Psalm 23
Listen to Sermon
Pastor Tom Johnson, May 7, 2017
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, promises us life—abundant life. “I came that [my sheep] may have life, and have it abundantly.” This is, Jesus says, the purpose of his coming from heaven to earth. A few months ago, Kofo Ogunyankin shared with us what he is doing in Nigeria to provide excellent health care to that part of the world. One of the difficulties he encounters is the prosperity gospel. The prosperity gospel is the idea that if you believe strongly enough—or give enough to the church—that God will reward you with good health and wealth. Sadly, you can turn your television on and see that such an idea is “Made in the USA.” Maybe it’s because one of our founding documents says we have unalienable rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Or maybe it’s because we measure our good national health by whether or not our economy is growing year to year.
But I think we can all agree that when Jesus talks about abundant life, he is not talking about us having more and more stuff. In fact, Jesus says in Luke’s Gospel, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15). Drive a few minutes through Chicago and look at the billboards. Listen or watch the commercials on radio and television. We are constantly bombarded with the message to get more stuff, higher quality stuff, and upgrades. The message, if you will believe it, is that purchasing said stuff will make us happier. Life will be more enjoyable. We will be experiencing the abundance of what this life on earth has to offer. The Bible pokes fun at such a worldview multiple times with the phrase, “Let’s eat and drink for tomorrow we die.” It’s easy to point fingers at others. But the truth is that it is even easier to get seduced by consumerism and materialism ourselves.
We can get so absorbed by the things of this world that the people of this world (and our relationships with them) suffer. It may be the next thing we want to buy—a bigger home, a car with less mileage, or a dream vacation. Or maybe it is a promotion or recognition that we crave. Sometimes those things break in and rob us of our joy. Our adversary wants to burglarize the church—to take away healthy and enriching relationships. He will look for any way around the gate into the sheepfold to kill and destroy.
The Good Shepherd Jesus has come so that we will have abundant life. “I came that [my sheep] may have life, and have it abundantly.” And it is in this same passage that Jesus describes what that abundant life is. The abundant life is a safe place. The Good Shepherd is there to protect and preserve life. He came to lay his life down for the sheep. By his death and resurrection he destroyed all that threatens us—evil, sin, and death itself. The abundant life is a personal relationship with God. He knows us by name! I remember how special it was for me to receive my first call to a Lutheran church. The president of our denomination at the time, Gerald Kieschnick, shook my hand in the line and said, “Great meeting you yesterday, Tom. Congratulations.” Jesus knows us by name, the number of hair on our heads, our thoughts and intentions of our hearts. He knows us inside and out. And here is the clincher: he likes you. He likes me. He likes us in abundance—he loves us individually. The abundant life is having someone in your life to trust. And it begins with Jesus as the trustworthy One. He calls us by name and we follow. He leads us by his tender love and care. That is what faith and belief mean—trust. And so we follow. The abundant life leads us to great love in our communities. We abound in our love for one another. As one person says regarding possessions and living: “Love people, use things; because the opposite never works” (The Minimalists). The abundant life is getting more and more acquainted with the Shepherds voice. And this, without a doubt, is discovered through the Word of God—the Bible. But even behind those words on a page is a Person. And that Person is the Living Word, Jesus. So when we are so familiar with his voice, we know a counterfeit immediately. We have the abundant life now in the resurrected Christ. And that life cannot be taken away. The life we have in Jesus extends beyond this world into eternity. It is life in his Kingdom whose reign is heaven and earth. The abundant life leads us to say confidently and joyfully, “The Lord is My Shepherd, I shall not want.”
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