The Gospel passage we heard at mass this past weekend, which continues in today’s Gospel, is about Jesus as the Good Shepherd. It brings to mind the questions, do we know His voice and do we follow His voice?
There is so much noise in the world around us and so many voices that may pull us in different directions. But the one voice that matters is the voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.
Jesus speaks to us in so many ways, if we just take time to listen and recognize His voice. Through scripture, the Church and the sacraments, through other people in our lives, and through the events of our days, He speaks to us. Do we listen?
There are many voices we can follow in the world. The temptation to do what everyone else is doing, and to be like everyone else is always present. But Jesus calls us to Himself, to choose His ways instead of the ways of the world. He leads us always and the Gospel passage tells us, “…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). This is a great gift! Jesus walks before us always, leading us to what is good, true, and beautiful. And if we trust and love Him, we will follow because we know His voice. We will turn away from the voices of false leaders, the voices of evil and darkness, the voices that are masked as good, and of all else that is trying to lead us astray.
Recognizing Jesus’ voice and following Him should be our greatest desire and goal in life. It is something that we need to continue to grow in and work on daily. Jesus loves us so much and never leads us astray, and that is something to rejoice in. My prayer for each of us is that we would truly know His voice, following the Good Shepherd today and always!
Faith and The Good Stuff 