“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.”
In this Gospel passage from John, Jesus says to the Pharisees that he is the gate for the sheep. Yesterday, in the Good Shepherd Sunday Gospel reading, Jesus tells the Jews gathered around him at the Portico of Solomon that the sheep hear his voice and follow him. So Jesus identifies himself as both shepherd and gatekeeper. Although this is a mixed image, it shouldn’t raise unnecessary questions since just as Jesus is the second person of the Trinity, isn’t it conceivable that he is both gatekeeper (perhaps the Holy Spirit) and shepherd (Son of God)?
God, help me understand that it is the voice of Jesus that I should seek from day to day and as I grow in faith and understanding. Other voices abound—the voice of strangers, the voice of thieves who come to steal my attention, the voice of thieves who come to destroy, the voice of Satan who denies “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious.” Help me, God, hear the voice of your Son and give me the wisdom to know that what I find in him is the truth.
God, you are the Lord of time. In you, I have all the time I need because all time is in your hands. Be with me today as I try to make the best of the gift of time that you give, hearing your voice and going where you want me to go.
Today I want to listen for the voice of the shepherd in making big and small decisions. How will I respond when I’m given a choice between time-wasting activities that steal time from me and destroy my opportunity to participate in what is good and life-giving and a God-given gift?