A Reflection for Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Find today’s readings here.
I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. (Jn 10:7-10)
If Jesus is the gate, is he keeping us in or out?
My first thought was that a gate locks things in, keeping them from wandering astray—a dog in a backyard, sheep in a pen. But gates also keep the bad guys—“thieves and robbers,” (or wolves, in the case of the sheep). Ancient and medieval cities had walls, not to keep the people in, but to regulate who came in and out. I think the modern equivalent might be toll booths, so I am glad Jesus didn’t compare himself to those instead.
But a gate is necessary to have in any good city because it maintains order and allows freedom of movement so that the people who belong inside can leave when they want. Without a wall and thus a gate, a city would be susceptible to all kinds of intruders who seek to bring the city down. A well-functioning and well-made gate—especially in antiquity through medieval times—would be almost impenetrable to intruders because there were no rifles to shoot, cannons to aim or bombs to drop in the city. Once you are inside the wall and the gate, you are well-protected.
The people living inside a medieval walled city would be grateful for their gate and walls, not despising of them. The shepherd leads his sheep into a pen with a gate, and every person (or animal) involved is more secure with the gate there.
A good gate would even allow a city to flourish. A city excels when it lets new merchants and perspectives in, and it grows in population when more people seek to live inside its walls. This is what Jesus wants to happen for the city that he guards—the kingdom of God.
Now, none of this means that Jesus is preventing sinners from entering through the gate—otherwise, the population inside would be only himself and his mother. But he does need our contrition for us to enter and by doing that, he can allow us to “have life and have it more abundantly.” It’s a two-way street (or gate, as the case may be), so while he gives us life, we must also actively seek the good and pure things that help us to “move into” that place behind the gate that is Jesus, also known as heaven.
How do we enter through the gate that is Jesus? By doing as he asked of us: love your neighbor as yourself. Of course, that is never as simple as it sounds, but we can start with the small things, like giving a heartfelt compliment, refraining from gossiping or offering someone you might not like help.
Let us continue to live in Easter joy and share the love and mercy of God so that everyone can live behind the gate that is Jesus, safe in the walled city he protects.
