Daily Worship

In, with, for, through

Linda Pollock April 06, 2022 0 0
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John 10: 9-17 (NRSVA)

9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

11 ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.

Is Jesus the gate or the shepherd, the way, truth or life? Is He the light or the bread or the vine or the resurrection? All these images for us to ponder, and in our reading today, He claims to be both gate and shepherd – was Jesus confused or perhaps it’s just me?! The metaphors offered that lead us to glimpsing the identity of Jesus are simply that, images that invite us to see a fuller picture of the Messiah, the living God. There is no one image that will suffice… yes, He is the gate, yes, He is the good shepherd… and yes, He is the One Who bids us welcome into His life, into union with Him. It’s less about trying to limit Jesus’ character in one look and more about seeing multi-faceted images inviting us to participate in Him, thus seeing Him as the gate one day and another day as the good shepherd and on another day the truth and all the other glimpses of His identity day in and day out meeting our need for that day and that season. We cannot view Christ Jesus, God in the flesh through the lens of the intellect alone, we must live in Him, live with Him, live for Him and through Him if we want to see a full picture.

 

PRAYER:

 

O God Who cannot be confined by our intellect or imagination, thank You that you are beyond our ken yet closer to us than the air we breathe. Thank You for the glimpses of the Divine we receive and for the way Your Holy Spirit reveals You in diverse ways and to whosoever has eyes to see You. Amen.

Lent Disciplines

Each day this week make time to say a short prayer for those feeling sorrow, who feel isolated or alone. How can you be part of making the world a kinder pace this week?