“I am Jesus’ little lamb, / Ever glad at heart I am;
For my Shepherd gently guides me, / Knows my need and well provides me,
Loves me ev’ry day the same, / Even calls me by my name.”
How does that work? How is Jesus with us day-in and day-out? Many pastors will say He’s with us through His Word. I agree (for example, John 8:31), but what about the times when we’re not meditating upon His Word? You go to work today, you’re playing or watching sports, you’re doing house chores… Your mind is occupied on what’s right in front of you. How is Jesus here now?
“Jesus himself drew near and went with them (the Emmaus disciples). But their eyes were kept from recognizing him” (Luke 24:15-16). The “stranger” goes on to ask what they were talking about, but didn't He know (vv. 17-24)? Of course. “He acted as if he were going farther…” (v. 28). Jesus dissembles. Another example of Jesus "playing dumb": He asks the disciples, “What were you discussing on the way?” (Mark 10:33). Didn’t Jesus know? Of course, that’s why He asked. The disciples had been arguing about which one of them was the greatest. One more example, Matthew 14:22-27. Jesus sent the disciples by themselves onto the Sea of Galilee. A storm comes up and the disciples are terrified. Where’s God when we need Him? Who sent the storm? If He calmed the storm, might He also have sent the storm? The disciples’ terror grows, a ghost on the water! “God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform.”
“A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench” (Isaiah 42:3). Isn’t Jesus present for our conversations today, just as the Stranger was with the Emmaus disciples? Doesn’t Jesus hear us when we promote ourselves, in our conversations and our selfies? Isn’t Jesus present when nature, be it weather, health, or aging, frighten us? “He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see?” (Psalm 94:9). “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:2). "The king of love my shepherd is." Pious meditation mode isn't the only time Jesus is with us. “For my Shepherd gently guides me, / Knows my need and well provides me.”
(Lutheran Service Book, 740:1; 765:1; 709:1)