Trinity Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Sermons 

Title: "The Gatekeeper Test"

Text: John 10:1-10

For some of us, especially the slow or the unwilling, this was our week for looking back at the year 2004 – and finally sitting down to do our income taxes. Form 1040; Schedules A, B, C, and D. And then there is my longtime personal favorite, Form 4562 for "Depreciation and Amortization"; and my new favorite, Form 8863, "Education Credits (Hope and Lifetime Learning Credits)." Oh, the pleasures of dealing with the IRS! Oh, the joys of participating in democracy!

Turning to the news, we have been reminded that fifty years ago this week two events of great importance took place. Both of these events have had a tremendous impact on our nation and on the entire world.

The first was the campaign against the poliovirus initiated by the Salk vaccine (and later, expanded through use of the Sabine oral vaccine). On April 12, 1955, Dr. Thomas Francis, Jr., announced to the world that the Salk polio vaccine was "safe, effective, and potent" and was up to 90% effective in preventing paralytic polio. In the two years preceding his announcement, over 1.8 million children around the nation had participated in the field trials of the Salk vaccine sponsored by the March of Dimes (then known formally as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis). Those of us of a certain age remember contributing our spare dimes to that cause. I recall being told that we had to take naps in the heat of the summer afternoons or else we might catch polio! The reality of our mother’s warning was brought home when a neighbor girl named Karen died from polio. Along with five other neighborhood boys, all of us around 12 years old, I served as a pall bearer at that funeral.

In the two years before the Salk vaccine was widely available, the average number of polio cases in the U.S. was more than 45,000. By 1962, that number had dropped to 910. As a result of public health campaigns in the U.S. and around the world, the poliovirus has been eradicated in most nations and currently is found only in parts of Africa and south Asia. What a change in fifty years!

The second anniversary in the news this week celebrates the opening of the first McDonald’s restaurant on April 15th, 1955. Borrowing from the brothers Dick and Mac McDonald the idea for a quick service restaurant featuring 15 cent hamburgers, french fries, and milk shakes, Ray Kroc opened the first "McDonald’s" restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois. His first day’s revenues were $366.12. The history of McDonald’s has brought us such American icons as:

§ Ronald McDonald, first portrayed in 1963 by Willard Scott, who went on to some fame as a TV weatherman;

§ the Big Mac hamburger, introduced in 1968;

§ the Egg McMuffin, first offered in 1973;

§ the Ronald McDonald House Charities, established in 1974 in Philadelphia and now represented by 180 independent chapters in 47 nations around the globe;

§ the children’s Happy Meal, introduced in 1979;

§ and, most recently, McGriddles and Premium Salads, both added to the menu in 2003.

The expansion of McDonalds, and what we now call the "fast food" industry, has changed American life in fundamental ways and is beginning to change family life around the globe. This transformation even has a name – "McDonaldization" – reflecting the impact of "billions and billions" served at more than 30,000 restaurants in 119 countries around the world.

Income taxes …, public health campaigns against crippling and fatal diseases …, and McDonald’s Happy Meals… All of these seemed to me good topics to contemplate as ways of dealing with this week’s lectionary gospel lesson – the first section of chapter ten in the Gospel according to John. But plans sometimes get overtaken by events.

On Thursday afternoon, I – and many other current and former members of this congregation – attended the "Service to the Witness to the Resurrection" for the Rev. David Pittenger, who served as pastor here at Trinity between 1966 and1985. David died of a heart attack Tuesday morning at Methodist hospital, a place he had visited many times in his role as pastor for the folks here at Trinity.

Born in Ashland, Kentucky, David came with his family to Oak Cliff in 1939 and graduated from Sunset High School in 1946. After graduating from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, in 1954, he was ordained as a minister of Word and Sacrament in May of that same year at the Oak Cliff Presbyterian Church. After serving there for two years as an assistant pastor, he became pastor at First Presbyterian church in Sulphur Springs, TX, from 1956-59 and then at First Presbyterian Church in Malvern, Arkansas, from 1959-1966, when he returned to serve as senior pastor here at Trinity for twenty years. David then began a series of interim pastorates in congregations in Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, and Louisiana before becoming Honorably Retired in 1994.

Throughout the forty years of his active ministry, and even during the years of his retirement, David was a pastor who cared for all the people all the time. In the homilies offered at the worship service on Thursday afternoon, and in the obituary in yesterday’s newspaper (Dallas Morning News, p. 4B), David was remembered for caring about people and being a "pastor to other pastors."

