Sermon April 21, 2013  My Sheep Hear My Voice

Acts 9: 36-43; Psalm 23;  Revelation 7:9-17; John 10: 22-30

God is our Shepherd. Even as the Lamb of God, Christ is our Shepherd (Rev. 7:17).

In the midst of our pain, Christ comes.  Whether the hand that lifts us from the darkest valley is that of a fellow traveler or that of a mysterious sense of God alongside, Christ’s hand is the hand that reaches to us.  Christ’s voice is the one that calls to us.  Christ’s comfort is the one that is offered to us.

When did you last hear the Voice of the Shepherd?

Acts 9:36-43

What a contrast of Peter in this text.  From the Peter that denied Jesus and went and hid in shame to a disciple full of the Holy Spirit and Power.  Now he is seen in this text  “raising the dead”.

Think of the word dead as a separation from life. Or being inactive.

We can learn from this lesson that even though we may see ourselves as dead and not doing anything for  the Lord if we listen to the Voice of God within we can rise from our deadness and become alive in Christ once again.

Psalm 23

The first line of this Psalm says it all…..The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He leads me,  He restores my soul….even though we walk through the darkest valley we don’t have anything to fear….He comforts us….the anointing of Oil (a sign of the Holy Spirit) causes our cup to overflow….and Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

Revelation 7:9-17

This week the Psalm focuses upon God as shepherd, leading and gathering Israel not only out of Exile but into the house of the Lord.  Such an earthly gathering, however, is merely a foretaste of what is depicted here -----eternal worship of, and rest in, the one true God.  This is the end for which we were created.  “They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any schorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

John 10:22-30

By the time we cross over into the 60’s some of us an usually Men have been accused of “selective hearing”.  Actually its an old question  (or joke) in many families.  And its so pervasive because all of us – not just aging men who are set in their ways ---hear what we want to hear.  Sometimes “Honey, could you take out the trash?” goes unnoticed, but then, as we see in today’s Gospel lesson, so do the words and actions of Jesus.

In John 10 Jesus is talking and has been teaching for quite some time, but no one seems to be listening.  The people say, “How long will you test our patience?  If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”  Jesus said,

I have told you,” but you don’t  believe.  You don’t even believe my works, for my works are done in my Father’s name.  If you cannot believe my words and if you cannot believe my works then you don’t belong to my sheep.  “My sheep hear my voice.”  I know them, and they follow me….The Father and I are one.  The first century Jews have been hearing what they wanted to hear.

Do we share this sort of selective hearing with those first century people?  The disciples were notorious for not listening at the pertinent times, even falling asleep in the garden of Gethsemane when they were supposed to be praying for Jesus and themselves on their last night with their friend and Lord.

What if we, too, “tune out” to the voice of the Lord when God says something that has little to do with our version of “success” and much to do with sacrifice, commitment to the least of these, or the call to perform a thankless task (like volunteering to be a nursery worker, or to help with the power-point each week, or to clean the church, or cut the grass)?  What happens when an uncomfortable truth emerges? Do we simply dismiss it?

What if we are not listening at all?  I might say I am waiting for God to speak to me about doing this or that, but what if God has been speaking all along, and I have too much noise and clutter around me to pay much attention?

For many of us, if God were to speak up, we might miss it because when we do get a bit of time away from the office or the children we bury ourselves in our cell phone or worry about our status at work or on the social scene.  Sometimes we worry about our status at church, too, concerned first and foremost about showing off our wit and knowledge.

Neither form of deafness is a good thing, and if the followers and opponents of Jesus had either of these diseases – true deafness or selective hearing ---then they were in real trouble in this scene.

Jesus answers here the New Testament’s most important question: “Are you the Christ?”  Christ means “the anointed one”.  It occurs in the Old Testament to describe prophets, priests, and even some kings.  When the definite article is used, however, it refers to the one who will liberate Israel forever.

Jesus’ answer, though he already answered clearly, is “I and the Father are one.”(v.30).  His answer is yes.

Did you hear that?  Are you sure?  Because even though “I and the Father are one” may seem like a clear answer, it has caused many to miss the real point of the passage.  Centuries have been spent arguing over the doctrine of the Trinity, (as shown in the dvds we watched during Lent)  some using the phrase “I and the Father are one” and some, in opposition, lifting up “the Father is greater than me” (John 14:28).

But, such a Christological argument is another example of cluttering up this passage with things that would prevent us from Hearing what Jesus is saying to us: “ I am the Messiah.”

I Am.  Jesus says “I Am” seven times in this Gospel:

"I am the bread of life" (John 6:35,48,51).

"I am the light of the world" (John 8:12).

"I am the door of the sheep"(John 10:7,9).

"I am the good shepherd" (John 10:11,14).

"I am the resurrection, and the life" (John 11:25).

"I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).

"I am the true vine" (John 15:1,5).

He has been trying to tell them in all the ways he can that He is the Messiah. BUT they do not hear.  Or they do not believe.  Or they do not want to believe that which they think just might be true.  Is such willful deafness a form of unbelief?

Most of us know how to follow Jesus.  We know the texts, the commandments, and the stories.  The trouble is not that we encounter a Jesus we can’t figure out or our inability to make sense of the Trinity.  Rather, the trouble for most of us is listening to a Jesus who calls us into radical faith.

We often talk and sing as though we want to hear the voice of the shepherd - - “Teach , Me your Ways, O Lord” ---but do we?  Just as many in the time of Jesus wanted to maintain the status quo, we are quite comfortable and we fear what change would mean for us.

In this, the fourth week of Easter, may we remember that we celebrate a resurrected Lord, and remember that if we truly believe in this resurrection,  if we truly believe that Jesus and the Father “are one,” then there is no tuning Him out.

For persons who have already placed their faith in something as odd as the resurrection, there is no call too radical.

So hear Him when he calls you to “take up your cross,”  when he calls you to “feed the sick,” when he says, “Visit my prisoners,”  when he says “do this in remembrance of me.”

He is Messiah, the anointed one.  In the words of the Lord as Jesus stood in the presence of Moses and Elijah at the transfiguration: “This is my Son, whom I dearly love.  Listen to Him!” (Mark 9:7).

Prayer:Gracious God, we are distracted by many things.  We allow worries about what might be to shift our focus from what could be.  Help us attend to your will and create the future you most want us to have.  Teach us to live like we truly believe what we confess. Amen.