“The sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his sheep by name and leads them out.”

How many have had the experience of being at a party or a family gathering where there are lots of people - and conversation is loud and there is much noise in the room - and then you overhear your name. Someone over in the corner said your name in a conversation that you are not part of - but your ears perk up - what are they saying about me? I know I heard my name.

The gospel today tells us that the Good Shepherd calls us by name. The God of all creation - the God of the infinite universe calls each of us by name. God knows each and everyone of us better than we know ourselves. The voice of God finds its way down to the deepest part of our souls and each of us knows by heart the sound of God’s voice. Sure, there are times that we misunderstand it, ignore it, reject it, slam our ears shut to it, but in our moments of sane and solitary wholeness - or in our times of trouble - our spirits pulse to the rhythm of that voice. God’s voice resounds within us. God is that intimate with each of us - God calls us by name. This fact alone is worth all of our refection today - the recognition of God’s voice not so much in our ears but how God’s voice sounds deep inside us.

The pharisees had a different approach - the pharisees guided the flock of God by externally telling them what exactly they must do to be good. This was controlling - the people were told they had to listen to the words but not to the interior voice. The voice of the Good Shepherd - is not exterior - it touches something deep with in us. The pharisees wanted external conformity - the gospels present the pharisees as strangers who forced conformity with a whip of fear. There was conformity but there was no inner harmony. Learning to detect the voice of Jesus takes reflection and time. Our relationship with God is based on who God says we are and not upon what we have to do. How many of us focus on what we have to do - what rules and laws we have to obey and follow - how many become scrupulous in trying to follow all the religious laws and dictates! We foolishly believe we can earn God’s love if we follow every dot and dash of the rule book - if we conform our lives to these laws. A healthy and life giving relationship with God is based on who God says we are and not upon what we have to do. And who does God say we are? We are God’s beloved, his children - brothers an sisters in Christ - we are precious in God’s eyes. Our relationship with God is not based on what we have to do but on who God says we are. If we believe that - if we believe to our very core that we are God’s beloved - God’s children then what we do will be a reflection of who we are. If we believe to our very core that God loves us - that with God we have all that we need - that God is the source of our refreshment - that God guides us in dark valleys - that God spreads the table before us - that God’s goodness and kindness follows us - if we believe in this God of Jesus Christ who is so loving then our lives will reflect this love - we will live with compassion and forgiveness in our hearts, with gratitude and generosity in our deeds, with encouragement and affirmation in our words, with love in all of our actions. How we live will simply be a reflection of who we are. And who are we? God calls us by name - God call us His children - children of a most loving and compassionate God - we have nothing to fear for God’s love is enough.

But there is a problem - the problem is that there are other voices out there that tell us that God’s love is NOT enough. There are many false gods that tempt us to doubt who we are and how we are to live. There is the voice of the false messiah that tells us that war will settle ancient and modern differences between people. There is the voice of the god of excess - we have to have it all - that tempts us to work 2 or 3 or even 4 jobs and the very life is drained out of us. There is the voice of the god of gluttony that causes us to damage our health while ignoring the hunger of others. There is the voice of the god of indulgence that lures us to drain all of our natural resources that will leave future generations in want and stress. There are voices of discouragement that cause us to give up on efforts that help others - voices of isolation that cut us off from others. There are many voices in our world that lead to destruction and darkness. And Jesus says, “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

Whose voice will we listen to? With all the seductive voices vying for our attention we should not fool ourselves - - let us retreat to the stillness of our hearts and listen to the voice of the one who calls us precious - the Lord who calls us his Chosen Ones - the voice of the One who calls us his children - let us listen to the voice of the Lord who alone who is the Good Shepherd - for with the Lord we have all that we need...there is nothing I shall want.