Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The text this morning is from the Gospel of John, the 10th chapter:
“…He who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers… Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep… I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep… I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.”
Thus far the text.
Dear Kathy, Ami, Ashley, Scott, and my friends in Christ,
None of us expected to be sitting here this morning. None of us. None of us expected that we would be mourning the loss of our brother in Christ, Ken. None of us. And so the news that Ken had died, that he had gone to be with his Lord last Sunday, that news was shocking. I’ve yet to hear from one person who expected this, I’ve yet to see one person whose face wasn’t surprised. This is not a death that was expected; Ken wasn’t sick, very old, in poor health.
But, as trite as this perhaps sounds, our Lord Jesus Christ was not surprised. He had known this day was coming for Ken. And despite our efforts, nothing would be done about it. And so, our brother Ken is now at home with the Lord.
And this shouldn’t trouble us. Yes, we are sad. Yes, we grieve. Yes, we cry. Yes, we mourn. But, we shouldn’t be troubled. We should be confident, as Ken was. We should be confident that Ken is comforted, that he is well, that he is home with his Savior. And he is.
For in the text today, our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that Ken, a sheep of the Great Shepherd, would follow his Master’s call. Ken listened to the voice of the Shepherd, and Ken followed where that Shepherd would lead. And that doesn’t mean that Ken went to heaven because he was perfectly obedient to his Lord in this life. Ken was a sinner, just as you and I are. His body this morning is proof of that. The wages of sin is death, Paul says. And there we see Ken’s body, dead before us, declaring to us that he was a sinner.
But perfection doesn’t make a sheep. A sheep, Jesus says, follows the Shepherd, so when the Great Shepherd called Ken home to Christ, Ken followed. He left behind this vale of tears and moved to be with his Lord, and from there, Ken is anxiously awaiting the Resurrection from the Dead. This is the hope of being a Christian, that there is a physical, substantial life after this sinful life, where we shall be united with our brothers and sisters in Christ, where we shall see the sheep of the Shepherd, and live together with them for eternity. For we are all in Christ.
This is what Ken knew, this is what he knows fully now, and this is the hope we all have. We shall see our brother Ken face-to-face very soon, for soon our Lord shall come.
And our Lord tells us, too, that He is more than just a shepherd, but He is also the door to the sheepfold. He is the one who controls when the sheep go out and when they come in. He is protecting His sheep. He is watching His sheep. He is saving His sheep. He is laying His life down for His sheep. This is what a shepherd does, protecting us, protecting Ken, from sin, death, and the devil, and guiding His sheep to where they need to be because the sheep know their Shepherd, and their Shepherd is very good.
And Ken, remember, is protected from sin, death, and the devil. Ken is no longer a sinner, but is now fully a saint with the Church Triumphant in heaven! Ken’s death was merely a portal to eternal life. Death has no hold on us Christians, death has no victory or sting against the sheep of Christ! And Satan no longer accuses Ken of his sinfulness, Satan no longer entraps Ken in the machinations of the world, for Ken is free in Christ, being with Jesus forever. Ken is free from pain and sorrow and guilt and shame and fear. Ken is content, for he sees his Shepherd who protects him, and his Shepherd has called Ken to himself.
And so, too, will we be called. It will likely happen when we least expect it, yet our Lord Jesus laid down His life for us so that we would have the forgiveness of sins, that we may trust our Lord when He took our punishment that brought us peace. And our Lord was raised from the dead so that we might not die forever, but have eternal life. Our Lord gives to us the promise that we are His forever, and to seal that promise, He has given to us, and He gave to Ken, the gift of baptism, being washed in the water and the Word of God so that it would take away our sin, give to us the Holy Spirit, and the promise of everlasting life.
This is the faith that our brother died in, and it is the faith of the Church, and I pray it is your faith. For as sheep hear their shepherd, so, too, do we hear our Jesus who speaks to us the words of promise, even this: Ken shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore, the sun shall not strike him, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be Ken’s Shepherd, and our Shepherd, and He will guide him to springs of living water. And for us, God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, especially upon that great and glorious day of the Lord’s return, where Ken and all the saints of Christ will rise from their graves and we shall see Jesus, and we shall see each other with great joy and an exulting cry.
What a day we are looking forward to, and what a day our brother, Ken, is even now praying for to Jesus’ face for us. We shall see Jesus soon, friends, and when we see Jesus, we shall see Ken, too. For that is the promise of the Shepherd. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment