3rd Easter 2019, The Great Gatekeeper

3^rd Easter

John 10: 1-21 adapted from Madsen

“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.

Yongsun Kim

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.

3^rd Easter

May 5, 2019

John 10: 1-21

Some establishments have a person stationed at the door. They give a friendly greeting to whoever belongs there. And if necessary, they keep out the undesirable elements or at least keep an eye on them.

We ourselves also have such a doorkeeper. It is positioned at the boundaries of our selves. It helps us distinguish ‘me’ from ‘not me’. It decides if those who want to enter our lives, our souls, are there for a legitimate purpose, or whether they are ‘thieves and robbers’, that is, those who would steal our treasures: our time, our energy, our resources. A strong and discerning gatekeeper is not long deceived by appearances or empty promises.

William Hunt Holman

This gatekeeper is our ‘I’, our Self. Its task is to pay attention and to make decisions. But sometimes it is distracted, or just plain asleep on the job. And as we all know, its decisions are fallible.

Christ is humankind’s Greater Self. He has nothing but our own truly best interests in mind. He models how all respectful human beings should interact: ‘Here I am, he says. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in….’ Rev. 3:20

His voice resonates in the deepest part of our being. And he waits respectfully for us to pay attention, and to decide to open. And when we do, he says ‘I will come in… and eat with that person, and they with me.’ He brings our souls guidance, nourishment, and strength. He is the Great Gatekeeper, watching out for us, guiding us all.

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3rd Easter 2018, Door after Door

3^rd Easter
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.

Yongsun Kim

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?”

3^rd Easter
Apr 15, 2018
John 10: 1-20

Observing our breath, we know that at the end of an exhale, there is a null point, a kind of a doorway we pass through in order begin inhaling again. We pass through this gateway, we inhale all we can; and then we pass through another null point, another gateway, and begin to exhale again.

With each inhalation we take in the world; at the same time, on a subtle level, we come to ourselves. In exhaling, we give something of ourselves (our breath, perhaps even our words) to the world. On a subtle level, we let go of ourselves as we exhale.

Birth and death are also gateways, part of a larger cycle of breathing. When we are born, those attending anxiously await our first intake of breath and its resulting cry. And at the end of our earthly life comes the final sigh as we exhale our soul and spirit out of our body and into the Father’s green fields.

In today’s reading, Christ calls himself the gateway, the door. He leads us through the gateway from breath to breath,

Yongsun Kim

through door after door, keeping us alive. And He is also the gateway into and out of earthly life. ‘Anyone who enters through Me will find healing and life, He says. He learns to cross the threshold from here to beyond and he will find nourishment for his soul….’ John 10:9

The astonishing fact is that Christ himself breathes. He became a human being in order to weave together human breathing with greater cosmic rhythms, to weave together human necessity with inner choice. He says, ‘I lay down my life to 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.’ John 10:18

During the Act of Consecration of Man, we hear in sevenfold rhythm ‘Christ in you.’ We breathe Him in; he is the life force, keeping us alive. We can breathe out his peace, his love, his encouragement, into the world. He is the healing force in the balancing of inner and outer. With Him we walk safely through door after door after door.

3rd Easter 2017, Power Corrupts

3rd Easter

John 10: 11-21

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?”

Ravenna

3rd Easter 

April 30, 2017

John 10: 1-21

Parents nurture the child; they feed and clothe it, protect and guide it. They devote much of their life's energy to provide for the child's welfare. In the end, they release the grown child into life.

A less evolved parent, finding themselves in charge of a demanding yet helpless being, may resort either to neglect or to ruling over the child in an assertion of absolute power. As an assertion of their power, they may keep the child in utter fear and dependency, even into adulthood.

In today's reading, Christ refers to Himself in terms of a good parent, a good shepherd who nurtures and guides. Although as shepherd He has power over those in His charge, he uses it solely to sustain and protect, to heal and increase their life. Even at the cost of His own.

Power corrupts. God has given up absolute power over us. Instead, He has chosen powerlessness.

Even now He allows Himself to be subject to our choices, our foolish absurdities, our cruelties. At the same time, He continues to guide and nourish the life of our spirits. Those who hear His voice know that He is absolutely trustworthy, for He does not seek His own advantage. He is solely devoted to promoting humankind's continuing growth and evolution.

He does not neglect us. He is not seeking our dependency; he does not rule through fear. Instead, he walks before us in life. He devotes His eternal life to sustaining the life of our spirits.  He continues to nourish our spirits as he releases us grown, into life.

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3rd Easter 2016, Thieves and Robbers

3rd Easter

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?”

3rd Easter

April 10, 2016

John 10: 1-21

Christian Science Monitor

We may get phone calls from people we don’t know. Aided by machines, armies of strangers try to enter our homes, intending to convince us, or sell us something, or even scam us. They are thieves who at the very least rob us of our precious time or money and the peace of our home sanctuary. Yet there is something we can do. We can use our own technology, our caller ID, to identify who is trying to enter and simply refuse to engage.

