“The Gate to Salvation”

4th Sunday of Easter A 2008

John 10:1-11a

              Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd.”  There is perhaps no better loved image of Jesus in the Bible than that of the Good Shepherd.  When asked to describe who or what Jesus is like, many of you may think of this image of Jesus as the shepherd who leads and cares for his sheep.  I often hear people describe the task of the pastor as that of a shepherd, and, of course, there is a connection, because our word for “pastor” comes from the Latin word for “shepherd.”

              You can find many examples of shepherd and sheep in the Bible.  The Old Testament speaks of God as a shepherd, as Isaiah says, “He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms.”  The psalmist also says, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.”  The king was also looked upon like a shepherd as Psalm 78 says, “He chose his servant David, and took him from the sheepfold; from tending the nursing ewes he brought him to be shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel, his inheritance.”

              Jesus used this image for himself to describe the care he had for those who followed him.  This was and is still today a very common scene on the hills of Judea.  It is the job of the shepherd to protect his flocks.  He gathers the sheep together and watches for wild animals that might come to harm or kill a straying sheep, or watches for thieves who want to steal the sheep.  The shepherd keeps his flock together in the fold with a wall surrounding them with one gate to enter into which is guarded by the gatekeeper.  The gatekeeper allows only the shepherd to come in through the gate, because the sheep know the shepherd.  They know the shepherd by his voice.  You see the shepherd calls them by name.  He knows everyone of them.  Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd.”

              It is the shepherd who leads the sheep to green pastures to eat and to still waters to drink.  The shepherd calls out and the sheep hear his voice.  He leads them along right pathways and through the dark, unfamiliar valleys filled with shadows.  The sheep feel safe as long as they see the shepherd’s rod and staff and hear his voice out in front of them.  After providing for their every need, then the shepherd gathers his flocks and leads them back through the gate to the safety of their home.  This is what it is like to have a good shepherd, to feel safe and secure.  Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.”  He calls us by name.  We follow with confidence.  He provides us with green pastures, “With food and clothing, home and family, daily work, and all that I need from day to day,” as Martin Luther teaches us in his small catechism.  It is on Jesus, the good shepherd, that we can cast all our worries and anxieties.  It is his voice that soothes and comforts us.

              But as you know only too well, it is not always well for the sheep, because there are so many other voices that call out to us and cover up the voice of the one good shepherd, voices that confuse and distract, that entice and threaten, that draw out and lead astray.  There are those who do not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but try to climb in another way in order to steal, to kill, to destroy.  They call out, their voice is unfamiliar, the sheep scatter.  As sheep, which can loose their way, you know what some of those voices are.  There is the voice of broken relationships between parent and child, between husband and wife; there is the voice of financial hardships and loss of jobs; there is the voice of conflict and war around the world, of violence, hunger, and oppression; there is the voice of fear and despair, loneliness and hopelessness, causing some to choose death over life.

              There are the voices of the thieves and robbers who want to kill and destroy.  The volume of these voices grows ever louder until they almost cover up the voice of the one who can lead us to the way of life and give comfort and strength in the midst of death.  His voice may be faint at times, almost completely covered up, but the sheep still listen for it, for the voice of the good shepherd.  We hear the shepherd calling us by name and we come to it.  He leads us back to the gate, to the gate that means security and life.  Jesus says, “I am the gate; whoever enters by me will be saved, and come and go and find life.

              We are so in need of finding the gate that leads to life and salvation.  The events of the past number of months and weeks have shaken us, the senseless murder of a young man in a back ally, the death of a young high school boy.  We don’t feel safe.  We don’t feel secure.  We wonder about the future and we worry about our children.  It has been as if we were driving down the road and are stopped by a gate crossing the road saying, “Road closed.  Danger.  Go back.”  We have that sickening feeling that we have lost our way, that our society and world has lost its way.  What can we do to make it better?  Where can we turn to find help?  Who will save us from these dangers?

              I remember one day when a small bird got into the church building.  It was a strange place for the bird.  It didn’t know where it was and it didn’t know how to get out.  It tried to get out by flying into the window of the doors, only to fall to the ground.  I opened the door, but the bird would not go out.  It thought that there would be a barrier blocking the way.  It flew around for a while and finally flew down and sat in front of the open door.  It was only a few feet from freedom and life, but it would not go out.  Then the little bird heard a familiar sound, the sound of another bird outside.  Nervously, the bird took a chance and flew through the open door, discovering that there wasn’t anything blocking the way.  It trusted in the familiar voice of another bird’s singing.

              Jesus says, “I am the gate; whoever enters by me will be saved, and come and go and find pasture.”  Jesus is the good shepherd who calls us.  He opens the gate for us to life and salvation, freedom and security.  Through his death on the cross and his resurrection form the dead, Jesus has made it possible for us to trust him with all our heart, with our whole life, even in the midst of the greatest tragedies and struggles in life.  He is our good shepherd.  His voice is the one who called Lazarus out of his dark tomb.  His voice is the one who called to Mary on Easter morning so that she could see for herself that he was raised from the dead.  His voice is the one who calls us in the waters of baptism and makes us to be the Children of God.  Jesus, the good shepherd is calling us in to the community of faith called the church.  It is hear that we hear his voice forgiving us all our sins, promising us new life now as we live and eternal life for when we die.  From the safety of this place, our shepherd sends us out in order that we may shepherd others to where true life is found, in the arms of our loving savior Jesus.  Jesus is calling.  Listen to his voice.  Not only does he open the gate of salvation for us, he is the gate of salvation.  He is our hope.  He is our faith.  He is our security.  Trust in him.  You can always trust in him.  Amen.