2023-06-27
Brooke Strong
Sermon Text...
Scriptures: Psalm 23 and John 10:1-11a
Sermon by Rev. Susanna M. Kawolics, Federated Church, 6/25/2023
The Shepherd and the Gate
When Melissa called me two weeks ago to see if I could preach today, I told her I would need to talk with Betsy first to see what the worship themes for the summer were. Betsy told me that starting in July, the theme would be “Metaphors for God.” I told her that if we could start that one week early, I would gladly preach! We didn’t think the congregation would mind too much. Many of you might know that I have been creating yearly Advent reflection booklets since about 2007, and all the prayers in those booklets are based on various names, or metaphors, for God. So this “Metaphors for God” theme is kind of my thing. Praying with, and reflecting on these various names and images is one of my favorite ways to approach scripture passages. I find it deeply enriches my prayer life, and my relationship with God.
However, this particular practice was not part of my spirituality growing up. Throughout my first three decades of life, I basically only imagined God one way – as an old, white haired, white skinned, bearded male, think Michaelangelo’s Sistine Chapel image of God as Creator. And, as I think is the case for many people, the way we relate to God is largely influenced by the images we have of God. If we understand God as stern judge, we will pray one way, if we see God as gentle parent, our prayer stance will be different. In my younger days, I was praying to very masculine, powerful, authoritative God, King and Judge of all. And while there is nothing wrong with strong, masculine images of God, I would just like to suggest that if we believe that God is vast, incomprehensible and limitless, then perhaps it would behoove us to expand our images, names, metaphors for God to broaden how we see and understand the boundless, all-encompassing, unfathomable Holy One.
When I was in my thirties, my whole theology and grounding of faith changed drastically. I was a Catholic woman, pursuing my Master’s degree in Ministry at Ursuline College, and one of our lectures was about the many different names and images of God found in our scriptures. I was blown away by what I heard that day. Even though by that time I had read through the entire Bible, I had never really taken in the richness, the plethora of ways God is portrayed in our scared texts. Delving into the boundless names and metaphors for God has truly deepened my faith life and my prayer life.
The scripture passages we’re reflecting on today really lend themselves beautifully to exploring various metaphors for God. I want to share with you some of the names for God that I glean from our readings this morning, and explore how they might inform our understanding of the Holy One, and how they might guide us into becoming ever more faithful followers of Jesus.
The familiar 23rd Psalm starts with the line: “The Lord is my Shepherd.” This is a great beginning for reflection, to think of God as the Shepherd, one who takes care of us, who protects us, who claims us. Sitting and praying with this image reassures me that I am lovingly and deeply attended to, and also that I am part of a flock, a community, and I don’t have to try to live out my call as Jesus’s follower alone.
The next line in the Psalm is “I shall not want.” This inspires the name of God as an Abundant Provider, an image of God who showers grace upon grace on me, on us. This name leads me to a place of deep gratitude, reminding me that there is nothing I lack, that my life veritably overflows with blessing, inspiring prayers of profound thanksgiving.
Going forward we have: “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul.” These lines inspire me to name God as “Healer of Souls,” as “Rest Giver” as “Restorer of Peace.” They remind me to take the time to just rest, to imagine myself settling into God’s embrace, or to immerse myself in creation – the green of fields, pastures, woods, the waters of ponds, rivers, lakes. The practices of being still, of letting go of all thought, all anxiety, all care is healing, renewing and restorative.
I also love the image of God as Companion and Comforter through the Dark Valleys, as I reflect on the verse: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Praying with this image of God has helped me get through those times when I have been especially stressed, frightened, worried. The image of God as the one who accompanies us gives me courage. In combining that image with one at the beginning of the Psalm, God as the one who also leads us, I have realized that there is no place we would ever go that God is not already there ahead of us. That is what a shepherd does – goes on ahead of the sheep, guiding their way, and accompanying them through any and all circumstances.
In our reading from the gospel of John, Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd, relating back to this Psalm. He expounds on it, talking about the intimate relationship that the shepherd has for their sheep, assuring us that the shepherd is not a stranger, but one who knows us, who cares for us, protects us, loves us. And then, in the same passage, he goes on to call himself the Gate. The Gate? Really? I don’t know about you, but whenever I picture Jesus, I really never picture him as a gate. And so this image piques my curiosity, and I want to delve into it to see what insights it might be give me about Jesus, and in turn, about God.
