June 1, 2025

Gospel of John 10:9

Jesus, the door to life

Jesus says: I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.

Dear readers,

The stamp which comes from Switzerland pictures a friendly letter carrier in uniform. He is delivering a letter to a woman. Perhaps the lady with the apron could be the housewife? Or is she the housekeeper, waiting at the door?

Jesus speaks of a door in one of his “I am words”. However, he did not mean a house door, but rather the door to a sheepfold. Back then people understood this immediately. Their life almost happened in agriculture. They had sheep. Today, most people in Germany are unfamiliar with this image of sheep and the sheepfold. 

The good shepherd Jesus compares the people who belong to him like his sheep. And for them, he is the door to the stable, the door to their home. Jesus, the good shepherd, says: “My sheep go in and out through this door. Inside, they are protected from predators, but also from thieves”. And outside they find their pasture under his watchful eye. 

In his image, Jesus speaks of thieves and robbers. He is protecting his flock from them. Thieves and robbers want to deceive the sheep. They are not good shepherds. They are bad, evil shepherds. Bad shepherds do not care about lost, disturbed people. They leave people to their own devices and let them perish mentally and spiritually. The bad shepherds only feed people with “nice” words which are “empty”. They make great seductive speeches and present themselves as benefactors. But what they say and do is bad for the body, mind and soul.

Jesus, on the other hand, is the good shepherd with whom people not only find safety and security, but also food for the soul in abundance. His words are full of strength and life. His words are full of mercy and kindness. They are words of love and care. They heal and free from guilt and sin.

On the stamp, the letter carrier is holding a letter in his hand. It could be an invoice, but it could just as easily be a love letter. Jesus, the good shepherd, does not send us bills, but rather love letters each day. For he has paid all “bills” for us on our behalf (please read Isaiah 53:5). We are free from guilt. 

The Gospels are unique love letters from God to us. Gospel means “good news” or “glad tidings”. The good shepherd Jesus wants to tell you his good news of God's love every day. He means well with you and me. He stands at the door of our hearts and asks us to open the door to him. He asks that we accept his good news and open the love letter. God's love letter to us says, for example:

„For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. “ (Gospel of John, 3:16)

Like the lady on the stamp, we stand in the doorway and must decide whether to accept or refuse God's love letters to us: “Acceptance refused, return to sender”. But who would return a love letter? Who would do such a thing? As for me: I love God's love letters to me - and of course the sender! And what about you? 

Thank you for visiting me and listening to me. May God protect you in spirit, soul and body. May the good shepherd Jesus keep you in his peace. I look forward to seeing you again at the next short sermon on June 15, 2025.