In today’s (5/12) Gospel, Jesus describes Himself as the gate for the sheep to enter through. He is the gate through which eternal life will be found. In one part of the passage, Jesus says, “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” (John 10:4-5). The voice that we are most familiar with in our lives is the voice we will recognize and listen to. Are we more familiar with the voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, or the voices of all in the world trying to influence us?
It can be really hard to hear the voice of Jesus in our lives. The media, the constant noise, and people who disagree with us can all make it difficult to listen. I was reminded of this a few weeks ago when I was on a silent retreat. Turning off my phone and being in silence for a whole weekend reminded me of just how loud life is and how needed and refreshing the quiet is. I was reminded of how much easier it is to pray when you put yourself in an environment of silence. Unfortunately, it is not possible to live our lives in silence and turn off all noise all the time. So, how do we hear the voice of Jesus in our daily lives?
In order to hear Jesus’ voice, we must know His voice. And to know His voice, we must spend time with Him. Going to mass, spending time in eucharistic adoration, and reading scripture are all ways that we can learn to recognize Jesus’ voice.
If we are not spending time with Jesus, we will allow the “voice of strangers” to pull us away. Countless influences in the world around us try to tempt us to stop following Jesus and to walk in the other direction. This noise and distraction can lead us astray. The voices around us can often be masked as good and right, but apart from Christ, there is no good nor truth. If we are deeply committed to Jesus and allow Him to lead us as our Shepherd, we will know what He teaches and recognize that He alone gives us “abundant life” (John 10:10).
My prayer for each of us today is that we would recognize the voice of Jesus the Good Shepherd and not be led astray by the voices of the world!
Faith and The Good Stuff 