3rd Easter
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| Sanz-Cardona |
John 10: 1-21
“Yes, the
truth I say to you: Anyone who does not go into the sheep through the door, but
breaks into the fold elsewhere, he is a thief or robber. Only he who enters by
the door is a shepherd of the sheep.
To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep respond to his voice. He
calls each one by name, according to its nature, and he leads them out into the
open.
When he has brought them out, he walks before them, and the sheep follow
after him, for they trust his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but
rather flee, because they do not know the stranger’s voice.”
Thus did Jesus reveal himself to them in pictures, but they did not
understand what he was saying to them.
Then Jesus went on. “Yes, the truth out of the spirit I say to you. I AM
the door to the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the
sheep did not listen to them.
I AM the door. Anyone who enters through me will find healing and life.
He learns to cross the threshold from here to beyond, and from there to here,
and he will find nourishment for his soul. The thief comes only to steal, and
kill and destroy. But I – I have come that they may have life, and overflowing
abundance.
I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD. The good shepherd lays down his life for the
sheep. He who works for wages, and who is no true shepherd, whose sheep are not
his own, he sees the wolf coming, abandons the sheep, and flees while the wolf
snatches them and scatters them. For he is only a hireling and he cares nothing
for the sheep.
I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD. I know who belongs to me, and my own recognize
me, just as my Father recognizes me in the depths, and I know the being of the
Father; and I offer my life for the sheep.
Other sheep have been entrusted to me who are not of this fold; I must
also lead them. They too will listen to my voice, and one day there will be one
flock, one Shepherd.
That is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may
take it up anew. No one can take it from me.
But in full freedom I myself offer it up. I have the power to give it
away and also the power to receive it anew. That is the task given to me by my
Father.”
Then there again arose a division among the people because of these
words. Many of them said, “He is possessed by a demon and is out of his mind.
Why do you listen to him?” Yet others said, “These are not the words of one who
is possessed. After all, can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
April 18, 2010
3rd Easter
John 10: 1-21
A doorway is an opening that leads from one space to
another. The door can either open or close off the access. In our everyday lives
we encounter many doors; not only the physical ones in rooms and buildings, but
also the portals between one state of soul and another.
One such doorway is waking and sleeping. At night we are
meant to move calmly and easily through the doorway of sleep. The doorway to
our earthly concerns closes behind us, and we move out into the starry pastures
where our souls are nourished and our bodies refreshed. And then, at the right
time, we are called back to our earthly home.
But sometimes fear and worry, clinging to earthly concerns,
can hold us back at the gateway to sleep, or bring us rushing back too soon.
At the beginning of our earthly lives, we stood before a
similar portal. We were called into life, onto earthly fields. And at the end
we will be called back again to our heavenly home.
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| Josephine Wall |
Christ is the one who calls us to both our homes, the
earthly one and the heavenly. For He Himself is at home both here on the earth
and in the starry expanses. He is the one who leads us to the thresholds of sleep
and of life. He is the one who opens the door. Day after day, night after
night, life after life, we can follow His call. He walks in the spirit ahead of
us. We can trust in the calling of His voice. For His is the voice that summons
our deepest self. His is the voice of nurture, the voice of the purest, most
accepting, all-forgiving love.
So, without fear, we can cross all thresholds, saying with
the poet,
I sleep where I will
wake with the
strength to
deeply
love….[1]
www.thechristiancommunity.org
[1]
Theresa of Avila, (1515-1582), “Clarity is Freedom” in Love Poems from God,
Daniel Ladinsky, p. 279
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