4th Sunday of Easter, 2008
Rev. Brian L. Kachelmeier
John 10:1-10
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
In this life, we are drawn to the external. We look for the place where most people gather and rationalize that it must be the best place around. We look for the building that is newer and conclude that it must be better. This works for restaurants, doctors’ offices, shopping malls, and even churches. When judging churches we look for people who appear to have their lives together. You know the ones who always seem to do the right thing. We perceive these things with our eyes. We have a tendency to be theologians of glory.
Yet the Bible continues to teach us to be theologians of the cross. Today’s Gospel is not about perceiving things with the eyes, but rather paying attention with the ears. It does not matter how a church appears in the externals. What really matters is whether or not the voice of the Shepherd is taught and heard. We are called to listen for the voice of the Shepherd.
As Lutherans, there is a reason why we repetitively talk about what we believe, teach, and confess. We do it because the Word of God continues to exhort us to know the voice of the Shepherd. Since the days of the Reformation, churches have boasted in the external things while neglecting the voice of the Shepherd. Thus, Martin Luther wrote in the Smalcald Articles about the church saying,
We do not concede to them that they are the Church, and [in truth] they are not [the Church]; nor will we listen to those things which, under the name of Church, they enjoin or forbid. For, thank God, [to-day] a child seven years old knows what the Church is, namely, the holy believers and lambs who hear the voice of their Shepherd. For the children pray thus: I believe in one holy [catholic or] Christian Church. This holiness does not consist in albs, tonsures, long gowns, and other of their ceremonies devised by them beyond Holy Scripture, but in the Word of God and true faith. (Smalcald Articles: Article XII as found in the Triglot Concordia: The Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921).
In other words, it is not the externals that matter. The holiness of the church does not consist of a building with its entire splendor. It does not consist of a bunch of pastors with all their pizzazz and pastoral attire. It does not consist of a bunch of members who give of their time, talent, and treasures. It does not consist of a growing membership roster or exciting worship.
The church cannot be measured by the size of the budget, the amount of money in the collection plate, or the number of people at a Sunday Service. Such observations come with the eyes. To measure in these external things is to think in the way of the law.
The holiness of the church is rooted in the holy Gospel. The Gospel is about hearing the voice of the Shepherd and believing. Such attention comes from ears that hear. The holy church consists of disciples who hear and believe the word of Jesus. It is so simple that even a 7-year old child can understand. The church consists of sheep who hear the voice of their Shepherd.
Now let me say that again. The church consists of sheep who hear the voice of their Shepherd. Today, we relearn what it means to be disciples of Christ. We are taught about our right relationship with Jesus. We are the sheep and He is the Shepherd. He lays down His life for us. He leads us and we follow. He feeds us and we live. He protects and we are kept safe from all harm.
Jesus says, “But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.” As we listen to the voice of Jesus, we learn to know His voice. As we know His voice, we know Him. We continue to learn that He is our True Shepherd who knows us by name and leads us.
However, we constantly get it wrong. We continue to act like we are the ones who lead and Jesus should follow us. We continue to act like we are the ones that speak and Jesus needs to listen to us. We want to be the shepherd of our own soul. We seek other pastures that seem greener. We continue to use our eyes rather than our ears. The questions we must continue to ask ourselves is this, “Are we listening to the voice of the Shepherd?” “Are we listening to the voice of a stranger, a robber, or a thief?” “Do we know the voice of our Shepherd?”
Thus, we gather so that we can use our mouths to declare that we are sheep who have failed and constantly go astray. We use our mouths to confess that Jesus is our Shepherd. Then we use our ears to listen to Jesus call us by name. We continue to learn that He is our Shepherd who speaks to us leading us feeding us and mending us. We continue to hear His voice so that we may recognize it and know Him.
So again today, we gather as sheep. Once again we learn that Jesus is the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep and by faith we are His sheep. Our Epistle lesson puts it this way, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” 1 Peter 2:24-25 (ESV)
As sheep, we need to be constantly reminded of the threat of strangers, thieves, and robbers who come with strange voices. Thieves and robbers come to kill and destroy. Strangers come to lead you away from the Shepherd. It is the strange voice that talks of the holiness of the church as the one that is growing in numbers, the one with the most members, the one with all the external attractions and programs including money and buildings. The strange voice talks up the actions of the members and the personality of the pastors. The strange voice says follow me and I will show you the way to do church. The strange voice desires you to use your eyes and set them on the external things. The strange voice says that doctrine doesn’t matter.
Yet the sheep do not follow the stranger. Why? They do not follow, because they use their ears. They do not recognize the stranger’s voice. It is strange to them. They know the Shepherd and they follow His voice. Doctrine does matter. Doctrine is the teaching of Jesus and He alone has the words of eternal life. The church rejoices in the teaching of Jesus and continues to teach the words of Jesus making and feeding sheep.
As believers, we are to continue to hear and learn the voice of the Shepherd. In this way we will be able to distinguish His voice from the voice of the stranger. When we hear the voice of the stranger we are not to follow. Instead we are commanded to flee and run far away. Just like seven-year old children who are taught by their parents to stay away from strangers, we too should keep away from strangers in the church. When the stranger comes we should identify him and cry out, “Stranger, stranger, stranger.” We are to then listen for the voice of the Shepherd and follow after Him.
Let us flee from the stranger who says that doctrine does not matter. Let us run for refuge in the Shepherd. He alone has the words of eternal life. Once again on this day, we learn that Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Jesus says, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Continue to familiarize yourself with the voice of the Shepherd. He calls you by name, He cares for you, and He gives you eternal life. Amen.
