Laying It All Down

Psalm 23; Acts 4:5-12; John 10:11-18; 1 John 3:16-24

Rev. Chris Harbin, Central Baptist Church—Lowesville, VA

03 May 2009

The twenty-third Psalm is a beautiful poem. We memorize it and read it at Funerals. We post it on our walls, frame it in needlework, and cite it in cards and letters. We recite it or sing it when we find ourselves in need of comfort. The meaning of the Psalm, however, often eludes us still. Its meaning does not come clear so much in our moments of anguish and grief. Its meaning takes form in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ—The Lord God, our Shepherd, come in flesh and blood, laying down his life on behalf of his sheep.

This is the focus of celebrating the Lord's Table. We gather in remembrance of what Jesus has done for us, laying down his very life that we might enjoy full fellowship with God. The elements of bread and wine remind us of Christ's physical sacrifice for our spiritual needs. The call to mind that in order to break down any and all barriers to our fellowship with God, God chose to go as far as the cross, leaving us the challenge and call to accept the sufficiency of Jesus' life laid down on our behalf.

On one hand, it is a simple picture to process. On another hand, it stretches beyond the limits of our comprehension. Why would God go so far, do so much to allow us access to the throne of heaven—we who so often refuse to have anything to do with God?

Sheep in the field give little thought or attention to their shepherds. They may come for feeding time, allow the shepherd to shear them, care for them, and even follow certain directions toward a full stomach. They are not overly concerned, however, with becoming friends with and worrying over the desire or will of the one who cares for them. They are consumed rather, with eating, drinking, and procreating. They are consumed with themselves and with one another.

Yet it is for people just like such sheep for whom Christ lay down his all. The point was to care for our needs, but it was also to bring us into fellowship with God. The problem is that we are more like the sheep than we care to acknowledge. We are more concerned with ourselves than bringing our lives under the purposes of God's love and reconciliation.

Like the hirelings in Jesus' words, we are much more concerned with our own security than with protecting the interests of the One we call Lord. At the first sign of danger, we duck and run for cover. We forget the psalm we have so often quoted: "Because the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." We trust not to God's care and provision, but rather to our own efforts to protect our interests and provide for our own needs. We speak of God as our shepherd, yet do not allow God to take on the role of provider and protector.

Yet here we gather to celebrate God's provision in body and blood. Here we gather to recall that while we are not very interested in fellowship with God, God has taken the initiative to rescue us from ourselves and provide what we could never accomplish for ourselves. Finding us defenseless as sheep against their enemies, God steps in to care for us in ways a hired hand would never do. God places his own life in the wolf's jaws in order to protect us from imminent danger.

John reminds us that Christ is our shepherd, our Good Shepherd. He lay down his life in order that we might live, yet also to provide for our living beyond his death. His life was given not only that we might live in full fellowship with god, but also that we might join in a life of fellowship with the other sheep for whom Jesus died.

We are those other sheep not of the fold of Judaism, not of the fold of the First Century witness to God in Christ. Jesus stated that his mission was also to gather us into one larger fold. Yet it was not us alone of whom he spoke. There are others still on the margin of our church—our churches. There are those Jesus would bring into our circle of fellowship, but are not yet part of this gathering, nor of other similar ones. These are those for whom we are likewise called and challenged to lay down our own lives after the example of Jesus Christ. They are those who need more than our pointing to the text of Psalm 23. They need to see it become reality in our lives.

John says that as Christ Jesus lay down his life on our behalf, so we are called to lay down our lives on behalf of others. We are to demonstrate God's love, care, and provision by being God's love, care, and provision for others. How can we speak of God's love abiding in us if we are unwilling to allow that love to visibly flow through us?

It is in the action of love that God's love is expressed. It is in the action of meeting the needs of a community, neighbor, or stranger that we begin depending upon the truth of God's provision. It is in so doing that we begin to truly experience the blessings of God's care.

John goes further to suggest that when we feel internally conflicted about our standing before God, it is our actions of love for others that grant us reassurance that indeed God's love is expressed in our lives and through our lives. It is in our actions of living the gospel and allowing it to flow through us as conduits of God's grace that grace takes hold. This is where we truly participate in and join in the celebration of the Lord's Table.

The elements here are spread before us. They are only symbols of a greater reality. They are markers for what Christ Jesus did for us, laying it all down on our behalf on the cross. They are also markers for that greater reality which awaits us: the unveiling of God's love, presences, and action pouring through our lives into the lives of others.

As we recall what Christ Jesus has done for us, we can only truly adopt it for our own when we allow it to impact our lives, changing us from the inside out. It is as we shift our focus off ourselves and our needs that we can focus on God's provision as the shepherd who lay down his very life on our behalf.

We are challenged to drink the cup and eat the bread. In so doing, we are challenged to take up the cross set before us. We are commissioned to allow God's love and provision to find expression through the deeds of our daily existence. We are challenged to become more than hirelings looking for a paycheck at the end of the week. We are instead to become Christ Jesus to our community.

Because the Lord is our shepherd, we shall not go wanting. We are freed to give our lives to serve others, for God will care for our needs in the process. We can walk through fields of danger, knowing who it is walking beside us and caring for us in the midst of enemy forces. Because Christ Jesus has laid down his life for us, we are empowered to lay down our all for others. Are we ready to live according to those words, or shall we just leave them on the wall for others to read?

—©2009 Christopher B. Harbin

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