When I think of gates, I think of them as protection, as a means of keeping people safe, keeping danger out. For example, gated entries to property, to buildings or communities make sure that those who are unauthorized are barred from entering. Locked gates allay our fears – assuring us that dangerous people are unable to cross the threshold to do us harm.
Reflecting further, I think about how institutions also have “gates,” maybe more figurative than literal. Churches, for example, have long been gatekeepers, right? Many churches teach that there is a gate to God’s love, a gate to Salvation, a gate to acceptance into their community that is not open to people until and unless they conform to certain criteria. The way I see this manifested most clearly lately is in the way many churches bar those in the LGBTQ community from their space, or from full participation in their church. To a large number of churches, those who are LGBTQ are considered today’s thieves and bandits who will harm the sheep, to use Jesus’s metaphor. These churches instill unwarranted fear towards non-binary, non-heteronormative people in our world, not only keeping them out of their churches, but going so far as to make it dangerous for them to be their authentic selves. They, along with other groups, support discriminatory legislation, they protest activities such as Drag story hours, or Gay Pride marches and events. They spread lies and incite unwarranted fear of these people influencing or grooming children, and make unsubstantiated claims of biblical condemnation to demonize our LGBTQ siblings. They promulgate false groomer or pedophilia conspiracy theories that lead to incidents of harassment, vandalism and assault upon this community.
Clinical Psychologist Dr. Walter Kanie in his book “A Credible Christianity” says, “Sadly, in today’s world, many who seek influence, power, control, and money maximize the use of fear to move others to their ideas, movements, attitudes, and group membership. In the field of religion, fear continues to be a powerful motivator to cause people to buy into religious ideas, rituals, beliefs, memberships, and movements. But fear has no reason for being a part of religion . . . ‘A Credible Christianity’ refuses to honor fear as appropriate in any religion or spiritual practice.”1
I read that, and I relate to that because I see fear being used in so many church settings today. The month of June is Pride month, when we remember our church’s commitment to counteract the fears brought on by lies and selective and subjective readings of Biblical passages. We are committed to being an open and affirming congregation for all people, including our LGBTQ brothers, siblings and sisters. We are called to speak up against the misinformation and manipulation based on fear that is driving legislation and protests against this community.
Personally, I am resolute in my belief in a just world for all, and am convinced that we, that I, need to stand up for and speak out for those who are denied justice. But I have to confess that often-times fear stops me from acting on what I hear the voice of Jesus calling me to do. I believe his voice calls us to speak up whenever people are denied the right to live into becoming their authentic selves. Jesus calls us to take action wherever people are discriminated against, or silenced. Our Shepherd urges us to stand in solidarity with those on the margins, to ally ourselves with them to effect change. And, at least in my case, doing these things frightens me.
So when I envision Jesus as the gate, this is where my imagination goes: I approach this gate, and Jesus says, “You are welcome to come in, but you are to leave your fears here, outside the gate. Your fears are the thieves and bandits that will steal from you your courage, your joy, your hope, your compassion, your ability to live life authentically and abundantly. Trust that I am with you. I will lead you. I will not abandon you.”
This image of the Jesus-gate, as it were, keeping out our fears connects beautifully back to the 23rd Psalm. I never really could resonate with the verse: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” But one of my favorite prayer books is called “Psalms for Praying” by Nan C. Merrill. Her paraphrase of this verse is: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of all my fears; You bless me with oil, my cup overflows.” I love that – understanding my enemies to be my fears. And God anoints me, anoints us, with oil, giving us strength to overcome them, allowing us to leave our fears at the gate, and boldly answer the call to stand up and speak out for justice.
And so, Beloved brothers, siblings and sisters, I invite you to open your hearts to the many images of God in Scripture, to the vastness of God’s being, the limitlessness of God’s love for all, and to the promise of God’s abiding presence. Remember that Jesus’s desire is that we, and that EVERYONE, would live life abundantly. Let us leave our fears at the gate, and listen to and know the voice of Jesus, calling us to create such a world, to bring goodness and mercy and justice into this world, and to remember always his promise to lead us, to strengthen us, and to walk beside us every step of our journey.
Amen.
1Walter Kania, A Credible Christianity: Saving Jesus from the Church, Published by: AuthorHouse, June 14, 2010.