1.
Please pray with
me. May the words of my mouth the and
the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock, and
our Redeemer. Amen. Well, a very Happy Mother’s Day to all of
you, but did you know that it’s also Good Shepherd Sunday? Today, we recognize our mothers for all the
sacrifices they made for us for our good.
But, did you know that Jesus our Good Shepherd has given to us another
mother? That’s right, He’s given to us
the Church, His bride, to be our mother.
And, within the Church we receive life, nourishment, encouragement, and
so much more. The message from God’s
Word today comes from Acts 2:42-47, and it’s entitled, “Our Family, the Church,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2.
Do you remember your interactions with your mother growing
up? How many times did you walk up to
your mom and say, “Mom I’m hungry or mom
I’m cold.” Maybe you said, “Mom can I
have this or Mom where are you?” Or you
said, “Mom can you help me with this?”
“Mom he hurt me, Mom she hurt me.”
“Mom why can’t we do this?” Mom,
I want to go there…” But, when you
saw your dad you asked the question, “Dad,
where’s mom.” Oh, how we depended on
our mothers growing up and still do. We thank God for the mothers who gave birth to
us, but also for those “spiritual mothers”
who watched over us and taught us about Jesus our Good Shepherd, whether it was
our grandmother, a next door neighbor, our babysitter, our Sunday School
teacher, Lutheran School teacher, and many others.
3.
When we think of our mothers the first thing we may think of
is that’s the woman who gave birth to me, nurtured, fed, and cared for me. Do you ever think that way about the church? Do you see the church as the place where you
were born? Where you were reborn through
water and the Word of God in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. That’s what we hear about in the verses
before Acts 2:42-47. In Acts 2:38-39,
St. Peter preaching his Pentecost sermon says, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far
off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
As the people heard the Gospel of Jesus their Good Shepherd preached
to them, who gave His life for us His sheep, they were “cut to the heart” and wondered what they should do. Peter calls them to repentance. Repentance is
literally a “change of mind” that
only the Holy Spirit can effect. Notice that Peter doesn’t point his listeners
to themselves, but to God. In answer to their question, “What shall we do?”, Peter doesn’t say, “Do penance, pray the rosary, go to the priest and hope that somehow
God will forgive you.” Nor does he tell them, “Make your decision for Christ. Give your life to God. Invite Jesus
into your heart, and he will be your Savior.” Peter doesn’t point his
listeners to their own efforts, but to the works and promises of God in Jesus
our Good Shepherd.
4.
Peter
points them to Jesus in whose name they were to be baptized. In connection with
their baptism they would receive the forgiveness of their sins. Baptism isn’t a
symbol, but a means by which the Holy Spirit creates faith in the heart—faith
that receives the blessing of forgiveness.
And, the gift of the Holy Spirit is for everyone—“for you and your children and for all who are far off.” No one is
left out—not babies or adults, not Jew or Gentile. The Holy Spirit can work in the
hearts of all people to create faith and bestow the blessing of forgiveness.
5.
Acts 2:42-47 reminds us about, Our Family, the Church. Just as it takes more than one person to
make a family, so too we see that the Church is a family made up of a body of believers. Christianity isn’t an individual thing. We
don’t turn to Christ in faith and then go on with no regard for fellow
believers. It’s not me and Jesus alone. Staying home and
listening to the Lutheran Hour or any other Christian radio program or watching
some preacher on TV doesn’t replace gathering with the saints for corporate
worship. Our American individualism works against our faith at this
point. You’ve been saved into the body of Christ. The
restoration of our relationship with God must also be seen in the restoration
of our relationship with one another. Jesus, our Good Shepherd,
paid the price for our sins and now we’re called to walk after Him. It’s
called sanctification. Baptism is the beginning. Now we
must learn to walk with Jesus and build the community of our family, the
church.
6.
In our reading from Acts 2 we
have a description of what the earliest Christian church
looked like. Here we see the early church in a routine in which they hold fast
to the instructions and practices of their Lord. What did this routine consist
of? Devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching: This is
another way of saying that the pastors were teaching all the people all the
teachings of their Lord Jesus. The fellowship in the breaking
of bread: This is the Lord’s Supper, being shared together as the
core of the Christians’ “fellowship,”
that is, their “life together,”
flowing out of the teaching. The prayers: Again,
the Christians do as their Lord has instructed them and pray; that same
instruction which they will continue to hear from the lips of the apostles as
they teach.
7.
The Divine Service on Sunday is the center of the
Christian life. Week in and week out, we attend the “temple” together, and then
return to the rest of the week. Through worship in the church we’re
refreshed by our Lord, and made ready to reach out to our neighbor. This same
ebb and flow of the Christian life is what Luke describes here as well in Acts
2. Coming out of the Divine Service, “all who believed
were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their
possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had
need.” Having shared in the witness of the apostles (through their
preaching and teaching), and having received together the life-giving food of
their Lord’s Supper, the Christians now live their life together in mercy.
8.
These early believers, in acknowledgement that they
have life together in common with their fellow believers, they shared what
Christ had given them with those in need. They served their neighbor as Christ
had served them. This is only possible through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Coming from the Divine Liturgy (liturgy simply means service), now they carry
out the liturgy of life, the liturgy flowing from the liturgy, the liturgy
where we serve others with Christ’s gifts.
9.
This is the way that your Good Shepherd cares for
you. He gives to you a family, the
church. In the church Jesus your Good
Shepherd gives you new life, feeds you, cares for you, and gives you
encouragement. Jesus your Good Shepherd has called you his own, He’s taught you
to hear and know His voice, and He’s opened the gate for you and led you into
His sheepfold. He’s provided a pleasant pasture where you can come to rest –
here in this place. He overflows your cup with His gifts of mercy, forgiveness,
life, salvation. He even feeds you with His very own body and blood!
10.
The witness of the Church is that which Peter first
declared, “This Jesus God
raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.” This
witness is now preached by pastors for your benefit. And day by day you have
the opportunity to also witness. This is wrapped up in mercy, in which we all
care for one another, as any have need, reflecting the love of Christ for His
people and providing opportunities to speak of that love clearly as well.
11.
And we have glad hearts. Glad because Jesus rose
from the dead, ascended into heaven, is present among us in his Word and Sacraments,
provides for all our needs of body and soul, and eventually calls us home to be
in His presence for all eternity. We have life, together, eternally. Not only just me and Jesus, but also everyone
else whom the Lord our God calls to himself.
We thank Jesus, our Good Shepherd, that He has given to us our family, the Church. Amen.
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