Gospel
Jesus said:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate
but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.
But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,
as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has driven out all his own,
he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,
because they recognize his voice.
But they will not follow a stranger;
they will run away from him,
because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”
Although Jesus used this figure of speech,
the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them.
So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
I am the gate for the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep did not listen to them.
I am the gate.
Whoever enters through me will be saved,
and will come in and go out and find pasture.
A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”
…
I am old enough to remember living down a red dirt road in the country where people only had one phone line and one number that several homes would use.
You knew the call was for you by how many rings you heard.
Our house had three rings. If it rang twice we didn’t answer the black dial up phone that set on the table next to the wall jack.
The phone was heavy and had a hand piece you held to your ear and talked into and the base with a dial on it. I am sure teens today would not know what to do with such a device. I won’t go into it here so they still have one mystery left in life.
Later when I was working things advanced and we had pagers we could receive a text with a phone number to call and we would find a pay phone and drop in a coin to call the number and receive the message or call the person directly. That was advanced technology.
But that was then. Now we have cell phones we carry in our pocket. We communicate my voice and text and email. We post message on forums and many use many different apps. We can even WhatsApp or FaceTime and zoom.
Now we can even see each other.
Lots of changes have happened in our lives. Not all for the better.
But something’s don’t change.
No matter what mechanism we talk on…. we know the voices of our parents and brothers and even extended family.
My mother has been gone for many years, but I can still hear her voice. My brother died a few years ago and his voice still can be heard in my head. He would say peculiar things that Helen and I still joke about. When Mike, brother, was witnessing something he didn’t believe to be true or honest, he will emphatically proclaim, “I am calling shenanigans!”
He was a big man with. Red beard and when he spoke loudly everyone listened.
Many times when I am struggling with a problem I can hear him give advice as I remember what he had said about this repair problem or that life situation.
My mother was the same. I still remember when I went into the Navy and was leaving her telling me to. “remember who you are!“
Our relationship was strained but I only seem to remember words of love.
She still haunts my thoughts too.
It’s funny but she when we say we know someone’s voice, whether it’s Mom or a brother or even Jesus, it’s not just the tone or speech patterns or pitch. It’s who they were as people and to us.
We know the voice of Jesus not because we have ever heard his auditory voice but because we know who he is and what he represents. We know Jesus’ voice is a voice of love and openness. Willingness to forgive and embrace.
Jesus Christ is always waiting to talk to us and wants us to share and petition and talk to him.
There are many voices in the world today. Most of them we shouldn’t listen to. But through growing our relationship and forming a closeness with Jesus we can always know which voice is his. Because it will align with scripture. It will be supportive of a life following his way. It will be sure and direct.
Jesus doesn’t speak in fuzzy words or indirect mediums. He speaks directly to us.
If we pray and don’t hear his voice, it might be we are asking the wrong question?
And that’s important. If we don’t know Jesus, then like those he spoke to in the Gospel, we will not know his voice. We must learn who he was through scripture and prayer. Ask Jesus today to be with you each day and show you his way and his truth. And pick up scriptures and learn more each daily. Your day will be better. Your relationship with Jesus and others will grow. And you will begin to understand what his voice sounds like so if you ever feel lost you can simply listen and follow his voice and truth. After while listening to Jesus will be second nature to us and will guide us each day.
And then we can ask others if they know the voice of Jesus?
And we can share with them what it sounds like.
Deacon Tony Pynes 
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