CMLC 2025-09-14 Sermon

Howdy. Some of the most comforting words in Scripture

are when God calls Himself our shepherd. Think

of Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd I shall

not want. We love that picture. Green pastures,

still waters, a soul restored when life wears

us down. But if you've ever seen how sheep actually

behave, You know, the comfort of that image comes

with a dose of reality. There's a story from

Turkey where one sheep wandered too close to

the edge of a cliff and fell in. The rest of

the flock followed. 1 ,500 of them. One right

after another, right over the edge. 450 of them

did not make it. Most of them survived because

they landed on the pile below. It's a reminder.

Sheep do not always make the best choices. They

wander. They follow blindly. They get shoved

around, and sometimes the very shepherds meant

to protect them, sitting off to the side, not

paying attention until it was too late, turn

out to be selfish. or corrupt. And that's why

God keeps reminding his people of this promise,

I myself will be your shepherd. I will seek you

out. I will rescue you. Today we see how that

plays out in two of our passages, Ezekiel 34

and Luke 15. One is a grand prophecy to a people

that are scattered and hurting in exile and the

other is a parable. Jesus told when sinners and

tax collectors were drawing near, put them together

and we get a picture of God's heart, a shepherd

who rescues his flock from every danger, corrupt

leaders, harmful communities, and even our own

wandering hearts. Ezekiel shows us the problems

clearly. Leaders who fed themselves instead of

the flock, sheep who trampled and shoved one

another, and others who wandered away into danger.

And then in Luke 15, Jesus tells the story of

a shepherd who leaves the 99 to search for the

one. Taken together, it's the story of a God

who refuses to give up on his people, even when

the trouble is one we brought on ourselves. Listen

now Ezekiel records God's promise for thus says

the Lord God behold I I myself will search for

my sheep and Will seek them out as a shepherd

seeks out his flock when he is among his his

scattered sheep So will I seek out my sheep and

I will rescue them Do you hear the intensity?

I myself not an angel not a prophet not a hired

hand God says, I will come, I will search, I

will rescue. We celebrate with the 24th anniversary

of 9 -11 those who spent their time, the firefighters,

the first responders who rushed into the burning

towers as others fled. They weren't calculating

risk or weighing the odds. They were compelled

by love and duty. to seek, to rescue, to save,

even when they thought it might be just one more.

That's the kind of shepherd that God promises

to be. He doesn't stand at a distance. He comes

into the smoke and rubble of our lives to find

us, even when the danger is great and the odds

seem impossible. And when Jesus tells the parable

in Luke, He's saying the same thing. A shepherd

leaves the 99 to search for the one knowing that

each of those 99 at some point has been the one.

From the outside, it may look reckless, but from

the perspective of love, it's the only thing

that makes any sense. But who were the shepherds

that Judah had at the time? The ones Ezekiel

seems to be condemning. This is a time where

Ezekiel is speaking just before and just after

the people of Judah are taken away out of their

land forcibly into a Babylonian exile. See, there

were Judah's priests, kings, princes, and leaders.

The very people God had appointed to care for

His people. But instead of protecting the flock,

they exploited them. King Jehoiakim had imposed

heavy taxes to pay tribute to Egypt and Babylon,

while ordinary people struggled to survive, and

then they still got taken into exile. The leaders

indulged in luxury while the poor went hungry.

The priests neglected their duties. They led

worship astray. tolerated idolatry, practiced

things that they saw in other countries, made

alliances with nations they had no business connecting

with. These leaders ate the fat and clothed themselves

with the wool while failing to strengthen the

weak, to heal the sick, to seek the lost. Because

of their neglect, the people were scattered.

They were left vulnerable. to enemies, both human

and spiritual. We've all seen this kind of failure.

A boss takes credit for the team's work, leaving

the employees unseen. Politicians enrich themselves

while ignoring that they're meant to serve. Or

imagine... Seeing the lifeguard at a busy pool,

taking the time to tan evenly, sipping soda,

and flirting with the girls while the kids are

flailing in the midst of the pool, and he doesn't

notice. That's the level of failure that God

is confronting through Ezekiel. But it actually

turned out to be true with 9 -11 as well. Fraudulent

charities cropped up claiming to help victims'

families only to pocket the donations. people

in desperate situations were preyed upon. Some

employees who survived or lost coworkers at the

World Trade Center faced retaliation, unsafe

working conditions, or wrongful termination as

companies tried to protect financial interests

in the midst of the chaos. And how many of our

leaders, even the ones claiming to be Christian,

did nothing unless they were forced to do so.

Sometimes people are hurt where they should have

been cared for, and leaders, even religious leaders,

can fail. God sees this and He says, enough,

I will shepherd them myself. Jesus later calls

Himself the Good Shepherd, and part of His goodness

is that He is nothing like those false leaders.

