April 24, 2021

GOOD SHEPHERD: HE RESTORES MY SOUL

Passage: Psalm 23: 3

Friends in Christ, as you come to sit with God’s Word today, grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Psalm 23, how beautiful is this Psalm? For many people, Christian or otherwise, immediately recognises the words of Psalm 23, ‘the Lord is my shepherd.’ I know of many Christians (living and dead) to whom Psalm 23 is so dear. For Psalm 23 with rich imagery of God as our shepherd offers so much comfort, hope and gladness to heart. Psalm 23 powerfully speaks to human needs in real and tangible ways.

In a nutshell, this psalm points to God’s lead in our lives as our Good shepherd, it paints a vivid picture of God’s nature to be close to us in times of our trouble as we pass through shadow of valley of death, and of course reminding us of God’s abundant provisions reaching into our lives because our cup runs over, and goodness and mercy follows all the days of our lives as we dwell in the house of the Lord forever. What hope, what faith, what rich and beautiful imagery is packed in this little Psalm 23? If we pause and reflect each verse, to be honest, we will be here whole day, for the sake of time, let us pick on one aspect, one imagery of our Good shepherd from Psalm 23 for our meditation today. Psalm 23: 3 ‘he restores my soul’ (Psalm 23: 3).

Let us pray:

Jesus our Good shepherd, thank you for revealing true nature of agape love. Your love did not abandon us in the face of public shame, public humiliation of the cross, neither did your love abandon us in the midst of wrongful sentence handed over to you by Pontius Pilate. In spite of your personal pain, suffering, and agony you loved us still and embraced the cross in order to restore us to you. Open our eyes, our hearts, and lives to your gospel, and enlighten us today with your Word, for your word is a lamp unto our feet and a guide unto our paths, Amen.

Dear flock of Christ in Mackay (Cannonvale) let me ask you today: have you ever had a chance to restore an item in your life? Perhaps a broken fence or a broken wall? Perhaps you restored a piece of furniture, gluing things or slightly adjusting things and putting a few pieces together?

Perhaps you might have restored an old book whose binding is falling off, or perhaps restored an old photo, or a piece of cloth? Let me ask young ones, have you ever had a chance to restore a crashed phone or laptop? If not, have you at least had a chance to catch up TV shows on restoring old cars or old houses? If so, let me ask you two questions: what does it mean to restore an item? And most importantly, how easy is it to restore an item? Simple answer: to restore is to bring it back to its original state. As far as my second question is concerned, the type of restoration required can make certain jobs easy while others extremely difficult.

Let me share with you today one of my own experiences, I used to have a favourite coffee mug, it was a beautiful piece of work as far as chinaware goes. It was given to me as a gift, and I loved drinking coffee from this mug, particularly in winter cold mornings in New Zealand. This mug is also special to me because of the unique scripture verse printed on it. Would you like to know what scripture verse was on it? ‘The Lord will be happy with you…He will sing and be joyful about you”’ (Zephaniah 3:17, ICB). As I sipped my cup of joe from that mug, each day I was reminded of gospel promises, no wonder I looked forward from drinking that cup each day!

Anyways, one day while washing this mug in Wodonga, unfortunately, I dropped this particular mug and broke off its handle. So, I thought of restoring it, but none of the techniques I thought of using back then, couldn’t possibly work, since handle is the worse place for any cup to break. The risk of imperfectly restoring handle of a cup would mean, I could have accidents like spilling hot beverage all over myself. To avoid such risk, I decided to retire this special cup. After all, as I said, some restorations are challenging! To restore any item, one must give proper thought, carefully work out details of restoration project with patience showing utmost care and diligence each step of the way. If not, restorations can backfire.

So much effort goes into restoring items. Since, it is ANZAC weekend let me share with you this: I had the privilege of visiting ‘Australian War Memorial’ in Canberra a few times. If you ever been there you might have noticed, many treasured items recovered, restored and put on display for the benefit of the visitors. Imagine the hard work that would have gone to carefully restore each item until it is put on display. If you think about it, any museum or memorial that has a restored relic in itself shares a story of someone collecting and restoring these lost treasures.

