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Today's Lenten Devotion from the Evening Service
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The Sacrifice of the Good Shepherd
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.
-- John 10:11
In this chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus says, in several different ways, that he will die for his people. Just before this verse, Jesus tells us that he is the gate and that those who enter through the gate will be saved, that the Good Shepherd came to bring life to us, that we might have life to the full.
The love and the plan of the Lord are revealed with our Savior’s words "I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice and there shall be one flock and one shepherd". The Lord wants many to come to Him, not just the Nation of Israel, and Jesus calls to them. But Jesus must lay down his life, and lay it down of his own accord. The Lord’s plan began thousands of years before the Ministry of Jesus, and He obediently followed that plan.
Shepherds in ancient Palestine knew their flocks very well. They recognized their sheep and called to them by name. The sheep also knew their shepherd and followed the shepherd’s voice. The sheep followed as the shepherd led from the front because they trusted the shepherd.
The idea that all over the world there are people responding to the call of the Good Shepherd is central to Lent. People are turning away from the World and towards the Way, away from the Darkness and towards the Light, away from sin and towards the Empty Cross.
Just recently, Dennis Dodds restarted the Holy Trinity web site. It is quite a lot of work to keep it functioning, and not everyone would agree that the effort is worth it, but think about the people who will visit the site. Even if they never get a chance to visit Holy Trinity, they will be able to read about our ministries, our devotions, and Pastor Mary's lovely homilies. One of the reasons my wife and I chose to visit this church in the first place was Pastor Mary's gospel-filled words on the old web site.
Because this work helps people to choose good (and God) over evil, Dennis becomes a coworker with St. Paul and all the other Apostles. Even though letting some searcher read the Ash Wednesday homily doesn't seem like much, it helps the good in that person "ripen" and become more and more different from evil. C.S. Lewis said that "earth, if chosen instead of heaven, will turn out to have been, all along, only a region in Hell; and earth, if put second to heaven, to have been from the beginning a part of heaven itself."
The Internet allows the Word to reach out to people. It helps build up those who are faltering in their Faith. It helps people better understand the Message. It helps people to answer the Good Shepherd’s call. Dennis’ work, like the work of so many others, helps people, one by one, to put heaven first.
Over the recent holiday weekend, a twelve-year-old classmate of my son stayed overnight at our home. The boy, Matt, was with us because his mother, Denise, flew to South Florida unexpectedly. You see a 16 year-old niece, Barbara, was in a car accident. She was driving to school on a foggy Thursday morning, when a truck hit the driver’s side of her car.
Denise needed to be with her sister and other family members as they waited by Barbara’s bedside. The news was not good. The girl’s neck was injured, broken. The firemen extracted her from the wreck as soon as possible, but she had to be resuscitated. Her brain was damaged.
Matt knew that his cousin was very sick. He knew his mother answered the call and rushed off on a long journey. Matt’s father had so many things to take care of as he made preparations that he could not stay together with his son. News came from Florida that Barbara was not doing well, her brain was swelling, she could not breathe on her own, she wasn’t responding.
The next day, we heard from Florida again. Barbara had been injured too badly. She would not recover. Denise was with her sister when they decided to allow Barbara’s organs to be donated. Denise would come back home and then her whole family would drive back down to Florida. Matt’s father waited to tell the boy about Barbara. The father wanted the family to be together, and then they would speak with Matt.
By this evening, as I speak to you, Barbara will have donated her organs and her life support will be turned off. There will be a great deal of crying and a funeral. But over these days her family has gathered from far away. They’ll tell stories about Barbara’s life. They’ll celebrate who she was. They will not be alone, but together, joined in sadness over this separation, and joined in faith.
What would you do to bring Barbara back?
Would you stop her from driving so young?
But 16 is the legal driving age in Florida and children can be difficult to restrict.
Would you treat her wounds more quickly?
But her physicians had all that modern medicine can provide, but it was not enough.
There is no way for Barbara to be brought back, but there is a way for her to be brought forward, into the Light. Because Barbara is not lost, she is gone from this world, but she is found. Through the sacrifice of the Good Shepherd she arrived home. Through Faith we are united with Jesus.
Because we Believe, the Sacrifice of the Good Shepherd means that we are with him at the Crucifixion and our old sin-miserable life was also nailed to the cross. And, just as we rose up out of the Baptismal water we also rose up with Christ out of the Tomb. The empty cross is a promise, it’s a proud banner, it’s the sign that Death can be driven away with a simple word, Jesus.
Barbara’s loved ones are sad, but this is only a temporary parting. Soon, they will be reunited with her. Just as I will be reunited with my Mom and Dad. Just as you will be reunited with your loved ones. Just as we will be together with Jesus.
But do not forget that you must look with believing eyes, you must hear with believing ears. You must listen to the Good Shepherd calling your name. At your Baptism, your heart of sin was replaced with a new heart beating with the Spirit. Your heart was replaced just as much as Paul Starke’s heart was replaced and just as much as Barbara’s heart was given up so that someone else could live.
Do not waste this gift, but answer the Call.
Help spread the Good News to all the Nations.
Join the flock, join His people, and join Barbara as she sings with all the angels and archangels
And you too can sing:
When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shinning as the Sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.
Dennis Blazak
Joyjoywrld57@msn.com
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