Flock With A Future
Sermon
Life Everlasting
The Essential Book of Funeral Resources
Object:
For recognizing the Lord as our shepherd
Flock With A Future
Psalm 23
How many times have we had these kinds of experiences?
We take our child to a bus stop, and he is so young, we feel he is too young to get on that big yellow machine alone. But he does. School has started for him, and he is proud. He thinks he's so big. After all, look how big some of the other boys and girls are on the bus and now he is one of them. Rarely does a parent board a child on such a bus for the first time without a sense of loss. Never again will this child be underfoot all day. Never again will his needs be the same. Never again will the parents be the only influence in his life. Now others help, share, and mold this child.
For the believing parent, there is some comfort in the promise of the psalmist: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." Interpreted, that means for this sad parent, "God will take care of my child for me."
Take another example. We have worried for months over the health of our loved one. Doctor after doctor and specialist after specialist have been consulted, and the decision, the painful decision, is made: Surgery is necessary. We dread the day as much as our loved one. We feel a helplessness when the nurses come in with a stretcher on wheels. When the pastor prays for successful surgery, we feel an ache in our stomach worse than any hunger we've ever felt. As the bed is rolled down the hallway to the sign on the wall that reads: "Authorized Personnel Only," we know we can go no farther with our loved one.
For the believing, there is some comfort in the promise of the psalmist: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." Interpreted, that means, "God will take care of my loved one for me."
Now we are gathered as grievers and believers because our enemy, death, has visited our loved one. We are given a task every bit as difficult as a parent putting a very young child on a bus, or a loved one letting the health of a spouse rest in the hands of a trusted surgeon.
We are at the bus stop. We are at the door that says: "Authorized Personnel Only." We stand before a great mystery, somewhat fearful, but remembering the words of the psalmist: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."
Whatever else that means to us, we must be sure to understand that the words are written both for us, and for this child. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." The Lord is his provider, he'll take care of everything and everyone for him, including the closest members of this family.
We are now at a point of no return, and few options are open for any of us. We can deny that this is really happening, but it is. We can pretend that death is not painful, but it is. We can be philosophical, stoic, or brave, but only one thing matters: Because there is a shepherd, a good shepherd, there is a flock with a future. Because the shepherd is the Lord, the future is bright. Because the shepherd is smarter than the sheep, he alone knows the way to greener pasture.
And that brings us to the conclusion of this brief message. As we stand at the bus stop with this good child of God, full adult, though he be ... as we stand at the door that's closed, for now, for admittance by us (but not for him) ... we hear the voice of Jesus Christ saying: "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd has laid down his life for the sheep." We hear the voice of Jesus Christ saying: "I am the resurrection and the life. He that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." We hear the voice of Jesus Christ saying, "Everything is right. It is good for this child to be taking this next step. I'll not only take care of this child," says the Lord, "I'll also take care of you."
In the promises of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, we commit the body and soul of our beloved into his care, because he's the bus driver now. He's the surgeon we know as the Great Physician, but more than that, he's the first one to know the way to greener pastures, to still waters, where the soul is restored. Amen.
(Reprinted from "Grace And The Grave," CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio 45804, © 1985.)
Flock With A Future
Psalm 23
How many times have we had these kinds of experiences?
We take our child to a bus stop, and he is so young, we feel he is too young to get on that big yellow machine alone. But he does. School has started for him, and he is proud. He thinks he's so big. After all, look how big some of the other boys and girls are on the bus and now he is one of them. Rarely does a parent board a child on such a bus for the first time without a sense of loss. Never again will this child be underfoot all day. Never again will his needs be the same. Never again will the parents be the only influence in his life. Now others help, share, and mold this child.
For the believing parent, there is some comfort in the promise of the psalmist: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." Interpreted, that means for this sad parent, "God will take care of my child for me."
Take another example. We have worried for months over the health of our loved one. Doctor after doctor and specialist after specialist have been consulted, and the decision, the painful decision, is made: Surgery is necessary. We dread the day as much as our loved one. We feel a helplessness when the nurses come in with a stretcher on wheels. When the pastor prays for successful surgery, we feel an ache in our stomach worse than any hunger we've ever felt. As the bed is rolled down the hallway to the sign on the wall that reads: "Authorized Personnel Only," we know we can go no farther with our loved one.
For the believing, there is some comfort in the promise of the psalmist: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." Interpreted, that means, "God will take care of my loved one for me."
Now we are gathered as grievers and believers because our enemy, death, has visited our loved one. We are given a task every bit as difficult as a parent putting a very young child on a bus, or a loved one letting the health of a spouse rest in the hands of a trusted surgeon.
We are at the bus stop. We are at the door that says: "Authorized Personnel Only." We stand before a great mystery, somewhat fearful, but remembering the words of the psalmist: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."
Whatever else that means to us, we must be sure to understand that the words are written both for us, and for this child. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." The Lord is his provider, he'll take care of everything and everyone for him, including the closest members of this family.
We are now at a point of no return, and few options are open for any of us. We can deny that this is really happening, but it is. We can pretend that death is not painful, but it is. We can be philosophical, stoic, or brave, but only one thing matters: Because there is a shepherd, a good shepherd, there is a flock with a future. Because the shepherd is the Lord, the future is bright. Because the shepherd is smarter than the sheep, he alone knows the way to greener pasture.
And that brings us to the conclusion of this brief message. As we stand at the bus stop with this good child of God, full adult, though he be ... as we stand at the door that's closed, for now, for admittance by us (but not for him) ... we hear the voice of Jesus Christ saying: "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd has laid down his life for the sheep." We hear the voice of Jesus Christ saying: "I am the resurrection and the life. He that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." We hear the voice of Jesus Christ saying, "Everything is right. It is good for this child to be taking this next step. I'll not only take care of this child," says the Lord, "I'll also take care of you."
In the promises of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, we commit the body and soul of our beloved into his care, because he's the bus driver now. He's the surgeon we know as the Great Physician, but more than that, he's the first one to know the way to greener pastures, to still waters, where the soul is restored. Amen.
(Reprinted from "Grace And The Grave," CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio 45804, © 1985.)
