2025-05-11 Easter 4

Scripture Readings

Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!

One of the ultimate best, couples-building activities has got to be travel. More specifically, driving. And even more specifically, in a place that you’ve never been before that requires navigation. And, that place is a gigantic city that has millions and millions of people, with myriads upon myriads of vehicles, swerving and speeding and judging you because you have green and white Saskatchewan plates! I know you know. I recall fond memories of exactly this, driving through Montreal. We thought we would be smart and avoid Toronto through the States, only to hit Montreal at rush hour. And this was long before the days of GPS and Smart Phone navigation, folks. Regan was fumbling with the paper map as I was trying to keep us alive on the mean streets. We ended up missing our exit because we don’t parlons la Francais, Garcon. And this was about the point that our first marriage nearly came to an end! We ended up in an endless circle of cookie cutter spec houses that went on and on and on. It was then and there that I vowed to go and buy a Garmin GPS, providing I ever escaped Montreal suburbia!

There is just something about having a guide that makes life so much more comfortable, isn’t there? A GPS on strange roads. A friend who lives in a city that will drive you around, steering you clear of bad neighborhoods and crazy traffic. No matter if it is a smart phone with AI or a fellow human who knows the way, it makes us breathe easier. The more I thought about this, the more it became clear that it’s a modern version a shepherd. Someone who knows the way to go, knows how to avoid pitfalls and problems. This is precisely why the Scriptures speak so much about shepherds.

Obviously, several thousand years ago as the Scriptures were written, shepherding and flocks and farming were the way of life. Everyone knew and could relate to how important shepherds were to society. Like a GPS, they knew the best way to go. They knew where there was fresh grass and clean water. They knew how to defend and protect their flocks from predators. And, if need be, the very best ones would actually sacrifice themselves to keep their sheep safe.

Shepherding is the theme today as the 4th Sunday after Easter is known as Good Shepherd Sunday. “I AM the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep” (JN 10:14-15). This is not a new Scripture. We’re familiar with it and the ways that Jesus carries out the ultimate of shepherdly duties. Not only does He lead His sheep to green pastures and still waters, but He ultimately lays down His life on the cross in the ultimate display of shepherdly grace and mercy, that the sheep may live and have life abundantly. This is fresh in our minds as our Lord’s Passion was only about a month ago. The Pharisees, the Sadduccees, the scribes, the chief priests - Jesus compared all of them to hired hands as opposed to real shepherds who actually loved the sheep and would do anything for them. Naturally, they didn’t like this critique. True to form, the nasty and ravenous wolves sought to kill both flock and shepherd. But our Good Shepherd willingly and readily laid down His life in His great love and grace.

Jesus says “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (JN 10:27). This is truly a comforting image of Christ our Good Shepherd. The issue is that in our day, there are about 17 billion other voices speaking at the same time! At perhaps no other time in human history have the other voices been so influential. Technology has made manipulation nearly a constant thing for people. Smart phones, for all the blessings and advantages they offer, have truly become nearly perfect conduits of influence. Radio and TV were the forerunners, but nothing can compare to the addiction to personalized screens we now have. Mass media. Advertising. Social Media. Hollywood. Government propaganda. These voices, this enormous influence on people, it’s all truly non-stop. Every minute of the news, every page you scroll on your phone, it is always influencing you and telling you what to think. Buying in to these voices above all things is the goal. It fuels consumerism. You need to buy all these products to feel happy! It fuels political division. You need to hate this group of people who don’t agree with you! It is fracturing and destroying society because these voices manipulate us all the time and we don’t even realize it’s happening. It’s truly insidious.

This should really make us perk up our ears and make us ask ourselves “whose sheep are we?” Whose voice should we actually be listening to? Big corporations? Social media giants? Some influencer on TikTok? The government owned media? The world? Satan? Whose sheep are we? Whose voice should we be listening to? They’re all vying for your mind. They’re all vying for your soul. And they do this, every minute of every day.

Jesus says “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (JN 10:27). This is the voice we need to be listening too. We hear God’s voice in the Scriptures. We come to know it as we read the pages of the Bible. Just do a quick check. How many minutes a day do we spend in God’s Word, hearing His voice speaking to us vs. how many minutes a day do we spend saturated in all the other voices? TV. Phones. Media. Imagine what would happen if you turned off the news channel on your TV and instead read John’s Gospel. Or if you quit doom-scrolling your Instagram feed and instead heard what God has to say in the book of Acts? You’d learn very quickly how much all these other voices don’t really make us happy or content. In fact it’s the complete opposite. These voices make you feel depressed, ungrateful, hateful, fearful and full of anxiety. So why do we listen to them? It’s like opening a gigantic sewer pipe in your living room and filling it up with you know what! How full does it have to get before you want to turn that stuff off?!

“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (JN 10:28). Here’s what we actually need. Eternal life. Forgiveness for our sins. Unconditional love and acceptance. This is the voice of Jesus our Good Shepherd. This is the promise He brings for all who believe. This is the voice we actually need to be listening to. This is the voice that actually matters for eternity, forever and ever. “For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Rev.7:17).

That’s what it means to belong to the Good Shepherd. That’s what it means to be a citizen of heaven though we dwell on earth. That’s what it means to be a Baptized child of God. That’s what it means to be welcomed to our Lord’s table. That’s what it means to serve the Lord with gladness. That’s what it means when we hear the still small voice of Jesus that drowns out the voices of this sinful world. For the Lord is our Shepherd now and forever more. Amen! Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!