Sunday, May 7, 2017

May 7 Christ larger and Broader John 10:1-10


What is being said here?  Jesus is the gate and yet he is the shepherd, there is a gate keeper but that is not Jesus.  Jesus is the gate and shepherd. There are sheep and they have been harassed by thieves and bandits. Oh and there are other sheep around as well.  “Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand” (John 10:10)

Really, I wonder why?  Today is Good Shepherd Sunday.  Interpreted in the spirit of Johns Gospel, in the spirit of Love this is an all welcoming all-inclusive day.  Unfortunately, some have chosen to take this Parable, as literal and out of context and use it to diminish and or exclude those of other faiths. 

This is the story of the Blind man, this is the context of Jesus speaking to the blind man and then to Pharisees.  This is a parable or as close to one as John gets. The Harper Collins study bible says this;

This is the closest thing to a parable of the Gospel of John. It seems to present a highly realistic picture of Palestinian sheepherding in ancient times, and hints at a plotline.  The “Parable” focuses first on the gate, and then on the shepherd.  For another possible parabolic image sheepfold, an enclosure, often with stone walls, where several shepherds could bring their flocks for safety at night.[1]

So, this is where I break from a restrictive reading. I believe if we read this text in the context of Johns Gospel it leads to a unique place.  Let’s recall the opening of Johns Gospel;

In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him and without Him not one thing came into being. (John 1: 1-4)

Through the opening words of Johns Gospel and todays text I see a place where we can honor all faith and all people and all of creation.  For if everything came into being through Christ then all, each one of us are of Christ. Jesus is our Shepherd but there are other Shepherds who come to the sheepfold and other sheep follow their shepherd who also were created through the word, therefore are of Christ.

Though we have our differences, among ourselves as UCC, among Christians as people who follow Christ, and as a world made up of “4,200 religions. According to some estimates, there are roughly 4,200 religions in the world. The word religion is sometimes used interchangeably with "faith" or "belief system", but religion differs from private belief in that it has a public aspect.”[2] There is a belief of the Golden rule, a thread of ultimate truth that runs throughs most religions. Dr. Ernest Holmes wrote in 1948;

We should waste no time in futile arguments as to what religion or spiritual outlook is right or wrong, but gladly accept the evidence of anyone’s prayer and faith as a demonstration of that person’s belief. Too much time is lost in arguing whether or not one’s philosophy is the only correct one, her religion the only true one, his method of procedure the only effective one. Let us leave these arguments to the contentions of smaller minds and try to find the thread of Truth running through all systems. Let us build on the affirmative and forget the negative.[3]

Do not panic, I am not negating Christianity.  You are in the right place, the right pew, you are where you need to be and where you are called to be just as I am. What is it we are called to? We are called to love all and so it runs through the faiths and practices of many in the world.

Sikhism says; “Be not estranged from one another for god dwells in every heart” (SRI GURU Granth) Sahib

Zoroastrianism; “Human nature is good only when it does not do unto Another whatever is not good for its own self” (Dadistan I Dink 94:5)

Isalm; “No one is a believer until you desire for another that which you desire for yourself.” (Sunnah)

Judaism; “What is hateful to you do not do to your neighbor That is the entire Torah the rest is commentary go and learn” (Rabbi Hillel to Shammai Talmud Shabbat 31 A)

Jainism; “In happiness and Suffering in joy and grief regard all creatures as you would your own self.” (Lord Mahivir 24th Tirthankara)

Bahai; “Blessed are those who prefer others before themselves” (Bahai’u’llah Tablets of Baha’ uallah 71)

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Luke 6:13)

What I am saying is that this Gospel reading and Johns Gospel points to a Christ Larger and broader than we really understand. “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God! And all things came into being through him” (John 1:1-2)  well that kind of puts away any chance we have at diminishing any one! That also puts all creation on a level playing field.

This is a cosmic Christ a Christ bigger than any one faith or religion; Richard Rohr explains it this way;

Understanding the Cosmic Christ can change the way we relate to creation, to other religions, to other people, to ourselves, and to God. Knowing and experiencing the Cosmic Christ can bring about a major shift in consciousness. Like Saul’s experience on the road to Damascus (see Acts 9), you won’t be the same after encountering the Risen Christ.[4]

Christianity is just beginning to understand and learn of this.  Yet if we flow with the Cosmic Christ that all things are created through we can understand and accept Jesus as a shepherd and the Gate for all come through the gate that the gate keeper allows in. Richard Rohr goes on to explain;

“The Cosmic Christ is Divine Presence pervading all of creation since the very beginning. My father Francis of Assisi intuited this presence and lived his life in awareness of it. Later, John Duns Scotus (1266-1308) put this intuition into philosophical form. For Duns Scotus, the Christ Mystery was the blueprint of reality from the very start (John 1:1). Teilhard de Chardin brought this insight into our modern world. God’s first “idea” was to become manifest—to pour out divine, infinite love into finite, visible forms. The “Big Bang” is now our scientific name for that first idea; and “Christ” is our theological name. Both are about love and beauty exploding outward in all directions. Creation is indeed the Body of God! What else could it be, when you think of it?[5]

Later in this exposition Jesus even says; “I am the Good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me…I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.” (John 10:15-16) If I have gone too far for you, tell me so, it is okay.  If I have not gone far enough, challenge me.  But I truly believe this Gospel message today is one of inclusion. The same inclusion we proclaim daily that “no matter who you are or where you are on life’s Journey you are welcome here.  It is also why we proclaim this is an open table it.  This table belongs to no one and everyone for it is Gods table if you are a child of God you are welcome here.

Our challenge as Christians is to be the welcoming table at all times.  We are called to be hospitable first and then to go further. Jesus is the gate through which many shepherds have gone, Jesus is the word through which all creation comes.  Now we just have to honor that in each and every thing and everyone.

Psalm 23 the message

 1-3 God, my shepherd!
    I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
    you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
    you let me catch my breath
    and send me in the right direction.
4 Even when the way goes through
    Death Valley,
I’m not afraid
    when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd’s crook
    makes me feel secure.
5 You serve me a six-course dinner
    right in front of my enemies. (and I would add in the light of Christ Call me to invite them to join me)
You revive my drooping head;
    my cup brims with blessing.
6 Your beauty and love chase after me
    every day of my life.
I’m back home in the house of God
    for the rest of my life amen!







[1] general, ed., The HarperCollins Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version, Including the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, ed. student (San Francisco, Calif: HarperSanFrancisco, 2006).
[2] wikipedia, List of religions and spiritual traditions, April 27, 2017, accessed May 2, 2017, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_religions_and_spiritual_traditions.
[3] Barry Ebert, Teaching our Children Well, 2015, accessed April 2, 2017, http://scienceofmind.com/the-golden-thread-of-truth/.
[4] Richard Rohr, e-mail message to revjshoregoss@gmail.com, October 22, 2017.  Richard Rohrs daily Meditation.
[5] Ibid.

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