It is one thing to restore items on shelf, but it completely another thing to restore life and human complexities present within it. This pandemic is a great example, ever since it hit us, restrictions and lockdown rules challenged us all. While pandemic taught us many things, it also changed our life style. Compared to many other nations around the world, we have but a few cases in Australia, no wonder, people are seeking to open up a few things, and are thankful for all restored privileges they can once again enjoy. We also recognise, life may not be fully restored and may take a long while. But we are grateful for every little opportunity.

Take for instance, the beauty of this ANZAC weekend. This weekend across Australia and New Zealand, we remember and pay respects to all ANZAC soldiers who laid their lives at Gallipoli and at other war theatres. Unfortunately, past year’s ANZAC day respects were limited to drive way displays since we were encouraged to stay indoors due to lockdown. At least this year, there is a sign of relief, we can once again gather publically and pay respects to those who served us selflessly. But here is the deal, even though we remember them, in all honesty, nothing we could do today can truly restore what was lost (precious lives of our brave soldiers). While serving us, some lost their lives, while others were permanently scarred and injured. Our efforts, no matter how noble they maybe, cannot restore the grief and pain of their loved ones. The least we could do is gather together as ANZAC, and communally comfort each other.

I guess what I am getting is this: it is natural for us humans to seek any and every opportunity for restoration, even when it seems impossible. Post pandemic, we seek opportunities to restore life, after a natural disaster we seek opportunities to restore life, to the ones who experienced injustice we make effort as they seek justice to gain a sense of restoration. This is the nature of our human spirt. In light of this, let me ask a direct question today: ‘little flock of Jesus in Mackay: what about restoration of relationships you experience around you be it at work, in life, or at church? Are there any relationships that you recognise as damaged, and is there anything you could humanly do to restore them?

Relationships, no doubt, present significant challenges to all flesh and blood. On top of it, if we are talking about broken relationships, that need mending and restoring, they are just hard work. If broken items hard work for restoration, how much more time, effort, and hard work needs to go into fixing and restoring broken relationships? Some say ‘a long time’, and others resoundingly say ‘never!’

But consider this good news today: restoration maybe a difficult gig for humans but not for God. God knows how to restore human soul. Consider Apostle Peter’s sermon to Sanhedrin in Acts 4: 10: Jesus was put to death, but God restored him by raising him to life and through him offers salvation to the world. This is the gospel. Simply put, God know how to restore all things – including human souls.

King David also knew of this trademark characteristic of God from his own experience. Restoration is not hard work for God who can and will put together what was lost and broken. So David testified: ‘He restores my soul’ (psalm 23:3).

You see friends, in his life David experienced a fair few of broken relationships, and he was like us in many ways. To begin with, David had a difficult relationship with Saul who was his king back then. Obviously, King Saul sought several opportunities to kill his subject David. As married man, David had struggled with his wife Michal who despised her husband when he danced before the Ark of the Covenant (2 Samuel 6: 16). You might think, David, who had come to be known as man after God’s own heart would have perfect relationship at least with his own children? Obviously not! David had a strained relationship with his son Absalom as well. As you probably are familiar, even David’s relationship with the Lord was strained when he sinned against the Lord by taking Uriah’s wife Bathsheba and later killing Uriah when she was pregnant.

The Lord was displeased with David and sent Prophet Nathan to confront him of his sin. As David listened to Nathan, he recognised the depth of his sin (2 Samuel 12: 13), rather than pointing figures towards others, he turned to God in repentance. This was the beginning or restoration of his soul. David understood God is loving and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, so showing confidence in God’s ability to save him he cried out: ‘create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit (Psalm 51: 10-12).

