May 4, 2025 Written by 

You can and must go out

«I am the Gate of the sheep»

(Jn 10:1-10)

 

In the pastures, during the night the sheep were penned in stone pens on a slope and the shepherds (in turn) stood in defence of the flock by huddling in the position of the doorway at the bottom, armed with sticks, as if it were a door, impassable to thieves and predators.

The custom of life enabled the flock - even of different owners - to recognise the typical call and voice of the corresponding shepherd. He not infrequently designated each one with an individual nickname (unrepeatable according to character).

In Jerusalem, the great Gates of the city were opened in the morning and closed at sunset. They were fundamental points of urban social life, obligatory passages to enter and exit the walls.

After decades of deportation, the end of the Babylonian empire and the edict of Cyrus, the Sheep Gate was the first to be restored and the only one consecrated, because through it flowed the herds to be sacrificed to the Temple.

Because of the social paralysis and alienation of the wretched, the motto 'restoring communion with God' - the criterion for the rebuilding of the Temple and the Holy City - meant for Jesus to take a different point of view.

He takes a stand and explicitly denounces the degradation of the true flock sacrificed to the interest and logic of the official religious institution, which is not interested in people's happiness but only in defending privileges.

The spiritual leaders of the ancient pious life were willing to do anything to secure their usual economic status, as well as visibility, prestige, protection of property and various securities.

 

Jn 5:2 indicates a pool with five porticoes along which the sick were laid "by the Sheep Gate". Wretches who due to supposed impurity did not have access to the Temple but were laid there awaiting a miracle.

According to the Lord, it is the institution that has to serve the sick and needy, instead of oppressing them through harassment and humbug, sweetened with impressive scripts.

He is the Shepherd who walks ahead (v.4); he does not hide behind the scenes: he risks himself. He does not come to take, but to give in abundance. For God seeks his people in penury.

His is a Calling by Name (v.3): he respects personal identity, he does not impose abstract or unbearable rhythms, he does not force timing; he assesses each person's condition.

For the authentic Shepherd, there are no anonymous crowds - to be milked, sheared, and directed down to the last detail. It is He who puts His face and pays.

So he does not enclose within the ancient sacred fences (v.1 Greek text) where mass obsessions lurk. Fences equipped with guardians and gendarmes, where one is homologated - and the sensitive soul no longer breathes, seized by opportunists, thieves and bandits (v.8).

From his Door we can go out (vv.3-9). On the contrary, it is He who forces us to overcome them (v.3 Greek text).

Does it seem unbelievable? It is the more of Faith: animated by the Spirit, believing that nothing escapes God's grasp.

In synergy with the inner Friend, every authentic Guide leads to a different richness, more substantial pastures, unexpected amazements.

The true Shepherd compels us to make an Exodus, pushing us (forcefully) out of the narrow sheepfolds - bounded and installed; interventionist or overflowing with sophistication, businessmen and faux-devotees - that we must now pass over.

For a new Birth, an ever new Encounter, a more significant experience of abundant and indestructible Life (v.10): that unheard of God totally other and totally near.

 

The leaders had an attitude of rejection of Jesus and the people. Strangers and greedy, they did not call people by name.

Instead, the authority of Christ is in service and for the life of the sick - in concern for the welfare of the people.

In the Lord's view, the authority of official leaders was not legitimate: because it was made up of climbing and ruthlessness, based on an interpretation of codes that did not liberate people but made them subservient - pigeonholed and incapable of reinventing themselves.

Their pursuit of advantage conflicted with the interests of the dispossessed, kept far away and in the fence. Jesus, on the other hand, makes himself a Gate, that is, a legitimate shepherd, who cares for the flock and knows it intimately.

He feels it to be His, and He comes not to serve and profit from it, but to make them happy - having a loving knowledge of each one. He is not a shepherd-king, but a life-giving shepherd.

The authoritativeness of the guide is corroborated both by the direct knowledge of the "gatekeeper-keeper" (v.3) and by that of the people, who recognise his Word, and follow him - driven by that call as by a tremor within.

 

Throughout the complex redaction of the Fourth Gospel, many believers had by then abandoned obedience to the law (as expounded by the rabbis): the old masters were no longer followed as before.

E.g. The man born blind does not accept the opinion of the albeit popular religious leaders (Jn 9) who accused the Master of being a sinner (v.24). Thus he embarks on a progressive journey of awareness and emancipation.

