"I AM the Door"

John 10:1-10

Pastor Tom Johnson, May 11, 2014

Doors are useful for various reasons. They allow us to enter man-made structures. They allow us to exit. Doors provide security. They can be locked. They can discourage people from entering to steal our possessions or harm our lives. Doors should be accessible to those we want to enter. And they should be solid enough to make it difficult for those whose intentions are not good. And, of course, doors can be made to be pleasant to the eye and adorn our buildings as well.

The doors right here at First Saint Paul’s have been part of our conversation at Council meetings and among our trustees. We have collected bids, drawings, and plans for more accessible doors. Our doors have issues! The moving parts are breaking down. Some doors do not open properly. Some do not close properly. One door’s stabilizer cannot be fixed and slams shut in loud bang. The threshold about an inch off the ground and makes it difficult and dangerous for walkers, wheelchairs, and strollers to roll over. We don’t want any obstacles preventing people from entering our worshiping community. We want everyone to feel welcome. The doors should draw us in together and lead us to the many and wonderful gifts God has in store for us.

Jesus says, “I am the door….I am the door of the sheep.” Although, the word “gate” is used in our English version this morning. It is the same word used for the “doors” the disciples locked themselves behind in the room because of their fear of the religious authority. You’ll remember that Peter stood outside a locked “door” as Jesus was being tried. This is the same word Jesus uses for himself. It was on the other side of the door that Peter denied Jesus three times. The door was a physical barrier to Jesus just as Peter’s lack of faith was a spiritual barrier (Jn 18:17). Twice John tells us that in the days following the resurrection, the disciples barricaded themselves behind locked doors. Each time, Jesus bypasses the doors and simply appears in their midst speaking peace and hope (Jn 20:19,26). The second of the two times, Jesus appears to unlock Thomas’ doubting heart. This should remind us of how Jesus having risen from the dead, overcame the stone door over his tomb shut with a Roman seal, and opened by an angel—not to be let out—but to let the disciples in to see that he is risen indeed.

There may be times that we find ourselves feeling like we have been denied access to God’s grace and gifts. Or we feel that we are misfits or outcasts to the promises of God. Perhaps we feel the guilt and shame of our sin and feel that it is our place to be locked out. This is not the purpose of the door. We all need a way into the assurance of God’s grace. We all need to know where to find access to God’s gifts. And that door into the life of God is through Jesus.

“I Am the Door,” Jesus says. Even the “I AM” of that statement would shake the doors of the Temple off their hinges. “I AM” is to speak the divine Name. “I AM that I AM. Tell them that ‘I AM’ sent you” God says to Moses when he asks who he should say sent him. Jesus says, “I am the Divine Door.” “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn 14:6). Jesus is there as the way into the fold. “For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand” (Ps 95:7). We find shelter and protection behind the Door. We know who the imposters are because we know the voice of Jesus. Our ears recognize the timbre of the love of God spoken through his only begotten Son. The psalm writer says, “For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than live in the tents of wickedness” (Ps 84:10).

But the door is not just there to welcome us into God’s protective care. Jesus says, “Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.” The door also leads us out into the world. As Psalm 23 says, “He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” We are under his protective care. But we are also on the move. The door leads us out to our mission to nurture the flock and to gather more sheep into the fold. The door is a double entrance. There is no exit door. We are either entering into God’s protective care or we are entering into the mission field. I know that by law we must put illuminated signs up in our church that say “Exit.” Some churches have put an additional sign above the doors as you leave the building: “You are now entering the mission field.”

This Door of the sheep is a double entrance. We go in and out freely. We enter into community to find nurture, refuge, strength, and encouragement. We enter to receive the Word, the washing of Holy Baptism, and the Body and Blood of Jesus for the assurance of forgiveness and eternal life. We enter the door to go out confidently and equipped to navigate an often confusing and dangerous world. But we do so with the promise that Jesus came that we will have life and have it abundantly.