Concordia Evangelical Lutheran Church
The M3 - Monday Morning Mail
Listen Up, Sheep!
The point of the sermon is to find peace, hope, and solace in the Word of God, when we go through challenging times in life.
The first image reminds us that we are like the people of God for all time. We are sinners. Moses comes down the mountain after spending forty days with YHWH, only to witness the people whom he leads worshipping an idol made into a golden calf. In his disgust, Moses throws the two tablets of stone onto the ground. Similarly, as God's people today we do the same thing, worshipping things of this creation fashioned by people. We are dumb like sheep–captured by the upside-down sheep smoking an upright pipe.
The remaining images invite us simply to contemplate what is depicted: the first a shepherd leading sheep to water, recognizing that the sheep are dirty, stinky, and rammy. I overlaid the last shepherd-sheep image with the words from John 10:27: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." The question becomes, "What are you listening to?" We have a world of choices today, but hopefully it's Jesus who promises to prepare a table before me in the presence of our enemies (Ps 23:5).