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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