Fourth Sunday of Easter (A)
April 26, 2026
Text: Psalm
23; John 10:1-10
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
You really ought to just learn the
23rd Psalm by heart, if you haven't already. I think maybe this is one of those passages
to memorize from the King James Version, so that the poetry of it can captivate
you. Now, we’re singing several hymn
versions of the Psalm today, including the beautiful Hymn of the Day, “The King
of Love My Shepherd Is” (LSB 709), but other than that, we don’t actually get
the Psalm on this Good Shepherd Sunday.
It is the Psalm appointed for the day, though we don’t often use
that lectionary option. But you have to
hear it, so, here it is, in the King’s English: “The Lord is my shepherd; I
shall not want. He maketh me to lie down
in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the
paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
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. Thou preparest a table before me in the
presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth
over. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
for ever.”
When I was a teenager (this may come
as a shock to many of you) I was a bit of a dork. And at school, I had what one might call a
“poor man’s Trapper Keeper,” one of those three ring binders with the clear
plastic sleeve all around it. And, as
teens often do, I made it my own by displaying things in that sleeve that were
important to me. On one side, I had an Oregonian
newspaper concert review of a Ray Charles concert I had attended (one of the
great moments of my life, God gave me to see Ray Charles, still in his vigor...
Beloved, always thank God for First Article gifts. They are never trivial. He loves us, and He gives us many good things
to enjoy). So, that was one side (the
back), but on the front... Bible passages.
Chief of which was Psalm 23. King
James. In public school, no less,
carrying it around. Printed in dot
matrix!
I wish I could say it was because I
was wise that I did that. But
like so many things, from my perspective, it was by happy accident. I liked it, so I printed it. But from God's perspective, it was by
grace. It was His providence. So that it was daily before my
eyes. I read it constantly
because it was there (and it was more exciting than algebra). I internalized it. Turns out, that's the way to do it. And now that I think about it, that was
probably a lesson caught from my dear mother, who had all sorts of random bits
of paper, with Bible verses, taped all around her desk at my parents' hardware
store. Thank God for those, too, because
I learned some of those verses by happy accident (which is to say, divine
providence). In fact, when I hear or
recite some of those verses, I can still see those scraps of paper in my mind,
clear as day, complete with stupid rainbow and unicorn stationary (it was the
80s, okay?). It doesn't have to be an
accident, though. You can do this intentionally. And you should. Write down passages. Hold them before your eyes. Read them often. Mark them.
Learn them. Inwardly digest
them. So that they become a part of
you. Woven into the fabric of your
being.
But you know what it really was...
my binder... my mother's notes...? It
was our Lord Jesus, shepherding me.
Calling me by name. Leading me in
and out of the sheepfold (and what is the sheepfold? The Church!
Leading me into the Church, and back out again into my life and
vocations! Armed with His Word!). Always with me. Feeding me.
Tending me. Protecting me from
the fang and claw of predators (the devil, the demons). At His own peril. To His own harm (the cross!). So also, the robbers and thieves (the false
teachers). The muddied and poisoned
waters of my own sins. He keeps me from
all that is harmful and deadly. And when
I am lost, He seeks me, and finds me.
And when I am wounded, He binds my wounds, and He keeps me close, and
extends to me His healing touch. And
when He brings me back, safely, to the sheepfold at night, He protects me,
then, too. He becomes the Door. He is, of course, in truth, the Door... we
enter His Church (His Sheepfold) by our immersion into Him in Holy
Baptism. But there is also a pastoral
(as in shepherding) image here (pastor is just Latin for shepherd). At night, the shepherd lays himself across
the entrance of the sheepfold. That’s
what Jesus does for me, and for you, and all the sheep. Why?
So that I can’t get out apart from His knowledge and care. And if a predator wants in, it’ll have to
cross over the crucified and risen body of the Lord Jesus Christ.
What about the images we are given
in Psalm 23? What does our Lord do for
us there? Since the Lord is my Shepherd,
I shall not want. I was always
confused, as a kid, what that means.
