Jesus as the Gate for the Sheep, unknown provenance.

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So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.    John 10:7-9.

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The first words spoken by St. Peter in today’s first reading are “Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified”. Considering that we had been told elsewhere that they were so terrified (that they too would be crucified) that they had locked and hidden themselves away from those very authorities Peter was addressing – so what is going on? What on earth had happened to them to abandon all fear and declare in public what the authorities would consider blasphemous and worthy of crucifixion? Quite simply the Holy Spirit of God. That same Spirit that had descended on Jesus being baptized by John in the Jordan River and anointed him as the Messiah. That same Spirit who conceived the Lord in the womb of the Blessed Virgin. That same Spirit had descended on the terrified followers of the Lord and rendered them Lions of the Truth about Jesus, as witnessed in today’s first reading. And it is that same Spirit that has guided God’s Holy Church down through the ages, protecting, defending and strengthening her. In fact, on reflection, the Old Testament contains the revelation of God the Father through the ages, then the age of  God’s Son who founded God’s Church, inspiring those who would carry on after him, guided by the four Gospels, and the Age of God’s Holy Spirit who has been with us since Jesus’ Ascension into heaven, guiding us down to this day. Without that courage and strength seen in today’s first reading – without God’s Holy Spirit – there would be no church, no hope, no message and no guidelines to heaven. That leads us to the profoundest mystery of all, the Three Persons in One God. And it was at this juncture in Salvation History that this greatest truth of all was revealed.

Now look at today’s second reading, a guide as to what we should do when challenged, following this example: He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly”. Not easy as we are so easily attracted by all that glitters….

And then, ultimately, we come to the sheepfold itself, and the Gate whereby we enter, to be told it is the Lord himself. To enter that way we anticipate that we “might have life and have it more abundantly”. All given freely, without condition, given out of love of us. One might ask, how can this be?  What needs to be done? In fact, the first people to hear this, in today’s first reading, asked the identical question. And the answer is: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.”  And that includes us, here and now, all called by God to holiness and fulfillment in the Lord. For we are those lambs in the meadow, guarded by none other than the Son of God himself. But, Jesus says, “All who came before me are thieves and robbers” caring nothing for us, wanting us captive, slaves to whatever might lure us out of the fold and into captivity. And there is such a choice! Drugs, money, power, anything that would draw us away from the one who really cares for us and our safety and offers  protection, and instead into the domination of the one who wants us in slavery, leading to destruction and, ultimately, the worship of evil. And that leads to hell, the antithesis of life: the realm of Moloch, the god of death in one form or another. There are so many!

So we should respond positively to that open and free invitation, to enter into true life, true love, acting as Jesus did, no matter the outcome. For we are never alone in that. We have the Divine Shepherd, the Divine Entry into true fulfillment and happiness. That means trusting in the Savior, following him, obeying him and responding to his voice, having been given the strength of the Holy Spirit and obeying the Father’s will for us all – to live guarded by the shepherd and guardian of your souls as Peter says in today’s second reading. So, to put it bluntly, we rely on the total power of the Blessed Trinity to protect and help us navigate the shoals and jagged rocks of our lives, trusting totally in the love that God has for each of us.

The Holy Trinity Stained Glass Window, unknown provenance.

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