Are We At The Door Pointing The Way To Repentance and An Abundant Life?
Good Morning Friends,
Maybe you know a few outwardly pious gate keepers who are more than happy to serve the Devil in a religious institution. They are full of pride and privilege and a misplaced purpose. The reality is that we have a choice as to the way we will go and not all people help us to stay on course. In the face of such challenges Peter has a vision of the extension of the Way to the Gentiles. The setting is in the gateway city of Joppa, the same city that Jonah sailed from and the place where Peter in the power of the Holy Spirit shared in the experience of the resurrection of Tabitha, AKA Dorcas, Gazelle… a widow of means. But the image is of leading the flock to greener pastures. It makes me wonder about the spread of the early church through relationship of people in the commerce of these port cities and its message for us today. Are We At The Door Pointing The Way To Repentance and An Abundant Life?
Scripture: Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I replied, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But a second time the voice answered from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.’ And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”
Acts 11:1-18 (NRSV)
“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
John 10:1-10 (NRSV)
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12 (NRSV)
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.
Psalm 23 (NRSV)
Message: John 10 is really a continuation of Jesus’ dialogue with the Pharisees that we have been reading in last week’s devotionals. And it is also the continuation of the “I Am” Statements of Jesus. If you ever wonder why they crucified Christ this should give you an understanding of how difficult Jesus was for those in power in Jerusalem. He is essentially calling them both thieves and robbers at the same time he is extending his case for being the Messiah. Jesus points out that instead of caring and feeding sheep they took advantage of them. The sheep are helpless without the shepherd but it was worse yet with a resentful group eager to lead the sheep astray. But with no Shepherd, rather than going through the door, they creep I over the wall…the Way protecting the sheep. So, today’s text from John is really is not so much about those who would try to sneak into heaven by going over the wall but about those who would lead the sheep astray and even slaughter them for their own purpose. Against this difficult political situation, we get the story of Peter’s dream of offering another path that would include repentance and the possibility of an abundant life for Gentiles as well. And because of the setting in Joppa it brings to my mind the missionary sailing trips of Paul that would follow and of the merchants like Lydia that helped connect the forming of faith communities in other lands and gateway cities like Corinth and Ephesus and eventually to the gates of Rome. The strategy was revolutionary. Life in Jerusalem was about to change under pressure from Rome. The time was right for the light of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit to shine not just in the darkness but into the world to every nation as Jesus had commanded. Friends, we are to point others to the door.
Pray we see the work of God in the world. Pray we are enlightened by God about what matters most. Pray we are encouraged to trust God more. Pray we are enlisted to follow in the Way. Pray we have a relationship with God that opens doors to life. Pray we realize that the darkness cannot put out the light of Christ. Pray we shine a light on the door to life we have found so others might experience the Salvation of Christ our Shepherd. Pray we realize that the valleys of life are real but only temporary. Pray we realize that we are called to go through valleys but not to dwell and stay in them. Pray we realize that valleys can either make our break us. Pray the valleys and voyages on of the journey of Christianity transform us into the image of Christ.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 