Sermon for  April 21, 2024                                                   Fourth Sunday of Easter

John 10 Good Shepherd Sunday

Have you ever been there in the room when the minister performs Last Rites? In the Lutheran service book they don’t call it Last Rites, it is called the “Commendation of the Dying,” but everyone seems to know what I mean when I call it by its Roman Catholic name: Last Rites. These are some of the most sacred moments that I’ve had as a pastor, gathered around with the family and loved ones either at the death bed often in the hospital or hospice, or at the funeral home with the recently deceased, in order to offer these prayers, “Go forth in the name of God the Father who created you; Go forth in the name of Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God who redeemed you; Go forth in the name of the Holy Spirit who was poured out upon you.” It is powerful stuff. And did you know that the scripture I always read in that moment is this passage from John 10, the ending of the Good Shepherd text, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. For the Father and I are one.” You hear echoes of John 3:16, don’t you? You shall never perish; I give them eternal life. These same promises of God are declared in that moment, that even though death is claiming this loved one, God promises in the resurrection of Christ that we shall never perish, and that we are inheritors of eternal life. Beautiful, isn’t it? But I like to point out to the family as we are gathered around this promise of the Good Shepherd, that no one shall snatch his sheep out of his hand. Why? Because his hands are the Father’s hands and the Father’s hands are greater than all. Who can possibly snatch anything out of the hands of God Almighty? The devil? Please. Death? Give me a break. My own sins? C’mon, Jesus took care of all of those! Nothing. Nobody. Absolutely nada in all creation is able to separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8. Therefore, who is going to snatch you out of the hands of the Good Shepherd? For this reason we proclaim this text at the service of Last Rites, the Commendation of the Dying.

When I hear this text of these strong hands and nothing being snatched away, I grew up on old movies like the Neverending Story, do you remember that one? 1984 cult classic fantasy film that a lot of us grew up on. There is this scene where the Stone Giant is lamenting after the storm. He had hold of other characters from the story to protect them from the storm, but the winds still took them away. He is sitting there lamenting, “They look like big, good, strong hands, don’t they? But I could not hold on to them. The storm pulled them right out of my hands. I failed.” You feel so bad for him, but it begs the question, if the hands of the Stone Giant can’t protect from the storm, then who could? And of course here is the answer in our text, Jesus says that the one who is master of the storms, the one who calmed the winds with a word, he is the shepherd who has hold of his sheep and nothing, no storm and no wind, can snatch us out of his hands.

And let’s talk about those hands. Those hands are marked. Do you know what they are marked with? First, God says way back in the prophet Isaiah, “I have inscribed your name into the palms of my hands. I have engraved your name there. I could never forget you.” Those hands are marked with your name! Forever! Again, such a beautiful promise. We talk about having our names inscribed into the Book of Life, are you surprised to find out that the Book of Life is none other than the very hands of God? Your name is engraved there. Who could possibly erase it? How could God ever forget you? You have been claimed, named and engraved by God into his own hands. Nothing, no one can snatch you away. But when I said those hands were marked, what was the first image that came to mind? It was the wounds of Christ, wasn’t it? These hands of the Good Shepherd are marked with the nail holes of his crucifixion, scripture calls them the marks of our own sin borne in his body. That means that not only is your name engraved there, but your sins are forever taken, inscribed and punctured into the hands of our savior. Your sins are now his; his to forgive and his to bear. And in his resurrection he takes them beyond death and beyond the grave into his eternal kingdom. Your sins no longer belong to you. They have been forgiven and the Good Shepherd lays claim to you forever. Amen?

When Jesus says those famous words, “I am the Good Shepherd,” did you notice what makes the shepherd good? Jesus explains, “I lay down my life for the sheep. I lay it down and I take it up again,” pretty obvious reference to the death and resurrection, don’t you think? But Jesus says, “The hired hand will run away when danger comes, the hired hand cares nothing for the sheep. But I will lay down my life for the sheep, because I am the good shepherd.” I always picture little David, before he was King David, out tending his father’s flocks. There is this great scene where David hears about the giant Goliath boasting and shaming the armies of Israel. David points out to the current King, King Saul, he says, “I have fought lions and bears defending my father’s flock, why should I fear this uncircumcised Philistine?” And then I love how King Saul tries to put his armor on David for the fight. Well, we’re told Saul was one of the tallest and most handsome men in all of Israel, and David was what, maybe a pre-pubescent boy? So David looks downright silly in Saul’s armor and so David says, “I can’t fight with this!” And proceeds to pick 5 smooth stones for his sling, the very same weapon he had faced down lions and bears defending his flock. When Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. The hired hand runs away at the sight of danger, but I will lay down my life for my sheep,” I picture little David, digging his foot into the ground, squaring his shoulders, and facing down a cougar or a bear come to kill one of his flock. That’s my Jesus! Jesus standing square, ready to take all comers. The kids have a great saying nowadays, it goes, “Mess around and find out!” You want to mess around with little David and his sling? Huh, Goliath? You want to mess around? Cause you ‘bout to find out! Jesus stands over you! You are his flock! And he will indeed lay his life down for you, lay it down and take it back up again.

And so I beg the question once again, who can possibly snatch you away from the hands of the Good Shepherd? What can separate you from God? If lions and bears and even Goliath himself could not stand against the boy David, you think the devil stands a chance against our Jesus? And what about death and fear? Though we walk through the shadow of the valley of death itself, shall we be afraid? No! Because Jesus is our Good Shepherd, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. He layed his life down on Good Friday and he took it up again on Easter morning, why would we fear the valley of death?! Your death has been defeated! Death cannot snatch you out of the Good Shepherd’s hands! And what about sin? Christians have this strange notion that somehow their sin separates them from God. Bizarre! We just finished quoting Romans 8 that nothing in all of creation can separate you from God’s love, why do we suddenly think our sins are so bad that they could separate us from God? Really? You think your sins are greater than Christ’s forgiveness? Interesting. You think you have some great and mighty sins that Christ cannot forgive? Remember, those are the marks of YOUR sin in his hands and in his body. He took them. That means, they are no longer yours! He even says he will forgive them and remember them no more. No, not even your sins can snatch you out of the strong hands of the Good Shepherd.

And one day when you come to breath your last, when each of us takes our last breath, each of our hearts beats its last beat, this promise will be there, Jesus is your Good Shepherd, he has called you by name, engraved that name in the palm of his hand, claimed you as his very own, a sheep of his own fold, a lamb of his own flock, a sinner of his very own redeeming. And nothing, nothing in all of creation, can snatch you out of his strong hands. Amen.