SERMON FOR MARCH 15, 2020
MERCIFUL SHEPHERD
Text: Psalm 23; Matthew 5: 1-12
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“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
“I shall not want” is not what people many believe these days as they horde toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant wipes in light of the coronavirus pandemic. It is hard not to get swept up in waves of fear: fear of contagion, fear of running out of food and products, fear of death, fear of suffering financially, fear of things yet to come. Invisible to the naked eye, a virus transferred in tiny droplets, microscopic in size, monumental in impact.
When we feel afraid - where? And to whom? And to what? - do we turn during times of challenge and crisis?
For thousands of years, people of faith have turned to God – the Lord of the universe who created all things for His glory – the One and the same God who continues to intervene in our lives to restore us – to recreate us – to resurrect us. We believe in a God who breaks through the ordinary boundaries of time, space, and matter to restore us to a right relationship with Him - and to restore us to right relationships with one another. We believe in a God who recreates us in His image through the power of the Holy Spirit, God’s image that is revealed most clearly in His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. Through our Risen Lord and Savior, we believe that we, too, are raised to new life, resurrection life – even here and now while we yet live – and to everlasting life when these mortal days are over.
In the ancient Roman empire and in the Middle Ages, historians wrote about plagues and pandemics that affected European cities and villages. Fear gripped the majority of citizens where there were outbreaks. Those with resources fled to villas and to family in the countryside, which was a type of social distancing in those times. The majority were left behind in the cities: the poor, weak, and sick – the most vulnerable. They had to fend for themselves with little protection, and they often became the victims of violent attacks.
When natural disasters occur, like hurricanes and floods, people usually come together to help out each other. Generosity of spirit prevails. That is a normal reaction. During plagues and pandemics, that rarely happens. Instead, a lack of compassion is usually evident. Worse yet, from ancient historical records, we know that fears brought out the worst in people, fears directed against minority groups, like gypsies and Jews, who were blamed for causing the plagues and pandemics. Homes where the sick lived were boarded up, from the outside, preventing the sick and family members from leaving, such that they died inside. Sometimes homes were burned to the ground – while people were still in them. During such desperate times, mob rule and behavior dominated – without moral outcry or punishment.
The same ancient and medieval historians did note something else that happened: acts of mercy. They recorded that there were groups of Christians, mostly men and women in religious orders, such as the Misericordia of Florence, “The Brothers of Mercy,” who ministered to the sick and dying during plagues. They took food to the sick, they removed bodies left in the streets, and they buried the dead. At the time of these plagues, historians observed how unusual it was for these Christians to risk their own lives in order to care for the sick and dying. Their acts of mercy reflected Christ’s light in a world of darkness.
For the past 1,300 years, this religious order continues their ministry of offering mercy: providing food and transportation for the sick, and funeral services and burials for the poorest and most vulnerable in Italy. Faith is what gives them, and what gives us, the courage and strength to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, knowing that the Lord of healing mercies is with us. The Good Shepherd is leading us – and the world – through the coronavirus pandemic.
“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.” The merciful Lord, the Good Shepherd, is the One who provides for our eternal needs. Let us absorb the powerful imagery we are given in the 23rd Psalm:
The Good Shepherd makes us to lie down in green pastures; He leads us beside still waters; He restores our souls.
The Good Shepherd leads us to safe and peaceful pastures and still waters to restore us – to calm our fears and anxiety, to refresh us with sacred spaces where healing of body, mind, and spirit takes place. Note that the Good Shepherd does not promise miraculous cures or freedom from suffering and death in this life. The promise is that the merciful Lord will be with us, through all of the joys and sorrows of this life, and we are assured that we will dwell in the house of the Lord forevermore when this life is over.
Mercy is both proactive and reactive. Thy rod and thy staff; they comfort me. A rod was used for protection – to beat off wild animals, including thieves, when predators threatened to steal or harm the sheep. Never forget that whenever we recite this most beloved psalms, we are acknowledging that shepherds are equipped with a rod, a weapon of defense, and that they may have to use physical force to beat back those who would prey on innocent and vulnerable sheep.
The staff, the shepherd’s crook, was used to pull back into the fold sheep that were wandering away or that had gotten themselves trapped in a tight spot. Protection and correction – the Good Shepherd offers both, if we are open to receive them. Most people prefer one without the other, that is, we want God to protect us from harm, but we do not want to be corrected from the behaviors that put us in harm’s way. It is not in the nature of the Good Shepherd to blame or shame the sheep for wandering away and getting stuck in tight spots. That is how we might respond, from a place of judgment, for such is our sinful, human nature. Thanks be to God that the providential care of the Good Shepherd is not contingent on how good and obedient we are. If that were the case, there would be no hope for any of us!
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.”
In these days of the coronavirus pandemic, the world is walking through the valley of the shadow of death, literally and figuratively. As people of faith, let us heed the word of the Lord and angel messengers, and the witness of angels of mercy like the Brothers of the Misericordia: FEAR NOT! The Good Shepherd is with us, leading us through these challenging days. There will be times when we need to withdraw and rest, to be restored, recreated, and resurrected anew – for the journey of discipleship that lies ahead – a journey that includes steps of faith and acts of mercy that define who we are as God’s people. In the sands of time, Christians leave footprints that are visible to others: sacrificial acts of love, merciful words of hope and encouragement, prayers of healing and wholeness, a heart of compassion and generosity - all of which the Good Shepherd magnifies for God’s kingdom purposes.
As the Apostle Paul wrote: “if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” Romans 14: 8
We belong to the Lord – now and forevermore. Let us live for His glory. Thanks be to God.
