Fourth Sunday of Easter

Fourth Sunday of Easter (C)

May 11, 2025

Text: John 10:22-30

Alleluia!  Christ is risen!  He is risen, indeed!  Alleluia!

            “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27; ESV). 

            That is a characteristic of sheep.  They know the voice of their own shepherd.  When shepherds gather their flocks in the same place for grazing, the sheep intermix with one another, and it’s one giant herd.  But when it’s time to head back to the sheepfold, each shepherd sounds his distinctive call.  And the sheep, knowing their own shepherd’s voice, will not follow another shepherd.  They follow their shepherd, and go to their home.

            And the shepherd, for his part, knows his sheep.  And he loves them.  Each one of them.  He can tell the difference between his own sheep, and that of another.  And he can tell the difference between this sheep and that sheep in his own flock.  He knows them each, individually.  I don’t have any experience with sheep… the animal kind, anyway… so I have a hard time understanding this.  They’re just all white, wooly blobs to me.  But I suppose it’s like how I know the difference between my cream-colored poodle, and somebody else’s.  You know your own animals.  I also know my parishioners, so there’s that, too.  The point is, the shepherd knows his sheep, and the sheep know their shepherd.  They know his voice.  He gathers them with his voice.  And they follow him.

            And he doesn’t just sorta-kinda know them.  He knows them intimately.  He knows everything about them.  He knows which ones are injured, or sick, or have a birth defect.  He knows which ones are more stubborn than the others, and which are prone to wander.  The smarter ones.  The not-so-smart ones.  The rebellious ones.  The ones who are dangerous to themselves and others.  And he cares for each one according to its need.

            There are even certain lambs, rejected by their mothers… their mothers may even try to kill them, because of some weakness or defect… and these take a great deal of effort and attention on the part of the shepherd.  He has to take the place of the mother.  And it’s like caring for an infant.  He raises that lamb like it was his own child.  One can’t help but think of paintings or icons of Christ our Good Shepherd.  In the vast majority of them, He is carrying a lamb in His arms, or across His shoulders.  Think about that picture. 

            That lamb is you.  He knows you.  Oh, He knows you are stubborn and prone to wander.  He knows you are often rebellious, and a danger to yourself and others.  He knows your pains and afflictions.  And He knows just how to care for you.  And He does.  Because He loves you.  He’s rescued you from the jaws of more than one wolf.  He’s steadfastly steered you from a multitude of perils.  He’s carried you.  Applied salve to your wounds.  The right thing.  In the right way.  At just the right time.  Because He knows.  He knows you.  He loves you.  And so, you listen for His voice.  You listen for His Word.  And you follow Him.

            Follow Him.  That’s the definition of a disciple, isn’t it?  It’s what Jesus says to Philip and Andrew, Simon Peter, and the sons of Zebedee: “Follow Me.”  It’s what He says to Matthew in the tax booth, and to the rich young man.  “If anyone would come after me,” Jesus says, “let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).  Follow Him.  Follow His voice.

            Folow Him where?  “To heaven, of course!”  True.  You’re right.  But not so fast.  Look where He goes, first.  That’s where you have to follow Him.  And where is that?  Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came all the way down where we are, into our flesh and blood, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, a true Man…  Not just to magically snap His fingers and transport you through a life of bliss to heaven.  No.  No.  That’s probably the pie in the sky religion the world thinks of when it thinks of Christianity.  Unfortunately, all too many Christians think that way, too, and it leaves them in bitter disappointment.  No.  What does it mean to follow Jesus?  To go where He goes? 

