May
3, 2020
4th
Sunday After Easter
Acts
2:42-47
Psalm
23
1
Peter 2:19-25
Please pray with me,
May the words of my mouth and the
meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable and suitable in your sight, O
God, our rock, our strength and our redeemer.
Amen.
It’s the fourth Sunday after
Easter, so that means it’s Good Shepherd Sunday. We’ve sung about being sheep. The appointed psalm for today is Psalm
23. Had we heard the second lesson, we
would have heard a reference made to a shepherd and in the gospel of John we are
entering the chapter where Jesus talks about being the good shepherd. In our passage this morning, however, even
with all the talk about sheep and shepherds, Jesus doesn’t refer to himself as
the Good Shepherd. He does, however,
refer to himself as the gate keeper.
Why isn’t this gatekeeper
Sunday? Just not the same ring.
And, if you’re like me, when you
hear the phase gatekeeper, you go straight to Ghostbusters and Sigourney Weaver
as the gatekeeper. For you Ghostbusters
fans out there, “There is no Dana, only Zuul.” And for you young women who were
in the first girls’ small group, the Sigourney Weaver reference is for
you!
Okay, enough shenanigans, back to
the text.
Jesus…the gate keeper.
Jesus is the life-giver.
The one who calls the sheep by
name.
The one who not only keeps the
sheep in a protective place, but also leads them out to green pastures.
Jesus is the gatekeeper.
Jesus is the door.
Jesus is the door – the one
giving life, the one offering protection.
With some warmer weather, we have
been able to have our storm door open.
Marley, our cat, loves watching
the birds land on the wreath on the front door.
We love the light coming in the front door, and being able to hear the
birds (and the trains) a little more clearly.
Jesus the door gives life and
offers protection.
How do our doors do the
same?
Yes, right now our doors are
offering protection. They are a
safeguard for those within and without.
They are helping us shelter in
place, to protect the weak and vulnerable in our communities and our
world. I have seen wonderful pictures on
social media of “Door” visits. Pictures
taken of people playing tic, tac, toe on their door while a neighbor stays
outside visiting someone inside. Staying
inside our doors protects us, yes, but also protects those in our communities
who are greatly at risk during the time of this pandemic.
How do we long to fling open our
doors to let in the fresh air, the light of the sun and perhaps more
importantly friends, family and guests into our homes.
How do we long to fling open the
doors to the homes of our loved ones…to enter in with hugs and physical
presence. To enter into an assisted
living facility or hospital to visit someone’s bedside? To share a meal around a table? To watch a movie together on the sofa, to be
in the same space, safely, together? To
fling open wide the doors of this building?
To fill these pews? To gather
around the altar railing? To share our voices together in this space?
Oh Lord, we’re ready to be
together.
As I finished a run the other
day, I walked around the church to see if the lilacs were blooming behind the
shed. Not quite yet…
As I came back a neighbor shouted
across the street, “Is God still in there?”
The neighbor was referring to the
building.
I shook my head and said, no,
God’s been out and about for some time.
This person seemed to come from
the train of thought that God is only active in the building and when worship is happening. That church buildings being closed means that God is shut inside. It was hard to break it to that person that
God has been on the move for a good long while, and even though church doors
are closed, the church itself is FAR from being closed. God continues to be at work in the world in
new and different ways each and every day.
Thank God that God isn’t confined to this building. I mean, God is at work in this building, but
this is not the only place God is at work.
God, in the presence of the Body of Christ, is not confined to one
building. (Phew.) God, the church, the Body of Christ is out
and about in the world each and every day.
It’s you. And you. And you. And
you and you and you…and even you, the one who just wandered out of the room for
more coffee or a bathroom break.
We see our physical doors as
things that offer protection, and while they are closed, protecting us God
still enters in, to wherever you are, to offer presence, love, hope, comfort
and support.
Yet at the same time, we still
need to enter and exit through these doors, for sunlight, for fresh air, for
nourishment and work.
These physical doors still
protect and offer ways to life.
Jesus as the gatekeeper, the
door, protects and offers life, life in abundance.
The entrance through which Jesus
calls us offers us love, protection, companionship, community and everlasting
life.
Jesus through his life, death and
resurrection gives us a gift that last longer than shelter-in-place guidelines,
furloughs from work and the uncertainty of the future.
Jesus’ gift of everlasting life
is life abundant here and now.
It is the promise that we are
loved no matter what.
It is the promise that we are
forgiven.
It is the promise of a place at
the table at the eternal banquet.
I hope this is sinking in.
But if it isn’t, that’s okay.
I mean Jesus was using this
imagery, rural, shepherding imagery with a bunch of fishermen! And after he talked to them about this, they
didn’t understand it.
It took them a while, and it
still takes us a while to hear and understand the height and depth of God’s
love and grace in our lives and our world.
I love in our first Holy Communion class when Pastor Bill is talking
about us ‘understanding’ communion…and that at the end of the class the 2nd
graders may have a better understanding of that gift than anyone else at that
moment. Because really, when do we fully
understand? Probably that moment when we
are welcomed into the kingdom of God when our time on earth is done.
So, for now, know this.
God’s grace and love reaches
beyond your closed doors.
God’s grace and love is with you
this day and all days.
Know that as members of the Body
of Christ, you are God’s hands and feet in the world right now.
God isn’t confined in the
building, the church isn’t just the building…
The church -as is has been for thousands
of years – is deployed.
Active and at work in the world
where it is most needed right now.
We long for the day to gather
back in this place for hymns, holy communion, prayer together, gatherings in
the social hall, baptisms, weddings, funerals, ABO, MAP, choir, you name
it. In the meantime, while we are in
active deployment, continue to know that you are forgiven and loved, more than
you know.
Take a moment to remind those in
your home, or those in other homes that they too are loved, more than they
know.
Live abundantly in that love this
day and all days.
And now may the peace, which
surpasses all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus and let
all God’s people say, amen.
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