Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Monday of the 4th Week of Easter, Cycle C - April 18, 2016

Monday of the 4th Week of Easter
April 18, 2016      8:30am


Readings:   Acts 1.1-18
                  John 10.1-10

 

We all know that a gate, any gate, provides a way in and a way out.
It could be a gate to a garden or a stadium or any number of places.
Today, in the gospel, Jesus describes himself as “the gate for the sheep” – the gate of the pen where the sheep are kept at night.

I find this image of Jesus as a “gate” very helpful for understanding the two basic movements of the spiritual life.

The first movement is in – going in.
As a gate, Jesus leads us to our inner selves.
We can find God right there, within ourselves.
So, we should put ourselves down or get carried away with our sinfulness.
The truth is that God is within us.
This is why some silence in our lives and in our prayer life is important.
In the silence, we can come in contact with God who is within.
Jesus, as a “gate,” invites us within.
This is the first movement of the spiritual life.

And, of course, a gate is also a way out.
This going out of ourselves is the second movement.
Jesus moves us to find God outside of ourselves too – in creation, in each other.
Maybe we go to another person, a mentor, a person in whom we find God and who can lead us closer to God.
Maybe we have to identify the good in others and grow it, especially those who have been in some kind of trouble or whom we do not like.
And maybe we just have to work with others in some project that does good for God’s people on this earth.
Jesus, as a “gate,” invites us outside of ourselves.
That is the second movement in the spiritual life.


These two movements almost summarize the spiritual life and captured in this wonderful image of the “gate.”