There are plenty of people who try ans escape pain in many ways. Come and read or listen what your Good Shepherd does for those who hurt. The sermon from May 15th is based on 1 Peter 2:19-25. The Apostle Peter points us and his persecuted readers back to the Shepherd and Overseer of their souls.
- The Marines have their own idea found in the slogan above. What do you think pain is?
- What do you think about the story of the shepherd and the runaway sheep?
- Why is it important to know that Jesus "has been there" when it comes to pain?
- How do you handle people who are afraid?
- How do you handle your own fears?
Pain is weakness leaving the body. At least that’s what the marines say. Pain is a real day to day thing for many of you. Pain can cripple you. Make you bitter. Give you perspective on life. On this 4th Sunday of Easter we continue our theme of Easter Means No Fear of Pain.
The 4th Sunday of Easter is Good Shepherd Sunday. The picture of a Good Shepherd is one that Jesus himself draws for us. He calls himself the Good Shepherd. In our Gospel lesson we are one verse short of those famous words. In our gospel lesson Jesus contrasts himself with the bad shepherds – the Pharisees, who didn’t care about the sheep at all. Before we talk about our Good Shepherd, I want to talk about the sheep.
Peter is talking to sheep – new sheep who have only known their Good Shepherd for a short time. These new sheep have had it pretty rough. 19 For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. In school it’s not easy to be the “idiot” who believes that God created the world. At the water cooler tomorrow it’s fun to talk about weekend conquests outside of marriage. The path that your Good Shepherd lays out for you is clear but rocky. Don’t expect people support regular church attendance or Bible study. If this is your lot you are to be commended for your suffering. Peter isn’t saying anything new. Our Good Shepherd wrote in the gospel of Matthew, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Why do sheep suffer? It may be that all of the suffering in your life is because you are God’s sheep. Wolves are waiting to rip you from limb to limb. What if you are one of those sheep who loves walking on the edge of the cliff? Do you like to frolic in the stream going ever deeper until it’s too late? 20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? Here Peter is talking about the other side of the coin. People aren’t picking on you for walking away from a dirty joke – you’re under probation for showing up late and leaving early! The boss doesn’t trust you because every other word out of your mouth is a lie! Now we’re getting into a few different ways that people suffer.
I want to tell you a story – and I want to get your reaction. This is difficult because I’m not actually going to take questions, but it’s a good one as we see how our Good Shepherd drives away our fear of pain.
There was a sheep that continued to run away. First he was caught in a thicket. His wool was hopelessly hooked into the thorns. He was bloody and easy prey for a passing wolf. The second time he fell down a ravine – and it was flash flood season. The shepherd found him just in time. After the third time the shepherd took the sheep and broke its leg, not because he hated the little sheep but because he love him. Now the sheep couldn’t run but as it limped it stayed by the shepherd’s side.
That story is strong and in many ways very good, but we need to be careful with how we use it. How do I feel if my 4-year-old twins take a table knife to the nearest power outlet over and over again? After the third or fourth time, might I swat their little finger? The problem is that not all pain is your fault. Another problem is that Satan works overtime to convince you that it is your fault.
I want to take you to the center of out text where Peter writes. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. No matter what you think you’ve done, do you see that you are forgiven. Even clearer is the Apostle Paul in Romans – There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. There is no sacrifice for sin left – says the author to the Hebrews.
That might leave you in an awkward place. Carry the thought out to it’s logical end and God can only give you pain for a blessing. You’re left with a few questions. Why might be one of them.
21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
22 “He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
Peter is tracing the path for persecution. Understand that this world is a veil of tear and your Savior knows where you’ve been. There was an unruly parent at one of my soccer games yesterday. He wasn’t tased, but only of the referees explained to me that if you want to have a taser, you need to be tased. Every police officer, security guard, or deputy has felt the jolt. In the same way Jesus knows your miserable agony. That means I can go to him when I suffer. He knows what it’s like and he can help me.
But that doesn’t answer the question why, does it? Why is there pain? I have to say pinch yourself. Do you have flesh? Is it sinful? Does it lead you astray? Turn on the news. How is the content? Is there any question that our world is sinful. Read the Scriptures and you’ll find that your old evil foe is waiting for you – to pounce and destroy you. He would have already had he not been beaten back by the Good Shepherd. That is why there is sin.
Why do I have to suffer through it? Go to your Good Shepherd. Pray to him, “Please take this suffering away.” What are the possible answer? It might be YES! I can’t stand seeing my sheep suffer. It might be wait or it might be no. That can be a hard answer. He doesn’t give us any information. If he says wait or no he promised to give you the strength to bear up under it or he might take you home. He might deliver you not by taking the pain away from you, but by taking you away from the pain. You will be by his side. Safe, secure and pain free.
This doesn’t answer the question directly. How does Easter mean no fear of pain?
25 For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. On Easter Sunday I told you about how my three girls were trapped by a bee. The terror was real. For Emmerson that terror is still real. Almost every night – including last night – she’ll reduce herself to a ball of tears because of bugs. How do you comfort a four-year-old? You don’t lecture. Threats can work, but there’s a better way. I take her to the window. It’s closed and locked. I remind her that she hasn’t seen a bug in her room ever. I take every chance to tell her that she is one hundred times bigger than the bugs. I give her a hug and kiss and she reluctantly lays down and goes to sleep.
When you are afraid, go back to the empty tomb and look in. There is a reason that the Easter season of the church year lasts seven weeks. We need to go back again and again. We forget so quickly. The fears keep coming back. That is how Easter drives away fears.
I think that the marines are wrong. I don’t think that pain is weakness leaving the body. I think that pain is one way God keeps us close. Pain is one way that God keeps us safe. Pain is one way that we know that God loves us – not because he loves to see us suffer, but because it forces us to trust his promises. There’s nowhere else to go. If it drives us back to the cross, it can only be good. Easter means no fear pain. Amen.
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