Christ emphasises the authority he has over the people, presenting himself with the non-transitory formula "I Am" [filled with eminent and profound resonances].

And bringing this expression up to date, he clarifies it with the metaphor of the Door - not so much to close it, but first of all to open it wide and let it pass.

In this way and unlike the old guides, the little flock follows him not out of fear or calculation, as they would an inflexible master, but spontaneously.

 

By taking into account the presence of obstacles (without which one does not grow) on the journey, even a frantic one, we will experience the invisible Friend as the Master of clarity, decision, constancy, flexibility, introspection.

Recognised in the unknown face within each one of us, we will be made closely aware, motivated and free - so that we are rendered to life.

56 Last modified on Sunday, 04 May 2025 05:08
don Giuseppe Nespeca

Giuseppe Nespeca è architetto e sacerdote. Cultore della Sacra scrittura è autore della raccolta "Due Fuochi due Vie - Religione e Fede, Vangeli e Tao"; coautore del libro "Dialogo e Solstizio".

Divisions among Christians, while they wound the Church, wound Christ; and divided, we cause a wound to Christ: the Church is indeed the body of which Christ is the Head (Pope Francis)
Le divisioni tra i cristiani, mentre feriscono la Chiesa, feriscono Cristo, e noi divisi provochiamo una ferita a Cristo: la Chiesa infatti è il corpo di cui Cristo è capo (Papa Francesco)
The glorification that Jesus asks for himself as High Priest, is the entry into full obedience to the Father, an obedience that leads to his fullest filial condition [Pope Benedict]
La glorificazione che Gesù chiede per se stesso, quale Sommo Sacerdote, è l'ingresso nella piena obbedienza al Padre, un'obbedienza che lo conduce alla sua più piena condizione filiale [Papa Benedetto]
All this helps us not to let our guard down before the depths of iniquity, before the mockery of the wicked. In these situations of weariness, the Lord says to us: “Have courage! I have overcome the world!” (Jn 16:33). The word of God gives us strength [Pope Francis]
Tutto questo aiuta a non farsi cadere le braccia davanti allo spessore dell’iniquità, davanti allo scherno dei malvagi. La parola del Signore per queste situazioni di stanchezza è: «Abbiate coraggio, io ho vinto il mondo!» (Gv 16,33). E questa parola ci darà forza [Papa Francesco]
The Ascension does not point to Jesus’ absence, but tells us that he is alive in our midst in a new way. He is no longer in a specific place in the world as he was before the Ascension. He is now in the lordship of God, present in every space and time, close to each one of us. In our life we are never alone (Pope Francis)
L’Ascensione non indica l’assenza di Gesù, ma ci dice che Egli è vivo in mezzo a noi in modo nuovo; non è più in un preciso posto del mondo come lo era prima dell’Ascensione; ora è nella signoria di Dio, presente in ogni spazio e tempo, vicino ad ognuno di noi. Nella nostra vita non siamo mai soli (Papa Francesco)
The Magnificat is the hymn of praise which rises from humanity redeemed by divine mercy, it rises from all the People of God; at the same time, it is a hymn that denounces the illusion of those who think they are lords of history and masters of their own destiny (Pope Benedict)
Il Magnificat è il canto di lode che sale dall’umanità redenta dalla divina misericordia, sale da tutto il popolo di Dio; in pari tempo è l’inno che denuncia l’illusione di coloro che si credono signori della storia e arbitri del loro destino (Papa Benedetto)
This unknown “thing” is the true “hope” which drives us, and at the same time the fact that it is unknown is the cause of all forms of despair and also of all efforts, whether positive or destructive, directed towards worldly authenticity and human authenticity (Spe Salvi n.12)
Questa « cosa » ignota è la vera « speranza » che ci spinge e il suo essere ignota è, al contempo, la causa di tutte le disperazioni come pure di tutti gli slanci positivi o distruttivi verso il mondo autentico e l'autentico uomo (Spe Salvi n.12)
«When the servant of God is troubled, as it happens, by something, he must get up immediately to pray, and persevere before the Supreme Father until he restores to him the joy of his salvation. Because if it remains in sadness, that Babylonian evil will grow and, in the end, will generate in the heart an indelible rust, if it is not removed with tears» (St Francis of Assisi, FS 709)

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