“Focusing on the central point, not on the peripherals”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Friday, January 3, 2025
John 10: 7-17 (Forward, p. 66) CEV p. 1115
In this famous discourse, Jesus uses two images to describe Himself and His role towards us His followers and believers. He speaks of Himself as the gate—the gate for the sheep, and as the Good Shepherd of those sheep. Here it is important to keep our focus on those images and not get ourselves sidetracked by extraneous or peripheral details.
Let us, then, begin with His description of Himself as the gate:
-the essential or central point is what Jesus does as the gate: “All
who come in through me will be saved. Through me they will come
and go and find pasture” (verse 9).
-and so it is somewhat irrelevant, and even misleading and
erroneous, to dwell on the ‘everyone who came before me’ and see
all of them as ‘thieves or robbers’. Surely, Jesus doesn’t include
Moses or the Prophets in this blanket condemnation, but that,
certainly, is how someone could take it.
-and likewise, speculating on what ‘coming and going’ means, or
what ‘pasture’ implies, is somewhat beside the point.
-no, the central point is that Jesus is our means to life, our entrance
way to a fulfilled and pleasant life, both here and forever.
And with regards to Himself as the Good Shepherd:
-it would be rather easy, given the plain sense of what Jesus says, to
conclude that all ‘hired workers’ are not to be trusted, to surmise that
they are in it only for the pay and don’t really care for the sheep.
That would be a scathing and unfair indictment of the millions of paid
workers who have dedicated themselves to Christ and His sheep,
sacrificed themselves, over the centuries.
-no surely, the sense here is one of comparison. Jesus has a unique
relationship with the sheep, one that no human, no matter how
dedicated or self-sacrificing, could ever have. And likewise, Jesus’
role and impact in giving Himself for all humankind is unlike anything
that any mere human could ever effect. And then, too, Jesus’ ability
to unite people of varying persuasions and backgrounds and bring
them together, can hardly be matched by any person, living or dead.
So, clearly, our focus is to be on Jesus, and Jesus alone. He is ‘all we really need’.
Forward notes: “I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture” (verse 9).
“Picturing Jesus as a gate isn’t quite as comforting as seeing him as the Good Shepherd with a sheep tenderly resting on his shoulders. This is probably the reason why you don’t see many gate images on stained-glass windows, but this metaphor is what caught my attention this morning.
“I’m currently between two places, a little like Jacob in today’s lesson [Genesis 28: 10-22]. I’ve left my home behind and haven’t yet arrived at my future destination. I’m at the gate, the transition between in and out, between what my life was and what I hope it will be.
“Gates, like stairs, are thresholds, a point of entrance from one existence into another. Jacob recognized the holiness of that place and named it Bethel, the House of God. Jesus tells us that he is that place. He stands as an open gate, welcoming us in, and when we enter through him, we will find new life. Can I rest at this gate, knowing that here, in the present, I am in the House of God? Can you?”
Moving Forward: “Are you at a threshold? How might this passage from John guide you in your discernment?”
A concluding note: actually, the image of the gate is especially appropriate given this time of year. January is named after Janus, who is classically depicted as having two faces, one pointed backwards to the past year, and one pointed forward to the new year. She was the goddess of doorways and new beginnings, which, is most appropriate for us today. We might well ask ourselves about what we are putting in the past, and leaving there, and what we are launching forth with in this brand-new year.