I Am Jesus’ Little Lamb
Today is known as “Good Shepherd Sunday”. As the 4th Sunday in the Easter
Season, each year, our lectionary directs us to readings which draw us into one
of the grand metaphors that run throughout Scripture – that Christ is our
Shepherd, and we the people are his sheep, his flock.
This is a picture that begins with the first shepherd,
Abel. It is seen in the lives of the
patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
God leads his people Israel, his flock, through the wilderness to the
green pastures of the Promised Land. The
kings of Israel are called “shepherds”, though they were often wicked. And of course, David, the most famous of
these, was himself, literally, a shepherd from boyhood. And of course David wrote our beloved Psalm
23, “The Lord Is My Shepherd”.
Jesus, the Son of David, is the Good Shepherd who lays down
his life for the sheep, but also takes that life up again in resurrection, also
for the benefit of his sheep. In John’s
Gospel, especially, we see this picture of Jesus, the gate for the sheep, the
good shepherd, the one who knows his sheep and the sheep know his voice.
Today, I’d like to preach less on any one particular
passage, but on the whole of this biblical theology of sheep and shepherd – and
to do it through the framework of one of our beloved hymns on the topic.
Our Lutheran Hymnody is rich and robust, and many of our
hymns are as much a sermon in and of themselves. They are time-tested and well-worn. As old as some of them are, they have a
timeless quality, and many of them are also accessible even to children.
Today I want to look closer at the hymn, “I am Jesus’ Little
Lamb” Written in the 1700s and appearing in most of the hymnals that you and I
have known in our lifetimes, this is certainly a well-loved treatment of Jesus
as our Good Shepherd. Its simple words
and melody also lend itself as a beloved hymn for children.
When I grew up at St. James Lutheran Church in Baltimore,
our local tradition was to sing this hymn every time we had a baptism. The children of the congregation were also
invited forward for a close-up view of the baptism (usually of a baby, of
course). I’m sure it was a bit of a
chaotic scene as skads of us kids crowded around the font, jockeying for a
better view of the baby, and of this special thing called “baptism”. Yet thinking back, what a wonderful way to
teach little ones that Holy Baptism is precisely how God makes us one of his
little lambs, and welcomes us into his loving arms.
The hymn begins, “I am Jesus’ little lamb.” And therein is already a profound
confession. We are little. We are helpless little lambs. We aren’t Jesus’ fierce lions or mighty
predators. We are sheep, and baby sheep
at that. Defenseless, practically
helpless, in need of protection and guidance.
That little phrase “Like a lamb led to the slaughter” reminds us how
vulnerable lambs are, and of course, that ultimately refers to Jesus’ own
sacrifice as the Lamb of God for the sins of the world. We are little lambs, vulnerable to all the
evil and sin of this miserable world – not the least of which comes from our
own fallen nature. With all these
dangers around us, and even within us, yet we are still not without hope. For I am Jesus’ little lamb. I belong to him. And that changes everything.
“Ever glad at heart I am – For my shepherd gently
guides me, knows my need and well provides me” Yes, Jesus, to whom I belong, is my
shepherd. And he is a gentle
shepherd. He doesn’t beat the sheep into
submission with his rod or staff. That
would be the power of the law, which always accuses, and always kills. No, he gently guides me with he loving voice
of his gospel. And the sheep know that
voice. It’s a voice of grace, mercy and
peace. It’s a voice that offers free
forgiveness. And it’s the only guidance
that brings about any good from me – for the law can’t force good works but the
gospel coaxes them out of us. A joyful
response to the grace of God in Christ.
He knows my need – my greatest need – for forgiveness. And well does he provide it. Not just by his once and for all death on the
cross, but also repeatedly in the means of grace – through his word and in his
sacraments he well provides me – forgiveness, life and salvation.
Yes, he also gives even more – all the physical blessings of
this life, and promises of future blessings in a life of the world to
come. “Well provides me” kind of
understates the case, doesn’t it?
He “loves me every day the same”. His love is not fickle or fleeting, but it is
constant and sure. His love doesn’t
depend on me, or how naughty or nice I’ve been that day. But each and every day his unchanging love
for me in Christ is just as certain and unwavering.
He “even calls me by my name” – again, in holy
baptism each of us is called by name and given God’s gift of forgiveness in
such a particular way. His love is for
everyone. But his love is also very much
for you.
“Day by day, at home, away, Jesus is my staff and
stay” Our good shepherd watches
over us wherever we go. There is nowhere
we can go that he can’t see us, or won’t watch over us. Even when we think he’s forgotten us or it
seems he’s abandoned us, he hasn’t. He
won’t. He knows just what his sheep
need.
“When I hunger, Jesus feeds me” Yes, daily
bread, but also his body and blood in the sacrament. Jesus feeds me, his little lamb, even in the
presence of the enemies. “into
pleasant pastures leads me. When I
thirst he bids me go where the quiet waters flow.” The pleasant pastures here in this life are
where his sheep can find rest, sustenance and water to quench their
thirst. And that can only be the green
pastures of his holy church, where our Good Shepherd distributes the goods to
his sheep. But we also have greener
pastures ahead of us, in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world
to come.
“Who so happy as I am?
Even now the shepherd’s lamb” The Christian’s joy runs deeper
than anything the world can offer. For
we belong to the good shepherd now, and forever. “and when my short life is ended by his angel
host attended, he shall fold me to his breast, there within his arms to rest”
It’s
true. Life is short. What do we have, 80 years, 100 at the high
end? The older we get,
shorter it seems. And while this life is
a great gift, it isn’t the best of it – we have something even greater waiting
beyond. So when God at last sends his
holy angels to carry us to his side, when we are finally with Jesus in paradise,
he welcomes us into his loving arms like a shepherd picking up a dear little
lamb. That’s the picture. But it’s just an earthly picture. The reality is so much greater, and
indescribable, of the joy that we will have in that day, and even more, in the
resurrection and life everlasting.
So on this Good Shepherd Sunday, rejoice in Jesus Christ,
you his little lambs. Your shepherd
loves you, cares for you, and will bring you home to himself at the last. There within his arms to rest.
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