Our own souls have their inner thieves and robbers – thoughts that disturb or distress us, overwhelming emotions that compel is to do something, now! Yet some healthy corner of our souls knows that we ought not to listen to them. We can use our own inner process of naming, identifying the thoughts, emotions, and compulsions that would try to destroy our inner peace and health.

Christ the Good Shepherd helps us fight the intrusions of thieves and robbers. He is the giver of life and health to the soul, the giver of our joys, the comfort in our sorrows. He gives us our precious allotment of time, our peace and the creativity of love. He leads us to places of inner nourishment and freedom. Through him, we can take up our own lives and give them freely. 

3rd Easter 2015, My Soul's a Shepherd

3rd Easter

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?”

3rd Easter

April 19, 2015

John 10: 1-21

The shepherd is the image for a particular way of being. The shepherd cares for the animal life. He leads them out to pasture and nourishment during the day, and into the safety of the fold at night. Even though as the communal shepherd, the sheep do not belong to him, he recognizes the individual sheep and calls them by name. He is willing to risk his life to save them from destruction.

Christ is the Good Shepherd of souls. He knows each of us by name. We can listen to His voice as he walks before us, leading us to the nourishment and safety we need. He lays down his life for us, individually and collectively.

We too may be shepherds. We may be responsible for others in our outer life. We are certainly responsible for the various bleating voices of the collective that reside within our own souls. As the poet George Herbert says,

My soul's a shepherd too; a flock it feeds

Of thoughts, and words, and deeds.

But we can entrust our souls fully to the voice of Him who calls us by our true name, the name written in the stars, our name written in the book of life. For we say to Him:

The pasture is Thy words; the streams, Thy grace

Enriching all the place.

Shepherd and flock shall sing, and all my powers

Out-sing the daylight hours.

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3rd Easter 2008, City of Peace

3^rd Easter

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?”

3^rd Easter Sunday

April 6, 2008

John 10: 1-21

A door has two functions. It can open to allow us to move from one space to another. Closed, that access is denied.

In life we often find ourselves at thresholds, a new phase of life, a new job, or even the ending of something. Doors open to us—or close. We have the choice to walk through such an opening—or not. We have the choice to try to create an opening—or not.

Our soul too has its own door. It is our ability to say yes, or to say no, to what comes to meet us. Saying yes, we open our soul to what wants to enter our inner space—an event, a person, a course of action. Sometimes it is necessary to say no and to close our self to something, say, unhealthy.

This capacity to choose, to say yes or no, is a gift from the Creator, in whose image we were made and in whose image we are remodeling ourselves. It is a function of the Self. That this is so is underscored by Christ’s own self-description—My I AM is a Door.

He who functions as the great Yes and the great No, the archetype of choice, can help us in our own yes’s and no’s. Together with Christ, our choices can be healthy ones. Together with Christ our decisions can be clear and move us fully along from one inner space to another. Christ encourages us: “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes, and your ‘No’ be ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one,” He says. Mt 5:37.

One of the saints said:

We should probably pause,

and discover where we stand and if

we at least stand facing

in the most likely direction.

Have we yet left our

fallen city, have we so much

as exited the gate?

…Have you, like me,

advanced, say, several

miles, and then retraced

the same distance in reverse?

Have we come so far

as the Holy City itself,

The City of Peace?

Have we entered its open

gate, or do we stand

cowering outside, unable

to enter it?[1]

Ironically, even with regard to the soul’s own relationship to Christ, the relationship between the little door of the soul to the Great Door, there exists a paradox. He who is himself the Door of the Self, has chosen to wait outside the door of the soul’s choice, the door of our heart. He knocks and waits to be admitted. For Christ Himself respects our freedom of choice. With Him too, our soul faces a choice. Will our heart choose to say yes, and open the door to Him? Will our heart say yes and cross the threshold into the space of His great heart, into His City of Peace?

www.thechristiancommunity.org

---

[1] Dorotheos of Gaza (c. 490- c.560, “Where We Are”, in Love’s Immensity, Scott Cairns, p. 66.

3rd Easter 2009, Another's Soul-Gate

3^rd Easter

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?”

3^rd Easter Sunday

April 26, 2009

John 10: 1 – 21

“Anyone who does not go into the sheep through the door, but breaks into the fold elsewhere is a thief or robber. Only he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.” John 10: 1, 2

The gospels speak in symbolic language, the language of pictures. This parable is clearly speaking not only about how to care for lambs and ewes. It is also talking about how to care for the souls of others.

Christ describes first of all a walled communal sheep pen with a door. There is a doorkeeper. The shepherd approaches. The doorkeeper opens to him. The sheep who belong to the shepherd recognize his voice and follow him out to pasture.

