“THE GOOD SHEPHERD”
Saint John 10: 11-16
Misericordias Domini: 10 April Anno Domini 2016
Father Jay Watson SSP
“The earth is full of the goodness of The Lord.” But is it? Well it was, at least until you came along; you and your parents. “And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.” [Gen. 1.31]
But now the goodness has become soiled by sinful man. And even Christian man, by sinning daily, contributes to the badness of the earth; look around; smell the coffee—the sulfur.
As the king wrote and as the Apostle reiterated: “there is none that doeth good, no not one.” [Ps. 53.3; Rom. 3.12] But there is one good man and that is The God/Man Christ Jesus. In all of The Lord’s parables the “good man” of the house, the field, the vineyard, is always God. And, Whom did you confess Jesus to be a few moments ago in The Creed?
By not believing The Lord’s identity or work, or by rejecting His Law, one goes astray. By running away from The Lord or by leaving His sheepfold one continues the perfidious pollution of the earth.
At first it was Satan choosing sewage kingship over faithful following His creator, and then he lured and tempted Eve to reject virginal purity and daughterhood for the filthy rags of whoredom. From the moment of the “fall” the devil-wolf has plundered the fold; the flock; and the world. Man has perniciously joined in the vandalism. Wolves are everywhere and lambs are being snatched. Sheep are also stupidly wandering away. And worse, your “old Adam” is also your very own wolfish self. You too “mark” your own territory with sinful actions, and “throw-in” with currish packs. You too both pasture yourself on others as well as devour your own soul by selfish predations.
Fight the beast within not by your actions but by letting the Holy Ghost bring you constantly, daily, into contact with the Word; with Christ The Word.
There is no “idling neutral” on this…one is either preying like a carnivore from hell or one is praying like a Saint from the Font. The former gnaws at the belly of “me, myself, and I,” while the latter communes (talks, prays, and receives) with God; and thus the Good Man’s love for His Father and His neighbors becomes your love. Especially at His Feast of Love.
He is Who he says He is. Jesus is The Vine, The Door, The Way, The Sower, The Lamb of God, The Angel of The Lord, and yes, The Good Shepherd! The figure of speech is not in the verb but in the noun. Is means is, period. But what kind of Shepherd is Jesus? He is good, thus He is The Good Shepherd. His goodness is not superficial, surface, hypocritical like all men’s, or “nice.” His goodness is in His active obedience to God’s Word and in His passive obedience to same. “And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good?” Ah, that is the question. To be good is to obey God, to be sure. As Moses wrote: “do these (the Commandments) and live.” Hear the Good News: you don’t but He does! Jesus concludes “there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.” And that, is part of what The Good Shepherd does. He drives away the bears, lions, and wolves of hell, the world, and your own fallen nature. He is the Good St. Patrick shepherd who drives the snakes of Satan out of your tabernacle. By His exorcisms, which is simply the powerful Word of Law and Gospel He makes you Holy. And then, ultimately, after fighting and working and doing all that is necessary to protect the flock, The Good Shepherd stands His ground, and dies in place of His beloved lambs. “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” That is His cross. What kind of Shepherd? I AM. The God Shepherd…in the flesh.
I AM is Jesus’ pre-incarnate Name; a Name He first revealed to Moses. But even before that, He, The I AM, was a Shepherd to Father Abraham: leading him, guiding him, protecting him, and promising him that Messias would come from his loins—from Isaac’s loins. I AM first did this, typologically, by being the ram caught in a thicket, the sacrificial replacement, and then centuries later as “The” Paschal Lamb, Agnus Dei, caught to the Tree by thorns and nails. So too He was a Shepherd to Moses and the Israelites, as He first spoke His Name, I AM, from the burning bush, and later shepherded the Hebrews with the staff and rod of pillars of cloud and fire. Typologically He saved His flock by sheep’s blood slathered on door posts and then poured on the Tabernacle’s altar. And then centuries later He the true Tabernacle shed blood from Godly veins and arteries from the cross.
The sin of the hireling, pastor or lay, hirer or hiree, is found in reliance on works, wages, desires, wants, wills, egos, and glory. The hireling is about “business.”
The opposite, the solution, is Grace, free gift, family restoration, love of The Father, embrace of The Christ…JESUS.
When you trespass you wind up thinking (plotting) in zero-sum terms, earthly & worldly mechanics. The fallen and hireling life consists in programs, check-lists, exercises, and a “dog eat dog,” “winners and losers” “our tribe vs. their tribe” apostasy.
But not now! Not this day and not to you! Jesus says NO! You won’t have to work to save your own skin because He gave His own skin—His Body and Blood—to fulfill the Law. Love is the fulfillment of the Law. The Lover fulfills your Law. Because your Brother, your scapegoat substitute, lays down His life for His enemies, His Blood and Water and Flesh converts His own by a Spirit drenched Word. He turns His dead adversaries into His living friends and family.
There are no hirelings this morning. There is no talk this day and hour of advantage, “gotcha,” grudges held, scores to settle. There is no apprehension or fear at this altar and rail over contracts, covenants, or expectations broken and failed at.
The Lord is your Shepherd and you shall want for nothing. He prepares a table before you and anoints your head with oil + and gladness. He feeds you besides the still waters and gives you good pasture to sustain you to everlasting.
The earth is full of the goodness of The Lord.
In the Name of The Father and of + The Son and of The Holy Ghost
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