I just paid my cell phone bill for the previous month and something that caught my eye was the number of text messages sent and received in the last month. Over 3000!!! Which probably isn’t that much compared to some. But it’s still means that over the last 30 days I sent and received, on average, over 100 text messages a day! And that is to say nothing of the thousands of emails sent, received, and deleted in a given month. There are also phone calls but those don’t bother me as much. The sheer number of communications I’ve sent and received exclusively with the written word blows my mind and also makes me a little unsettled.
We’ve all probably had this experience of reading an email or text and taking it the wrong way. The words come across as angry, judging, outraged, accusatory, passive-aggressive, or any number of other offensive ways and they set off a response that only escalates the situation. Sometimes, it’s not until we pick up the phone and call the other person that things get straightened out. Many times, in my experience, I’ve gotten a written message, a text, an email, and been confused, offended, hurt or angry ultimately for no reason. Why? Because I couldn’t hear the other person’s voice and words apart from a human voice lose a certain level of context and nuance. How many words and phrases in our speech can be either happy, encouraging, loving, and kind or also bitter, hurtful, sarcastic, and angry…all depending on tone, inflection, and volume. Words without a human voice lose something of their power and clarity.
It’s amazing what you can know and feel instantly when you hear the voice of someone you love. Immediately you can tell if they are ok or not, whether they are having a bad day or just got great news, whether they are scared, sick or distracted. Even if their words say something different, it's their voice that expresses the truth. And how wonderful it is to hear the voice of your friend or beloved family member unexpectedly. An instant smile crosses your face without even trying! Unless you were doing something you shouldn’t have been, like so many times growing up when my mom said something like, “what’s in your hand?” as we were trying to smuggle food from the pantry to our room.
When you are around someone for years and years, when you love someone deeply and they love you back, you never forget their voice and their unique way of speaking. In fact, it’s a sound that brings you peace, joy, and reassurance.
In our gospel today, Jesus says, "My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me." This notion of the shepherd's voice is extremely important. In ancient times, sheep remained with their shepherd their entire lives, from the moment of their birth until their last breath. Understandably, there was a very close bond that existed between sheep and shepherd. As a matter of fact, most shepherds would name their sheep and all shepherds had a certain call or song the sheep knew. This call or song was the crucial bond between sheep and shepherd; Oftentimes, because places of pasture and shelter were scarce and hard to find, several flocks would mix together while feeding or sleeping for the night. However, when it was time to sort out the sheep, one of the shepherds would stand some distance away from the group and make the particular call, which his sheep knew. As the sheep of his flock heard him, they would run to him, leaving behind the other shepherd with his sheep who refused to come to the first shepherd because they did not know his voice.
In a perfect world, every Christian who belongs to Christ's flock would recognize his voice and follow after him. In reality, how much easier might it be for me NOT TO KNOW the voice of Jesus when he speaks to me? There are so many other voices that are louder and bolder to distract us. Consider the Bible! How many of us know what it says? How many of us prayerfully read it on a regular basis? Aside from here at Mass, how many of us have actually read it more than once in the last week? Or the last month? This is one of the primary ways we stay in contact with the shepherd; they are his Words. If we do not often pray with the Scriptures, do we really know the voice of the shepherd?
How many of us actually prayed to God at least once a day, every day last week? Did we dare to do so with our own words? How many of us, when we thought to pray; when we thought to talk to God and bring our requests; thought also to listen to God? How many of us actually took the time to quiet our hearts and minds to listen for a message: a word, a thought, an impulse from the heart of the living God?
I hope that most of us can say that we listen to his voice in the Word of God, the teaching of the Church, the sacraments and personal prayer. But does that make us one of his sheep? Not quite! It doesn't until we actually respond to His voice, until we actually try to do what the shepherd is calling us to do, until we actually follow the one who is speaking.
Friends, in the eyes of God, each one of us has a place within his flock. God is calling out to us. God is searching for us. God is asking us to come to Him, to listen to Him, and to enter his fold to be sheltered and made safe with the rest of the sheep. He wants us to be safe from robbers and thieves; safe from the evil one who would have us live in darkness and despair.
The Good Shepherd never gets tired or discouraged. He never gives up on anyone. He is forever calling out to us in the scriptures, the sacraments, the teachings of the Church, and in the love and compassion of other people. He wants to bless, nourish, protect, and guide each and every one of us. I hope all of us can come to know his voice as well we do our friends, family, and loved ones. And I hope when you hear it, whether here at Mass, in prayer with the Scriptures, or in the bustle of everyday life, it brings a sense of joy, peace, and security to your heart and soul!
