"I AM the Door of the Sheep"
May 15, 2011 Easter 4A
GOSPEL LESSON: John 10:1-16 [I am the gate for the sheep.]

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and 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.

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me- just as the Father knows me and I know the Father-and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

 I do not know much about sheep. I am not a country boy. I was raised in the suburbs of Salem, Oregon. But once I visited my uncle's farm in South Dakota. He had some sheep. I went out to the pen where the sheep were. I wanted to pet them. I approached them and they all moved to the far side of the pen. I went there and they all moved away from me again. Then my uncle came into the pen and called them; and all the sheep went over to him. This is just like what Jesus said, "The sheep hear [the shepherd's] voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." I was a stranger so the sheep ran away from me. Sheep have a pen. When they are in there they are safe. They are safe from wolves and sheep rustlers. Jesus says he is the door of the sheep. He is the gatekeeper. He protects the sheep. He leads them out to the pasture where they are nourished. The sheep are kept in a pen at night for safety. The sheep feel secure there. We are the sheep of Jesus, and he protects us and nourishes us, too.

I do not know much about sheep, I know more about dogs. I have a dog, her name is "Happy." In some aspects she is like the sheep of today's parable. She is friendly to me and will come to me when I call her name. She is wary of strangers, however. She will bark and she will shy away from them. Of course if the stranger has a cookie, then all defenses are laid aside. Jesus says that a shepherd leads the sheep out to pasture and then brings them back into the pen. Likewise I have to lead my dog out twice daily for a walk and then bring her back home again. I cannot leave her outside on the street because there are speeding cars and kids who throw rocks at dogs. Sheep have a pen. Our previous dog had a doghouse in the yard, but the dog we have now has a cage in the corner of the kitchen. When the dog is in her house she feels safe. If I want to give her a bath, she runs into her cage and wedges herself in so that I cannot pull her out. She feels safe in her house. I do not want to destroy her place of safety and refuge, and so I do not pull her out, rather I wait for a more opportune time give her a bath.

I do not think any of you have sheep, but you may have children. Sometimes we have to take care of kids in the same way that we take care of animals. We have to protect them. The parent is the door of the house, the gatekeeper, the one who protects the kids. We have to feed them. We have to take them out of the safety of the house sometimes so that they can be nourished by the things of this world. This is the nourishment of mind and experiences in the green pastures of this world.

Jesus is telling a parable. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who protects the sheep. The sheep are the people of God. The sheep pen is the security of the church. Jesus is the door or gate, and through him, in his name, the people of God enter the church to hear the Word of God which protects them from evil. And through this gate, in the Name of Jesus, the people go out of the church to do the mission of the church in the world. The mission of the church is evangelism, works of love, and all the daily work of a Christian.

The thief wants to steal the sheep and the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The thief and the wolf are the devil and false prophets and bad or incompetent religious leaders. In this parable Jesus is not talking about the dangers of life like sickness and accidents and natural disasters and harassment and terrorism. For these dangers we have other safe places and gatekeepers. We have our homes and the front door is locked by a key at night. We have hospitals to go to. Our police and national defense forces protect us from all kinds of wolves that would destroy us and our country. We thank God that he has given us these shepherds. Jesus is our Good Shepherd in all of life's dangers. However, in today's parable, Jesus focuses on religious dangers.

There are plenty of religious dangers in the world. Some things are just nuisances. There are noisy bleating sheep on both the right and the left. But some things are deadly heresies. How can we sheep know the difference? How can we be sure that the voice that calls is truly the voice of our Savior?

In my daily devotion book, this last week we were reading from John's Second Letter. John warned this way, "7 Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist." Such people attack Jesus. They deny that Jesus is divine God. They deny the incarnation and the physical birth, death and resurrection of Jesus. And when they do that they deny the power of the sacrifice of Jesus to forgive, redeem, and save us physical human beings. There are many religious cults. There are pagan religions. There are made-up religions that pick and choose a bit of Christianity, a bit of Hindu, and a bit of fantasy. Then there are the anti-religion, anti-church voices that say Christianity is all nonsense. They would be happy to scatter the flock and take you and me away from Jesus.

At the Last Supper, Jesus spoke to his disciples. He said, Matthew 26:31, "This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' 32 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee." The Good Shepherd was attacked and captured and crucified. And the disciples fled like sheep. But Jesus promised that he would come back and gather them again. That is the resurrection. The Good Shepherd became the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. It is the Good Shepherd that gathers his flock with love and forgiveness.

Jesus said, "The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." How do we recognize the voice of Jesus? It is because he calls us by name. And what is our name? Our name is his Name. It is the name given to us in our baptism. "I baptize you in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." It is the family Name into which we have been baptized. And after he calls our name, we call upon his name in prayer, in worship-in the time of joy, sadness, danger, and deliverance.

Jesus says "I AM the door of the sheepc. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.c I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." The door that leads to eternal life is the open door of the tomb on Easter morning. In Baptism we enter into death with Jesus, and in Baptism we enter into life with Jesus. Every day Jesus is with us as our Good Shepherd, and therefore our life is abundant and secure.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church

Home Index Page