Andrew Schroer

People have been making fun of me lately. It seems I have been mentioning our new dog, Blue, a little too often in recent sermons. Like a young pastor who mentions his newborn baby in every single sermon for three straight months, I have been a bit fixated on our new puppy.

But as I prepared for our worship last week, I couldn’t resist. Every year on the fourth Sunday of Easter, our church, like many Christian churches, celebrates what is called “Good Shepherd Sunday.” Every year, we take one Sunday to meditate on the marvelous metaphor of Jesus our Good Shepherd.

In John 10, Jesus tells us, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

That verse made me think immediately of Blue. You see, when I leave the house, Blue used to whine and scratch on the door, wanting to go with me. Lately, my wife and kids have put some of my video devotions on the TV in the living room when I leave. Hearing my voice, Blue no longer whines or worries.

Hearing my voice makes everything OK.

Sheep are even more keenly attune to their master’s voice. Lois Tverberg and Ann Spangler shared the following insight in their book, “Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus”:

“Judith Fain is a doctoral candidate at the University of Durham. As part of her studies, she spends several months each year in Israel. One day while walking on a road near Bethlehem, Judith watched as three shepherds converged with their separate flocks of sheep. The three men hailed each other and then stopped to talk. While they were conversing their sheep intermingled, melting into one big flock.

“Wondering how the three shepherds would ever be able to identify their own sheep, Judith waited until the men were ready to say their goodbyes. She watched, fascinated, as each of the shepherds called out to his sheep. At the sound of their shepherd’s voice, like magic, the sheep separated again into three flocks. Apparently some things in Israel haven’t changed for thousands of years.”

When Jesus says that we, his sheep, know his voice, he isn’t referring to the tone and timbre of his voice. We don’t hear our Shepherd’s voice call out to us in the night or whisper into our ears as we go about our day. Though God can speak directly to our hearts, the way our Shepherd chooses to speak to us in his word.

Following Jesus means listening to his word. It means reading our Bibles. It means going to church.

When we read and study the Bible, we are listening to our Good Shepherd’s voice. Through his word, our Shepherd guides us, comforts us and gives us strength. Hearing his voice regularly takes away our fears.

Hearing his voice makes everything OK.