Mathew 5:8
God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.
Prayer
Gates are fascinating things as well as essential. How many here today have ever been to the Gateway Arch in St. Louis? In effect, it symbolizes the gateway to the American westward expansion. Another famous gate is the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, built much earlier but likewise a symbol of passage, thoroughfare. And let’s not forget about the famous Golden Gate Bridge linking San Francisco to Marin County in California. Actually, it is a bridge over a gate, the Golden Gate, that connects the waters of San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. There are even famous people today named Gates, like for instance Bill Gates of Microsoft fame, and our current Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates. They are in effect human portals, enabling peoples of various sorts to connect and function.
-
In the Bible, there are also a number of references to gates, and one that stands out is the expression Jesus used when he was explaining to his disciples the eternal foundation of the Church: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” These gates are evil portals, and sometimes they appear as good ones.
In the Bible, there are also a number of references to gates, and one that stands out is the expression Jesus used when he was explaining to his disciples the eternal foundation of the Church: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” These gates are evil portals, and sometimes they appear as good ones. Gates function in several ways. They are used to let things go in and out of something. They enable movement and process, back and forth. They also provide security, and to a certain extent beauty. Look at the human heart for instance. It has four valves that can be considered one-way gates: the Tricuspid, the Pulmonary, the Mitral, and the Aortic. Where would we be without them?
-Well, today we read about another kind of gate, a human gate in the form of Jesus Christ. In our lesson from John, Jesus functions dualistically, both as a gate and as a shepherd. The emphasis in today’s portion of John’s Gospel is on the gate aspect of Jesus. You might say that he is the valve of our spiritual heart, enabling us to receive the living water of the Holy Spirit. The flow through Jesus is always positive, always for the good. He calls himself in today’s Gospel the gate for the sheep.
Well, today we read about another kind of gate, a human gate in the form of Jesus Christ. In our lesson from John, Jesus functions dualistically, both as a gate and as a shepherd. The emphasis in today’s portion of John’s Gospel is on the gate aspect of Jesus. You might say that he is the valve of our spiritual heart, enabling us to receive the living water of the Holy Spirit. The flow through Jesus is always positive, always for the good. He calls himself in today’s Gospel the gate for the sheep. oAnd whoever enters by him will be saved…guaranteed!
And whoever enters by him will be saved…guaranteed!oThis gate swings both ways to enable human freedom and good pasture….human nurturing. It promotes abundant life.
This gate swings both ways to enable human freedom and good pasture….human nurturing. It promotes abundant life.oWe enter his gate by free will, by choice, and those who do so will never be thrown out or rejected.
We enter his gate by free will, by choice, and those who do so will never be thrown out or rejected. “…and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away.”
“…and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away.”-In the Old Testament, the shepherd is also an important figure of speech and we witness this kind of language in the Psalms, particularly Psalm 23 today, and in Ezekiel’s 34th chapter about the shepherds of Israel. There the metaphoric reference is about the kings of Israel, many of whom were not good shepherds, who did not feed the sheep but instead fed only themselves. God makes it clear in this prophetic book that the people of Israel are his sheep, the sheep of his pasture, and that he is their God. He will feed them with justice as he judges between the sheep and the sheep and between the rams and the goats.
In the Old Testament, the shepherd is also an important figure of speech and we witness this kind of language in the Psalms, particularly Psalm 23 today, and in Ezekiel’s 34th chapter about the shepherds of Israel. There the metaphoric reference is about the kings of Israel, many of whom were not good shepherds, who did not feed the sheep but instead fed only themselves. God makes it clear in this prophetic book that the people of Israel are his sheep, the sheep of his pasture, and that he is their God. He will feed them with justice as he judges between the sheep and the sheep and between the rams and the goats.-As in the magnificent words of the 23rd Psalm, the good shepherd of Israel depicted in Ezekiel will cause the sheep to lie down in green pastures, to seek the lost, to bring back the strayed, to bind up the injured, and to strengthen the weak. But woe to the fat and the strong whom he will destroy for abusing the weaker sheep.
As in the magnificent words of the 23rd Psalm, the good shepherd of Israel depicted in Ezekiel will cause the sheep to lie down in green pastures, to seek the lost, to bring back the strayed, to bind up the injured, and to strengthen the weak. But woe to the fat and the strong whom he will destroy for abusing the weaker sheep. The Good Shepherd knows that in this world his sheep will face trouble, persecution, suffering, and pain. He himself went through this. Somehow, someway, this Good Shepherd protects his own even though so called bad things happen to them. For example, evidence the tornadoes several weeks ago in Alabama and Mississippi, or the current flooding along the Mississippi River. The Good Shepherd is always with his sheep…Emmanuel…within the trouble.
