Sermon Notes



Sermon Notes

Scripture: John 10:1-10

Context: Jesus is the Good Shepherd and the Gate

Title: Where’s the comfort in the 23rd Psalm?

Location: St. Matthias Evangelical Lutheran Church

Date: 5/3/2020

Grace to you and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

(Phil. 1:2)

(Pre-antithesis)

Our psalm for this weekend

is a favorite to many:

the 23rd Psalm.

The Lord is my shepherd,

I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, and

leads me beside still waters.

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I shall fear no evil.

In today’s gospel lesson,

in the imagery of the Good Shepherd,

Jesus says:

“Whoever enters by me will be saved, and

will come in and go out and find pasture.”

(1 Peter 2:19-25)

And in today’s second lesson from 1st Peter,

we hear the words:

For you were going astray like sheep, but

now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

(Transition)

During times like these,

with a deadly virus spreading all over the world,

words like these from Scripture can be very comforting.

Just recently,

one of our parishioners shared with me on the phone

something they heard on the internet.

It was a well-known preacher

who delivered a message about God being

“the guardian of your soul”.

And the preacher said,

“The Scripture says: ‘You have turned to your Shepherd,

the guardian of your soul.’

And he continued, “You don’t have to be afraid of this virus.

God has a shield around you.

He knows how to keep harm away.

And if it does come,

He knows how to heal you.”

And later the preacher said:

“Because you’ve turned to your Shepherd,

He’s protected you from things that you know nothing about.

He kept that car from hitting you.

He pushed back that sickness.”

(End Quote)

(Pause)

Those words sound very comforting.

(Antithesis)

But how would those words sound

if they were said to

the family members of those who have already died from the coronavirus, or

the spouse who has lost a loved one that got hit by a car, or

the parents who have lost a child who died of cancer?

Unfortunately,

to those families,

this so-called “shield of protection” didn’t seem to apply to them.

And it would be arrogant and naïve

for us to assume

that we’re somehow immune

from those same kind of tragedies.

(Relevant Question)

So where’s the comfort in the 23rd Psalm?

Is it all just

“nice words” we like to hear

whenever we’re afraid?

Because the reality is…

people are dying from the coronavirus,

people do get hit by cars, and

people do die from diseases like cancer.

And to

pretend that we’re somehow immune from those things, or

ignore those who are mourning the loss of their loved ones because of those things,

is both arrogant and naïve.

So where’s the comfort in the 23rd Psalm?

Maybe we need to look a little deeper.

The 23rd Psalm reads:

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I shall fear no evil;

for you are with me.

(Pause)

The comfort we receive,

the reason we’re not afraid…

isn’t because we’re immune to suffering or death.

In fact,

we know that we’re all going to die someday.

(Thesis)

The comfort we receive,

the reason we’re not afraid…

is because

in the midst of everything that goes wrong in life…

Jesus, our Good Shepherd, is with us.

In our Baptism,

when God claims us as His children,

God never promises

that bad things will never happen to us.

God never promises

that we’ll never suffer.

And God never promises

that we won’t die.

The promise that God gives us,

is that

He will always be with us.

(Matthew 1:23)

In the gospel of Matthew,

we hear the words…

“Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and his name shall be called Emmanuel…

which means,

God with us.”

(Pause)

Jesus is always with us.

That’s the promise we receive.

(Relevant Question)

And why is that so important?

Because Jesus is the one

who has already

gone to the cross,

died,

walked through the valley of the shadow of death, and

rose from the dead.

And in our Baptism,

He’s given

that same promise

to us.

Not that we won’t ever die.

But that when we do die,

He will raise us from the dead.

And not only that,

but through everything we experience in life…

the pain,

hardship,

struggles,

the sleepless nights,

the rounds of chemotherapy, and

anything else we experience…

Jesus will be with us

every step of the way.

And as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

we will fear no evil,

because

Jesus will be with us.

(Relevant Question)

And just what does it look like

when Jesus leads us

through that valley of the shadow of death?

Does Jesus have us

tiptoe quiet-like,

so as not to awaken the evil around us?

Does Jesus have us

run like the wind,

hoping that we can be fast enough to escape any harm?

(Pause)

(with fortitude)

The truth is…

Jesus leads us

through the valley of the shadow of death

any darn way that He pleases.

Because Jesus owns

the valley of the shadow of death.

Nothing has any power over Jesus.

Not sin,

not the Devil,

not even death.

And when

we walk with Jesus,

we walk without fear,

knowing that

He’ll always be with us.

Because He’s our Good Shepherd.

And He’s already

laid down His life for His sheep.

And He’ll always be with us…

in our life, and

even in our death, and

He gives us the gift of eternal life.

(Pause)

(Synthesis)

So if that’s the case,

why are we still staying at home, and

not worshipping together?

We don’t stay at home

because we’re afraid.

We stay at home

because God calls us to

love God, and

love our neighbors.

And right now,

worshipping together means that

we could be putting

our neighbors,

those who worship with us who are most vulnerable,

at unnecessary risk

of contracting a deadly virus.

And loving our neighbors means

doing whatever is necessary to keep them safe from harm.

Whether that be

calling them on the phone to see if they need anything,

dropping off groceries on their front porch, or

simply staying at home and lifting them up in prayer.

(Conclusion)

Where’s the comfort in the 23rd Psalm?

The comfort we receive, and

the reason we’re not afraid…

is because

in the midst of everything that goes wrong in life…

Jesus, our Good Shepherd,

is with us.

And that same Jesus,

who has conquered sin, death, and the devil,

is always with us,

leading us

through our life,

through our death, and

into the gift of eternal life.

And it’s for that incredible gift,

given to us by God Himself,

that we say together…

Thanks be to God.

Amen.

(7:24)

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