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Easter, May 3, 2020
Gate or
Shepherd?
Psalm
23; 1 Peter 2:19-25; John 10:1-10
The
Rev. Nancy E. Gossling
“I am the Gate,” he said, “and God is the
Gate-keeper. Come into this sheepfold through me, and I will save you. When the
morning dawns, go out through me and follow me. Listen to me! I’m calling your name. Yes, you!”
“Wait,” I replied. “What? I thought you were
the Shepherd! So which is it? Are you an inert piece of rotting wood, a gate?
Or are you a living, breathing person, a shepherd?”
“Both, and more,” Jesus answered. He said that
he had replaced that piece of wood, which was the cross, and a symbol of unjust
execution and cruelty, made by humankind to inflict suffering and sorrow. He
told me that, like a lamb, he had been led to the slaughter, how he had laid
down on that gate, and willingly gave up his life for you and me. He reminded
me how God was the gatekeeper, who opened it, so that Jesus could show us the
way out, first through suffering and death, and then into eternal life.
It was a matter of sacrificial giving instead
of self-serving action. The religious and political leaders claimed that it was
better for one man to die than for them. So they chose him. Power is
seductive.They didn’t like his truth-telling; and it was too much pressure on
them. Throw him under the bus, and up on the cross, the crowds yelled. His
death might serve as a warning to others. It’s called herd immunity. Privileges
do have their health care benefits.
“There is death and despair and disease all
around me,” I cry to him. “Even inside this sheepfold. And we are crowded
together, with no masks, no gloves, and no hope. We have endured this suffering
unjustly. We need a Good Shepherd. Please get us out of this sheepfold! We want
to wander freely! We want our lives back, just the way they were before!” “Or
maybe not?” quietly asked the Gatekeeper.
I remember how darkness descended upon all of
creation on that Good Friday. How disciples arrived at the tomb on Easter
morning and found it empty. There were rumors that thieves stole the Body; it
was a good talking point for the empty tomb. Some accused the disciples of a
great hoax. “It never happened,” they said. But the Gatekeeper, the Author of
all Creation, intervened and raised Jesus up. And then the Risen Lord appeared
to many people. “See me. Touch me. Believe me,” he said. God knew that we
needed a living, breathing human being to replace the parts of us that are
dead, inert, and rotting.
I look around my sheepfold, as if for the
first time, and see that Jesus is there. God has a way of creating new life
especially in those dark places, like the womb and the tomb. Jesus is so much
more than a gate and a shepherd, I remember; he is one of my companions along
the Way, functioning in various capacities. He is the bread of life, and living
water. He is there in all of creation, in the body and blood of care-givers, in
my family and friends. Maybe even my enemies. “Come into this sheepfold through
me; and do not fear” he says,“for by my wounds you have been healed. And, don’t
worry! Lay down your heads and go to sleep. I am the guardian of your souls.”
“Weeping may spend your nights,” he consoles
me. “But joy will surely come in the morning, when the Son will rise, and the
Gate will open, and my Spirit will lead you. “When the morning dawns,” he says,
“go out through me, and I will lead you to still waters and green pastures. Did
I not come that you might have life and have it abundantly?”
1 Peter
2:19-25
It is a credit to you if, being aware of God,
you endure pain while suffering unjustly. If you endure when you are beaten for
doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and
suffer for it, you have God's approval. For to this you have been called,
because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you
should follow in his steps.
“He committed no sin,
and no deceit was
found in his mouth.”
When he was abused, he did not return abuse;
when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who
judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free
from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd
and guardian of your souls.
Psalm
23
1 The Lord is my shepherd; *
I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures *
and leads me beside still waters.
3 He revives my soul *
and guides me along right pathways for his
Name's sake.
4 Though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death,
I shall fear no evil; *
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
you have anointed my head with oil,
and my cup is running over.
6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, *
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
John
10:1-10
Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, anyone
who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a
thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the
sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He
calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his
own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his
voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they
do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this figure of speech with
them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell
you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and
bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by
me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes
only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it
abundantly.”
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