Word to the Wise
Sunday, May 7, 2017 - 4th Sunday of Easter - A
[Acts 2:14a, 36-41; 1 Pet 2:20b-25; John 10:1-10]SUNDAY, MAY 7, 2017 FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER [Acts 2:14a, 36-41; 1 Peter 2:20b-25; John 10:1-10] "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] This Sunday is traditionally called "Good Shepherd Sunday" because the gospel scripture is taken from John 10, where Jesus uses an extended image (metaphor, parable?) involving the shepherd, the sheep, the gate, the herding process, all in an effort to describe the relationship he has with those who believe in him. The Lectionary divides the chapter among the three Sunday cycles, so I once more recommend reading the entire chapter so that today's passage makes more sense. The passage today dwells on the "gate" to the sheepfold (corral), but we don't call this Sunday, "Good Gate Sunday!" The image of the "Good Shepherd" will be clearer when the whole chapter is in front of us. The evangelist uses familiar tools. There are "Amen, amen" statements and "I AM" statements. There is shifting meaning from gate to watchman to shepherd to voice recognition - a wonderful range of meaning from a scene familiar to the audience. There may be some unintended irony, too, since shepherds were not held in high esteem by the society of Jesus' day. All of these ways of looking at shepherd and sheep have one purpose - to point to Jesus as the one whom God has sent and in whom we may confidently place our trust. "I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly." He is the "way" (the gate) and his "voice" is the one we recognize in faith. John 10 will continue to challenge us in the days ahead. AMEN
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