Jesus the Good Shepherd - Sermon by Deacon Tracy Anderson
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May 12, 2025
From Deacon Tracy Anderson's Sermon on Sunday, May 11, 2025 (watch the sermon HERE starting at 28:00).
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.
Amen.
I have to confess that I’ve been on YouTube a lot this week, in preparation for Good Shepherd Sunday. There is a sheep farmer that I’ve been watching for several years now and I used this sermon as an excuse to binge watch. Her name is Sandi Brock and she and her husband Mark own and operate Shepherd Creek Farms, a grain and livestock enterprise in Ontario Canada, with Mark overseeing their many crops and Sandi raising and managing her flock of over 500 sheep. To watch Sandi interact with her sheep is both entertaining and heartwarming. It is evident in all she does that she adores her flock and is devoted to their care and wellbeing. Sandi’s work day often begins at 4am, when she begins her morning rounds, checking to make certain that every one of her sheep is safe and well, caring for any lambs that may have been born during the night, making sure that all are fed and watered. Throughout her day she attends to their physical needs, taking extra care with the sick and weak among her wooly friends, making sure their living space is clean, warm and dry, and secured against predators.
Sandi knows her sheep and they know her. Some have been given names; there's Billy and Billy’s Mom, Freckles and Big Mama, Willow, Ruby, Ruthie and Tomatoes. She has two red-wooled rams called Harry and Ed, after Prince Harry and Ed Sheeran. Her flock runs to greet her when she comes near, looking forward to a gentle word, a pat on the head or little scritchles on the nose, perhaps even a cuddle with the little ones. Much of Sandi’s time is spent in moving small groups of sheep from one pen to another, which doesn’t always go according to plan; sometimes a sheep will wander away or refuse to follow; in those moments Sandi, often with the help of her well trained sheep dogs, will gently but firmly guide them in the way they should go.
Sandi’s deep love for her sheep is obvious as she cares for their every need. Watching her interact with her flock, protecting, providing, and being present, I see a clearer picture of what a good shepherd looks like..
We, too, are sheep, sheep in God’s flock, sheep who need protection, who have needs, sheep longing for the everlasting presence of the true Good Shepherd, the one who loves us with perfect and unconditional love.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, he makes my lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters; he revives my soul and guides me along right pathways for his Name’s sake.
This beloved Psalm is one we all know, often read at funerals and a reliable source of comfort during difficult times. It’s a reminder of God’s faithful love and care for us, whether our journey is easy or difficult. The Lord, our Shepherd, is our provider, giving us green pastures and still waters, rest and restoration. He is our protector, the shepherd with his staff, walking before us and with us through difficult times, keeping us safe from evil in the shadows and darkness, bestowing mercy upon us. He is a constant presence in our lives, guiding us, celebrating us, gifting us with an abundance of good things in this life and an eternal home with him in the next.
We encounter the Lord, our Shepherd, not only in today’s Psalm, but also in our reading from John’s gospel.
Walking through the temple during the Festival of Dedication, which we know as Hanukkah, Jesus is questioned by a group who have gathered around him; ‘Are you the Messiah?” they ask. “Don’t keep us in suspense! How long until you tell us?”
I imagine Jesus taking a deep breath and quietly sighing before his simple reply, “I have told you! And you still don’t believe me. My works are testimony enough.”
They didn’t know him even though he stood before their very eyes.
Despite more than enough evidence, they simply refused to believe what he said and did.
Just as sheep farmer Sandi knows every sheep in her flock, Jesus knows his sheep, knows each one fully and personally. As Isaiah 43:1 assures us, “I have called you by name; you are mine”. Whether it’s Tracy or Tim Sean, Matthew, Tammy, Mary, or even the occasional Freckles or Big Mama, Jesus, our Good Shepherd, knows us by name and we know him.
His sheep hear his voice and listen to him. It is the voice of unconditional love, of guidance, protection, and provision, the trustworthy and altogether sure voice of mercy and grace. It is the voice of the one who loves us the most, the one who gives not only eternal life, but also promises that we can never, ever, ever be taken away from him.
“What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father's hand. The Father and I are one.”
At our baptism we are “sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ's own forever”. No one can undo what God has done.
This brings to mind another New Testament passage, Romans chapter 8, verses 38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
Let that sink in. There is literally nothing that can ever take us from the hand of God.
Nothing we do or fail to do in life, nothing that happens before, during, or after our death, can separate us from our Shepherd.
Nothing in the spiritual realm, nothing in the past or the future, no power or authority can ever keep us from God’s love.
Even during our darkest times, when we fear he has forgotten us, or think we are beyond the reach of his hand, we are comforted by the words of Psalm 139:
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
If I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
If I settle on the far side of the sea even there your hand will guide me,
Your right hand will hold me fast.
The One whose likeness we see in our beautiful stained glass window, OUR Good Shepherd, is completely and totally head over heels in love with you, my friends. He IS love! His deep desire is to provide for your needs, to guide and protect you, to gather you close to him (and maybe even give you some nose scritchles). He longs for you to trust and listen to him so that he can do this. He yearns for you to draw near.
Beloveds, our Lord, Jesus Christ, invites each of us to believe that if we trust him, he who holds us so tenderly in the palm of his hand,
“Surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives,
and we WILL dwell in the house of the Lord forever. “
Amen
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