9am Family Service for the Fourth Sunday of Easter
“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. ”
Summary
It’s Good Shepherd Sunday: this year’s reading focuses not just on the sheep and the shepherds, but the sheep fold and, in particular, the gate to the fold.
We are used to hearing the sheep and shepherd stories: we understand that God promises to care for us as a shepherd cares for her flock and that we are also called to be shepherds of God’s people, caring for others. When Jesus calls himself the sheep gate, though, things get trickier. Gates open both ways: they open and close, they allow for the sheep to go in and go out.
The church has often been a closed a gate, keeping out those who might harm the sheep, keeping the sheep safe. But the gate in this morning’s reading seems to be open continually, allowing the sheep in and out. Although we are called to be both sheep and shepherds, I’m not sure that we are called to be the gate; this is God’s job, not ours.
God is the one who gets to decide who comes in, not us. We are the included, we get to share our fold, our lives, our hearts with all the other included, whomever they may be.
READING
John 10:1-10
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.
