Love In Action
Sermon
THE VICTORY OF FAITH
New Testament Sermons For Lent And Easter
One of the enduring images of both the Old Testament and New Testament scriptures is that of the good shepherd. The Psalmist, the prophet Ezekiel, and Jesus himself used this human picture to convey a divine reality. The picture is that of the shepherd who cares well for his sheep, even to the point of laying down his life for the sheep; the divine reality is that the Son of God cares for us so much that he was willing to lay down his life for us. This love creates new life in us, so that we desire to be loving to those around us.
The good shepherd is the one who will lead the sheep. He will go before the sheep to test the way. The sheep will confidently follow, because they see that the shepherd has gone before them, through the narrow passages and over the danger-laden pathways. The writer to the Hebrews says that Jesus was tempted in every way just like we are; yet he is without sin, so that he can indeed help those who are so tempted. Like sheep, as we follow Jesus, he can lead the way for us through the danger zones.
The good shepherd is the one who will care for the sheep when they gather in the corral after a day of grazing. They eat the grass down to the nub, scratching their sensitive noses on the rocks and the earth. The good shepherd waits by the door of the corral and applies a soothing salve on their noses to heal the bruises for tomorrow's pasture. The Gospel of Matthew reports Jesus' salving words, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." This he did for the lepers, the blind, the lame, the possessed, the grieving and the dead.
The good shepherd is the one who will stand between the sheep and any danger. When the wolf attacks the fold, the shepherd, the one who is good, will challenge the intruder. To get to the sheep, the wolf has to get by the good shepherd first. The wolf may be hungry, but will he risk his life for a meal? The good shepherd will risk his life for the sake of the sheep. Here is where Jesus demonstrates his love for us in the greatest way possible. Jesus puts his life on the battle line between us and our spiritual enemies: sin and death. They will seek to defeat and capture us, separating us from God. To the victor belongs the spoils. It is a fight to the finish. Jesus sacrifices himself to the enemy in order to save us. Evil gloats for a weekend, but God turns the tide of battle on the third day. On Easter morning Jesus bursts from the tomb and proclaims that he himself is the victor. "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die."
It is in the spirit of this kind of divine love that John in his pastoral letter encourages believers to be loving. "We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us -- and we ought to lay down our lives for one another." In times of persecution, this makes literal sense, when believers may be called upon to lose their lives in order to protect others from being exposed to authorities who seek their harm; for example, Christians were called upon to do just this during World War II when Nazis hunted Jews.
However, John goes on to describe how this kind of love is also expressed when we respond to the needs of those around us with Christ-like love. The Good Shepherd calls for his sheep to be good.
Consider Alice. She knew the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd called her to be a good sheep. Alice had a son whom she loved deeply. But a tragic death snatched him away in his youth from her mothering arms. Alice knew the Good Shepherd. He came to her in the depth of her broken heart. She resolved to remember her precious son in a way that would reach out to help other youth. Every year, since his death, she provides a campership for any youth who wants to go to Bible camp but who has financial difficulties getting there. Alice is a good sheep, who loves,"not in word or speech, but in truth and action."
Consider Lynn. Faithfully she would go to the nursing home to see her mother, who had aged not so gracefully. Alzheimer's clouded her mind and she did not even recognize her own daughter. But Lynn knew the Good Shepherd and how the Good Shepherd takes care of the sheep. Lynn determined to be the hands and voice of the Good Shepherd for her mother. Every visit she would carefully brush her mother's hair, snow white now and thinning, but still long and soft. It broke her heart to hear in weak response, "And who are you, dear?" Sometimes as she combed her hair, she would sing for her mom between the tears, sing songs that she learned on her mother's knee years ago. "That's lovely, dear. God bless you. Your name again?" Lynn is a good sheep, who loves "not in word or speech, but in truth and action."
Toyohiko Kagawa, a Japanese man, also knew the Good Shepherd. He became a Christian as a teenager. It cost him dearly to love the Lord, because his family disinherited him. They did not want a Christian in their traditional Japanese family. Yet, Kagawa persevered in his newfound faith. After years of study in Tokyo, he returned to his hometown of Kobe. He was concerned for the poor of Kobe, so he lived in a six-foot by six-foot hut in one of the worst slums in the world. He worked to establish the first labor union in Japan among shipyard workers. He also founded the Farmer's Union. His efforts did not always meet with the approval of the authorities. Twice he was arrested because of his efforts on behalf of the working people. His faith in the Good Shepherd led him to see the face of God in the faces of the poor and oppressed people of Japan. He established credit unions, schools, hospitals, and churches throughout Japan on their behalf.
In one of his writings, Kagawa expressed this: "My real experience of religion came when I entered the Kobe slums. Everything in the slums was ugly: the people, the houses, the clothes, the streets -- everything was ugly and full of disease. If I had not carried God beside me, I should not have been able to stay. But because I believed in God ƒ I had a different view of life ƒ My job was to help these people ƒ A gambler, dying, said to me that he was going back to his Heavenly Father. Then for the first time, like a flash, I was convinced that any person, even the most depraved, is able to grasp the [hand of the Good Shepherd]."1
Toyohiko Kagawa -- this sheep became a ram with strong horns to butt against the wrongs of the world. He offered his wool and mutton, his life's breath and work, to the Good Shepherd; or as John expresses it, "ƒ to obey his commandments and do what pleases him ƒ and this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another.ƒ"
John writes a letter of encouragement to all of us today in light of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ: "Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action." Alice, Lynn, and Kagawa did so. This is how the Lord abides in us today. Amen.