After all, if there is anyone who could pull us out of despair and fully restore us body and soul, it is God! Having understood this ability of God, David testified, the good shepherd ‘restores my soul’ (Psalm 23: 3). Friends, the Hebrew word David uses in this Psalm for restore is shub, which means to turn back, or to return. David’s own experience provides insight into saving work of God. As it was the case, David was a shepherd boy, he had firsthand experience of how to take care of his sheep. If he as flesh and blood, with his imperfections, would look after his flock faithfully, protecting them from harm and danger, and is capable of leading them to green pastures, how much more does a loving God tend and care for his flock? Think about this, my friend!

No wonder king David compared God to a good shepherd and us as God’s flock. The relationship between good sphered and sheep is one where sheep receive all the care and providence of the good shepherd. The shepherd is present with his flock takes care of its well-being by leading it to still waters and making sures the flock is feed. In times of trouble, the Good shepherd protects his flock (1 Samuel 17: 34). Without the work of the shepherd the sheep are defenceless and are in real danger. In fact, for a sheep the enemies are not ‘out there’ but its own wool can spell its doom. If the shepherd does not sheer the sheep, they can grow wool so much so that they struggle to even walk and because of wool blocking their sight they can be in real danger. So certainly, shepherd’s work is what sustains the health of the flock.

This relationship between shepherd and sheep is also where restoration of the soul is made possible. Like I said, it is not simple task to restore just an item, let alone restoring a soul, imagine how much hard work needs to go into it. Finding a few right tools, taking a few measurements, or finding the right paint colours, or sanding a few surfaces is not going to achieve restoration of human soul. In, other religions people are required to spend so much time, energy, money, resources, etc to restore their soul. People give alms, keep fast, pray so many times, and tend to keep up with the law as they live through each day. However, as we have it in the Bible, Jesus, our Good Shepherd, did all the hard yards for us. By grace he offers salvation as a gift, Jesus made restoration of soul possible.

Dear flock of Christ, listen to these words of your saviour today: ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep….I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.’ (John 10:11, 14-15)

By laying his life for us, Jesus completely restores our souls from sin, death and hands of the evil one. It is Christ’s love for us that made him lay down his life for our sake. Jesus hung on the cross naked and alone, so that, we are set free to be in perfect relationship with God forever. Jesus did not just speak of love, but showed it in action as he bled for us, and hung for us on the cross. In his death offers us forgiveness of sins, thereby restoring us to life. Baptism, which we received in the name of God, marks this restorative work of our redeemer. Because of our baptism, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit, marked as restored people for salvation. Not just marked as ‘restored people’, but our saviour’s love comples him to provide forgiveness of sins for us, as he spreads His Table for you (point to Holy Communion). This is the depth of your Good Shepherd’s love, he offers ‘his body’ and ‘blood’ with ‘bread’ and ‘wine’ you touch, taste, smell, and receive today!

God’s restoration work is not limited to God restoring our relationship with him, the work of the gospel naturally extends to our neighbours. After all, love of Christ, calls people to live in restored relationships with one another. Baptised saints, listen to this word from 1 John 3: 1 ‘this is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.’ Dear flock of Jesus in Mackay Community Lutheran Church, take this word as an encouragement as you seek every opportunity to restore a broken relationship.

Let me leave you with this example from 2 Samuel 9.  When God restored David by keeping up his promise to make him king, King David sought opportunities to restore lost relationships. Once upon a time King David asked members of his court, ‘is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?’ When David’s servants alerted to Jonathan’s disabled son Mephibosheth, David immediately called him, restored him what was lost, especially, a few servants to work for Mephibosheth. Not just that, in the end gave a place to eat at his table like any of his own sons. By doing this, David showed his Good shepherd instincts. In fact, without realising it, King David showed grace and love just as God shows towards us, restoring us from our misery of sin and death, and kindly offering a place to sit and eat at God’s Table. Just as King David knew the heart of God, and sought to restore, I pray that Holy Spirit grant us such hearts as well in order to follow the footsteps of our good shepherd Jesus.

The peace of God that surpasses all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.