Because I wanted plenty of things.
Yeah, but not really. I didn’t want
in the true sense of the word, as in lacking the things that I need. The things that kept me alive. Physically, yes. But also, and especially, the things that
kept me alive spiritually, in Christ.
That is what the rest of the Psalm is about: Those things that
keep me alive by faith in the Good Shepherd.
And that, by the way, includes the crosses God sends me, because
He knows they are good for me. In other
words, I may suffer the lack of some bodily necessity at one time or
another. But when that happens, I can be
sure of two things: 1. The Good Shepherd is feeding me spiritually by my
bodily lack, shaping me by the cross into His cruciform image. And 2. He will, in the time and way He knows
best, relieve me of that bodily want.
Either by providing here and now (as He so often does), or... frankly,
death. But either way, I can trust
Him. He knows what I need. And, in any case, you and I haven’t suffered
much of that. Certainly not to the
degree many of our brothers and sisters have, and do, in other places in the
world, and at other times in history.
But our Shepherd will always provide.
You can absolutely count on Him. I
shall not want.
How does He provide for our wants in
the Psalm? He makes us lie down in green
pastures. That is to say, His Word! That is what is happening here, in the
Divine Service. And in your daily
reading and meditating on the Scriptures.
Beloved, read the Scriptures every day.
And put up your scraps of paper, or whatever you need to do to hold
those Scriptures before your eyes, your heart, your mind. You’re resting in His verdant meadow! He leads you beside still waters. Think of all the wells in
Scripture. Or the river that
comes from the throne of God, and gets deeper and wider as it goes. With the Tree of Life on either side, the
leaves of which are for the healing of the nations. The pure, fresh water that heals all that it
touches, all that is stagnant and dead.
Think of the Living Water Jesus pours out for the Samaritan woman, and
for you. If anyone is thirsty, come to
Him and drink. Think of the baptismal
font, where that water touches you. The
healing bath of regeneration and renewal.
The water pouring forth with blood from the Savior’s pierced side. He leads you to that.
He restores your soul by that. And He leads you in the paths of
righteousness for His Name’s sake. Now,
that is vital. Because you’ll get lost
otherwise. But His Name is on you in
Baptism. You are precious to Him. He does not want to lose you. So He keeps you close, and leads you in the
Way you should go. His doctrine. And His Commandments. That you live in faith toward Him, and
fervent love toward one another. He
leads you through the dangers.
All the dark and perilous places.
Even through the valley of the shadow of death. He knows the Way! He’s been there! He is the Way! He can lead you through, and out
the other side again, alive, because: He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
You need fear no evil. They can’t
get you when Jesus is with you. Let His
rod and staff be your comfort. Again,
His Word. And His cross. The fulfillment of Moses’ staff. It has a crook in it, that God may yank
you away from the dangerous messes you get yourself into. And stave off the devil and the false
teachers.
Then, all of a sudden, a change of
metaphor. The Table well-laid in the
presence of your enemies. Right here in
this fallen world, and much to the vitriolic terror of the demons. Christ’s true body. Christ’s true blood. For you, for the forgiveness of sins. And the anointing oil. The Spirit. You are anointed with the Spirit at your
Baptism, just as He was at His. And the
cup that runneth over. That’s like
Luther’s “and the like” when he’s listing all the First Article gifts God
provides us. So, if all this is true
(and it is!), you can know for certain that goodness and mercy will follow you
all the days of your life... this life... and into the next. You will dwell in the House of the
LORD forever.
That is an unimaginable comfort
to you as you slog your way through life in this fallen world, with your
own fallen flesh. So, just memorize
it. Learn it by heart. What am I always saying to you Catechism
students? Why do I want you to learn all
this by rote? So that you know it by
heart! And you carry it with you
all the way to your death bed, and beyond.
It is the Voice of Jesus, your Good Shepherd. Calling you by name. Listen.
Hear Him. Believe Him. Follow Him.
Because, with Him, you have life.
And you have it abundantly.
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
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