The Road

Roads, what would we do without them? Roads are so much a part of our lives that we really take them for granted; we really don’t pay much attention to them, that is until they become so pockmarked with potholes we have to take our cars in to the shop to be realigned.
Roads are pretty important to us. Think what it would be like to live somewhere where there were any roads, just paths.
The United States has a whole network of roads crisscrossing the country from East to West and from the Canadian border on the North to the Mexican border on the South. There are Interstate highways, Federal highways, state highways, and county roads. All of them are very important to the people who live along them and to those who use them every day to go to work. How many of you remember what it was like before the interstate highways were constructed? What about before they had graveled roads? How many of you remember the County C road from Hancock to Atlantic? I remember it being so dusty we would drive to Avoca and take Highway 83 to Atlantic. Talking about these roads bring back a lot of memories.
What roads do you remember that bring back memories? How about Highway 6? It used to be the road we drove to go to the State Fair in Des Moines, or what about Route 66? There was a song written about it and even a TV show.
Roads were important in Jesus’ day too. The Romans were very good at building roads. In order to move their troops quickly from one hotspot to another they needed to have good roads for their cavalry and their foot soldiers.
Jesus traveled on quite a few roads as he spread the good news and healed the sick and the lame. He was very familiar with all the roads leading into and out of Jerusalem. These were the roads he walked when they came to the city to celebrate the Holy Feasts and the Passover. Remember when Mary and Joseph started home and walked three days before they realized he wasn’t with them. They had to travel that road back into the city and try to find Jesus.
There are a few roads mentioned in the Word but today in John’s gospel Jesus says he is the Road. In fact his road is the only route that can be taken to get to the Father.
Jesus had been telling the disciples that he was going to be leaving them and where he was going they wouldn’t be able to come. Peter couldn’t understand why he couldn’t go with him; he was willing to give his life for Jesus. He didn’t know that soon he would deny that he ever knew him, in fact he would deny him three times.
Jesus told them not to worry because where he was going there would be plenty of room for everyone. And he would be coming back to get them.
He told them they already knew the road he was taking. But they didn’t understand what he was telling them. Thomas was lost. He didn’t know which road to take. And when Jesus told them he was the Road I’ll bet that confused them even more. It sounded like they didn’t even know who he was talking about when he said that he was the way to the Father.
And we are still confused today. Jesus is a Road? He’s the way to the Father? What does he mean and how is it possible? This is a mystery to many people yet today.
God came here as a baby born of a virgin so that we would know his love and compassion for us his children. You want to know what God is like, read the gospels. You want to know how much he cares for you, read the stories Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John wrote about their Master, Jesus.
Jesus is the Way, he is the Road to the Father. Read everything written about Jesus and then read it again and then read it again. You will begin to realize the love God has for us because of the love Jesus, his Son, had for the least of those in Galilee. You will see how much he loved the people he met on the roads he walked in surrounding country.
Jesus really is the only road to the Father. He is the only way we can come to know God. How is this possible? It’s possible because I believe that with God anything is possible and that’s enough for me.
Not everyone believed though. As Peter said the religious of Jesus’ day rejected his claims. He was a threat to them and so they had him killed, they crucified him on a cross because he was a stumbling block; he was a barricade on the road they were traveling. So they dismissed him
But friends, we have all been called by this one who is now our cornerstone to walk the Road to eternity. We have been called to tell others the good news that God’s kingdom is here today. We are called to tell others what a difference Jesus has made in our lives.
In order to do that my friends we have to have walked on the Road. We have to know where the Road is and where it leads and how to tell someone how to find it. Do you have a map; where’s your GPS? Friends, the map is sitting right there on the back of the pew in front of you. That’s right, the map for the Road is found in that book right there by the hymnals; you can find the Way in God’s Word.
But we’re not going to have much success until we open the book and read it. The Gate to the Road is so narrow that we’re going to have to keep going back to the same book again and again and again in order to stay on the right road.
The truth of the matter is just as Jesus said, He is the Road, also the Truth, and also the Life. The only way to the Father is through him. And the only way to know him is by reading the Word again and again and again.
So if God is calling to you today, if he is telling you to get on the Road and you don’t quite know what he’s talking about, pick up the Book and read the gospels for a start. And then find someone to study with and talk to about what you’ve read. Don’t wait too long. God may be calling one of us home tomorrow and it will be too late to ask for help then.
Friends the Bible is the atlas complete with all the maps anyone will ever need to find their way along the Road to God. Find one today and start reading the map.
Thanks be to God for the Road. Amen.

