Our hymn for this week is hymn 756, Shepherd of Tender Youth.
The ninth Sunday after Pentecost, year B, focuses on Jesus’ compassion for people as the good shepherd. In our gospel lesson for this weekend, Jesus sees the crowds of people harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. The compassionate shepherd’s heart of Jesus is what led him to go to the cross and pay for our sins. And it’s that tender, loving heart that this hymn so beautifully focuses on.
The hymn is one of the oldest hymns in our hymnal, and is attributed to one of the church fathers, Clement of Alexandria, who lived between 170 and 220 AD. Its beloved verses have long been used to remind singers of the wonderful shepherd who is a lifelong protector and caretaker of his sheep. Let’s now focus on those beloved words.
Verse 1: Shepherd of tender youth, guiding in love and truth through devious ways, Christ, our triumphant King, we come your name to sing and here our children bring to join your praise.
There’s no doubt about it, we live in a very devious world. It’s hard to know who or what to trust when the truth is so easily twisted to advertise a certain product or endorse a certain individual. In our own lives, it can be difficult to try and determine what’s best for us, our families, and our churches. We need a guide to show us the way. And thanks be to God we have one in our good shepherd. He has been our guide from a very young age. He is always there with his word and sacrament to draw us closer to him and to remind us he will always be there. That’s why we join together to praise him every Sunday. That’s why we bring our families to know his truth. He is our triumphant king who fought and won for us and gives us confidence he will be with us through all of life’s devious ways.
Verse 2: You are the holy Lord, Christ, the incarnate Word, healer of strife. You did yourself abase that from sin’s deep disgrace you might thus save our race and give us life.
Jesus is the good shepherd who laid his life down for the sheep. But he is so much more than that, as we see in this verse. He is first and foremost Lord. Through him all things were made, and he is the head over every earthly ruler and authority. He is the Christ, the anointed one, who was chosen to be our savior and redeemer. He is the incarnate word, who became flesh and dwelt among us to be our brother. And he is a healer of strife. Christ brings a peace that surpasses understanding. He brings his love and forgiveness, which calms even the most restless and bitter hearts. Despite being all these great and powerful things, Christ, who had no sin lowered himself and became sin for us so that we might live. Truly we have a unique and wonderful good shepherd!
Verse 3: You are the great High Priest; you have prepared the feast of holy love; and in our mortal pain none calls on you in vain; our plea do not disdain; help from above.
As the good shepherd, Jesus provides for our needs both earthly and spiritual. Here, we see how our good shepherd cares for both of those things. First, he feeds us at a feast not of earthly food and drink, but of love! Through word and sacrament, we are sustained and kept in his church, and his love is poured out on us freely. Every day, every week, every time we come to him seeking forgiveness we find not just a simple reply, but a feast of love laid out for us, where we can eat and have our full! This feast of love that is so readily available is what leads us to have such confidence that our pleas for earthly aid are not in vain. We have a heavenly helper who is all too glad to share, and will never turn away those who come to him seeking forgiveness.
Verse 4: O ever be our guide, our shepherd and our pride, our staff and song. Jesus, O Christ of God, by your enduring Word lead us where you have trod; make our faith strong.
There are two kinds of leaders: those who lead with their words, or those who lead by example. One leader will simply tell you what to do and expect you to figure it out. The other will show you how it’s done. Jesus is the latter of the two. Jesus came into this world to suffer and die for us, fully paying the price for our sins once and for all. This forgiveness is given to us freely, and we aren’t expected to have to work for it. It’s in this free and full forgiveness that Jesus leads us in lives of sanctification. He is the author and perfector of our faith, who leads us and guides us during our brief time on this earth. Through his enduring word, which will never pass away until he comes again, we are led and shown how to be Christian lights in a world of darkness. Jesus is the one who accomplishes this in us, and who makes our faith strong until we at last finish the race and make it home to heaven.
Verse 5: So now and till we die sound we your praises high and joyful sing: infants and all the throng who to your Church belong, unite to swell the song to Christ, our King
One of the most powerful and inspiring images in the bible is the picture of the host of heaven in Revelation 7. There are people there from every nation, tribe, people, and language, all joining in praise to the lamb who sits on the throne. Such a host no one can count, and it’s that host that you and I and all other Christians are a part of. When we worship on earth together, parents and children, brothers and sisters, friends and strangers, we are taking part in that great song. What an amazing picture! Our good shepherd has brought so many into his fold, and he allows even small children to join in praising him for his free gift of salvation! May we, until we are called home, never tire of singing that amazing song.
Truly we have a good shepherd who is so unlike anything else in this world. He freely gives us so much, and never expects anything in return. His compassion is what moves us to share that love with others. To rejoice in his grace and to share in that grace with others. May this hymn serve as a reminder first of how we are richly and fully cared for. But may it also lead us to wish to show that same care and concern for others. May we, too, show that same tenderhearted shepherd in our own words and actions while we still can. May we always remember that shepherd of tender youth, who has been with us and will be with us for our entire earthly journey. Amen.