Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The text for today’s meditation is Isaiah 49:7-13

When was the last time you said something like this about your life? "Deader than a door-nail; a lost cause; time to throw in the towel; Sianara baby; the fat lady has sung ... (or my favorite), hasta la vista baby!"

Israel said this very thing about her life during the dark days of the Babylonian exile. Our text has Isaiah speaking from the eighth century to the lost cause we know as Israel in the sixth century. You see, already in the eighth century, Isaiah knew that the days were, coming when Israel would have no temple, no Jerusalem, no Davidic king, no annual pilgrim feasts, no commercial or political significance, and no hope! Arnold would say, hasta la vista baby!" Or, to use Israel's favorite line – "By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion."

The message of redemption continues in Isaiah 49:9–12 with the Servant’s release of prisoners. He will lead them back from all directions. While the specific word "shepherd" is not indicated, the words "graze," "pasture," "lead," and "guide" make it clear that the Servant is depicted as a Shepherd. He leads his flock to find food on barren heights and in the hottest of weather he gives his sheep unlimited water. Their path is straight, compared with the normally hilly country where sheep are used to grazing. This Servant even has the ability to tend to a huge number of sheep that are drawn from great distances.

And so he promises, "They shall not hunger or thirst." And all this implies that you and I are nothing more than sheep.

Now sheep are not intimidating creatures. We have Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos, Atlanta Falcons, and St. Louis Rams. I’m not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet, but there will never, ever be NFL expansion teams called the Los Angeles Lambs or the San Antonio Sheep! What would the cheerleaders say, "Fleece ‘em, Fleece ‘em ba, ba, ba!?"

Sheep are not intimidating creatures, truth be told, sheep are dumb. They graze on the same hills until those hills turn to desert waste lands, polluted with disease. Sheep bend down to drink from a pond, get too close, allow the water to absorb into their wool, fall in, and drown! We aren’t like that ... are we?

Sheep are dirty. Their wool is like a magnet. It attracts mud, manure, and maggots. It becomes caked with dirt, decay, and disease. Sheep absorb every particle of filth in the atmosphere. We aren’t like that ... are we?

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Sheep are defenseless. They turn over on their back to rest, but then can’t get up. Canines, coyotes, and cougars all know that a resting sheep is a sitting duck! But we aren’t like that … are we?

Israel had been just like that ... and so it was Sianara baby. The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar did it. The towel was thrown in 587 B.C. all because they had been like ... sheep!

They were dumb. Isaiah 1:3, "The ox knows his master, the donkey his owner’s manger, but

Israel does not know, my people do not understand."

They were dirty. Isaiah 64:6, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags."

And Israel was defenseless. Isaiah1:6, "From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness - only wounds and welts and open sores." We’re not like that ... are we?!

Hear the word of Yahweh, Isaiah 53:6, "We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way." And the result? "By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remember Zion." You and I are living testimonies of lost causes, of being deader than a doornail, exiled we are so far from the Father’s will and ways; so far from bearing each other’s pain and burdens; so far from spouses, children, sisters, brothers. So far, far away from home. Arnold has taken you out, hasta la vista baby!"

So what’s a Shepherd to do? He only has one option, to become a Lamb. But not just any ordinary Lamb, "A virgin will conceive and bear a Son and you will call his name Immanuel! Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." No ordinary Lamb, "He was led like a Lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth."

On Maundy Thursday and Good Friday there were no green pastures. Rather spit and blood are caked to his cheeks. There were no quiet waters, in fact, no water at all. His lips are cracked and swollen, his throat, parched from the hot Palestinian sun. He’s passing through the valley of the shadow of death as pain surges through His body. There's no rod or staff for comfort. The cup overflows alright, he drinks from the cup of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. Surely goodness and mercy have been twisted and perverted in the most inhumane way.

Reflecting on this great love, Peter writes, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls."

And as sheep, we have this promise, "They shall not hunger or thirst."

It was Luther who pounded the table at Marburg with, "this is my body." The Shepherd is really present with his body and blood, in, with, and under the bread and wine.

When we come to this table we feast upon forgiveness, mercy, and salvation. Because of these gifts in the Holy Supper, we will not hunger or thirst again!

When I am lost and exiled, my Shepherd Jesus leaves the ninety-nine and runs after me. When I am confused by the voices of demons and devils, he calls me by name and I know that voice. When I am dirty and full of filth, he is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He is my Shepherd who gathers me in his arms until I am better, holds me until I can live with the hurt, and carries me close to his heart forever so that he may lead me home, there’s no place like home!

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.