The Good Shepherd - Dr. Life

Text: John 10:   10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.   11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Acts 4: 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."     INTRODUCTION: My dear friends in Christ, Go with me for a few minutes to a quiet suburb of Detroit, Michigan,  a suburb known as Waterford Township. Turn with me down Paulsen Street. The street, surrounded by elm and birch trees, seems like any other quiet suburb. Yet people in Waterford Township call Paulsen Street, "the road of death." Four times a white van has pulled up in front of a brown, two-story house on Paulsen Street. A slender, white-haired man with glasses has emerged from the van and walked up to the door of the house. Each time he has made this visit someone in the house has died. "People in the area think it is creepy," says neighbor Dawn Lyons. When the white van pulls into the neighborhood, the buzz begins: "Uh-oh, it's going to happen again." You may have guessed that the white van belonged to a Dr. Jack Kevorkian, one of the most controversial men of the recent past. Dr. Jack Kevorkian had assisted in 15 suicides. Dr. Jack Kevorkian was also known as Dr. Death.
I.    Whether we want to realize it or not there is a theology of death in our world. Far too often people like Dr. Death thrive.
	A.  According to conservative estimates, from 1917 to 1991, atheist governments massacred close to 100 million people! The three worst offenders were the USSR: 20 million killed, China: 65 million killed, North Korea and Cambodia: 2 million killed in each. The savagery of these governments . . . was not just limited to murder: These atheistic governments have committed a multitude of crimes not only against individual human beings but also against world civilization and national cultures. Stalin demolished churches in Moscow. ..Pol Pot dismantled the Phom Penh cathedral stone by stone and allowed the jungle to take over the temples of Angkor Wat; and during Mao's Cultural Revolution, priceless treasures were smashed or burned. The leadership of these nations were all Dr. Deaths.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_Rouge_rule_of_Cambodia    Atheism is a theology of death akin to what all these Dr. Deaths propose.  This presents itself on at least two levels.
		1. First there is the physical level.  Atheism and philosophies like it often lead to advocacy of death in many ways.
				a. An example is Evolution.  It is an atheistic philosophy.  It is based on death.  Millions of deaths must occur over millions of years to advance humanity.  And if carried to its logical extreme it would advocate more death to advance development further.  b. That is how governments like those mentioned previously justify their actions.  This is really a theology of death veiled in science.  c. And of course we must recognize that not all who follow this philosophy are as extreme as this.
		2. And Atheism leads to spiritual death.  There is no salvation for individuals through this philosophy.
				a. There is nothing in atheism that deals adequately with sin.  Sin separates us from God and unless sin is dealt with, spiritual death will follow.  Therefore this is a theology of death on a spiritual level. b.  Of course an atheist would deny this.  They don’t believe in God or sin.  And to them death is perfectly natural. Just an end or a coming together with an impersonal universe.
	B.    And in spite of what our society promotes today all non-Christian religions are also theologies of death.
		1. Of course they don’t all promote physical death as a Dr Death or some of the atheists do.  But groups like Islam promotes death of its followers in the act of killing infidels.  And far too many from this group go this route. 2.  Ghandi, the Indian leader and philosopher, once said, "All religions are true." Many today agree with him. They would insist that you can't really judge between the religions. They all are trying to get to God, and one way is as good as another.
				a. But He’s wrong, one way not as good as another.  No religion outside of Christianity adequately deals with sin.  Some don’t acknowledge that we sin at all.  Some say we work off our own sin, but that’s not possible there’s just too much for us to deal with. Some just say that we forget God and don’t really have a concept of sin.  Without dealing with sin, death inevitably follows.  15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring[a] and hers; he will crush[b] your head, and you will strike his heel.”--Genesis 3:15 Therefore these are theologies of death.  They lead to spiritual death. b. That does not mean we disrespect people in these groups.  We are called to reach out to them in love, care and concern.
II.    St. Ignatius, an early church father once said, "Apart from Jesus we have not true life." Jesus has made it possible for us to have life with God. He is the only way. You could say he is Dr. Life.
