Our Easter journey of faith continues
today with a pre-crucifixion story of the good shepherd. On Easter
we saw the faith of the women at the tomb. Easter 2 gave us the
determined faith of Thomas. Last week we heard the story of two
disciples and their faith being elevated at the breaking of the
bread. Today we have another faith story, that of Jesus the good
shepherd.
Our Collect for today begins: “O
God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people . . .”
And the gospel passage from John certainly alludes to Jesus as the
good shepherd. John records Jesus saying things like, “The one who
enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. He calls his own
sheep by name and leads them out. The sheep follow him because they
know his voice.” Add to that the words from Ps. 23, “The Lord is
my shepherd,” and we have some powerful imagery of Jesus as the
good shepherd.
Herein lies one problem with the
lectionary . . . it doesn't always cover what you think it covers.
How many of you heard the Collect, the Gospel, and the opening of my
sermon and thought, “Oh, right, Jesus is the good shepherd?” But
nowhere in today's gospel passage does Jesus refer to himself as the
good shepherd. Let me read it to you again:
Re-read John 10:1-10
This is my fifth sermon on this
particular Sunday (once every three years going back to 2005) and
this may be the first time I have noticed this.
In this lectionary cycle, and in this
particular gospel selection, Jesus is not the good shepherd – Jesus
is the gate and/or the gatekeeper. In this passage, he is not the
good shepherd who leads and protects the flock, he is the one through
whom the sheep come in and go out. In this particular gospel
selection, he is the one through whom we gain entry to salvation. I
think that's significant.
As I pondered this image of Jesus as
gate and gatekeeper, I struggled with how to express this new-to-me
image instead of the traditional image of Jesus as good shepherd.
What does it mean to see Jesus as the gate? What are the
implications of Jesus as gatekeeper? And then I began to think about
society in general and church in particular.
We make use of gatekeepers all the
time. The role of the gatekeeper is to allow in and keep out certain
individuals. Sometimes this is a formal role, sometimes it is an
informal role. Sometimes it's a select few, other times it's a group
effort.
When I was going through the
discernment process for ordination I encountered a formal group of
gatekeepers in the Commission on Ministry. In essence, the fate of
my call was in their hands. They determined who was let into the
process and who was kept out. One person said it was their job to
make sure we don't ordain the wrong people.
An informal role occurs all too often
in churches where the “old guard” overtly or covertly works to
limit access to “their church” from newcomers. This could be by
refusing to invite new people into the altar guild, as greeters, as
coffee hour hosts, or any other group or committee. Or it could
occur when the old guard turns over leadership to newbies, only to
constantly tell them how to do things, or, in some cases, retake
control because “we've never done it that way.”
Sometimes it's a select few, such as
Dana Carvey's Church Lady from Saturday Night Live. Or maybe
it's the few patriarchs and matriarchs who want to protect THEIR
church. And sometimes it's a group effort, like an occurrence of the
parish never voting onto the vestry one person who has put his or her
name on the ballot for the past seven years. Or maybe it's those
signals at coffee hour that we really don't want to talk with you.
Gatekeepers are known more for who they
keep out. They are known for protecting their turf. And today we
have an image of Jesus as gatekeeper. I don't think, though, that
gatekeeper Jesus can be compared with the gatekeepers we know or have
known.
One of the images of the church is that
we are the flock of Christ. We are his sheep. If we are his sheep,
note that it is not the sheep whom the gatekeeper excludes – it is
the one trying to lead the sheep astray. The gatekeeper will only
allow access to the one not trying to steal sheep.
In this passage Jesus is telling us
that the sheep have free access in and out. Jesus is telling us that
those who enter through the gate, through him, will have abundant
life. The shepherd is calling us, and it is those who listen to that
call and come to the gate who will have abundant life.
What does this mean for us? It means
that we are not gatekeepers; Jesus is the only gatekeeper. It means
we don't have to work so hard to protect OUR church or
our turf, because this turf and this church belongs to Jesus. It
means that if anyone shows up at our doors, we must understand that
they heard the voice of Christ and the gatekeeper of all is granting
them access.
Is our faith strong enough to turn over
those duties to Jesus? Is our faith strong enough to allow everyone
and anyone who shows up access to this sheepfold?
I would hope the answer is yes.
Amen.
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