Sermon for Misericordias Domini, 2025

“I am the Good Shepherd,” says He, the incarnate God, to His people then and to you today. Now, in the fullness of time, He comes to redeem His people from sin: to rescue the lost and strayed, to bind up the injured, and to strengthen the weak; He comes to destroy the fat and the strong, namely death and the devil: they who prey upon His flock. 

He does so as only He can: by giving His life for the sheep, as He says here. He must do it this way, for He is just, and justice cannot overlook sin, its consequence, and its master. So, He does what justice demands; He gives His life as a ransom: He, the sinless One, becomes sin and suffers its wages. He goes to the Cross and does all that is necessary to purchase and win His sheep back to Himself. He gladly does so for His own: for His sheep; for you, Beloved. 

He gives all that He has and holds nothing back; He, the Good Shepherd, lays down His life for the sheep. That is the depth of His lovingkindness, the heart—the MISERICORDIAS DOMINI—the tender mercy of the heart of the Lord. He willingly gave Himself up completely, thinking not of Himself or of self-preservation; on the contrary, thinking only of His sheep—of us. God so loved the world. His love is not ethereal. It’s not some feeling meant to stir the heart with emotion. And it’s not some throwaway phrase: “ ‘God so loved the world,’ that’s such a nice thing for Him to say.” God’s love is tangible. It acts; it sacrifices. It goes to the ultimate length; it suffers and dies. All for you. 

Readings:

• Old Testament: Ezekiel 34:11-16

• Epistle: 1 Peter 2:21-25

• Holy Gospel: John 10:11-16

Sermon: