I Am The Gate

I think we all know that a so called “sound-byte” is a brief, catchy comment or saying or phrase. In the Herald newspaper recently the columnist Mark Smith was writing about the possible next steps in opening up the economy which, as we all know, has been placed in life-support in the fight against the coronavirus, and he said this; “There are three types of people in this crisis: shovers, draggers and nudgers.
The shovers want to push back against the rules and get back to normal quickly and are willing to take risks to get there. The draggers want to stay indoors until everything is one hundred percent safe.
And the nudgers think we should be taking small, logical steps back to normality as soon as we can....” It was an excellent column and his “Shovers, Draggers and Nudgers” piece was full of informed substantive content as well as clever and effective “sound-bytes”

Jesus Himself was often to be found using “sound-bytes” to get His message across because a short, memorable statement is a good way to highlight a point and help His hearers take it away with them to reflect upon.
And, so, for example, in the Gospel according to St. John there are seven “sound-bytes”, or sayings of Jesus, which begin with the words, “I am”
We find Jesus declaring there;
“I am the bread of life”;
“I am the light of the world”;
“I am the gate”;
“I am the good shepherd”;
“I am the resurrection and the life”;
“I am the way, the truth and the life”;
And, finally, “I am the vine.”

Every one of these short declarations helps us to know and to understand Jesus more fully - and in John’s gospel Jesus speaks these words not only to Israel but to a much wider audience, the whole world.

On this fourth Sunday of Easter we think about Jesus saying, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved...” These days we are surrounded by gates. We used to arrive at and depart from airports through gates. In order to get to those arrival and departure gates we had to pass through a security gate. Many of us have gates at home that provide an entrance into a courtyard or a garden. In His conversation with His disciples and the Jewish religious authorities, Jesus identifies Himself as “the gate” - but the gate to what exactly?

Sheep-folds weren’t much in ancient Israel. They were crude affairs, often built of bushes or branches or a low row of stones. Still, they were enough to contain the sheep and keep them from wandering into danger - and several flocks were often penned together thus providing them with more safety. The flocks would mingle, until the sheep were separated by the calls of the shepherd - each sheep recognizing the voice of its own shepherd. Shepherds would become “the gate” to the sheep fold; they would lie overnight in front of the opening like protective “human gates” so that nothing could enter and harm the flock.

The word “flock” has long been understood as a symbol of the Church and the family of God. The family of God is comprised of sheep of all shapes, sizes and colours - and we are a most unlikely flock! We are a flock united by our common faith, baptism and mission and these are much stronger than any differences that may exist between us.

We are very different - yet, at the same time, we stand united together Jesus tells His listeners that those who enter this flock through “the gate” will be able to go in and out and find pasture; and, as the family of God, entered into through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are led to places of nourishment, and we are able to grow in our Christian lives.

The “abundant life” that is ours through Christ does not necessarily involve comfort, wealth, or an abundance of worldly things - I think we’ve already worked that out for ourselves. When Jesus talks about “abundance”, He is referring to the things of God – things like relationship, presence, power, steadfast love, and abundant forgiveness; and Jesus is the “gate” through which we enter and experience a relationship with the family of God - and an “abundant” life.
And when we fully understand that Jesus is the gate - meaning Jesus is the entry point into all change, depth, struggle, and love - it’s simultaneously terrifying and exhilarating. As the saying goes, “God loves us exactly as we are, and God loves us far too much to leave us that way.”

This last week there’s been growing clamour about when the current Public Health emergency “lock-down” is going to be eased. And, my goodness, how we’ve all missed the company of others; and our highly structured days; and our communal prayer and worship; and all our group activities and social events.
So much of normal life has been suspended. For the last six weeks we’ve all been anxiously trying to avoid all the people who are anxiously trying to avoid us.

Being outdoors in the April sunshine walking Skye, my springer-spaniel, reminded me that Jesus’ words - “behold the lilies of the field” - were not just a convenient example to illustrate a point; but a commandment to His followers to the effect that we ought to contemplate the world around us and live with it, learn from it, let it do its work and let it heal us...

So what will the post-pandemic” future look like – and what should it look like?
Our current upheaval and the unravelling of so many norms and expectations, is causing many to rethink the world order. Some people just want to get back to “normal”. But what would a return to that “normal” mean?
Would it mean frontline, essential, key workers returning to low paid, undervalued oblivion?
Or are we bold enough to consider embracing a very different future - what kind of “new normal” might we aspire to?

That is precisely what this time of global pandemic is calling us to do. In hard times, people of courage stand up to be counted, so the once elite category of the “hero” is all of a sudden being blown wide open. This morning there are “heroes” in every direction we look - our nation has become an army of heroes! What would a return to “normal” mean to them?

I have not found any silver linings in this time of pandemic; Yes, my most earnest prayer is that the “new normal” we will have to build when this is over will continue to be a reality where we can still be there for those who are struggling, frightened marginalised and vulnerable; and show care, consideration, compassion, kindness, respect and appreciation for the worth of all human life - Kingdom values all! But this lockdown is not likely to make me a better person... I believe that it is one thing for each of us to find meaning in our own suffering; and quite another to find meaning in the suffering and grief of so many thousands of others.

And neither can we experience the “abundant life” Jesus talks about until we share it. By sharing Christ’s mission to bring “abundant life” to all of God’s people, we experience that life even more fully. This means realising that “abundant life” is not some after-death future promise, but that it comes by engaging with those around us, to discover what is robbing them of life, and standing with them against those forces!
It means realising that “abundant life” starts when we live into the grace that we have received, by sharing it with others. It means having an awareness that includes helping the poor of this world get through this time of pandemic... and then live into the future with dignity!

If the sheepfold of which Jesus speaks in John can also be seen as a metaphor for the Church, then what kind of “gate” do we make? There’s a popular saying often repeated by some Christians - and I think it has found new life on Facebook and Twitter - maybe you have even uttered these words; “Preach the gospel. Use words if necessary. “I think we can appreciate what many are getting at when they say something like this. For many today, wordless ministry is a compelling approach. “Words are cheap!” we like to say; and “Actions speak louder than words!” Of course, we want our actions to match our words as much as possible. But the gospel of Jesus Christ is a message! It’s Good News about an event and a person upon which the history of the planet turns. The gospel is the declaration of something that actually happened - and, since the gospel is the saving work of Jesus, it isn’t something we can do - but it is something we must announce!

So let’s preach the gospel, and use words! Let’s be a people who use gospel words that are comprehensible, earnest, sincere, inclusive and progressive...
Let’s communicate the gospel in a serious matter - because it is a serious matter! The gospel requires, it demands even, words! So, let’s preach the gospel and may our words be clear, bold and confident; and more than ever before, let’s in the “new normal” that’s to come be attentive to Jesus’ instruction: