DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS

Monday, December 12, 2005                 Nativity Fast                    Spyridon, Bishop of Trimythous

2nd Vespers Herman of Alaska: Wisdom 5:15-6:3   Epistle: Ephesians 5:8-19   Gospel: St. John 10:9-16

 

Three Images: St. John 10:9-17, especially vss. 9, 11, 17: “I Am the door.... I Am the good shepherd....My Father loves Me....”  In today’s Gospel, the Lord Jesus presents Himself not in abstract words nor convoluted phrases but in three simple, earthly images, all easily understood by people of every culture and society.  The images are at once profound invitations and solemn warnings.  They convey all the essential elements of the life-giving Gospel of our Faith, the great good that is in Christ, and the clear and present dangers of turning away from Him.

            When the Lord Jesus declares, “I Am the door” (vs. 9), He indicates that He is the  exclusive gateway for reaching God.  In traveling to earthly destinations, we may choose from a variety of roads or paths by which to cross a city or reach another part of the country; but to enter any space walled off from entrance, only a door provides access.  In today’s passage, the enclosure to which the Lord refers is a sheepfold, a pen for holding and protecting a flock (Jn. 10:1).  With this image, our Lord Jesus discloses that entrance into God’s safety, shelter, and care is through Him: whoever “enters by Me, he will be saved, and ...find pasture” (Jn. 10:9).

            A century ago, a traveler in the Middle East reported meeting a shepherd with a flock.  As the two men talked, the shepherd indicated the fold where he kept his flock during the night - an enclosure where his sheep were safe from predators.  It consisted of four walls with one opening, for passing in and out.  The traveler noted that there was no door or gate across the opening, the shepherd answered, “I am the door; I lay down across the opening after I have brought in my flock.”  Furthermore, the shepherd declared that none of his sheep crossed over him during the night, and no wolf would come in, being deterred by his body lying across the entry way.

            The prevailing image throughout today’s passage is the Good Shepherd.  The Lord even names Himself thus twice (vss. 11,14).  St. John Chrysostom points out that by this image our Lord “speaketh concerning the Passion,” thereby especially underscoring His Self-sacrifice for “the salvation of the world.”  In addition through this image, the Lord Jesus calls on us to consider the bond between Himself and us - His flock, the Church.  Our relationship with Him is very personal and special to Him.  We are His own.  He will not flee when we are under duress (vs. 12), something demonstrated repeatedly throughout history.  He is continuously present: “lo, I Am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Mt. 28:20).

            This presence of the Lord is particularly reassuring: He always “sees the wolf coming,” long before we are aware of the enemy’s advance (Jn. 10:12).  Knowing us intimately (vs. 14), He is able to awaken us early to the spiritual dangers coming upon us and to rouse us to prayer.  Thus He prepares us for Satan’s assaults, so that we are ready.  How is it that He is able to have such foresight and to communicate with us when danger lurks?  Let us not forget that in Christ Jesus we are in touch with the God Who created and ever protects us.

            In the closing verses of the passage, the Lord Jesus directs attention to His Divine nature: “as the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father....” (vs. 15).  The Good Shepherd, our Lord Jesus Christ Who is ever with us - through Whom we have access to God the Father - sees and understands our condition better than we do ourselves.  He is our guarantee that there is nothing to “hinder us from being saved....Nothing, unless we ourselves revolt from Him...,” as St. John Chrysostom reminds us.  What better proof do we need than to know that we serve One Who being God even laid “down [His] life for the sheep” (vs. 15), and took “it again” (vs. 17).

            O Thou, Good Shepherd of Thy People, grant us to hear Thy voice and to follow where Thou dost lead, for with Thy Father and the Holy Spirit, Thou art our God unto all ages.

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