Good morning Rehoboth,

This week we are continuing on our lectionary planned sermon series through the gospel of John. When I first read this section of John 10, my mind immediately went back to Psalm 23. Both talk about shepherds and hearing his voice, but if I am honest, I don’t think I want to turn this into a sermon on Psalm 23. The message of Psalm 23 is great, but when we read Psalm 23, we automatically assume that we are sheep. John 10 pushes us to examine what it means to be sheep that hear the good shepherd’s voice. This passage begins with Jesus in the temple and the people around him wanting Jesus to just speak like a normal person. They are sick and tired of parables. They are done with his riddles and ramblings. They just want a straightforward response. They have been asking yes or no questions, and Jesus has been answering with essays. It reminds me of when my Dad would be helping my brother write a paper. It was a tense time for those two, but I loved it. My brother would get so mad at my Dad because my Dad wouldn’t just write the paper for him. My Dad would try to steer him towards the right things to type, and it would always lead to them both screaming the same thing. My brother would yell “just tell me the answer.” And my Dad would respond with “just think.” The Jews want Jesus just to tell them the answer. Of course, the question is are you the Messiah. They want the answer and Jesus is answering back “just think.” 

But, how true is that? Have you ever just wanted Jesus to give you the answer? We wish that Jesus would just give a straightforward answer to our questions, but that’s not what Jesus does. Our jobs as Christians would be so much easier if Jesus gave us solid proof that he was the Messiah if he came out and gave us the answer so that we could hand it in and make more believers. But he doesn’t. He doesn’t always answer our questions. Or at least he doesn’t answer our questions in the way that we want. In this story, Jesus says that he has already answered their question in all that he has done. It makes me wonder what actions in life have caused us to be able to hear his voice. Why are we as Christians able to hear the voice of the Shepherd and others are not able? Why do we follow Jesus? Is it just because he has done some miracles? Is it because that’s what our parents told us we should do? We are quick to say that we are sheep and know the voice of the good shepherd, but I am wondering this week what that voice sounds like. How do we know it’s the voice of the shepherd and not some other voice? I think this is where I want to struggle this week. I want to wrestle with what does his voice sound like. I don’t think it’s a simple answer. I don’t think there is a simple yes or no answer. But, it’s there. It’s back in our lives. Jesus has been working in our lives, and I think some reflection on that will begin to answer the question of what does his voice sound like. And if you haven’t heard the voice of Christ what has caused you to miss the voice. This passage is clear if you are waiting for Jesus just to give you the answer. To open your eyes all at once and take away any doubt I think you are going to be pretty disappointed. If you are looking for the answer in doctrine, or in a book, you are going to be mistaken. I might go even as far as if you are hoping for the straight forward answer in church on Sunday morning you are going to be disappointed. To know the voice seems to be something done not first in the church but rather in the world. 

As you can tell this week’s topic is going to challenge us to understand what makes us able to be sheep. I would love to know your thoughts on any of the questions. I would be interested in hearing when you have heard the voice of the shepherd. Or when looking back, you missed the voice of Jesus speaking. Or maybe what you think his voice sounds like. And of course, I would love to hear any of your thoughts on this scripture reading. Thank you for letting me ramble this morning. I hope you search the scriptures this week with me and join us on Sunday to hear how my more fully formed thoughts on this passage. 

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Lee