Word to the Wise
Monday, May 9, 2022 - 4th Week of Easter - Mon
[Acts 11:1-18 and John 10:1-10]"Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves 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]
The gospel scriptures for the next couple of weeks will come from the Gospel According to John. Today and tomorrow they are taken from the 10th chapter in which Jesus uses images from a familiar agricultural experience for his audience - sheep and shepherd. Yesterday, I mentioned the distinction between WHAT we know and WHO we know. This will, I think, continue to be helpful for us.
In Jesus' time, and even now, a village could have a common corral for all the sheep of the different shepherds at night. In the morning, each shepherd would come to the corral and give a particular "call" and his flock would separate out and follow him. {"The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." There would be only one gate and one of the shepherd's would sleep (lay down his life) in it to guard the sheep. This is the WHAT of the image.
Jesus begins with identifying himself with the gate - the means whereby one can be saved and protected. He then identifies himself as the "good" shepherd in the very familiar words: "I have come so that they might have life and have it more abundantly." Since the lectionary, tomorrow, skips the middle verses 11-18, I urge the Beloved Congregation to read the entire vv. 1-30 to see how the WHO develops. ("I am the good shepherd!"). It will end with the words, "The Father and I are one!" This is as startling a claim as giving us his flesh and blood to consume! More tomorrow, stay tuned!" AMEN