April 30, 2023 Text: Psalm 23
Dear Friends in Christ,
One of the most famous one-hit wonder songs of the 1970’s was “Seasons In The Sun.” Sung by Terry Jacks its words were about a man who was dying. Here is one verse, “Goodbye, papa, please pray for me, I was the black sheep of the family, You tried to teach me right from wrong, Too much wine and too much song, Wonder how I got along.”
The black sheep of the family? What does that mean? We define it as someone different from the rest, a family member who doesn’t fit in. In the song the young man has some “prodigal son” in him and that makes him the “black sheep of the family.”
A black sheep has a recessive gene that makes their wool black. Their wool is less valuable because the wool cannot be dyed. Many languages of our world have some form of “black sheep” in their vernacular.
Do we have any amongst us today who were the “black sheep of the family?” Or were all of you the nice, white sheep that always followed the voice of your dad and mom? I am going this way in the sermon today – we are all black sheep. Before throwing your hymnal my way, listen up and let’s see if this is not true. We are going to find out together why . . .
“BLACK SHEEP NEED A GOOD SHEPHERD”
Let’s start with a series of questions to get to the answer. Do you ever wander from the flock? Do you ever listen to voices that are not the best for you? Ever push your way past someone else to get to the front of the pen or the buffet line? Are you ever told what to do in God’s Word and you do the opposite? If you still consider yourself a white sheep, one more question? Does your pristine exterior ever get dirty because your interior is so rotten – in thoughts, in actions, in gestures? Hello, black sheep!
OK, now that we are all in the pen together this morning, we are going to need an intervention. We need a helper, a leader . . . a Good Shepherd. King David has just what we need in the beginning of Psalm 23. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” (v. 1-3).
Notice in this psalm that all the important actions happen by the Shepherd’s work, not yours. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads; He restores; He leads.
As we heard in our Gospel for today, He leads us by His voice. The Good Shepherd rose from the dead to lead you. One positive of sheep is they have impeccable hearing. You can merge them together quite easily. We are to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd.
He first taught you to recognize His voice at your Baptism; through the Word and the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, He continues to teach you and lead you through this sinful world with His voice. We are sent the Holy Spirit to help distinguish His voice and the black sheep voices we sometimes follow in this world. He calls you and I – the black sheep of His family to repentance, to the anointing of your head with the oil of Holy Baptism, to feed on the lush pastures of His Word and at the Table of His life-giving flesh and blood spread before you.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (v. 4-6)
There are times you might feel abandoned. Why would a caring shepherd lead me through the valley of the shadow of death? Why does the death of loved ones cast a shadow over us? Does your own death loom like a dark cloud? Has the Good Shepherd left us black sheep because of our sin and failure? No, He is not punishing us. No, He has not failed to care for you. He comforts us. Jesus is with us in death. He went through it first for you to open the way to life. He is with you when you mourn. He wept at Lazarus’ tomb. Jesus is your Good Shepherd who gives you goodness and mercy. He leads you to His house today and He will keep you in that house until you make the crossover to eternal dwellings.
As the Good Shepherd does His work in our lives, a transformation takes place. That black wool gets whiter and whiter. Washed in the blood of our Savior we enter His eternal House as white and as bright as we can be. Feeling good, shining. What a glorious day that will be to stand before the Good Shepherd.
Can you see now why the black sheep need the Good Shepherd?
Amen.