We Are His Sheep: The Good Shepherd

We Are His Sheep: The Good Shepherd

John 10: 1-15

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber; but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them. Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They 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 and does not own 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 own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 

We are the sheep of the Good Shepherd and we are His alone. May that be of great comfort to all of us. We belong solely to Him, and He is worthy of our trust and love. Whatever we may encounter in this life, our Good Shepard is greater. All pain and suffering and fear and anxiety cannot overpower us when we trust in our Shepard. He knows all of these things, and truly, He knows us better than anyone else ever possibly could. 

As I discussed in "A Most Calming Voice," it is important for all of us to center our lives around knowing Jesus better and building a relationship with Him that surpasses all other relationships in our lives. We can know Jesus better through participating in the Sacraments of the Church, through reading Sacred Scripture, and through intimate prayer time with God. 

But we also need to remember that Jesus knows us too. God knew us before He knitted us in our mothers' wombs. He knows our hearts, our passions, and our sins. God knows when we are tempted to stray and when we feel that there is no point of going on. He knows how to reach us. In truth, He already reached out to us once in the greatest way imaginable by taking on human flesh and dying a terrible death on the cross so we may live. 

Jesus knows us and we know Him. We belong to Him as He belongs to us. There can be no greater shepherd to follow than the Perfect One worthy of all trust proven by His death on the cross!

Prayer

Our Good Shepard, we glorify You and we praise You because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Though others may come as false shepherds, and millions of voices may attempt to penetrate our minds, may we listen to Your sweet voice and choose always to follow You, our One True Good Shepard worthy of all trust and praise. Please wipe away all fear and doubt from our minds and help us to always trust in You. 

We are His Sheep: The Voice of a Stranger

We are His Sheep: The Voice of a Stranger

John 10:1-13

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber; but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them. Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They 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 and does not own 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."

We encounter in this life so many people, situations, pleasures, and troubles that far too often become like shepherds to us. They become that dominant voices in our minds that lead us and tell us where to go and what to do. It could be an addiction or an abusive partner. Either way, they speak to us. 

We do not intentionally make them the shepherds of our lives but oftentimes merely because they speak the loudest or the most often, they take on that role devastating our self-worth and reasons for living. 

So often in my own life, when I've been tempted to sin, using pornography in particular, the sin itself has always been the loudest, most present thought in my mind. It speaks in a shrill voice that refuses to let up; a voice that tells me that I belong to it and have no means of escape. I am the little helpless sheep to this destructive Shepard whose voice is most unpleasant and strange to me. That's because it is the voice of a stranger.

The most terrible part about this voice is that it makes you believe that it will care for you and keep you safe like the true Shepard, but in reality, it is merely a hired hand that will, "run away because it cares nothing for the sheep." However, there is a Shepard, a true Shepard who does care and is willing to lay down His life for His sheep.

A therapist once told me. "Michael you have good instincts, you just have to listen to them. God gave them to you for a reason." If you are well versed in your faith as a Christian, you can detect in your soul whether a voice is the voice of the true familiar Shepard, or the voice of the lying strange hired hand. The voice of Truth, Love, Mercy, and Compassion can only belong to the Lord, the Good Shepard. 

Though the voice of a stranger may make you believe that you belong to it and that you can never be free from it, you need only calm your mind and listen through Faith to find the voice of the Shepard to whom you truly belong for we belong ONLY to Him. We are His Sheep!

Prayer

Our Good Shepard, we adore You and we praise You. May we love You above all things just as You have loved us. Please help us to learn how to listen so that we can detect the voices of strangers and then remove them from our minds never allowing them to have room in the deepest parts of our hearts. Our hearts were made not for them but for You. We are Your sheep! 

We are His Sheep: A Most Calming Voice

We are His Sheep: A Most Calming Voice

John Chapter 10:1-6

"So Jesus again said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber; but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 

This will be the first post of a new series where I will take a Christian theme and present it in my own way throughout the month. No promises that this will continue after our second angel arrives, but I will try my best 😁

When Daniel came out of the womb and into the world, though he was unaware of his surroundings, he did recognize something, the voices of His Mommy and Daddy. He found comfort in those voices. Children recognize voices from inside the mother's womb and come to identify them as the voices of their parents, the ones that will lead them and guide them and protect them and love them no matter what. It's easy to see why such sweet sounds would create great calm in a child. 

Now too, when Daniel awakens from sleep, Brandy and I will call out to him through the baby monitor to let him know that we're coming to get him. We don't have to say who it is, he knows our voices. 

It's the same with Jesus, except His voice sounds different to us as Jesus speaks to us in different ways. He speaks to us through our prayers, through other Christians, through His Most Holy Word, and through the Sacraments and Teachings of the Church. The more we Come to know Christ as He came to us 2000 years ago and as He comes to us today, the easier to it is to recognize Him and then to follow Him, our greatest purpose in life. 

I see it in my own life. The more I encounter Jesus in the previously mentioned ways, the more I can recognize Him in whatever situation I encounter. When I become angry and want to express that anger in an unhealthy way, Jesus speaks through prayer and I find myself more willing to take a different approach to dealing with anger instead of hurting those I love. 

Too, when I feel I can never be forgiven for my sins, Jesus speaks through His priest in the sacrament of confession saying, "Your sins are forgiven, go in peace." We are His hands, His feet, and often his mouthpiece to each other. 

When anxiety dominates my thoughts and there appears to be no relief in sight, time spent in the Word of God, hearing Jesus's most calming voice can be the ultimate and perhaps only remedy that can help my mind discover some kind of peace. 

Prayer

Lord Jesus, we glorify You and we offer you praise for you are the Good Shepard and We are Your sheep. We love You Lord. Please help us to recognize your voice and listen for it even in the most difficult times. May we find comfort and peace through listening for Your most calming voice.