Text: Psalm 23; Matthew 5: 1-12
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
“I shall not want” is not what people many believe these days as they horde toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant wipes in light of the coronavirus pandemic. It is hard not to get swept up in waves of fear: fear of contagion, fear of running out of food and products, fear of death, fear of suffering financially, fear of things yet to come. Invisible to the naked eye, a virus transferred in tiny droplets, microscopic in size, monumental in impact.
When we feel afraid - where? And to whom? And to what? - do we turn during times of challenge and crisis?
For thousands of years, people of faith have turned to God – the Lord of the universe who created all things for His glory – the One and the same God who continues to intervene in our lives to restore us – to recreate us – to resurrect us. We believe in a God who breaks through the ordinary boundaries of time, space, and matter to restore us to a right relationship with Him - and to restore us to right relationships with one another. We believe in a God who recreates us in His image through the power of the Holy Spirit, God’s image that is revealed most clearly in His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. Through our Risen Lord and Savior, we believe that we, too, are raised to new life, resurrection life – even here and now while we yet live – and to everlasting life when these mortal days are over.
In the ancient Roman empire and in the Middle Ages, historians wrote about plagues and pandemics that affected European cities and villages. Fear gripped the majority of citizens where there were outbreaks. Those with resources fled to villas and to family in the countryside, which was a type of social distancing in those times. The majority were left behind in the cities: the poor, weak, and sick – the most vulnerable. They had to fend for themselves with little protection, and they often became the victims of violent attacks.
When natural disasters occur, like hurricanes and floods, people usually come together to help out each other. Generosity of spirit prevails. That is a normal reaction. During plagues and pandemics, that rarely happens. Instead, a lack of compassion is usually evident. Worse yet, from ancient historical records, we know that fears brought out the worst in people, fears directed against minority groups, like gypsies and Jews, who were blamed for causing the plagues and pandemics. Homes where the sick lived were boarded up, from the outside, preventing the sick and family members from leaving, such that they died inside. Sometimes homes were burned to the ground – while people were still in them. During such desperate times, mob rule and behavior dominated – without moral outcry or punishment.
The same ancient and medieval historians did note something else that happened: acts of mercy. They recorded that there were groups of Christians, mostly men and women in religious orders, such as the Misericordia of Florence, “The Brothers of Mercy,” who ministered to the sick and dying during plagues. They took food to the sick, they removed bodies left in the streets, and they buried the dead. At the time of these plagues, historians observed how unusual it was for these Christians to risk their own lives in order to care for the sick and dying. Their acts of mercy reflected Christ’s light in a world of darkness.
For the past 1,300 years, this religious order continues their ministry of offering mercy: providing food and transportation for the sick, and funeral services and burials for the poorest and most vulnerable in Italy. Faith is what gives them, and what gives us, the courage and strength to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, knowing that the Lord of healing mercies is with us. The Good Shepherd is leading us – and the world – through the coronavirus pandemic.
“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.” The merciful Lord, the Good Shepherd, is the One who provides for our eternal needs. Let us absorb the powerful imagery we are given in the 23rd Psalm:
The Good Shepherd makes us to lie down in green pastures; He leads us beside still waters; He restores our souls.
The Good Shepherd leads us to safe and peaceful pastures and still waters to restore us – to calm our fears and anxiety, to refresh us with sacred spaces where healing of body, mind, and spirit takes place. Note that the Good Shepherd does not promise miraculous cures or freedom from suffering and death in this life. The promise is that the merciful Lord will be with us, through all of the joys and sorrows of this life, and we are assured that we will dwell in the house of the Lord forevermore when this life is over.
Mercy is both proactive and reactive. Thy rod and thy staff; they comfort me. A rod was used for protection – to beat off wild animals, including thieves, when predators threatened to steal or harm the sheep. Never forget that whenever we recite this most beloved psalms, we are acknowledging that shepherds are equipped with a rod, a weapon of defense, and that they may have to use physical force to beat back those who would prey on innocent and vulnerable sheep.
The staff, the shepherd’s crook, was used to pull back into the fold sheep that were wandering away or that had gotten themselves trapped in a tight spot. Protection and correction – the Good Shepherd offers both, if we are open to receive them. Most people prefer one without the other, that is, we want God to protect us from harm, but we do not want to be corrected from the behaviors that put us in harm’s way. It is not in the nature of the Good Shepherd to blame or shame the sheep for wandering away and getting stuck in tight spots. That is how we might respond, from a place of judgment, for such is our sinful, human nature. Thanks be to God that the providential care of the Good Shepherd is not contingent on how good and obedient we are. If that were the case, there would be no hope for any of us!
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.”
In these days of the coronavirus pandemic, the world is walking through the valley of the shadow of death, literally and figuratively. As people of faith, let us heed the word of the Lord and angel messengers, and the witness of angels of mercy like the Brothers of the Misericordia: FEAR NOT! The Good Shepherd is with us, leading us through these challenging days. There will be times when we need to withdraw and rest, to be restored, recreated, and resurrected anew – for the journey of discipleship that lies ahead – a journey that includes steps of faith and acts of mercy that define who we are as God’s people. In the sands of time, Christians leave footprints that are visible to others: sacrificial acts of love, merciful words of hope and encouragement, prayers of healing and wholeness, a heart of compassion and generosity - all of which the Good Shepherd magnifies for God’s kingdom purposes.
As the Apostle Paul wrote: “if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” Romans 14: 8
We belong to the Lord – now and forevermore. Let us live for His glory. Thanks be to God.