            It necessarily means to go through suffering, as He went through suffering.  The trials and tribulations of this life.  As He did.  Hungering.  Thirsting.  Grieving.  Enduring the poor opinions others may have of you.  Perhaps even in your own family.  Rejection.  Betrayal.  Friends abandoning you in fear.  False accusations.  Mockery.  Bitter hatred.  You may have to suffer any or all of these to one degree or another.  Much of it, precisely because you follow Jesus.  But see, always listening for His voice.  Relying on His rod and staff.  To lead you away from danger.  To good pasture.  Water.  The safety of the sheepfold.  Let’s be explicit: Jesus, calling you into His presence, by His Word (Scripture and Preaching); bathing you, washing away your sins (Baptism, Absolution); feeding you (His Word and Supper); and giving you to drink of living water (His Holy Spirit).  All in the safety of the sheepfold, which is to say, His holy Church.  That protects you.  That binds up your wounds.  That fortifies you, whatever more you may have to suffer.  And it gives you times of respite and refreshment. 

            But then what?  Where else must you necessarily follow Him?  “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…” (Ps. 23:4; KJV).  Where did your Shepherd go?  The cross.  Death on the cross, for you.  Unless Jesus returns first, you will die.  The Lord doesn’t lead you around the cross and death, so you can just skip it.  He leads you through it.  But He is leading you.  He is with you: “thou art with me; thy rod thy staff they comfort me.” 

            And just here is where the difference between the voice of Christ, your Good Shepherd, and every other voice, is most pronounced.  Because every other voice… every other would-be shepherd… whether obviously malicious, or seemingly wise… every one of them can only, finally, lead you into the valley of the shadow, and leave you there for dead.  They’ll lead you right into the jaws of the wolf, right into the gaping maw of hell.  Vain philosophies.  Other gods.  Pride.  Lust.  Self-justification.  The world’s ideas of what is good, and what is bad, and what will save you.  What is fashionable.  What gives you worth.  And so on, and so forth.  All satanic lies.  They would bury you, and seal your tomb forever. 

            But not Jesus.  Where does He lead?  Where is He calling you?  Through the valley of the shadow, to be sure.  And out the other side again, alive, living, whole, risen… like Jesus.  Because where your Good Shepherd leads, you follow.  That’s why keep your ears on Him. 

            And consider this… It’s not only through suffering and death that you follow Him.  You follow Him, now, in a life of purpose, as God’s creature, God’s child.  A life lived for others, a life of service, a life of love.  Knowing that, by virtue of your Baptism, you have already died with Christ, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).  Your life is safe.  No one can snatch you out of your Shepherd’s hand.  So you can spend it, you can give it away, this life, just as your Shepherd gives His own.  You are following His voice.  Vocation (vocal).  He calls.  Calls you to be His agent.  In a specific place.  At a specific time.  Surrounded by particular people.  To be His hands and feet, His presence.  See how this fills your every moment with meaning, with purpose.  Do you want it?  It’s yours in Christ.  Look around you.  Where are you?  Who is near you?  What have you been given to you?  There it is.  There is the purpose to which Jesus is leading you.  Listen to His voice.  Follow Him. 

            You follow Him in a life of faith.  Trust in His Father, and yours.  Prayer.  Surrender to His all-knowing and all-good and all-loving will.  In a life that breathes the Gospel.  Breathe in: Forgiveness of your sins, eternal life, freedom, strength, and all of God’s gifts.  Breathe out: Confession of faith.  Invitation of others to life in Christ, and in His Bride, the Church.  Love in word and deed.  Speaking the truth with gentleness and respect, but uncompromisingly, even when it leads to the cross, because you know what awaits you on the other side of the cross. 

            And see, that is to say, the resurrection already marks your life.  Your Shepherd knows where you still struggle.  He knows you.  He loves you.  He feeds you, and tends you, and binds up all your wounds.  When you’re having trouble following Him, what does He do?  Look again at a painting or an icon of Christ, our Good Shepherd.  There you are, in His arms, or on His shoulders.  In the best of those icons, you can also see the wounds.  Nevertheless, Alleluia!  Christ is risen!  He is risen, indeed!  Alleluia!  His voice raises you to life. 

            And, you should know, for whatever it’s worth… your Shepherd’s sheepdog loves you, too.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.