He lays down His life for the sheep, instead

of using them up. Where human shepherds are selfish

and hungry and fail, the divine shepherd rescues.

But it wasn't just the shepherds, the leaders.

The stronger Israelites mistreated the weaker

ones as well. What was happening? See, in exile,

when people were taken into Babylon, the wealthy

Jewish exiles would make connections with the

Babylonians, and they would sometimes prosper

while the poor were trampled down. Back in Judah,

there were some that were left behind, and those

had to fight over scarce resources. And some

oppressed their neighbors rather than sharing

with one another. And the social injustice of

the strong pushing with flank and shoulder, muddying

the water so others couldn't drink, was a metaphor

for how the privileged kept others away from

survival. See, Ezekiel wasn't just criticizing

the leaders. Ordinary people could wound and

exploit one another instead of living in covenant

faithfulness together. God says, is it not enough?

for you to feed on the good pasture that you

must tread down with your feet the rest of your

pasture? You push with side and shoulder and

thrust at all the weak with your horns till you

have scattered them abroad. Some of the sheep

were muddying the waters, trampling the grass,

shoving others aside. Even with God's people,

there were sheep who harmed one another. This

is very much what sheep will do. They jostle

at the water trough. They stir up mud so that

some are not able to drink because there's too

much mud in the midst of it. And sometimes we're

the same. We muddy the water of God's truth for

others because we are impatient. We gossip. We're

selfish. We demonstrate the worst of things.

And then that's what other people see of God's

goodness. We've muddied the waters of the gospel.

for other people. In everyday life, we see the

kid at recess who monopolizes the water fountain,

the co -worker who empties the coffee pot without

thinking of others, the player who refuses to

pass the ball, the selfishness, the thoughtlessness,

the pushing, the shoving, muddying the waters

for everyone else. But even while those are more

silly, there were the stories after the towers

fell where the families and victims of survivors

were sometimes exploited by insurance companies,

pressured to accept settlements far below what

they were owed. Some adjusters delayed payments

or tried to minimize claims, taking advantage

of people in grief and crisis. People desperate

for help were taken advantage of, preyed upon

in their grief. And that's exactly what Ezekiel

is describing. Sheep hurting one another. Even

in a flock that should care for one another,

sometimes the threat doesn't come from bad leaders

up top, but from the way sheep treat each other

in the flock. Gossip, criticism, harshness, pride,

muddying the waters and the weaker sheep go thirsty

because they needed the purity of the gospel.

God promises to rescue us from that too. And

yet sometimes the sheep, they don't need false

shepherds to lead them astray or misuse them.

They don't even need other sheep trampling all

over them. Sometimes the sheep just wander off

and lose themselves. After Jerusalem fell in

586 BC, many of the Israelites were taken off

into Babylon for the exile, while others were

left behind in Judah, and those who were left

behind faced poverty. danger from surrounding

nations, internal strife. Without faithful leaders,

the people were scattered and vulnerable. Spiritually,

many drifted from God seeking security in foreign

alliances and idolatry. The flock was literally

and figuratively lost. When we align ourselves

with those who do not have God's purposes in

mind, we ourselves end up finding a path that

leads to death. And yet, the shepherd goes out

and searches until he finds the lost sheep. Not

if he feels like it. Not if the sheep deserve

it. He searches until he finds it. And there's

joy. The heart of the Gospel is this. When he

has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

The shepherd... doesn't scold the sheep. He doesn't

say, oh, you got yourself into this mess, you

can get yourself out of it. He lifts it onto

his shoulders, carries the weight, and rejoices,

calls his friends and neighbors, rejoice with

me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.

How often is it that we realize we're lost, and

we can't seem to find our way back on our own?

The gospel, whether our wounds came from corrupt

shepherds, from muddy sheep, or from our own

wandering, God himself comes to rescue us, lifts

us up, carries us home. We live in a place where

we see the floodwaters, and we know that the

search and rescue teams will keep combing until

they have found every single missing person.

Not worrying about how many they've already found,

but thinking about how many could still be there.

the value of the one drives the mission. Or even

when the first responders rushed into burning

towers and they climbed stairs that were collapsing

through smoke and fire, all to find if there

was one person left. They didn't turn around

to those who had survived and said, why were

you there in the first place? The joy was in

the rescue. The very thing that heaven rejoices

with when one sinner is found. and brought home.

See, the shepherd delights in our rescue. He's

not just doing it out of duty. He rejoices because

of his love. Risking everything is what our God

does, even as He didn't just risk His life, but

He willingly gave it. There's an image that oftentimes

has been in my head, the idea that sheep are

not always the brightest. Shepherds tell of sheep

that learned to jump over a fence to get to the

field that they wanted to be in, but even when

that fence was no longer there and they took

away, they kept jumping. The exact same spot.

