Given by Christ Jesus to Be a Shepherd of His Sheep

“Thank God,” Dr. Luther once remarked, “even a seven-year-old child knows what a shepherd is and does.” He feeds and tends the lambs and sheep, and he guards and protects them from predators and other dangers. He puts himself in harm’s way, in order to keep them safe.

That is what the Lord Jesus does for His whole Flock. And that is likewise exactly what a Christian pastor is and does. He feeds and tends the sheep of the Good Shepherd in the good green pastures of His Word, His Law and His Gospel, unto repentance and faith in His forgiveness of sins. And a pastor leads the sheep beside the clean and cleansing waters of Holy Baptism to the Table of the Lord in His Kingdom, all the while defending the flock against false doctrine, idolatrous practices, and all the assaults and accusations of the old evil foe. A pastor invests himself in this work, he spends his body and life for the well-being of the flock placed under his care.

If that sounds like a big job and a daunting task, that’s because it is. And as it is true that each and every Christian is called to bear the Cross and follow after Jesus, it is all the more the case that His pastors, the ministers of His Word, are called upon to serve and to suffer for His Name’s sake. Nor should anyone ever suppose that we can do or manage any of this on our own, by our own reason or strength, education, ingenuity, or what not.

None of us can be a sheep of the Good Shepherd — far less a shepherd of His sheep — by any efforts of our own. Those who attempt to do so are hirelings at best, or, as Jesus says today, they are thieves and robbers. But we are sheep because the Shepherd has called us by name with His Voice of the Gospel. And Pr. Harrison is here given to be a shepherd of the Lord’s sheep in this place, because he enters through the Door into the Sheepfold — in the Name and stead of Jesus.

So, what does this mean for us?  It is a bit confusing on the surface of it, and even the disciples did not understand the Words of our Lord when He first spoke them. But the Key, of course, is Christ Jesus Himself, His Cross and Resurrection. He is the Good Shepherd, and He is the Door by which His sheep and His undershepherds enter in and come and go in peace and safety, faith and love.

As the Good Shepherd, He lays down His Body and Life in death upon the Cross, and then He takes it up again, in order that His sheep might have abundant Life in Him forevermore. This is why He has come — to bear your sins, and the sins of the whole world, in His own Body on the bloody Cross, that you might die to sin and live to righteousness in Him. By His wounds you are healed, and by His bodily Resurrection from the dead you have Righteousness and Life.

Thus has He become the Door, and by your Holy Baptism in His Name you have entered through His death into His resurrected Life in the presence of His God and Father. Even now, living under the Cross in the midst of sin and death, awaiting the Resurrection and the Life everlasting, you live and abide in the House of the Lord, as a sheep of His pasture, in the communion of His Church:

In the Apostles’ Teaching and Fellowship, in the Breaking of the Bread, and in the Prayers of the Church, you live and abide under the care of your Good Shepherd, Christ Jesus, the Chief Pastor and Archbishop of your soul and body, heart, mind, and spirit.

It is by and for this Ministry of the Word and Sacrament that men like Pr. Harrison enter through the Door of Christ Jesus into His Sheepfold, not only to live and abide as one of the sheep, but to serve and care for the lambs and sheep, to feed and tend the flock in the Name and stead of Jesus.

As the sheep are called to learn from Jesus and follow His example, to live and love as He does, so are the pastors of the sheep called to preach the Word of Jesus, to speak with His Voice, to administer His Gifts, and to do what He does for the life and health of His Church in His Name.

Such pastors have beautiful feet, as we have heard, because they are sent to go, to bring and deliver His Word of the Gospel — and in their going, in their preaching and teaching, Christ Jesus Himself is actively present and at work to forgive sins and to grant His beautiful Life and Salvation.

This is not a self-chosen office and work. A man may well aspire to become a pastor and bishop, but it is the Lord who calls, ordains, and sends a man into that Office of the Holy Ministry, albeit through the agency of His Church on earth. Pastors and congregations identify and encourage young men to give themselves for this work. The seminaries train and prepare them, examine them, and then, along with the Council of Presidents, they certify and place them. Churches extend Calls, and those who already serve in the Office ordain new men to that Office and install them in it. But, again, it is the Lord our Good Shepherd who is ever at work throughout this process to bring a man through the Door into His Sheepfold to be a pastor — a shepherd — of His own dear sheep.

So, today, that is what He is doing with you — and for you — Pr. Harrison, for the sake of His dear sheep in this place, for their life and health and strength in Him. And as He is the One who stations you here in His Name, so shall He be and abide with you here in this Vocation and Office. He loves you, as He loves all His pastors; and He loves all His lambs and sheep entrusted to your care.

