The Sheep Will Hear the Shepherd's Voice

We each seem to draw on a different aspect of this passage.

For me this is a promise of discernment. I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me -- just as the Father knows me and I know the Father-- and I lay down my life for the sheep.

I posted the passage from Ezekiel. I take this passage to be a claim on the part of John - through Jesus -- that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Ezekiel prophecy. The priest and other leaders of Israel have acted like hireling shepherds and thieves and not the shepherds they were called to be. Now God will be their shepherd. And Jesus is using the I am statement to locate that shepherd in his life and ministry.



So how will we know the shepherd's voice? The same way he knows the Father's.

The Good Shepherd (John 10:1-21)

"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."

Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them. Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.


"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me -- just as the Father knows me and I know the Father-- and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life-- only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."

At these words the Jews were again divided. Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?" But others said, "These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"

The Good Shepherd / Crystal

I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.

This line I've always liked, though I'm not sure I understand it. Someone once asked in another forum why some christians pray that their ill loved ones will get well ... if they believe in heaven, shouldn't they be ok with their loved one dying? This line came to mind when I saw that question. I take it to mean that Jesus thinks earthly life is precious, that it isn't just a rehersal for the afterlife but that it has value in itself and that God wants us to live this life to the fullest. I can't say I know exactly what Jesus meant by having life more abundantly but I thought I'd quote someone, who just died today, on what constitutes the abundant life...

... the primacy of being over having, of the person over things. This renewed lifestyle involves a passing from indifference to concern for others, from rejection to acceptance of them.

Humble Wisdom

John 9:35-41

“He answered and said, “Who is he Lord, that I might believe on him?”
“And Jesus said unto him, “Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.”

Jesus is so humble here. He is not speaking of himself, Jesus; he is indirectly referring to the manifestation of Christ as the reflection of God within him. This is what it means to have discovered divinity within your very center, and to speak from this place without your own ego attached.

I reflected on the fact that it is possible we could all speak from this place – the place where light gathers within us. Jesus did this so amazingly – but I sense we could all do this to some degree. What would it look/sound like? Likely you are already hearing this voice. In my experience I hear this voice speaking through many different voices – from children, from innocents, from the wise, and from people who love me. When I hear this voice something deep within me is touched, stroked, and nurtured. It is like what happens when we hear poetry that just seems to touch our hearts, or a message that “speaks to our condition.” Maybe we even hear this voice of God within ourselves, the “still small voice”, that sometimes we honor and let rise to the place of speaking, but we aren’t quite sure why or for whom we are even verbalizing these thoughts that bubbled up within us. If we move through our lives letting the God within us speak up more often, how would it change things? What effect would this have on our relationships, on reducing suffering through compassion, and on the choices we make?

***
And Jesus said, “For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind” John 9:39

I read that the word judgment here could also be thought of as divine intelligence, rather than the usual meaning for judgment as condemnation. For me, this changes the possible meaning of this scripture dramatically. With divine intelligence, Jesus Christ is the manifestation of the wisdom of God. He teaches from this deep wellspring of wisdom intelligence those who are spiritually ignorant (blind) but who want to know and perceive the truth. Likewise, with his humbleness and his divine wisdom, Jesus reveals the blindness of the worldly wise who think they know the truth but who do not embody this truth. Those who receive this wisdom teaching but do not accept it remain in “self perpetuated dark delusion,” or sin.

This sounds so black and white (pun, anyone?) to me – you see and know, or you think you see but you really don’t know. I really perceive this is more like a continuum, as Larry and I discussed earlier. For me, I seem to always be moving back and forth feeling like I am blind, in that I can’t understand, or I can’t feel God’s presence, and then in another circumstance I realize that I do See to some degree here and there, and in this Seeing I am inspired and enlightened. Then, for whatever reason – a different day and a different time, I don’t see as well as I wish I could. However, once having the experience of seeing and knowing, I have never felt like I slipped back into total darkness again.

With all this talk about blindness and seeing, I think of Crystal, and her visual challenges. My heart goes out to you, Friend. But in this discussion, clearly it is not eyesight that we speak of – it is the knowing and experience of God. And in this, perhaps at times your vision may be “Crystal clear.”

Blessings dear Friends.

Housekeeping

I'm having some really weird issues with blogger recently -- posts duplicating, comments disappearing then reappearing, pages loading forever. I don't know if its me or if it blogger.

Anyone else having issues?

I was also wondering if we could have a roll call of folks who are still around. I know its not important everybody post on every passage but it nice to know whose out and about. Just post a hi -- how are ya as a comment to this posting.

And if you are lurking and never post -- feel free to check in too. We'd be glad to know you're out there.