	A. But why is Jesus the only way to Life. Four reasons:
			1. Jesus is God coming to man.  Man cannot reach to God as Ghandi thought– it is not possible.  We would be destroyed.  He is holy and we are not.   2. Jesus deals with sin.  He says: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”  Why would he do that?  That would be a disaster for the sheep – they need their shepherd for survival.  But for these sheep, us, it was necessary to have life.
				a. Jesus went to the cross.  On that cross He paid for our sin.  He suffered the punishment we deserve for our sin.  God poured down His wrath at sin on to Jesus.  He was the infinite sacrifice for an almost infinite amount of sin.  Note that Jesus was the only one who could do this because He was both God and man.  b. Jesus was our substitute like Mulan in this clip: [Video: Mulan] But Jesus was a more significant substitute because He took our punishment – not for one man but for all men.  He dealt with sin like no one else could.
			3. Substitute: He dealt with death, like this: There is a lovely old legend from Greek mythology about the hero Ulysses.  One day he returned home from one of his adventures to find that the entire nation was in mourning.  When he asked why, he was told, “Haven’t you heard? Our queen is dead.” When he hurried to the palace, he discovered that it was true.  The lovely queen was dead.  Ulysses then went on his most perilous adventure.  He went out to the lonely tomb and wrestled with the ancient enemy, death, and fought death for the life of the queen.  He snatched from death the life of the queen and took her back to the palace in his arms handing her to the king alive. In ancient lore, there was never any hope that this story was true.  But bring that story over into Christianity, and it is true!  Our Christ went into that lonely grave and wrestled death and conquered it for us, and as He stands outside that tomb victorious, He says to us “I am alive, and because I live, you shall live also.”  He is quite the opposite of Dr. Death. 4. And because of what He did He is the bridge between God and man, like this: The National Geographic magazine carried a story this past fall about a missionary in southern Africa named Brother Crispin. For years, the people who lived around the Zambezi River in Zambia had to make a dangerous trip by dugout canoes through churning waters to reach the opposite shore. After five people died during a crossing in 1971, Brother Crispin decided to build a bridge to span the Zambezi. Brother Crispin had no skills as a contractor; he also had no money. But he had a goal--to prevent further suffering among the Zambian people. That was enough. After studying books on bridge construction, Brother Crispin gathered donated materials and volunteer labor to begin building the bridge. Five years later, it was completed. Today, no citizen needs to fear crossing the Zambezi River. One man created a bridge that eliminated the danger and saved countless lives. (3) Likewise Jesus is the only bridge between God and humanity. Understanding this is the key to salvation both in this world and the world to come.
	B.  Life is what we’ve been looking for since we lost paradise. Eve ate the apple from the wrong tree. So we got the Knowledge of Good and Evil but missed the Tree of Life. The life we long for and truly desire is new life in Christ. This life Jesus gives out to us through Word and sacrament.  We have life now and more life in heaven.
			1. The life we live now is sometimes difficult.  After all we are surrounded by those who follow the theology of death.  They hate the Doctor of Life and those who have life in His name.  It may be like this: Andrae Crouch has recorded 15 albums, won 9 Grammy Awards, worked on musical scores for The Lion King and The Color Purple and has been nominated for an Academy Award. But Andrae Crouch was not always on top of the world. He had no formal musical training and still cannot sight-read music. He had to overcome stuttering and still struggles with dyslexia. His mother, father, and brother all died in a span of two years. He tells some awful stories of people walking out of his early concerts because of his color.
				a. Andrae recorded a song that answers all this. It is entitled “Through It All.” One stanza goes like this: I thank God for the mountains, I thank God for the valleys, I thank God for the storms He’s brought me through.  For if I’d never had a problem,   I wouldn’t know that God could solve them. I wouldn’t know what faith in God could do. Through it all, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus, I’ve learned to trust in God. Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to depend on His Word. b. “The story of our lives are the stories of a long and brutal assault on our hearts. “The thief comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy—to take your life away.”  But Jesus knows and keeps His own.  He is stronger than the forces of death.  He has proven it.  He gave life.
			2. And then we will have more life in heaven.
				a. It will be better than we can imagine.  Death will be destroyed forever.  Sin will be gone.  There will be no more tears.  b. Now as we go through this life we always have before us this new life.  It is a life that is ours now, but guaranteed by Dr. Life for eternity.
CONCLUSION:    Our world is filled with Dr. Death and his like.  They want to take as many as possible with them as they die.  But there is no salvation here, only destruction.  But Dr. Life is stronger.  He has proven it.  He has paid for sin.  He has overcome death.  He is now our bridge to the Father.  He give us life – life now in Him and life for eternity with His Father in heaven.  Amen. The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen.