Trinity 3

Text: Luke 15:1-10

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

My dear friends in Christ Jesus, we heard of the Great Banquet prepared for the people of God last week. The invitations had gone out, the feast was ready, but so were the excuses of those on the invite list. So, the master of the feast sent His servant to the highways and byways, to the poor, crippled, and lame – that the lost might be sought and saved.

But a key here is that these are the lost ones, which implies that they were once in the presence of the great banquet; they were once in God’s presence.

Some 30 years ago, President Wille, Good Shepherd’s first pastor, was sent to Tomah to call God’s sheep into His presence once again, bringing God’s Word unto the highways and byways, to the poor, crippled and lame – that you might be sought and given the saving Gospel, meaning the Good News of Jesus Christ.

For many of you who have been at Good Shepherd since its beginning, this week has been challenging and undoubtedly full of emotions as you mourn Pastor Wille’s death. Not just because he was the first servant God sent to Tomah but because he was the first undershepherd of Christ sent to be with you during the times and moments you felt poor, crippled, and lame. The times of life you experienced tribulation and hardships, the times you wandered from God’s flock.

For this, we thank God for sending faithful undershepherds to care for God’s little lambs and sheep—you.

But what is an undershepherd?

First, two words are working together here – “under” and “Shepherd.”

Let’s begin with the word “Shepherd.”

Shepherd is the Latin meaning of the word “pastor.” So, to be a shepherd is to be a pastor and vice versa.

A shepherd defends his flock and is also charged to lead the sheep to pasture where they may graze, eat, and live.

Now, the word “under” is used in the context of authority. So, to be an undershepherd is a shepherd of lower ranking who serves under a greater or chief shepherd.

The Chief Shepherd is none other than Jesus Christ, who said in the Gospel of John, “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.” (John 10:14)

For Jesus, the Good Shepherd, to be known by His sheep, the undershepherds who have been sent must now speak the Words of Jesus into their ears. 

Because the undershepherd serves the Good Shepherd.

As John the Baptist said, “He (Jesus) must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30) This is also because it’s the voice and words of Jesus that reveal who He is, your Savior.

In fact, it’s in His Word you receive life and salvation.

This is why pastors and undershepherds are sent to you – to proclaim the Words of Jesus Christ to you, to feed you with His flesh and blood at this altar.

Reflecting on the last time I heard Pastor Wille preach, I was at the South Wisconsin Pastors Conference a few months ago. Interestingly, the sermon text was that of the Good Shepherd and the need for undershepherds (pastors) to go out and be among their flocks, no matter how dirty and stinky of a calling it may be.

But in light of today’s Gospel, what does this look like?

Hearing these words from Luke, it's easy to get caught up in the joyous image of Jesus carrying a sheep upon His shoulders that often enters our minds, and that’s beautiful.

But there’s more to the story, isn’t there?

Like what caused the sheep to be lost in the first place.

The answer to this question is at the beginning of Luke 15 as it read, “the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’”

The cause of lost sheep is sin, and the challenge for the Pharisees and scribes is that Jesus receives and eats with sinners.

He receives you.

How great is this?

But Jesus doesn’t just receive you; He seeks you. This is why He sends out His undershepherds to care for you, His flock.

This is revealed in the parable Jesus tells the Pharisees and scribes.

The sheep were all together—a flock and church—but one was lost, meaning the sheep was originally part of the flock. The undershepherd now had to go and search for the sheep.

But the shepherd who must search and find the lost sheep has a challenging endeavor before them. Often, when a sheep strays from the flock, they lie helplessly down and huddle into a ball. In doing so, they become immovable, refusing to budge.

This is why the shepherd has no other choice. When they locate the sheep, they must pick them up, lay them on their shoulders, and bring them back into the community and fellowship of the flock.

What Jesus describes here is an image of mankind, of you, those who have not only inherited Adam’s sin but continue in it, wandering and straying from Jesus’ Word and voice.

And what do you do when you become lost in your sin? You eventually lay down, becoming immovable, refusing to budge from your position.

Reflecting on today’s Gospel, I found the words of one writer beneficial here as he wrote,
In this parable, Jesus defends his welcome of sinners. This welcome involves restoration to a community. The wandering sheep must be brought back to the fold now gathered in the village. This, for any shepherd, has a price…In this theme of the burden of restoration there are [also] clear Christological implications which point in the direction of the passion. The shepherd must carry on his shoulders the burden of the lost sheep... Without the shouldering of this burden there is no restoration. [It’s] this task the shepherd accepts with joy.[1]

The concept of restoration mentioned here comes from Jesus’s words in the Gospel: “I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

Here is one of the laborious duties of an undershepherd: they must go out, sometimes calling sheep to repentance, the confession of sin, so that they might hear the sweet words of forgiveness and restoration. 

We call this Law and Gospel.

So, what things continually cause you to wander from the flock?

What has your brothers and sisters wandering from God’s Word and bodily presence at the altar?

What has you or them lying down, huddled into a ball, and refusing to budge?

Is it unresolved conflict with one another? Sheep that do not get along, the ramming of heads.

Or have you become more like the scribes and Pharisees, not seeing or understanding the need to humble yourselves? To be the first to say, “I’m sorry,” and reconcile with your neighbor.

If this is you, look again to the cross. Ponder it.

Because your heavenly Father sent His Son to be your Shepherd, to seek and rescue you from the wilderness of life. As you ponder the cross, you should see the shoulders that bore the burden of your sin, the ramming of heads, and your immovable stubbornness of life.  

It’s through this lens you can also hear Jesus saying, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)

And the Good Shepherd who has given His life for you continues to care for you through His undershepherds who serve His Church on earth.

For this reason, Pastor Wille was sent to you and Tomah so many years ago so that you might hear and know the voice of the Chief Shepherd, the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

And it’s for this reason undershepherds continue to be sent among you still today. That by the voice of Jesus, you would learn again to confess the sin of wandering and be like sheep, being led to the green and everlasting pasture of eternal life.

In the end, this is the true calling of an undershepherd, to lead the sheep of the fold to where all the saints receive rest from their labors with their Savior both now and always.

May this be the peace that abides and surpasses all understanding, keeping your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Rev. Noah J. Rogness
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Tomah, WI

[1] Arthur A. Just Jr., Luke 9:51–24:53, Concordia Commentary (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1997), 589.