A Sheep Of Your Own Flock
Preaching
The Life Of Christ And The Death Of A Loved One
Crafting The Funeral Homily
A Funeral Homily For The Season After Pentecost*
No two ways about it, it has been a difficult few days, and we are in a difficult time. N., who has been part of our lives for so long, whom we have come to know and love and care for deeply, has died. We wish it weren't so. We wonder how we can go on without him [her]. We have unanswered questions. We know fear, and grief, and sorrow all rolled into one.
Many years ago, there was another person who had some of these same feelings. Not sure where to turn. Scared to death. Heartbroken. A shepherd by occupation, he spent his days corralling his sheep, keeping them fed, keeping them moving, untangling them from prickly bushes, rescuing them from steep ledges.
Perhaps it was in a moment of trouble and perplexion that the shepherd David looked to God for help and consolation. And he wrote down these words, probably some of the most well--known words in all the Bible:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the
paths of righteousness for his Name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
''The Lord is my shepherd.'' These words were of great comfort to the shepherd David, and thousands upon thousands have likewise found comfort in these words. What does the shepherd do when the sheep are hurting? The good shepherd guides, protects, nurtures, and comforts the sheep. That is what God does for us in our time of trouble.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. The promise of Scripture is that God is with us. God is with us.
God also watches over us. In another Psalm, the author asks, ''From where is my help to come?'' And then he answers his own question: ''My help comes from the Lord, because the Lord is the one who watches over you'' (Psalm 121). Is that not the chief job description of a shepherd? A shepherd is like a lifeguard, whose eyes are constantly scanning the water, peeled for signs of danger. God watches over us. But unlike a human shepherd or lifeguard, who needs periods of rest and refreshment, the God who watches over us does not fall asleep; ''he shall neither slumber nor sleep,'' says Psalm 121. ''The Lord shall watch over your going out and your coming in, from this time forth for evermore.'' God the shepherd is watching over you.
God is not only the shepherd of the living, but of the dead. In a few minutes we will turn to the casket and ask our merciful Savior to acknowledge N. as a sheep of Christ's own fold, a lamb of Christ's own flock, a sinner of the good shepherd's redeeming.
For, as it is written in the revelation of John:
The Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes .... They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat.
Christ the good shepherd shelters and guides his own.
Jesus' credentials for being the Good Shepherd are simple: because he cares for the sheep; because he knows them and they know him; and primarily because he has laid down his life for them by his death on the cross.
In the Gospel of John, verse 7, Jesus says, ''I am the door of the sheep. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.'' Jesus yearns to be your shepherd. Jesus yearns for you to know his voice and be known by him. Jesus the good shepherd invites you to follow him. In verse 16 he adds, ''I have other sheep that do not yet belong to the fold. I must also bring them, and they will listen to my voice.'' Jesus says, don't stand out in the cold; come into the fold. ''I have come,'' he says, ''that they may have life, and have it abundantly'' (John 10:10).
Christ the good shepherd guides and protects us, watches over us, shelters and leads us. Christ the good shepherd has laid down his life for the sheep.
And now, may the God of peace, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well--pleasing in his sight; through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
(BCP p. 503)
*Also appropriate for the fourth Sunday of Easter (known as Good Shepherd Sunday) and the following week.
No two ways about it, it has been a difficult few days, and we are in a difficult time. N., who has been part of our lives for so long, whom we have come to know and love and care for deeply, has died. We wish it weren't so. We wonder how we can go on without him [her]. We have unanswered questions. We know fear, and grief, and sorrow all rolled into one.
Many years ago, there was another person who had some of these same feelings. Not sure where to turn. Scared to death. Heartbroken. A shepherd by occupation, he spent his days corralling his sheep, keeping them fed, keeping them moving, untangling them from prickly bushes, rescuing them from steep ledges.
Perhaps it was in a moment of trouble and perplexion that the shepherd David looked to God for help and consolation. And he wrote down these words, probably some of the most well--known words in all the Bible:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the
paths of righteousness for his Name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
''The Lord is my shepherd.'' These words were of great comfort to the shepherd David, and thousands upon thousands have likewise found comfort in these words. What does the shepherd do when the sheep are hurting? The good shepherd guides, protects, nurtures, and comforts the sheep. That is what God does for us in our time of trouble.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. The promise of Scripture is that God is with us. God is with us.
God also watches over us. In another Psalm, the author asks, ''From where is my help to come?'' And then he answers his own question: ''My help comes from the Lord, because the Lord is the one who watches over you'' (Psalm 121). Is that not the chief job description of a shepherd? A shepherd is like a lifeguard, whose eyes are constantly scanning the water, peeled for signs of danger. God watches over us. But unlike a human shepherd or lifeguard, who needs periods of rest and refreshment, the God who watches over us does not fall asleep; ''he shall neither slumber nor sleep,'' says Psalm 121. ''The Lord shall watch over your going out and your coming in, from this time forth for evermore.'' God the shepherd is watching over you.
God is not only the shepherd of the living, but of the dead. In a few minutes we will turn to the casket and ask our merciful Savior to acknowledge N. as a sheep of Christ's own fold, a lamb of Christ's own flock, a sinner of the good shepherd's redeeming.
For, as it is written in the revelation of John:
The Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes .... They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat.
Christ the good shepherd shelters and guides his own.
Jesus' credentials for being the Good Shepherd are simple: because he cares for the sheep; because he knows them and they know him; and primarily because he has laid down his life for them by his death on the cross.
In the Gospel of John, verse 7, Jesus says, ''I am the door of the sheep. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.'' Jesus yearns to be your shepherd. Jesus yearns for you to know his voice and be known by him. Jesus the good shepherd invites you to follow him. In verse 16 he adds, ''I have other sheep that do not yet belong to the fold. I must also bring them, and they will listen to my voice.'' Jesus says, don't stand out in the cold; come into the fold. ''I have come,'' he says, ''that they may have life, and have it abundantly'' (John 10:10).
Christ the good shepherd guides and protects us, watches over us, shelters and leads us. Christ the good shepherd has laid down his life for the sheep.
And now, may the God of peace, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well--pleasing in his sight; through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
(BCP p. 503)
*Also appropriate for the fourth Sunday of Easter (known as Good Shepherd Sunday) and the following week.
