit verses are all
from Psalm 33, and whenever the Bible or the liturgy quotes some Scripture
verses, it is generally assumed that you know the context. So what about the
rest of Psalm 33? What else can it teach us? Psalm 33 is a kind of militant
Psalm, proclaiming the Lord’s power and rule over the whole earth. It reminds
us that we are sheep, weak and foolish. The Lord brings the counsel of
the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The king is not saved
by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a
false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.
This tells us two things: The Lord will do things His way and not allow wicked
and rebellious humanity to destroy itself. And it tells us we cannot save
ourselves from the danger we have put ourselves in. We cannot trust in
ourselves, in our strength or intelligence or even our moral character.
Our trust can only be in the
great Shepherd who fights for us. He defends us from the devil and this world
so full of evil. He also defends us from ourselves, from our own evil desires,
our own twisted ideas of justice and goodness. The Lord knows better than us sheep,
so He fights for us. And how this Shepherd fights, that is the most surprising
thing of all. This Shepherd fights for His sheep by dying and rising. He lays
down His life for the sheep and then takes it back up again. This is why He is the
Good Shepherd. He is not good for His own benefit, but He is good for the sheep.
He is not concerned for His own safety or power, because He has authority to
lay down His life and take it up again. He is not concerned for His own glory or
fame, because He gets all the glory He wants by dying for His sheep, rescuing
and forgiving us who left Him. His glory and honor are in His love and mercy
for the sheep, in having them back in His flock.
So this fighting Psalm is also a
missionary Psalm. Let
all the earth fear the Lord; let all the
inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! This Psalm expresses God’s desire for all to be saved and
know the truth, for all to fear, love, and hope in the one true God. Just as He
didn’t fight with sword and armor, but was stripped and beaten and killed on
the cross, so also He doesn’t fight by destroying His enemies, but by
converting them. His fight is fought with the staff of His Word. He gathers His
flock by calling them together, keeping them safe and on the right path by
letting them hear His voice. All around us are clouds and thick
darkness, so that we cannot even see Him, but even in the dark we hear His
voice, His Word, so we know which way to run. All around us the world rages and
snarls, trying to frighten, confuse and scatter us. False religions offer paths
that seem better but are full of traps. Whichever way we turn we see sin, false
belief, and death. We are tempted to despair and the wolves of hell would like
nothing more than for us to lie down and give ourselves up. But none of that matters.
O little flock, fear not the foe. Your
Shepherd keeps you safe. He guides you even though you cannot see Him. He
cannot be defeated, so you that cling to His Word cannot be defeated either.
As
true as God’s own Word is true,
Not
earth nor hell’s satanic crew
Against
us shall prevail.
Their might? A joke, a mere façade!
God is with us and we with God – our victory
cannot fail. (LSB 666)
Jesus made a promise: I have other sheep that are not of this
fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will
be one flock, one shepherd. He is gathering His sheep that were
scattered. God is with us and we with
God. Our Good Shepherd is spreading His reign, gathering His flock, by preaching
His Word.
So at last we come to the joy of
our Introit antiphon. And to get the full meaning of these verses we should
hear them in their context in Psalm 33. The word of the Lord is upright, and all his
work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the
earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the
breath of his mouth all their host. The Lord’s Word goes out and fills the earth. It is His world,
His creation. By His Word He created it and by His Word He will win it back and
make it good. The Lord laid down His life to redeem us. He succumbed to death,
our end, this world’s end, so that we might be spared. And He took up His life
again to give victory and life to us. Sin, death, and the devil cannot have us.
The Lord’s death and resurrection have won for us His righteousness. The Lord’s
Word says we are His, and His steadfast love, His mercy, His goodness is for
us. Our Shepherd is Good because He is good for us.
We are always unreliable, weak,
and untrustworthy. But we can always trust in Him. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and
our shield. His love is steadfast. His mercy endures forever. His
goodness will never end. We may not always find joy in this world but there is always
joy in the Lord. He has forgiven our sins and given us His righteousness. The
Good Shepherd has died and is alive again. His sheep are safe. So Shout for joy in the
Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the
upright.
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He
is risen indeed! Alleluia!
In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.
