Easter 4A, 30 April 2023. The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz
- Acts 2:42-47. Awe came upon everyone.
- 1 Peter 2:19-25. So that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness.
- John 10:1-10. I came that they…
O God of abundant life, may we have the wisdom, the strength, and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may and cost what it will.
We are nearly halfway through the fifty days of Easter. Have you been looking for the art of resurrection? Have you seen any signs? I think of Ralph Ellison, who wrote, “I recognize no dichotomy between art and protest.” [1] Looking for the art of resurrection seems like a form of protest to me. The art of figuring out how to turn sorrow into joy seems like a form of peaceful protest! That is the work that speaks to Jesus’ primary teaching, which was about answering the question, “Is there life before death?” If the answer to that question is, “Yes,” how do we access its abundance? Abundant life for all is Jesus’ stated mission in the Gospel of John, in the portion we have before us, which reminds us that in the shadow of the cross, a most painful and humiliating death, we are not to forget the promise of God with us: Emmanuel.
The passage we just heard from Acts of the Apostles is a picture of resurrected life in the beloved community, where each was cared for according to their need, by each according to their ability. Nestled in the beginning of the book of Acts, after Luke describes Jesus’ ascension into heaven, Judas’ gory death from his guts exploding on a field he had bought with the reward of his wickedness, and Matthias winning the apostolic lottery, after the day of Pentecost (or Shavuot), the Jesus movement began to gain steam. “They devoted themselves steadfastly to the Apostles’ teachings and communal life, in the breaking of bread and in prayers. And reverence came to every soul; and through the Apostles came many wonders and signs.” Not the least of which was (I’d say) that those who gave credence to the Apostles’ teachings owned all things communally and cared for everyone in need. It’s worth noting that (in the story) this is before Paul needed to raise money to support those in Jerusalem who were impoverished, and it’s before Stephen was chosen as deacon to answer the complaints that the twelve weren’t adequately distributing food to widows. The Apostles’ response was, “It’s not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables.” (Rude.) So, I think this passage about the glory days of the early Church should come with a disclaimer, “Results may vary.”
I also want to put our Gospel portion in context. The passage we heard today comes right on the heels of the story we heard on the fourth Sunday in Lent of the man who was born blind and whose sight was restored. The disciples of Jesus were asking, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” And Jesus answered: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned. He was born blind. (Period.) So that God’s glory can be made manifest in him, we must do the works of the one who sent me.” In other words, stop worrying about who has sinned and get to work feeding and freeing people while there is still time. The story goes on (and on) about how people with influence and authority undermined and discounted the man’s experience of healing, his experience of newfound freedom and joy. According to John, the healed man was banned from the gathered community because his healing hadn’t followed proper procedures.
The unfortunate chapter break interrupts Jesus’ response in his debate with some of his fellow Pharisees. They’d overheard Jesus saying that he had come into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see and those who see may become blind. They said, “We are not blind, are we?” Jesus replied, “If you were blind, you would not sin. But now that you say, ‘We see’, your sin remains.” It reminds me of contemporary debates about who is and who is not woke.
In this immediate context, John says Jesus then shook his head and said, “You know, thieves and bandits are doing real damage to God’s beloved.” Scoundrels are stealing and killing the creatures of God. Robbers are destroying the spirit of God in the creatures of God. Notice that Jesus is employing a figure of speech used by the prophets. Isaiah says: “God will feed God’s flock like a shepherd; and gather the lambs in God’s arms and carry them in God’s bosom and gently lead the mother sheep.” Declaring in the voice of the Lord, Jeremiah says, “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they will be fruitful and multiply…and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord.” Also in the voice of the Lord, Ezekiel declares to those in positions of leadership, whom he describes as shepherds, “You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them….Therefore…I myself will search for my sheep and I will seek them out….I will feed them with good pasture.” The prophets have harsh words for those in power who feed themselves but who do not protect and care for those who are vulnerable. Jesus has harsh words for them, too.
According to John’s narrative, Jesus assumed that the learned leaders to whom he is speaking will hear the reference to the prophets. Since they don’t, Jesus says, “You know what? I am the gate.” The Greek word is thura or door. In figurative speech, which this explicitly is, the word thura means possibility, opportunity, what is feasible, a way through; think of thoroughfare. I AM is the divine revelation to Moses in the wilderness, which he encounters in a bush that burns but is not consumed. “I AM WHO I AM,” Moses hears. It could be translated I AM BECOMING WHO I AM BECOMING, or I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE. According to John, Jesus is saying, “I AM (God is) the possibility, the opportunity, the doorway, the way through, the gate.” The Church calls this Good Shepherd Sunday, but maybe it would be better to call it Good Gate Sunday.
The sheep can come and go through this I AM, this Godly gate. They’re not locked in or out. They are sheltered, fed, and free, just like the community described in Acts. In fact, that is the very definition of being saved according to the Gospel of John. Salvation is when vulnerable ones are free to come and go, and they are sheltered and well-fed. Salvation is when even the most vulnerable have life and have it abundantly. What does it mean to be saved? According to John, it means for everyone to have life and have it abundantly.
It seems to me, in the context of the heart of John’s Gospel, on the heels of Jesus’ criticism of those in positions of leadership who destroy and steal from God, we have a lesson about the possibility, the opportunity, to offer freedom, shelter, and food to each according to their need, by each according to their ability. We are called to not be thieves and bandits, perpetuating sadness, but to proclaim over and over that what God wants for God’s people is to be free and to be fed abundantly. We are called to enact again and again God’s desire for God’s people, that we help the weak to find strength, heal those who are sick, bind those who are injured, provide homecoming for those who have strayed, and search for those who are lost, not with force or harshness, fear or foreboding, guilt or shame, but with truly abundant life, which actively “seeks to overcome ruptures in human community,” wherever they occur. [2] Of course, there are many ruptures in human community: among families, in communities, within and between houses of faith. The ancient Hebrew word for war is the same as crowdedness, which conveys the sense that physical, spiritual, or emotional crowdedness leads to conflict. (We use metaphorical language for this when we are worried about not trespassing; we don’t want to step on anyone’s toes. We also use metaphorical language for this when we caution others to stay in their lane.)
This afternoon Central Reform Temple will celebrate the installation of Rabbi Dr. Michael Shire. I’m reminded that one historic rupture, which we have a unique calling to heal in this place at this time, is the separation of church and synagogue. We aren’t the only parish in the world doing this work; but I can tell you, there are not yet many, and we haven’t found another example of the deep relationship our two congregations enjoy. Emmanuel Church and Central Reform Temple are figuring out how to be an interfaith family here. The work is difficult and grace-filled; it’s not just a scheduling challenge (and it is that) or a challenge of how people sharing a house divvy up chores and expenses (and it is that too). We are figuring out how to learn from one another and love one another, living together and sharing resources of time, talent, and treasure. No one is showing us how; we are figuring it out as we go. Working to heal this rupture challenges and changes us; working to heal any ruptured relationship challenges, changes, and blesses us.
I ask you to pray for our courageous communities. And I ask you to act compassionately, mercifully, and justly as you make your way through the rest of this day and this week and for the foreseeable future. The world needs your compassion, mercy, and just actions. Pray that through our reconciling words and actions, our art and our protests, we continue to find ways to change the church and to change the world so that all may have life and have it abundantly.
- Epigraph in Clint Smith’s Counting Descent (Los Angeles: Write Bloody Publishing, 2016).
- Ronald Allen & Clark Williamson, Preaching the Gospels without Blaming the Jews (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004), p. 42.