Trinity 14

Good Shepherd

2004 Pass Rd, Biloxi, MS 39531

Draft Prov 4:10–23; Gal 5:16–24; Lk 17:11–19; Ps 119:9–16; antiph: v. 12   –     9/6/26

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

What is the first thing flight attendants tell you to do in the event of a problem? They tell you that when the oxygen masks drop from the ceiling then you are to put yours on first and then help your children or neighbor. Why, because you won’t be any good for your child or your neighbor if you are asphyxiating. You need to be able to breath oxygen before you can be trusted to help others get oxygen. It is somewhat the same when it comes to wisdom and understanding. If you don’t have the rudiments of wisdom or the foundations of discipline, everything you may say to your children or neighbors is suspect, and may do far greater harm than good. As a Christian, you are meant to speak of Jesus rightly to all whom you meet, and especially to the people of your own household. But what if you know little about him beyond what you vaguely remember from Sunday School or half-remembered sermons? You may be able to put the spiritual oxygen mask on your neighbor because you at least know Jesus is your Savior, but will you be able to do any more than that if your own spiritual oxygen mask is barely secured? The crash is always rapidly approaching.

Thus we read in the Old Testament, Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many. I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness, or perhaps we should look at the meaning in the Greek and not just the Hebrew, I cause you to walk on the straight paths. When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble. But you have to know where these paths may be found. That is much of what Solomon is getting at throughout the book of Proverbs: You must know the the way of the Lord if you are going to live.

For these we should also think, of course, of Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows (1–5). And also of Psalm 5:9: Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me. There are a specific set of straight paths that lead to life, all the rest are twisted and lead to death, therefore we should seek the paths that are straight. But how? Secure that oxygen mask on your own face first, that is, study God’s Word every day and never let an opportunity to learn more of it pass by you. Through His Word God would lead you on the straight paths, He would teach you wisdom, He would instruct you in the way of discipline.

The simple man, the fool, has two origins. The first is that he is born in sin and ignorance as all men are. But if his parents or someone else instructs him the Word of life, teaches him the Bible and of Christ, then he may be relieved of his simpleness and foolish understanding, this would be like a parent or neighbor who already has the oxygen mask on putting one on this man. The second is the man who received at least some of the truth at some point and believed, but then neglects the study of God’s Word, perhaps going to church occasionally, but letting Bible Study pass him by, letting his own Bible at home gather dust, letting the community of the saints gather together without him. For a time he will be okay. The oxygen he had will sustain him for a short time, but he is like someone who didn’t tighten the mask to his face, so much of the life giving O2 is lost and without noticing it he will begin asphyxiating again. Once, he was not a simpleton, but by his own action of ignoring God’s leading in the straight paths he will make himself one again.

Solomon says next, Keep hold of instruction, or perhaps we should look to another meaning of this word, Keep hold of discipline; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life. Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on. For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble. For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. Understanding this passage as encouraging you to hold onto the instruction you have received is a correct way of receiving it. Understanding that you can only keep hold of instruction if you are disciplined is also good. But how will you be disciplined, not for school work, or office work, or garden work, or anything like those; they are fine things to practice discipline. Rather, how will you be disciplined when it comes to the instruction of eternal life? Well, children, how do you do well on a test? Adults, how do you do a job satisfactory to your employer? How do you cultivate a healthy garden or yard? How you would train yourself to be consistent and good in these is related to the more important question.

With education, you begin by understanding the simpler things, and as you learn them you develop habits that aid in future learning. If you don’t keep practicing those habits, your learning will suffer. Then there is the matter of memorization. If you have a habit of practicing vocabulary, or sums, or the like, then you will steadily memorize the fundamentals and find the rest of your education easier. But if you neglect practice, neglect memorization, your grades will suffer and your understanding will suffer. It is the same with Holy Scripture and your life. If you have the practice of memorizing Scripture, of daily reading and prayer, of weekly Divine Service and Bible Study, whichever are possible for you, you will gain instruction and keep hold of it. But if not, then you wont. Your grades suffer, your work is mediocre, your garden is full of weeds. Your oxygen mask is loose.

If you identify lack of discipline in yourself, repent. You must seek wisdom and discipline in God’s Word before all things. What is wisdom and where is it found? Job says, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’ (28:28) Why fear of the Lord, and what does fear mean? Jesus says, do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Mt 10:28) We are tempted to think this is Satan, but no, not even he has the power to damn anyone to hell. Think again of the book of Job. Satan could do nothing to Job apart from God allowing it. It is God who saves and God who damns. He saves those who love His Son Jesus and believe in Christ’s death and resurrection. But He damns those who do not keep His Word. For instance, He saved Job out of the great sufferings because Job loved God and believed in Christ. But, it seems, He damned king Saul, Pharaoh, Baalam, and others because they rejected His Word. We should fear God because our lives are in His hands. But fear also means awe. That we are in God’s hands is a fearful thing, if we are undisciplined, uninstructed, simple fools. That we are in God’s hands is a thing of awe if we have been baptized, if the Holy Spirit has given us faith through the proclamation of God’s Word about Christ crucified for our sins. For in God’s power is our salvation, our forgiveness, our life both here and in eternity. The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. He is the one who supplies us the oxygen; only a fool would reject that. The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.

The nine lepers were healed, but they lacked the proper fear and awe of God, they lacked wisdom and instruction, but the Samaritan who returned to give thanks to Jesus for healing him, he had the proper fear and awe of Christ. Thus the man returned to give thanks to the One Who saved him. He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

Therefore, My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. If you attend to God’s Word, if you make a practice of your faith, breathe deeply of the Holy Word about Christ, then you must instruct your family in wisdom and tell your neighbors of instruction. The gifts of wisdom and disciplined instruction are yours to share if you have them. You who are parents, God gave you children so that you might teach them about their Savior, Jesus Christ. Everyone, do you not have neighbors? Do you not interact with people every day? There are your opportunities for practicing faith. If you are not confident about speaking of Christ yourself, then a simple invite, ‘come to our church’, can be a powerful thing. Do you not want your children, your friends, your coworkers, and your neighbors to experience the same love of God and forgiveness of sins which you have. Do you not want those who are burdened by guilt to be comforted by the words, “Christ died for you, therefore your sins are forgiven”?

Wisdom shows us the gifts of God and that it is right to give Him thanks and praise for them just as the Samaritan did. St. Athanasius says, “Actually, this one was given much more than the rest. Besides being healed of his leprosy, he was told by the Lord, ‘Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.’ You see, those who give thanks and those who glorify have the same kind of feelings. They bless their helper for the benefits they have received. That is why Paul urged everybody to ‘glorify God with your body.” (ACDyC, 236) How great, indeed, is our justification for glorifying God? In this proverbial plane-crash of a world, He has supplied us with what we need to live now and forever. David says, Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Ps 23:6) Can we not all say that? Can we not all say that in Christ is our hope, our life, and all our good? Yes, we can and we should. And therefore we ought to do as God has commanded us, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Therefore we ought to speak as the psalmist speaks, How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessèd are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes! With my lips I declare all the just decrees of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. For in the Word of God is Christ crucified for sinners, of whom we are all. Amen.

Now the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen