4th Sunday of Easter
May 10-11, 2025
Gospel: John 10:27-30
The telephone. We love it; we hate it. It brings us needed information from a colleague at work, it brightens a long evening with the voice of a far-away friend, it interrupts a dinner of SPAM and BEANS with a forced friendly recorded voice of someone trying to sell something… like the other kind of SPAM… As we know from our phones, land and cells; bells and whistles are limitless. With standard caller ID and special cleaver rings, WE can decide whether to answer or not. And this is not all bad…
Our first reading today tells us that people who are open to the Word of God listen when others speak the word. In the Gospel, John reminds us that Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He knows His own and they recognize His voice when He calls.
We need to give God an open line in our living. It is always good to know who is on the other end of a ringing phone line. However it forces us to make a decision:
“to answer or not to answer; that is the question…”
The leaders in the first reading were jealous of Paul and Barnabas, threatened by their preaching and especially by their popularity. Sometimes we too fall into the trap of being so busy protecting our boundaries that we don’t hear the word God speaks in our life. We don’t hear the word that encourages us to be open to other people and to new ideas. God’s word is not always convenient. Sometimes it leads us where we’d rather not go OR it challenges us to make changes in a life in which we have grown so, so comfortable. We need to give God an open line… be willing to answer a call that Caller ID cannot identify. Maybe God’s number is more private than we think … but I doubt it. Answering these calls will always be worth our while. Really, they will…
We need to hear God’s Word when others bring the message. God rarely comes calling directly. Most likely, no one here has heard God’s vocal chords (except maybe Deacon Earl... 😊) The people of Antioch did not hear Jesus of Nazareth preaching to the crowds. But His message comes through loud and clear in the preaching of Paul and Barnabas. And the people listen…
God will probably not speak through someone offering you yet another pre-approved credit card. But God might speak through the friend who really needs a listening ear. God’s Word may come to you through a challenge at work or an opportunity to serve as a volunteer. Who knows? Who knew? Who cares? God’s Word can be in the concerned voice of a person who tells you that one of your bad habits is harming you. I know. Been there, too.
As always, we need to make a place in our lives for God’s Word to enter. When the phone rings, we could groan, “All right, who paid the phone bill?” At times, we see the phone as an interruption that we’d be better off without. But there are so very few who would give up their phones… even the Cardinals in the Conclave had to go without their cell phones. The phone is the best and quickest link to the outside world. In some cases, it is literally a lifeline… especially to those who need to make good on Mother’s Day if they have forgotten it.
The voice of the Good Shepherd is a lifeline for a hungry flock. In the same way that the shepherd calls the sheep to safety, food and shelter; God calls us to a life free from anxiety. We need to make a place for God’s voice in the way we live. Prayer is only the most obvious example of this. But prayer can be tricky… praying is hard work. As my seminary rector once said, “Unless you are convinced that prayer is the very best use of your time; you will never find time to pray.” How profound! … why? because it is true…
Today God calls us and says, “Come to the Table.” To our question, “What can I bring?” our gracious host says,
“Just bring yourself. That will be enough...”
