It’s oftentimes hard for me to think about what life was like before Apple Maps or Wazes or any other favorite GPS app.  Although it has been quite some time, I remember using a good old fashioned paper map.  I can recall as a child my dad would oftentimes stop at the Rest Area right after we crossed a state border to pick up the latest map.  We also had a trusted Rand McNally (for those of you under 50, you may need to Google that one) that my father cherished with various notations of places we went or paths that may have not been exactly accurate.  Being one car guided by a map was one thing, but there were times when I remember having to follow someone driving ahead to get to a planned destination.  No cell phones, no Apple Maps, no paper map, just trusting the lead car shepherding us to the desired location.  What if someone pulled in front of you and you lost site of the lead car?  What if you got stuck at a red light and you lost site of the lead car?  These were all apprehensions that someone or something would rob you from getting to where you needed to be. 

In today’s Gospel in John, Jesus is sharing some basic earthly truths that have a heavenly meaning. Jesus made connections between sheep, shepherds, thieves, and robbers and applied these earthly observations as guides to our spiritual lives.

Take a moment to imagine the football stadium of your favorite team.  Consider what it might look like if there was a large wall that separated the spectators from the players.  The only access to the field is through just one single gate controlled by the head coach.  Generally, we know that during a game players should only listen to the coaches.  Opposing spectators who try to access their way on to the field and distract the players is prohibited.  We can imagine how quickly security would address any opposing spectator who reached the field by climbing over the wall like a robber or thief.  We also know that after a game players do not remain on the field, but they are led out of the stadium to do many things including nourishing their bodies so they will continue to thrive and perform well in future games. 

Hopefully, this analogy easily illustrates what Jesus was describing in John as both gate and shepherd.  For it is Jesus who protects us from the opposing spectators or thieves and robbers including the devil, the world, and our sinful nature from the fall of Adam. The Pharisees questioned the signs of Christ and did not believe He was there to be a sacrifice for the whole world. Of course, Jesus Himself is the shepherd who calls us his own sheep by name and leads us to an eternal life in Him.
As we celebrate the Easter season our reading reminds us that the only way to enter into the ultimate sheep gate is by confessing Jesus Christ as the risen Lord. The simple fact is that anytime we take responsibility for all or even some small fraction of our salvation, we will lose. That is the reason that Jesus compares us to sheep. In fact, the Bible compares us to sheep in many places. Psalm 119:176 says, "I have astrayed like a lost sheep." The prophet Isaiah in chapter 53, verse six, said, " We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”  If you anyone who raises sheep they will tell you that if you give sheep an opportunity to make trouble, they will take it.  We, like sheep, know that it is simply impossible for us to stay perfect.  But our Shepherd provides the gate and the path. 

We Pray
Good and gracious Lord, we thank you for your role as gate and shepherd.  We are blessed to be your lambs led on the path of everlasting life in You.  Through Your death we have eternal life, free from the grasp of robbers and thieves. Thank you for being the single Map App to get us to our desired destination.