whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate
but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.
But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
Once again we hear Jesus' oath, "Amen, amen!" announcing a very important teaching. Whichever disciple, as Christian or a leader of Christians, does not enter "through the gate" is a robber and a thief. "But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep."
The metaphor needs little explanation. In a small, poor village the shepherds gathered their sheep into a single corral, then went home for the night. In the morning they sorted out their sheep by singing to them, each sheep recognizing his shepherd's voice. Then then led them out to the meadows. If someone climbed the fence in the middle of the night, he was obviously not one of the shepherds. The sheep would flee from that stranger with his unfamiliar voice.
So what is the gate for the Christian? The Cross. It comes in many forms but the Holy Spirit can help us discern. I met a woman once who tried to lead her employer to the Lord by having an affair with him. Need I say it didn't work? It was all I could do to keep a straight face as she told me the story.
The Cross will not promise wealth, security, fame or ease because God cannot deceive. There is joy, but only on the other side of suffering. There is freedom, but only in obedience. There is even the security of possessing nothing, and of claiming nothing but the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Today's first reading recounts how some Jewish Christians reacted when they heard that Saint Peter had evangelized and baptized gentiles. Peter seems to have broken a taboo when he did so. But, as he carefully explained to them, he had obeyed a very clear directive from the Holy Spirit, and he had announced to the gentiles in Joppa the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As Saint Luke faithfully records,
We are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and (in) Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised (on) the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commissioned us to preach to the people and testify that he is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead.The narrow gate is no wider for us twenty centuries later than it was for Jesus and his disciples. He leads the way through the cross and we must follow. As we used to teach the children when I was a counselor in summer camp, it is
...so high you can't get over it, so low you can't get under it, so wide you can't get around it, O bless my soul.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.