“MISERICORDIAS DOMINI 2024”
Saint John 10: 11-16
Misericordias Domini: 14 April Anno Domini 2024
Fr Jay Watson, SSP
While there may be good food and bad food; good beer and bad beer; good weather and bad weather; there are no good men, good women!
The Lord spoke by King David (Ps.14 & 53) “they are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”
The Apostle Paul reiterates this truth to both the Corinthians and Romans: “they are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one” [Rom. 3.12].
That is you, in the bright reflection of God’s Word, His Law. You are not good. That is me as well. I am not good—my person. The “office” into which I have been placed, we will soon get to.
So that means there are no good shepherds, if by shepherds, we mean the man that is doing the functions. He may in fact be very accomplished and talented at the day-to-day tasks; he can “do all the stuff” that animal husbandry requires for this arduous and thankless task. Sheep are not easy to deal with. They can be spooked, startled, and offended easily. But all care-takers of sheep, in their own self—their own sinful self—are sinners, and hence not good; no damn good.
But then God spoke, and Saint John recorded it. And now God speaks to you: “I Am The Good Shepherd.” You, of course, no what Christ means when He says “I AM,” ego eimi, but it is equally wonderful that He calls Himself “The Good Shepherd.” Why not Rabbi (teacher, master, instructor, Hebrew exegete), why not carpenter (builder, establisher, artificer)? Did Jesus ever tend sheep in Nazareth? Well, not that we know. But He IS The Good Shepherd! The words Christ uses (in John’s Greek record) are “ha poimane, ha kalos.” The Church from the Apostles to our day took the Greek word “poimane” and translated it first into Latin and then into English as “pastor.” Jesus is clearly saying that He is The Good Pastor!
The Word of The Lord.
Yes, God, The Lord, is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent. God is awesome both in His transcendence and immanence. He is supremely wrathful against sin—He brooks no self-justification; He winks and excuses no transgressions. But, as Christ speaks, He is “The Good Shepherd.” God is good. Saint John goes on in his 1st Epistle to tell you what good means, when he writes, “God is love.” Not love as Americans, as you, would define it. Love is not being nice, tactful, soft-spoken, non-judgmental, or winsome. You know, the kind of “pastor” most Christian congregations want. No. Love is as Love DOES, i.e., love means what God says it means. God—The Good Shepherd—The Good Pastor—“giveth his life for the sheep.” Full stop.
It is only in Jesus’ life that this truly IS! He literally gave His Life for the world; for the sin(s) of the world (your sin(s)). It is by His death, His shed Blood, His Body given to the crucifixion—in His body your BAD, your badness (even your pettiness) nailed to the tree, are you rescued from eternal death, from the devil, and from eternal damnation.
That is THE good news, The Gospel. Christ is saying “I AM The Gospel.”
You know this. You believe this—thanks be to The Holy Spirit!
But The Law exists to show you your sins—including the sins of hypocrisy. You too accuse others of being hypocrites and having too many “specks in their eyes.”
Are Lutheran pastors themselves “hireling.” Are men called to preach to, and teach you, “wolves in sheep’s clothing” because you think they are mere “hireling” in that they “fleeth” and they do not “careth…for the sheep,” for you, as you think they should?
To be sure, this does occur. There are heterodox (false teachers) in Christendom, even in the hallowed Missouri Synod. But from all the Church Fathers, from Luther, and from Holy Scripture, that is not the import of Christ’s words. Pastors are men; fallen and sinful men. They do make mistakes; they do get things wrong. And as men, pastors, are not better than their parishioners. As men, there are not good pastors, no not one. Hence, they too are sheep that need Christ as THE Good Shepherd. But, as the Reformer reminds us all, the pastor is not to be followed, or rejected, based on his personality or annoying eccentricities, or even perceived rudeness (again: Luther) but upon their teaching of pure DOCTRINE—Jesus Christ and Him crucified (Him LOVING) for your forgiveness, and life everlasting.
We believe, teach, and confess, that Jesus established the Holy Office of The Ministry—The Shepherdhood; from Peter all the way to the men in our pulpits this morning. That is why the pastor speaks Jesus (His Words) “I by virtue of my office…in the stead, and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ.”
Pastors, under-shepherds, have over the centuries tried to care for the sheep with both “active” obedience and “passive” obedience, as Christ would have them do-as He did PERFECTLY. That passive obedience means that they must (and do) suffer even as Scripture’s pastors suffered, to-wit: Abel, Moses, Amos, Saint Stephen; all in the likeness of Jesus.
But it is not all, and can not be all “defense,” deference, quiet suffering, and “peace, peace, when there is no peace.” Repent of having itching ears.
There is also “active” obedience such as demonstrated by warrior, active offense driven shepherds, to-wit: Joshua, Gideon, Samson, the war-like King David, and Christ Himself “cleansing the Temple” with aggressive action. The shepherd’s staff is both for rescuing lost lambs but also for smacking and bashing—those things that need to be confronted and obliterated by The Word of God. So be not offended by things that you sometimes view as “offensive”—to you. The Holy Spirit had Pastor Paul, for a reason, write to Pastor Timothy, to you, to speak to you: “preach The Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. So, when the rebukes are from doctrine, from Jesus, they are good because He is The Good Pastor.
There are actually pastors who have and will give their physical lives for the sheep. I have not, and I probably will not have to. So, I cannot give you my life. But I give you THE LIFE. I give to you all in this “one fold,” this ONE Church Catholic, His voice and His forgiveness. And at this communion rail, this morning, I again give you, His Life.
In The Name of The Father and of + The Son and of The Holy Ghost
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