The Gate Is the Way

What is a shepherd? Why would Jesus use a shepherd as an example of his role in relation to his disciples and us? After all shepherds were dirty, smelly people and no one wanted to get too close to them. All they did was take the sheep to the pasture and bring them back in to the fold. And when it was time to shear them they would do that. Sometimes the first born and the best lambs were offered as sacrifices to God for the people’s sins. But for the most part shepherds were people who lived alone with the flocks and so smelled a lot like those they cared for.
So why would Jesus want us to remember that he was our good shepherd? Maybe it’s because a shepherd spent so much time with his sheep that they became his friends. He spent so much time with them that he even had names for them like “brown leg” or “bent black ear” or “one black ear”. They were like a part of his family or maybe they were his only family. At the very least the wool they produced allowed the shepherd to earn enough to feed himself and his human family.
Jesus wanted them to know that he was their friend and like a shepherd he cared for them. He knew each of them by name. He probably even knew them better than they knew themselves. After all he was the incarnate God.
Shepherds lived very simple lives. All their waking hours and some of their sleeping hours were spent tending to the flock. They had to move the sheep from pasture to pasture and had to be certain that where they were going was safe for their charges. So while they were grazing in one location the shepherd would be checking out the next pasture to be sure it was clear of poisonous weeds and that there were no nests of snakes or scorpions.
Even though the sheep were leisurely grazing their way across the pasture the shepherd was ever alert for danger, whether it was a predator or some plant or insect that might cause the sheep to become ill and die. And when they were dead they didn’t produce any income.
The shepherd knew that the sheep only required three things for their well-being. What they needed were good pasture land, adequate water, and safe paths. They were incapable of securing their own needs or of defending themselves from danger.
This is what Jesus told the disciples and they didn’t get it. Why do you suppose that was? After all they lived in a country where there were sheep and goats and shepherds everywhere. You would think they would understand what he was telling them, but they didn’t get it and so he tried explaining it a different way.
Jesus said he was the Gate to the sheepfold. And the only way to enter was through him. Again this was a reference to the shepherd. The shepherd would put the sheep into the fold and then would lie down in the only entrance so that he would know if anyone was trying to get in or anyone was trying to get out. He was the gate to the fold and he was the protector of his flock. But there were then and still are those today who would try to come in over the fence to take what wasn’t or isn’t theirs.
This parable points out the fact that we are helpless to help ourselves. Oh we are sure that we can provide for all our needs and that we can take care of anything that comes our way. If that’s the case then why is it that there are so many who abuse their minds and bodies with sex, drugs, alcohol, and gambling. Why are there so many angry people around us if we are so taking care of ourselves? Why aren’t we exuberantly joyful? It’s because we aren’t taking care of ourselves spiritually.
We, the human race in general, are so focused on taking care of number one that we forget that we have been given a commission by Jesus to go out into the world and make disciples. We forget, or we shove it way back in the recesses of our brains, that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. And that we are to love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves. We forget these very important things. We get mean and surly with our neighbors and we neglect God. Shoot we can’t even be civil with our own members sometimes. But the Shepherd still loves and cares for us. He is watching out for us and listening for our cries for help. His voice is calling to us. Do we remember what it sounded like? He knows our names do we remember his voice?
Friends, we are all in need of healing. Every day the Evil One takes a nip out of us and we aren’t able to protect ourselves without our Shepherd. He has prepared a place for us. I pray that we can find our way back through the brambles where we have strayed.
How are we ever going to find our way to the Gate? Friends, Jesus told us he is the way, the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through him, our Gate. We need to be opening the Word every day so that the light of Christ’s love shines on our path and we can find the way home.
Friends, I’m worried that there are many who are lost and don’t know it. I’m worried that we have become so complacent that we don’t see our neighbor’s needs or hear their cries for help.
Jesus is our shepherd but he has given us the task of caring for the little ones, those who are babies and are looking to us to give them food and shelter. The early Christians in Jerusalem pooled their meager resources so they all could eat. They took care of each other so none were ever in need. Now they had their own logistical problems and some just couldn’t trust in God to provide. There were many bumps in the road but eventually with God’s help they figured most of it out.
They made a commitment to the teachings of the apostles, to their life together with each other, to share a common meal, and to prayers. These were the most important things to the early Christians. They tried to live in harmony with everything in common.
What are the most important things for you? I believe it all goes back to what Jesus was teaching the disciples, love God, love your neighbor and proclaim the good news that the kingdom of God is here. And to do all of it required them to make changes in their lives and it requires us to make changes in our lives. For some of us it means that we have to make some drastic changes, focusing on the needs of the least in our community and providing for those needs so that they can come to know the love of Jesus Christ through us.
Jesus is our shepherd. He is calling to us; he is knocking at the door of our hearts. Are we listening? Can we find our way to the Gate of the fold? Are we able to help others find the way? Do we understand what Jesus is telling us?
Friends, today may be the day when God is laying his hand on your heart and begging you to make a commitment to him. Will you answer his call to be one of his children?
My friends, God loves you and so do I. Thanks be to God. Amen.