Along with that, the same Lord Jesus has given you the added benefit of a faithful colleague in this particular pasture, so that you will labor in love for the lambs and sheep alongside Pr. DeBlieck. It is a blessed thing when brothers in arms live and work together in unity, in common cause, not for their own benefit or glory, but for the benefit and blessing of the Lord’s own beloved flock.

Now, then, as the Lord Jesus in His Ministry lives and works, dies and rises, in accordance with the Word and Will of His Father who sent Him, you also are called and ordained to live and work, to bear the cross, to suffer and even to die, in submission to the Lord Jesus Christ who sends you.

So proceed in faith, hope, and love. And do not despair when it may seem that nothing is working or going well; nor fall into the trap of supposing that all of this work depends on you. Simply do what you are called and given to do, knowing that your labors in the Lord are not in vain. He will accomplish His purposes in you, and through you, and for you, all to the glory of His Holy Name.

Lay down your life in love for Christ Jesus and His sheep, in the sure and certain confidence that He will raise you up again, as surely as He daily and richly forgives you all your sins and cleanses you from all unrighteousness by His own Resurrection and the power of His indestructible Life.

You know the work you are given to do, not only because you have been taught and trained by the Church, but also because you are first of all a sheep yourself, and you live as a sheep of the Good Shepherd solely by His grace alone, by faith in His forgiveness of all your sins. You know and understand the challenges and hurts, the weaknesses and fears of this body and life. But you also know and love the sweet comfort and peace of the Gospel, the solid confidence and strength of Holy Baptism, and the forgiveness and fellowship of the Lord’s Altar. And here you are given, not only the duty and responsibility, but the blessed privilege of serving God’s people with these Gifts.

At its heart, the most basic work of a pastor — as we have prayed with the Psalmist this afternoon — is to proclaim the righteousness of the Lord in the great assembly of the Church, in the midst of the great congregation. That is to preach and teach the Gospel of Christ Jesus, and thereby to speak of His faithfulness and salvation, unto repentance and faith in His free and full forgiveness. By the preaching and hearing of this Word of Christ, the Lord Himself obtains faith in the heart, where and when it pleases Him. And as the heart thus believes, so does the Lord put a new song upon the lips and tongues of His dear people, a hymn of praise to the glory of His Holy Name. Blessed are the pastors and all the people of God who live by such faith in His precious Gospel!

Dear saints of University Lutheran Church, hear and heed the Voice of your Good Shepherd in the preaching and teaching of this man, Pr. Harrison, who is here and now given to you by the Lord to be your pastor in His Name, alongside Pr. DeBlieck. Receive the ministry of these men of God in faith and love. Listen to them and learn from them. Allow yourselves to be challenged by them, that you might grow in wisdom and maturity, in the grace and knowledge and fear of the Lord.

And wherever either of your pastors may stumble and misstep at times, be patient and kind, love them, and forgive them, even as you also hear and receive the Lord’s forgiveness of all your sins through the voice and ministry of these dear men. For it is ever and always the case that pastors and laity alike depend upon one and the same Lord Jesus Christ, the great Good Shepherd of the sheep. Everything depends on Him. So, do not be afraid, but rely on Him and rest yourself in Him.

Do not listen to strange voices, but flee from strangers and follow Christ Jesus the Lord by giving attention to His Word and availing yourself of His means of grace. And as often as you go astray, return by repentance and faith to the Pastor and Bishop of your soul. Indeed, He comes to you here to give you His abundant Life, and He will not fail, nor shall He ever leave you or forsake you.

Risen from the dead, never to die again, He lives and reigns to all eternity as your gracious God and Lord, your Savior and your Shepherd. And as He lives and abides with you here in peace and love, so shall you live and abide with Him — in His own Holy House — forever and forevermore.

In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

A Faithful and Sensible Slave in the Household of God

Anoint them Prophets, Priests, Kings, Apostles — those who are called, ordained, and sent by the Lord to preach His Word and administer His Gifts are all of those things, though not as the world imagines.  But they describe themselves as slaves of Christ Jesus and as servants of His Church.

Who then is a faithful and sensible slave?  St. Timothy was, whom we remember with thanksgiving on this night.  He was not perfect, nor did he always succeed in his efforts.  But he was a faithful pastor and confessor of Christ Jesus, by whom the same Lord Jesus Christ cared for His Church.

It is not only Pastors, however, who are slaves of Christ Jesus.  St. Paul writes that you have been set free from slavery to sin and death, in order to live unto righteousness as a slave of Christ.

