Return to the Homepage Home
 Worship Schedules, Education, Fellowship, Outreach Worship & Service
 Sermon Archive Sermons
 A copy of the Sunday Prayers of Intercession Prayers
 Pastor Lynne's monthly newsletter Pastor's Page
 Articles and tidbits from the monthly newsletter Newsletter
 This month's events as well as the monthly calendar Current Events
 Read the Sunday School News Letter! Sunday School News
 Events for grades 7 to 12 Youth
 Other websites of interest Links
  
 Login to Administer this site Admin Login

St. Luke's Zion Lutheran Church
2903 McPhillips Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba
CANADA R2P 0H3
http://www.stlukeszion.ca

Phone: (204) 339-0412
Fax: (204) 339-0412
E-mail: stlukeszionchurch@gmail.com
site design by clayton rumley

 

Third Sunday after Pentecost
Sunday, June 25th, 2017

click here for past entries

Loving God, you care for us just as a good shepherd cares for the sheep and provide us with all that is needed.  Empower us by your Spirit to follow where you lead, that we, too, might have life in all its fulness; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    A question for you this morning: How many of you have ever spent much time with sheep?...  So how much do you know about sheep?...  They are really rather helpless creatures.  Sheep have no natural defenses against predators.  They wander off and get lost quite easily.  If a sheep falls over onto its back, it can’t get up again.  If sheep try to drink from moving water like a river, they are likely to fall in and get swept away.  And if sheep get stuck in the bushes or fall off a ledge, they can’t get themselves back to safety.  Really, without a decent shepherd to take care of them, sheep are in some serious trouble.

    Now, I’m not sure how you feel about being compared to sheep, but the Bible actually does it quite often.  The implication is not necessarily that we are helpless and stupid, but that without God as our Shepherd, we are in some serious trouble.  In order to get a sense of how this works, it might be helpful to know that Psalm 23 would have been prayed in the midst of a crisis.  It is a Psalm of Trust, which unlike a lament approaches the crisis knowing that God has brought us through that dark valley in the past and trusting that God will do it again.

    And so, imagine that you are in the midst of a crisis - all stressed out - and imagine saying to yourself, “Because the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything that I need.  God leads me to food and drink and rest.  It is God who can restore my soul and my life and my passion.  It is God who will lead me on the right path and will show me the way that I need to go.”  Imagine approaching a crisis with this attitude, and then imagine approaching a crisis without this faith in God.  Do you see a difference?...

    Certainly when we talk about restoring or giving life, or even restoring a soul, God is the only one who ultimately can do that.  Even when we talk about food and drink, God is ultimately the source.  And when we are thinking about which path to choose or even something as big as what direction we are going to take with our lives, God has certainly given us the freedom and the ability to make our own decisions.  The question is if we are going to take that walk with God or without God.  Are we going to allow God to lead, or are we leading?

    For those of you who are graduating, there are some who will tell you that God has a plan for your life and it is up to you to find out what it is and to follow it.  Others will say that God walks with you no matter what path you choose.  The truth is most likely somewhere in between.  Certainly, God has given each one of you gifts and abilities and interests that might point you in a certain direction.  At the same time, there is such a thing as vocation, which is a fancy word for “calling.”  Your vocation is something that God calls you to do.

    And so, there are church vocations, like being a pastor or diaconal minister or youth worker, and some have callings to be doctors or nurses or counselors or teachers or social workers.  Still others are called to serve as musicians, or scientists, or engineers, or builders, or web designers, or any number of other vocations.  No matter what it is that you end up pursuing, it can be done without asking for God’s guidance and direction, or it can be done in a way that glorifies God and serves others.  The key here is approaching life with the knowledge and the trust that God is the one who leads us and walks with us and cares for us, not only when things are going well, but especially during the difficult times.  
 
    The Psalm talks about the valley of the death shadow - that dark place where danger is all around and the threat of death is real and predators can appear at any moment.  The image used in the Psalm is of the shepherd who carries a stout club and a staff which are used for fighting off predators and for rescuing sheep from danger.  The dangers are very real, and yet the Psalm invites us to trust God in the midst of those dangers.  Once again, when we are talking about life and death, God is the one who has power over both.

    We’ll come back to the shepherd image in just a moment, but have you ever noticed that there are actually two images for God in Psalm 23?  The Shepherd is the most obvious one, but God is also the Table Host.  God is the one who sets the table, and does things like washing our feet and anointing our heads with oil, as any good Middle Eastern host would do.  God is also, once again, the protector, as enemies could not touch somebody who had taken refuge at the table of another.  At the same time, this is not just any table, as it comes with a cup of overflowing blessings.  So of course you would want to stay in the house of the Lord “for length of days.”

    As we might expect, when Jesus comes along, he is also both table host and shepherd.  He is the shepherd who knows the sheep by name, and who even lays down his life for the sheep.  He is the shepherd who not only gives life, but gives it abundantly (Jn. 10:10).  He is the shepherd who leads out all those who know his voice.  He is also the shepherd who is there with us when we are confronted with evil or with the dangers that are out there in our world.  For Jesus, too, has power over life and death, and it is only the name of Jesus that sends the evil one running.

    In the end, it is certainly possible to live life in this world without God as our Shepherd.  However, when we do so we miss out on the strength that goes beyond ourselves in the midst of a crisis, the one who leads us on the right path, and the one who gives us life in all its fulness.  May we, too, have our souls restored, and dwell in the house of the Lord forever, through Jesus Christ our Saviour.  Amen.

Pentecost 3 (NL summer)                                Psalm 23
June 25, 2017                                    John 10:1-4
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2017 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved


Previous Sermons
March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
March 2004
February 2004
January 2004
December 2003
January 2003
March 0201