Sermon preached on the Fourth Sunday of Easter. May 11, 2025

At the age of five years old, I was taught the Lord’s Prayer by my mother. I couldn’t yet read or write, so learning the Lord’s Prayer by heart was the only way.

Five years later, I learned my second piece of Scripture. At school every morning, our class would begin the day by standing at our desks and singing the first two verses of the 23rd psalm, to the tune of Crimond.

The practice of committing prayers and psalms to heart is an ancient Christian custom, which became popular in the middle ages. In the monasteries, monks and nuns had to memorize psalms by hearts and recite them every day. Of course, one can argue that we no longer need to do that. Why memorize something when you can simply look it up on the internet? But the great thing about learning something by heart is that when you memorize a poem or a prayer it stays with you forever. You carry it wherever you go. It means you can pray or sing without having you head down, looking at a phone. Instead, you can lift your head up, facing God and the world.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Those beautiful opening words are from the 23rd psalm. They are linked in today’s liturgy with the gospel reading, where Jesus talks about the sheep who hear his voice. Who are they? They are all of us here today. We have all heard the words of Jesus and have responded by going to the church which he founded. Jesus says, “I know them, and they follow me.” 

The first and most important lesson we learn as a Christian is to obey Jesus. “Follow me,” is a new commandment. Following Jesus is easier said than done. It is a great challenge to you and me, who live in the greatest country on earth, and who enjoy freedom unmatched by any other people in history  - it’s a challenge to submit our will and follow the will of another.

Jesus explains why in the gospel. When he is talking about the relationship between himself and his followers, he uses the metaphor of a shepherd and sheep. "My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me…No one will snatch them out of my hand.”

Is this helpful? Are you able to think of yourself as a sheep? I must say, on the surface, it isn’t the most flattering thing to be called. After all, sheep are not very bright. They tend to move together in the same direction, whether it is the right one or not. When they fall over, sometimes they can’t get back up again.

That reminds me of a time when Ruth and I were on vacation in England, and my youngest son joined us for a walk in the country. Along the path we met a woman who told us about a sheep that was on its back and couldn’t get up. My son went to where the sheep was, and took hold of the sheep, and got her on its feet again. And that is what Jesus the shepherd does - when we are on our backs, he takes hold of us and puts us back on our feet. 

In Jesus’ day, there were plenty of shepherds around - to be honest, they weren’t held in high esteem by the majority of the population. So when Jesus calls himself a shepherd, it is not exactly flattering to himself. But it is accurate. And let’s remember also that Jesus has a sense of humor. It’s very dry, but I detect it being used here.

The notion that Jesus is a shepherd and that we are the sheep is one that will help us to understand the nature of our relationship to God. Jesus has a love and care for the sheep. The shepherd leads the sheep to new pastures, because it is not good for them to be kept in one place all the time. With his staff he directs the sheep and keeps them in line. With his rod he beats off the wild animals that come to prey. 

Where is Jesus your shepherd leading you? Sometimes it isn’t clear where you are going in life. You may have been going one way and then suddenly you veer off in another direction. You used to see the horizon clear ahead - now you see only mist and no horizon. At such times you need someone trustworthy to guide you through the mist. Jesus is that trustworthy guide, the shepherd who will never leave you on your own.

The place where he leads you is not always a safe place. In the psalm, you walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Note that you are not walking around it, but through it. In life you will enter places where you will feel afraid. You will sense the evil in the air; at those times you will need to call upon Jesus to protect you. 

Why does Jesus do all this for us? Why doesn’t he leave us to fend for ourselves? Well, to a certain extent, he does. He gives us free will. But that free will is an expression of his love and trust in us. He hopes that as sheep we are able to return that love, out of our own free will, not because he is forcing us to do so. 

Remember that the relationship between the sheep and the shepherd is not one of equality. We are not equivalent to God. In fact, our relationship to God is one of dependence.

What is our ultimate destination? The kingdom of heaven. This is spelled out at the end of psalm 23: “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” This is the eternal life where we will enjoy the best kind of freedom. That is, to know God from whom all goodness flows, and to live in his presence.

I doubt there is a more restful or peaceful poem in the whole of the Bible as the 23rd psalm. Learn it by heart. Meditate on each line. Recite it when you are troubled or anxious. Its words are a balm to the spirit, and a comfort to all who follow Jesus, the shepherd of our souls.

Father David