____________
1. Toyohiko Kagawa, Love: The Law Of Life (St. Paul, Minn.: Macalester Park Publishing Co., 1951), pp. 13-14. Used by permission.
The good shepherd is the one who will lead the sheep. He will go before the sheep to test the way. The sheep will confidently follow, because they see that the shepherd has gone before them, through the narrow passages and over the danger-laden pathways. The writer to the Hebrews says that Jesus was tempted in every way just like we are; yet he is without sin, so that he can indeed help those who are so tempted. Like sheep, as we follow Jesus, he can lead the way for us through the danger zones.
The good shepherd is the one who will care for the sheep when they gather in the corral after a day of grazing. They eat the grass down to the nub, scratching their sensitive noses on the rocks and the earth. The good shepherd waits by the door of the corral and applies a soothing salve on their noses to heal the bruises for tomorrow's pasture. The Gospel of Matthew reports Jesus' salving words, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." This he did for the lepers, the blind, the lame, the possessed, the grieving and the dead.
The good shepherd is the one who will stand between the sheep and any danger. When the wolf attacks the fold, the shepherd, the one who is good, will challenge the intruder. To get to the sheep, the wolf has to get by the good shepherd first. The wolf may be hungry, but will he risk his life for a meal? The good shepherd will risk his life for the sake of the sheep. Here is where Jesus demonstrates his love for us in the greatest way possible. Jesus puts his life on the battle line between us and our spiritual enemies: sin and death. They will seek to defeat and capture us, separating us from God. To the victor belongs the spoils. It is a fight to the finish. Jesus sacrifices himself to the enemy in order to save us. Evil gloats for a weekend, but God turns the tide of battle on the third day. On Easter morning Jesus bursts from the tomb and proclaims that he himself is the victor. "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die."
It is in the spirit of this kind of divine love that John in his pastoral letter encourages believers to be loving. "We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us -- and we ought to lay down our lives for one another." In times of persecution, this makes literal sense, when believers may be called upon to lose their lives in order to protect others from being exposed to authorities who seek their harm; for example, Christians were called upon to do just this during World War II when Nazis hunted Jews.
However, John goes on to describe how this kind of love is also expressed when we respond to the needs of those around us with Christ-like love. The Good Shepherd calls for his sheep to be good.
Consider Alice. She knew the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd called her to be a good sheep. Alice had a son whom she loved deeply. But a tragic death snatched him away in his youth from her mothering arms. Alice knew the Good Shepherd. He came to her in the depth of her broken heart. She resolved to remember her precious son in a way that would reach out to help other youth. Every year, since his death, she provides a campership for any youth who wants to go to Bible camp but who has financial difficulties getting there. Alice is a good sheep, who loves,"not in word or speech, but in truth and action."
Consider Lynn. Faithfully she would go to the nursing home to see her mother, who had aged not so gracefully. Alzheimer's clouded her mind and she did not even recognize her own daughter. But Lynn knew the Good Shepherd and how the Good Shepherd takes care of the sheep. Lynn determined to be the hands and voice of the Good Shepherd for her mother. Every visit she would carefully brush her mother's hair, snow white now and thinning, but still long and soft. It broke her heart to hear in weak response, "And who are you, dear?" Sometimes as she combed her hair, she would sing for her mom between the tears, sing songs that she learned on her mother's knee years ago. "That's lovely, dear. God bless you. Your name again?" Lynn is a good sheep, who loves "not in word or speech, but in truth and action."
Toyohiko Kagawa, a Japanese man, also knew the Good Shepherd. He became a Christian as a teenager. It cost him dearly to love the Lord, because his family disinherited him. They did not want a Christian in their traditional Japanese family. Yet, Kagawa persevered in his newfound faith. After years of study in Tokyo, he returned to his hometown of Kobe. He was concerned for the poor of Kobe, so he lived in a six-foot by six-foot hut in one of the worst slums in the world. He worked to establish the first labor union in Japan among shipyard workers. He also founded the Farmer's Union. His efforts did not always meet with the approval of the authorities. Twice he was arrested because of his efforts on behalf of the working people. His faith in the Good Shepherd led him to see the face of God in the faces of the poor and oppressed people of Japan. He established credit unions, schools, hospitals, and churches throughout Japan on their behalf.
In one of his writings, Kagawa expressed this: "My real experience of religion came when I entered the Kobe slums. Everything in the slums was ugly: the people, the houses, the clothes, the streets -- everything was ugly and full of disease. If I had not carried God beside me, I should not have been able to stay. But because I believed in God ƒ I had a different view of life ƒ My job was to help these people ƒ A gambler, dying, said to me that he was going back to his Heavenly Father. Then for the first time, like a flash, I was convinced that any person, even the most depraved, is able to grasp the [hand of the Good Shepherd]."1
Toyohiko Kagawa -- this sheep became a ram with strong horns to butt against the wrongs of the world. He offered his wool and mutton, his life's breath and work, to the Good Shepherd; or as John expresses it, "ƒ to obey his commandments and do what pleases him ƒ and this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another.ƒ"
John writes a letter of encouragement to all of us today in light of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ: "Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action." Alice, Lynn, and Kagawa did so. This is how the Lord abides in us today. Amen.
____________
1. Toyohiko Kagawa, Love: The Law Of Life (St. Paul, Minn.: Macalester Park Publishing Co., 1951), pp. 13-14. Used by permission.