At the Thursday worship service, Rev. Roger Quillin related that David was an avid photographer who once took a vacation trip to Indiana during which he took pictures of all kinds of signs – especially, signs bearing the names of members of the Trinity congregation – such as Smith’s Funeral Home, Joe’s Garage, Mary’s Beauty Salon, etc. I can just imagine the reaction of the audience members as they witnessed their names popping up in his slide show – and saw the creative way in which they were always with him, even during his vacation time.

As we remember and celebrate the life-long ministry of David Pittenger, let us return to our lectionary reading in John’s Gospel. John 10:1-10 is the first part of what is known as "The Shepherd Discourse." Continuing a conversation with some Pharisees, Jesus shifts the focus of discussion from the case of the blind man whom he had healed and whom the Pharisees had thrown out. Now, beginning in verse 1, Jesus talks of thieves and bandits, of shepherds and gatekeepers. He contrasts the strangers who would steal the sheep in the fold with the shepherd whose voice is known to the sheep. The gospel writer declares that the listeners did not understand this "figure of speech" (verse 6).

So, in verses 7-10, the evangelist tries again, saying:

"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."

In the initial discourse in verses 1-6, Jesus did not declare himself to be the shepherd, the sheep or the gatekeeper – much less the thief, the bandit, or the stranger. But, here in verse 7, he states clearly "I am the gate for the sheep." Of course, later on – in verses 11 and 14 – Jesus twice declares that "I am the good shepherd."

I wonder if you as confused by this "figure of speech" and its explanation as were the Pharisees who listened to Jesus’ discourse two thousand years ago? What are we to make of this discourse? How can we city dwellers, many of whom have never seen a sheep or a sheepfold "up close and personal," relate to the shepherd’s discourse?

Let me suggest that the cases of the IRS, of Jonas Salk and the March of Dimes, of the McDonald’s corporation, and even of pastor David Pittenger have something in common with this discourse. All of these people and their associated institutions are intermediaries in our life course. Either they can facilitate and welcome or they can reduce options and eliminate possibilities. Let us review each case in turn.

§ As a component of national government, the IRS takes our individual tax payments, brings them together, and then redistributes these collected billions to government agencies, which in turn promise to work to defend us against enemies foreign and domestic, to bring justice to all, and to help care for those who cannot care for themselves, from our youngest to our oldest citizens. The critical dimension in our relationship with the IRS is "trust and confidence." Like the shepherd in John’s Gospel, the IRS knows our names – and we know that it knows!

§ Jonas Salk and The March of Dimes worked to end a dreaded epidemic disease in our nation and around the world. Salk never patented the vaccine, nor did he earn any money from his discovery, preferring to see it distributed as widely as possible. Subsequently, Salk established a research institute in La Jolla, California, where scientists have continued to seek solutions to major threats to public health. A memorial at the Institute captures Salk’s vision: "Hope lies in dreams, in imagination and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality." Meanwhile, after helping to conquer its original target, the March of Dimes has continued its child-focused charitable work under the theme "Saving babies, together." The story of Salk and the March of Dimes is about "trust and confidence." My parents took me and my two sisters to get polio shots because they trusted that this would make a difference in our lives – and it did.

§ The McDonald’s corporation has sold billions and billions of hamburgers, french fries, soft drinks, and milk shakes during the past fifty years. Today, though, it also markets alternatives to its infamous high fat and high carb menu items. McDonald’s corporate leaders are committed to encouraging their customers to develop more active balanced lifestyles, to be involved in their community improvement programs, and to support the Ronald McDonald Charitable Foundation. As a result, the "Golden Arches" have become an icon of modern life. People have come to have "trust and confidence" in the quality and safety of the food McDonald’s serves and the community leadership they provide here and everywhere.

§ Finally, the Reverend David Pittenger is an example of a pastor who knew his people and their needs, here at Trinity and in other congregations. Even in his retiring years, he always was present to help in difficult circumstances. As a result, David continued to have the "trust and confidence" of people for whom he would always be "pastor."

When Jesus declared himself to be the "gate" and the "good shepherd," he did not intend to confuse his listeners, but to console them. Being the "gate" and being the "shepherd" invoked a sense of "trust and confidence." Ultimately, being the gate and being the shepherd is Jesus’ work. Our work is to serve as his gatekeepers here in this community. Being open to our neighbors and caring for them and their children, we stand within a tradition of community ministry that stretches back more than 100 years. In the end, being welcoming and earning people’s "trust and confidence" is the real challenge for ministry. For us and for all Christians, it is the ultimate "Gatekeeper Test." Amen.

© 2005 Van Kemper (e-mail: rkemper@trinitypresdallas.org)