-Mysteriously, God’s grace permits righteous suffering. Evil abounds in this world. Yet, suffering unjustly for the sake of Christ somehow refines and purifies our faith, weakening and ultimately breaking any dependency on sin, and fostering a form of evangelism as a powerful witness to those around us.
Mysteriously, God’s grace permits righteous suffering. Evil abounds in this world. Yet, suffering unjustly for the sake of Christ somehow refines and purifies our faith, weakening and ultimately breaking any dependency on sin, and fostering a form of evangelism as a powerful witness to those around us.-Our second lesson today from Peter speaks mightily to this idea. Jesus did not return abuse for abuse. He did not return evil for the evil perpetrated upon him. Instead we, like him, are called to repay evil with a blessing, to overcome evil with good. Read about this for yourselves in Romans chapter 12, an idea originally fostered in the 25th chapter of Proverbs, and repeated in Matthew and Luke, especially in what is known as the Golden Rule of Luke 6:31.
Our second lesson today from Peter speaks mightily to this idea. Jesus did not return abuse for abuse. He did not return evil for the evil perpetrated upon him. Instead we, like him, are called to repay evil with a blessing, to overcome evil with good. Read about this for yourselves in Romans chapter 12, an idea originally fostered in the 25th chapter of Proverbs, and repeated in Matthew and Luke, especially in what is known as the Golden Rule of Luke 6:31. -By the wounds of Jesus, we have been healed, enabling us to live for righteousness, not going astray like the lost sheep of old, but instead, going through the righteous gate of Christ himself, into the very heart of God. Indeed, he is the shepherd and guardian of our souls.
By the wounds of Jesus, we have been healed, enabling us to live for righteousness, not going astray like the lost sheep of old, but instead, going through the righteous gate of Christ himself, into the very heart of God. Indeed, he is the shepherd and guardian of our souls. -In briefly examining our bulletin insert today, we can witness the horror and evil foisted upon the people of southern Sudan. It said that over 2 million people were killed in an ethnic war between the Muslim north and the mostly Christian south. Churches, schools, hospitals, and public institutions have been destroyed in over 20 years of persecution and devastation. Yet, the people are given hope by the Christian community there in the form of the faith community of the Episcopal Church of Sudan. They endured!
In briefly examining our bulletin insert today, we can witness the horror and evil foisted upon the people of southern Sudan. It said that over 2 million people were killed in an ethnic war between the Muslim north and the mostly Christian south. Churches, schools, hospitals, and public institutions have been destroyed in over 20 years of persecution and devastation. Yet, the people are given hope by the Christian community there in the form of the faith community of the Episcopal Church of Sudan. They endured!oYes, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church, and the gates of Hades will never prevail against it.
Yes, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church, and the gates of Hades will never prevail against it. Jesus knows his sheep by name….your name, my name. His disciples, his followers, hear his voice in their hearts and respond by obeying him and his commandments. They follow him. They fear no evil because “…Thou art with them, thy rod and thy staff comforts them.”
-Thus in this world, we do not conform to evil structures; they are not our reality; rather, we are slaves to the reality of the liberating truth of Christ as evidenced here in our worshipping community, the church. This is why Jesus attended the synagogue; worshipped in the Temple; why we must go to church. We need to worship God in community….where two or three are gathered together in my Name…..
Thus in this world, we do not conform to evil structures; they are not our reality; rather, we are slaves to the reality of the liberating truth of Christ as evidenced here in our worshipping community, the church. This is why Jesus attended the synagogue; worshipped in the Temple; why we must go to church. We need to worship God in community….where two or three are gathered together in my Name….. -The Collect today really does “collect” these thoughts and boil it down to three simple actions: 1) hear his voice; 2) know him who calls us;
The Collect today really does “collect” these thoughts and boil it down to three simple actions: 1) hear his voice; 2) know him who calls us; 3) follow where he leads….unconditionally.
-So far, he hasn’t lost one sheep that came to him for help and safety.
So far, he hasn’t lost one sheep that came to him for help and safety. -Hear the reverent words from the service of Holy Communion, Rite I, Eucharistic Prayer I: “…and here we offer and present unto thee, O Lord, our selves, our souls, and bodies to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice unto thee…..and though unworthy, we beseech thee to accept our bounden duty and service, not weighing our merits, but pardoning our offenses, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Hear the reverent words from the service of Holy Communion, Rite I, Eucharistic Prayer I: “…and here we offer and present unto thee, O Lord, our selves, our souls, and bodies to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice unto thee…..and though unworthy, we beseech thee to accept our bounden duty and service, not weighing our merits, but pardoning our offenses, through Jesus Christ our Lord.-Closing in the words from Psalm 100, “I will enter his gates with thanksgiving in my heart, and will enter his courts with praise.”
Closing in the words from Psalm 100, “I will enter his gates with thanksgiving in my heart, and will enter his courts with praise.”AMEN