On the level of soul, one could imagine that the sheep within walls are all the aspects of a single human being. There is a doorkeeper in us that opens and closes to the approach of another. Perhaps the doorkeeper is our fate or destiny; perhaps it is also that part of us that decides to pay attention to what is approaching us from without. It is that in us which discerns whose voice is calling us, and what the quality of that voice is. If something in us recognizes the voice as something familiar and caring, as something we belong to, we will emerge from our walls and join.

We would do well to approach other souls in the manner of a caring shepherd who wants to nourish them, rather than steal or possess.

This is important not only for them, but also for us. For with Christ, something in history changed dramatically. He Himself has become the true shepherd of our souls, the one who guides our destiny and leads us to what we need. He has replaced the institutions of family, tribe, nation and race.  At the same time He Himself, the true I AM, has become in each human soul the doorway, that which opens and closes, that which pays attention, that which grants admission, or not.

We would do well to approach others in His spirit; to wait before the door of another’s soul until Christ, the gatekeeper in them, allows us admittance. For Christ is now the keeper of human destiny, the guardian over human decisions. To go around Him, to coerce, manipulate, to pressure, to ignore the closed gate, is to break and enter, to steal and possess another’s choice, their destiny.

This is the case whether the soul’s gate is another’s, or our own. For to some extent, the higher guiding aspect of our destiny also stands outside the door, waiting for the time to ripen, waiting for us to open the door, waiting for us to recognize the voice of Christ calling us forth. His voice is the voice who leads us out into the Father’s open fields. He lays down His life to protect us from the destructive forces that would tear and scatter our souls. He it is who brings us to nourishment and bids us live.

www.thechristiancommunity.org

3rd Easter 2010, Strength to Deeply Love

3^rd Easter

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?”

3^rd Easter

April 18, 2010

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.

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]

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[1] Theresa of Avila, (1515-1582), “Clarity is Freedom” in Love Poems from God, Daniel Ladinsky, p. 279

3rd Easter 2011, Doorkeeper Opens

3^rd Easter

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?”

3^rd Easter

May 8, 2011

John 10: 1-20

Observing our breath, we know that at the end of an exhale, there is a null point, a kind of a doorway we pass through in order begin inhaling. We pass through this gateway, we inhale all we can; and then we pass through another null point, another gateway, and begin to exhale again.

With each inhalation we take in the world; at the same time, on a subtle level, we come to ourselves. In exhaling, we give something of ourselves (perhaps our words) to the world. On a subtle level, we let go of ourselves as we exhale.

Birth and death are also gateways, part of a larger cycle of breathing. When we are born, those attending anxiously await our first intake of breath and its resulting cry. And at the end of our earthly life comes the final sigh as we exhale our soul and spirit out of our body and into the Father’s green fields.

In today’s reading, Christ calls himself the gateway, the door. He leads us through the gateway from breath to breath, through door after door, keeping us alive. And He is also the gateway into and out of earthly life. ‘Anyone who enters through Me will find healing and life, He says. He learns to cross the threshold from here to beyond and he will find nourishment for his soul….’ John 10:9

The astonishing fact is that Christ himself breathes. He became a human being in order to weave together human breathing with greater cosmic rhythms, to weave together human necessity with inner choice. He says, ‘I lay down my life to 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.’ John 10:18

During the Act of Consecration of Man we hear in sevenfold rhythm ‘Christ in you.’ We breathe Him in; he is the life force, keeping us alive. He is the healing force in the balancing of inner and outer. We can breathe out his peace, his love, his encouragement, into the world. With Him we walk safely through door after door after door.

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3rd Easter 2012, Greater Self

3^rd Easter

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?”

3^rd Easter

April 22, 2012

Holman Hunt

John 10: 1-21

Some places have a person stationed at the door. They give a friendly greeting to whoever belongs there. And if necessary, they keep out the undesirable elements, or at least keep an eye on them.

We ourselves also have a gatekeeper. It is positioned at the boundaries of our selves. It helps us distinguish ‘me’ from ‘not me’. It decides if those who want to enter our lives, our souls, are there for a legitimate purpose, or whether they are ‘thieves and robbers’, that is, those who would steal our treasures: our time, our energy, our resources. A strong and discerning gatekeeper is not long deceived by appearances or empty promises.

This gatekeeper is our ‘I’, our Self. Its task is to pay attention, and to make decisions. But sometimes it is distracted, or just plain asleep on the job. And as we all know, its decisions are fallible.

Christ is humankind’s Greater Self. He has nothing but our own truly best interests in mind. He models how all respectful human beings should interact:   ‘Here I am, he says. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in….’ Rev. 3:20

His voice resonates in the deepest part of our being. And he waits respectfully for us to pay attention, and to decide to open. And when we do, he says ‘I will come in… and eat with that person, and they with me.’ He brings our souls guidance, nourishment and strength. He is the great gatekeeper ,watching out for us, guiding us all.

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