No fence, no barrier, but they still acted like

it was there. Why? That's what the last sheep

did. Isn't that just like us? Following the old

patterns or other people's habits? Not realizing

the Good Shepherd is calling us into freedom.

But whose voice are we listening to? Are we listening

to corrupt shepherds who feed themselves while

the flock suffers? Are we listening to pushy

sheep who muddy the waters for others? Are we

listening to our own wandering hearts following

patterns that lead us to danger? On social media,

trends rise and fall by the day. Everyone follows

someone, but few ask if the voice is the right

one to follow. We're currently at a turning point

in our society, a watershed. This past week has

been one of tragedy and tension, and frankly,

I'm scared. See, we have seen people gunned down

in schools with children, as well as in schools

with adults. We have seen a public figure shot

in front of his family and people are struggling

with the feeling of mourning and loss. We need

time to grieve. No matter what people may think

of the person himself, this is not how civilized

people should ever respond to one another. The

danger, though, comes when we go beyond our grief

and try to form a movement of our own hands.

People whose sorrow has turned to rage want a

place to put that rage. People may be picking

up their Bibles to use as swords against other

people, even though the irony is that the sword

of the Spirit, the Word of God, is only meant

to divide between our soul and spirit, our joints

and marrow, in order to penetrate us deeply.

helping us to discern our own thoughts and intentions.

Because God's Word cannot be an actual weapon

in any sense that people may be looking for in

the world right now. God's Word is only a weapon

so that we die to ourselves and we no longer

contribute to what's happening in this world.

There are those who will, in the coming weeks

and months, try to find things in scripture to

create modern -day crusades. bringing back dark

chapters in history. But the Good Shepherd doesn't

lead us into a battle that requires attacking

other people. It's a battle that belongs only

to the Lord. Only Christ Jesus can strike the

blow, because He already did, into His own flesh.

The answer is not to find whom we shall attack.

The answer is to offer what we've always offered,

forgiveness and hope. We are meant to be salt

and light, not to be salty and lit up with anger.

Listening to our leaders and other sheep who

are attempting to take us down their own paths

will lead us away from the Good Shepherd. Even

when the Protestant Reformers centuries ago attempted

to stand up for their oppressed leaders on the

battlefield, all they ended up doing was bringing

about bloodshed instead of the gospel message.

Following other sheep brings death. The Good

Shepherd's voice is the one that brings life.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and

they follow me. Even when we fail to listen,

even when we wander, He comes after us. He calls

us. He lifts us up. He carries us home. No one

else can do that. It doesn't matter. No other

person can do that. No other name, no other legacy,

only Christ alone. When the chaos raged and firefighters

went into danger to rescue the lost, how many

of them did so knowing it would cost them their

own life? They didn't wait for permission. They

didn't pass on the responsibility. And that's

Jesus with His sheep. He sees us trampled and

comes Himself. The ones who served, who sacrificed,

who gave up their own lives, were the ones who

brought us hope and life out of that torment.

And it wasn't until later that decisions made

for the sake of vengeance and punishment got

us into terrible decisions that haunted us for

decades. When we listen to the Good Shepherd,

it is not like the corrupt leaders or the selfish

sheep in this world. He does not exploit. He

does not shove. He doesn't leave us to wander

and wonder why we fell off the edge. He calls

us. And his call is not just practical, it's

full of joy and love. And when we hear his voice

and follow him, we step into life, freedom, and

safety on the shoulders of the only one who can

carry us. So Ezekiel told us of a shepherd who

would come to rescue his sheep to find us and

rejoice. I myself will search. I myself will

rescue. And He leaves the 99 to bring us home.

So we know what this looks like. Even when so

much has already been taken, the answer is to

still be willing to give of our very selves,

our very lives, for the sake of forgiveness and

mercy. Always. That's the picture Jesus gives

us whatever may be happening inside of our hearts

He doesn't just point us home. He brings us there

himself Because the truth is is that his humility

and his service Are the very things that we need

to look for because we need rescue Let's just

be honest our nation our world. We need rescue

from bad leaders We need rescue from harmful

voices around us. We need rescue from our own

wandering hearts And in every case, no matter

where we are, the Good Shepherd is still there.

So whose voice are we listening to? Don't follow

the muddy waters. Don't follow the pushing horns.

Don't even follow your own heart, frankly. Follow

the Shepherd. Because here's the good news. Even

when we don't and we fail to hear Him, the Shepherd's

already on His way to carry us back to Himself

no matter what this next week may reveal of itself.

So may we follow Christ and Christ alone because

he's the only one who is the way, the truth,

and the life. Thanks be to God.