|
First
Reading
|
Psalm |
Epistle |
Gospel |
| Acts 2:42–47 |
Psalm 23 |
1Peter 2:19–25 |
John 10:1–10
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Much of the countryside of the British Isles is fenced off for sheep pasture. However in many places there is an extended network of walking trails. The openings in the fences are called stiles, but they are really an arrangement of gates designed so that even a two year old can easily pass through from one pasture to another. Interestingly enough the stiles totally confound even the brightest of sheep. For humans however, the stiles seem to virtually invite one's passage from one pasture to another.
A gate or door can offer many messages about what is on the other side. Gates can be locked to keep people in or out. Doors can hide, protect, or insulate what or who is inside. Gates and doors can also welcome and guide one in finding an easy or safe passage, like the stiles along the English hiking trails.
The Gospel of John is layered with metaphors, and this particular lesson certainly is a good example. It begs to be interpreted many ways. One of the images is that of Jesus, who unpretentiously invites people in. Jesus is not portrayed as the grand inquisitor who tests people before they are allowed to pass, or who seeks to keep certain ones out. Rather he seems to be illuminated like a large neon sign, beckoning where people may enter to be fed by God's grace.
Another is the image of Jesus letting the Holy Spirit out to rescue and find lost travelers. Jesus does not hold on to God's love, but lets it out to travel to all corners of the earth. Jesus is not a vault guard stationed between God's grace and us, keeping it in an impregnable safe. Rather Jesus liberates God's grace to go forth. As I hear John's passage, I picture Jesus at the top of South Hill holding a whole bunch of helium balloons filled with the Spirit and then with a smile letting them all go, floating down over Ithaca.
To be sure, this Gospel hints that there have been in the early church's experience, false leaders who instead of helping people find God's grace, have used their position for their own selfish gain and purposes. These false leaders have tried to misdirect or block the way into God's new and abundant pasture. They have tried to deceive people of faith with false shortcuts or lead them into dry gulches rather than nourishing places. Sadly, leaders who are in effect bandits and thieves are still with us today, conning people out of their faith, stealing their material and spiritual resources, playing on their fear and prejudice, and leaving only a shell of betrayal, disillusionment, and insecurity behind. Jesus' warning rings true with us too. The writer of John makes it very clear. It is false shepherds who inevitable want to close the gates and limit access to God. It is Jesus who opens gates and widens access.
Jesus sets before us the example of a good shepherd- gatekeeper, for every church has what are called gatekeepers too. These are the people you ask when you want more information about teaching Sunday School or taking flowers to shut-ins or volunteering at Loaves and Fishes, and who want to start an after school tutoring project. These are those who ask your name, invite you to coffee hour, and introduce you to others.
I've always wanted the gatekeepers at St. John's to wear on their backs large yellow painted gates, so that everyone could see who they were when they came up to the communion rail. This is one of my many ideas that haven't exactly taken off the ground yet, but I'm working on it. The point is, good shepherds and faithful gatekeepers are not to be hidden or feared, but are to be identified so to be easily approachable so that all many find an easy entry point into church fellowship. Again, our doors are really to be entrances, not barricades, and following the example of the risen Jesus, serve to invite people in.
How we present ourselves on the outside reveals a lot of what we are on the inside. Because we are in a historic district, we can't put up neon signs. Yet all of us in some way, everyday of the week, can be deputy doors and gatekeepers, helping to open doors and hearts, inviting people to come in, to get closer to God's love, and to be fed.
And
I offer this to you in the name of the Living God, Amen.
