Father Chas Canoy
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Discover what it means to hear and follow the voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. In a world filled with noise and competing voices, learn how to recognize His call and live in the peace, joy, and abundance He desires for you.
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So sheep herding or shepherding back in ancient Israel was different from modern day shepherding. They too would drive them out of the sheepfold. The sheepfold was the secure pen or enclosure or shelter where the sheep were kept overnight to keep them safe.
In fact, shepherds back then would often share their sheepfold or enclosure with other shepherds. So when morning came, the sheep were driven out of the sheepfold. But then, here’s a different part, once outside, how did the shepherds know which sheep was theirs? The herds weren’t as big and commercial, but also the sheep knew the voice of the shepherd.
So friends, do we recognize the voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd? Are we like those sheep who intimately know the voice of our Good Shepherd? Especially with the advent of the internet and social media, we hear a cacophony of voices that can be incessant if we lack self-control and limiting our exposure. And so Jesus implicitly poses a question to us in today’s gospel. How many of those voices love you? How many of those voices would lay down their lives for you? How many of those voices are truly seeking your best interests? So Jesus desires for you to have a life of abundance.
And we’re not talking about mere material wealth, but the kind of wealth that is far more valuable. Immortality, for one, right? Eternal life itself. And then the fruits of the Spirit that money can’t buy, such as love and forbearance and faithfulness and true joy and a peace that goes that is far beyond all understanding.
But we as Christians are not to lose hope and let them steal our joy or our peace because among that cacophony of voices sow chaos and confusion. The voice of the Good Shepherd can still be heard despite efforts to silence him. For those who have ears, for those who have ears to hear, that is, right? And so we need to be super intentional about having the voice of the Shepherd be THE voice in our lives.
If we are not hearing Jesus’ voice clearly guiding us in our daily lives, we have to attune our ears to his voice so that we are like sheep who recognize his voice like a clarion call and readily follow his footsteps. So we attune our ears to his voice by doing two things. Number one, incorporating prayerful silence in our lives.
And number two, meditating daily on the scriptures, especially the Gospels in which we hear the words of the Good Shepherd himself.
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