Word to the Wise
Monday, April 18, 2016 - 4th Week of Easter - Mon
[Acts 11:1-18 and John 10:1-10 or, in Year A, John 10:11-18,353]"Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ame before me arethieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly." [John]
Today's gospel scripture continues in the tenth chapter of the Gospel of John, a portion of which we heard yesterday on "Good Shepherd Sunday." However, this passage goes back to the beginning of the chapter, and in Sunday Cycle A appears as the gospel scripture. In any case, I once more recommend reading all of the tenth chapter so that one may see how the parts fit together.
Jesus begins the image of gate, gatekeeper, shepherd with calling himself the "gate." We have the features I have mentioned before of "misunderstanding" and "I AM" statements. We also have one of the lines most often quoted from the Gospel of John: "I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly." The image of Jesus as the gate echoes, in a way, another "I AM" statement: "I am the way, the truth and the life." However, this is a living image and it shifts quickly to the one who is entering the gate and then to a gatekeeper/shepherd who will lay down his life for the sheep. Then the image moves to the process by which a shepherd calls his own sheep with his distinct call. They separate from the common flock and follow him - a procedure still in use today..
From the feeding images of the Bread of Life discourse, we move to a very different image of the shepherd and the sheep. In both cases we learn of the "abundant life" that Jesus offers to those who believe that he is the one sent by God. We also learn of the importance of feeding and caring for those entrusted to us in faith. We share the bread of life and we care for those who need to be shepherded. AMEN