You can picture what that means by way of analogy.  So, for example, if you are a father or mother, and if you entrust the care of your children to someone else while you are away, you have certain expectations as to how that person will manage that responsibility.  You certainly don’t want him or her to beat your children, to make new rules for them, to neglect them or mistreat them.  You rather expect that babysitter to care for your children wisely and according to your instructions.

Similarly, if you’re going to be away from your home for an extended period of time, you might arrange for other people to live there while you’re gone, so it doesn’t sit empty.  And in such a case, you want those folks to make themselves at home, to eat and drink, to sleep and wash, and to go about their normal activities within your house.  But you don’t want to come home from your time away and find that your house has been dismantled or remodeled without your permission.

Well, in much the same way, the Lord has entrusted you with a stewardship of His good Creation and with the care of His children  And the way you think about that makes a world of difference.

If you suppose that the things in your possession and the people in your life are “yours” to do with as you like, then you will not care for those people, use those things, or exercise your stewardship as a faithful and sensible slave or servant of your Lord Jesus Christ and your Father in heaven.

But if you recognize that your father and mother, your husband or wife, your children, and your other neighbors in the world, are human beings like yourself, created by God for life with Him, to live with Him in His Kingdom as His own dear children, as members of the Body and Bride of Christ Jesus — and if you recognize that the heavens and the earth and everything in them belong to the Lord by right — then you will conduct yourself in the fear of the Lord, in faith and love.

So, how often do you deal with your neighbors and use the Lord’s Creation as though you were their lord and master, and as though you were simply free to do or not do whatever you feel like?

To live and act in that way is to live and act as a servant and slave of the devil, as though the Lord Jesus Christ had not redeemed you and set you free from the bondage of Satan, sin, and death, in which you were conceived and born.  For that is the slavery to which you return when you pursue sin and your own selfish ambitions instead of living unto righteousness by faith in Christ Jesus.

And that is to follow the devil’s own wicked example of unrighteousness.  The Lord God created him as a holy angel to be a servant of His Creation, a servant of Man.  And that is how St. Michael and the holy angels serve; they are not ashamed to attend us, to guard us and keep us, to the glory of the Holy Triune God.  But Satan was prideful and jealous, envious and arrogant; he did not like the way that God had ordered things; he did not think it was wise or right; and he did not want to serve Man, who was formed out of the dirt.  So he rebelled and set out to make himself the master of this world.  Instead of serving God’s good Creation, the devil seeks to pervert it or destroy it.

But the devil is not free, for he is not the Creator, and he is not able to thwart the Lord’s purposes.  And neither are you free when you succumb to the devil’s temptations and submit to his tyranny.  On the contrary, you thereby place yourself under bondage to sin and death, and you have the devil breathing down your neck, driving you on with his whips and chains and threats of punishment.  And so long as you remain in your sins, you are a slave of sin, destined for death and damnation, and tormented by the assaults and accusations of that cruel jailer who has you locked up in fear.

But now the Son of Man has come like a thief in the night, in order to plunder the devil’s house of bondage and fear.  He has come at an hour, by ways and means, which Satan did not anticipate and could not perceive.  He has dug His way into the devil’s stronghold and robbed him blind.  And what does this mean, but that the Lord Jesus Christ has entered into the fray, in order to bring you out of captivity into the freedom of faith in His forgiveness of sins.

You, then, be ready and waiting.  Be on the alert and watching.  For this Thief in the night is your Rescue and Release, your Ransom and Redemption.  But He does come at night, that is to say, in the midst of deep darkness, when you neither see nor feel any hope at all.  He comes at an hour, by ways and means, which you did not anticipate and could not perceive by any wisdom, reason, or strength of your own.  He comes by the Cross; and by the Fruits of His Cross He now saves you.

This dear Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, comes to you in divine and holy Love.  He comes not to threaten or punish, not to drive you with a whip, nor to accuse you of how badly you have done and how much you have failed to do.  He comes to feed you and take care of you.

Jesus is the wise and faithful Slave, the Servant of His God and Father.  And He has been entrusted with the care of the entire Household of God, the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.  All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him, the stewardship of all things, to the glory of God the Father.  Indeed, He uses His authority to bless and benefit His people, to forgive their sins, to raise them from death to life, to bind their wounds and heal their diseases.  He gives them His Meat and Drink at the proper time.  He does all of this for you and for His whole Church.

