The doorway
From Helen
A man was once in a pub when he saw a dog walk in. He noticed the dog go to the bar and order a pint. He watched as the dog reached behind his collar to get money and to pay for his pint, then he watched the dog drink the pint and walk out. The man was fascinated and followed the dog who got on a bus and he followed the dog as the dog got off the bus and walked to a house. He then saw the dog knock the door and the owner came out. The man decided that he should tell the owner how amazing his dog was. The owner disagreed, the man was shocked but then the owner said. 'The dog is not great he has forgotten his keys again.'
A man was once in a pub when he saw a dog walk in. He noticed the dog go to the bar and order a pint. He watched as the dog reached behind his collar to get money and to pay for his pint, then he watched the dog drink the pint and walk out. The man was fascinated and followed the dog who got on a bus and he followed the dog as the dog got off the bus and walked to a house. He then saw the dog knock the door and the owner came out. The man decided that he should tell the owner how amazing his dog was. The owner disagreed, the man was shocked but then the owner said. 'The dog is not great he has forgotten his keys again.'
Our gospel reading (John 10:1-10) this morning is all about a gate a doorway. A way into something and a way of being protected. In the gospel reading we heard of a bad shepherd, of thieves and robbers who wanted to steal the sheep to make life hard for them maybe even kill them. But Jesus pointed out that He was the doorway and so a good shepherd. When a shepherd was leading his flock out if they were away from home the shepherd would find an enclosure in a field and would lay across any gap so that the sheep couldn't get out and no one else could get in.
When Jesus spoke about the good shepherd He was encouraging His listeners to make the connection that He was the good shepherd which we are reminded of just after the passage that we heard this morning. Jesus as the good shepherd was showing that He protected His sheep, He made sure that nothing could attack them. Jesus when He spoke of the good shepherd showed that the sheep would follow a good shepherd they would trust Him and they would be safe being led to the best place.
This is amazing we are the sheep and Jesus is our shepherd. He is good, He wants to give us life not rob us of anything. He wants us to have life in its fullest. When Pepsi Max first came out the slogan was, 'Live life to the max.' It was accompanied by shots of people doing really mad things like bungee jumping. I was never tempted to do anything like that but the slogan always makes me think of the promise of Jesus that He wants His sheep, us, to live life to its fullest. Jesus wants us to know the best way and that way is with Him. Once the sheep had found the good shepherd they wouldn't want to move away, after all sheep naturally want to be safe and have good food. With Jesus it is the same for us we are sheep who are safe, who are receiving good food.
But, as with anything there is a problem. That problem is that sometimes we want to go our own way, we leave Jesus, not consciously perhaps but we move away from Him as other things get in the way. The other things can be good things, they may be family, doing things for the Church, helping other people all important things but sometimes those things can take over so much that we forget about God. A friend of mine joined weight watchers and every week he said he would go in and would be asked, 'well, what have you eaten this week ?' It seemed like quite a harsh question but he said imagine asking people in Church, 'have you prayed this week ?' 'Have you read the Bible ?' I am not going to ask those questions but if we are to enjoy the love and protection of Jesus the good shepherd then it is good for us to ask these questions of ourselves. Have you prayed this week ? Have you read the Bible ? This is our food. This is the good food that the sheep get from the good shepherd.
This week we have been away and whilst we were away we saw some pictures. I commented that the colours were a bit drab they were of fields that looked a mucky green nothing pleasant about them. In the psalm this morning we were reminded of lush green pastures. The kind of place a sheep would like to be. A good shepherd takes their sheep to the best grazing land. In Jesus' time they acted as a door protecting the sheep from danger and from themselves if they went the wrong way.
Jesus gives us the best food. Jesus our Lord is our shepherd and we can turn to Him knowing that He will never let us down, knowing that even when things make life hard for us the good shepherd is still there. The Lord is our shepherd and He is good. He wants to bring us the best, He wants us to know Him. Now, this doesn't mean that life will always be perfect, it won't, it doesn't mean that we will always be able to make sense of everything but it does mean that Jesus is always with us. Always protecting, always loving.
In the reading from Acts (2:42-47) we heard of the early Church meeting together and sharing. Of them helping each other, being together and praising God together. This is what we do on a Sunday. I am not saying that you look like sheep but you are sheep, we all are, we are the sheep of a good shepherd. Who brings life not destroys it, who supports us all the way through all that happens in life even when it makes no sense at all.
Jesus is the gate, He is the doorway for us all. We enter through Him into a better life a life that means we can be contented in knowing that we are loved and are being led to life in its fullest, life with our creator. May we all seek to stay true to the good shepherdwho will never leave us. AMEN
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