And here is how He does it: He calls and sends men — like St. Timothy — to be the shepherds of His flock, to be the pastors of His Church on earth; to confess His Name, and to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins in His Name.  Such men are servants entrusted with the stewardship of His possessions, with the authority to administer His Gospel for the salvation of sinners, and so also for the continued care and feeding of His Household and Family.

It is required of such a servant of the Lord that he be found faithful, that he do what his Lord has given him to do, and that he do so in the way and with the means that his Lord has given.

As you are a servant of the Lord to care for His people within your stewardship, so was Timothy a servant of the Lord; and your pastors are likewise servants of the Lord to care for you.  That’s the Lord’s “economy.”  That’s how He orders all things in heaven and on earth, all for the sake of His Church, for the life and well-being of His Holy Bride, for the benefit of His dear children.

In much the same way that He gives parents to care for you, especially when you are very small — He gives mothers to feed their babies, and He gives fathers to work and provide for their families — so does He give pastors to care for this household and family of His Church, to feed you and clothe you; to work for you, that you may rest in Him; and to give you His good Gifts.

Along the same lines, St. Paul writes elsewhere to St. Timothy that, if a man aspires to be a bishop — a pastor of the Lord’s Church — he must be a man who cares for his own family and orders his own household wisely and well; because the Church is the Lord’s own Household and Family, with fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.

So, as Jesus has given you parents, He has given you pastors to feed you with the forgiveness of sins in His Name and with the light and the wisdom of His Word, both His Law and His Gospel, whereby He calls you daily to repentance and faith in His Name.  To feed you with the very Body and Blood of Christ Jesus, not by any sort of “magic” power, but by the power of His Word.

Pastors do not come with their own stuff to give you.  Pastors do not speak their own wisdom, but that Wisdom which is given to them by the Holy Spirit through the Word of Christ Jesus.  Pastors forgive your sins in His Name and stead, with His authority, by virtue of the Office to which He has called and ordained them.  And so do pastors give you Jesus Himself, His Body and His Blood.  He is your Meat and Drink indeed, which you eat and drink as a child at your Father’s Table.

And in much the same way, that is how you are to feed your neighbors.  As you are cared for, so are you to care for those whom God has placed into your keeping for a time.  And blessed are you who do so; for you will surely lack no good thing.  Indeed, all things are yours in Christ Jesus.

Serve, then, with a glad heart, a happy heart, a peaceful heart, wherever the Lord has put you.  And do not worry about how big or small your task may be.  If the house that He has given you to care for is a very small house, then take care of it well.  And if it is a very large house, do the same.  Wherever the Lord has stationed you, that is where you are to live and to serve to the glory of His Holy Name and for the good of your neighbors.  That is your post.  And that is where and how you are to be on the alert and ready, watching and waiting for the coming of your Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, you may look around and see that other servants of Christ Jesus have been given seemingly more impressive tasks or greater responsibilities.  And to be sure, some of His servants are given more to do in this body and life; and others are given less.  But there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, and it is for the sake of all His people that He does whatever He does and gives whatever He gives.

Do not fret if you are not given as much responsibility as others may have, or as much as you would like to have, but do faithfully whatever the Lord has given you to do.  And when you have served faithfully, He may put more into your hands.  In any case, you live by faith in Him.

And all the while, in the same way that you are a servant of Christ and you are given to serve a portion of His Household, you are also His own dear child within His Family.  And so He provides other servants to care for you and to feed you at the proper time with His Word and all His Gifts.

Over and above us all, the Lord Jesus Himself is the faithful and sensible Slave who cares for you, deals with you, and provides for you with grace and wisdom.  Though He is your Lord and Master, consider what He does.  He enters this House, and He bids you to recline at His Table.  And here He girds Himself to wash your dirty feet and attend to all your needs.  He is both the Cook and the Waiter, your Host, and the Meal!  He comes to help you, to serve you, and to save you for Life.

He knows you and loves you well, and He is always ready, willing, and able to help you at all times and in all places.  When He disciplines you, it is in perfect love, with tender mercy, and for your good.  And then, at the proper time, He feeds you with His free and full forgiveness of your sins.  And in the Day of Salvation He lays Himself and His Life into your hands and upon your heart.

Behold, now is the proper time, now is the Day of Salvation.  Lift up your head in peace and hope, and lift up your heart in faith and in love.  Thus are you alert and ready for the Lord who comes to you in steadfast loving-kindness.  Even now He is at hand, and your Redemption has drawn near in His Word and with His own Flesh and Blood.  As He gives Himself to you here, as He presses Himself into your hand, so does He hold on to you, and no one shall snatch you out of His hand.  For you are His own, and He is yours, forever and forevermore.

In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.