Today’s readings [John 10:22-30] take us to Jerusalem where Jesus was walking among people who kept asking him if he [really] was THE Christ, and Jesus replied to them, “I TOLD you...”

How many times have we heard something but really didn’t hear it? How many times do we ask the same question over and over again … and we still don’t hear it. Do we have a hearing problem or just selective hearing; and maybe the question is: “whose voice are we listening too and is it telling us the truth?”

It has been almost 10 years since I wrote my thesis for my MFA from Savannah … one of the first sentences of my thesis concept started with, “We are constantly bombarded with …” My course of study was in the graphic arts, so my statement was really around how the consumer is constantly hit with advertisements, commercials on TV, and radio spots proclaiming that we really do need this or that THING – or believe this or that IDEA for our lives to be complete.

Whose voice are you listening too? Every day we hear a lot of diverse voices, some good and some not so good. It really is overwhelming sometimes. There are a lot of voices telling you who you should be, what you should want, what you should look like, talk about and sometimes how you should even think.

What voice do you trust?

What voice are you listening to?

So many times I hear people say they cannot watch the news anymore because it is depressing, and really much of it does spread fear, suspicion, a certain divisiveness and even hatred. I think it is important to keep up, to be informed – but I do change the channel when it gets to be too much, or I have heard the same thing over and over. I sometimes wonder what people are listening to [channel/station] when these feelings arise. I am not going to advocate one network over the other – but it is important to know if it is ‘real news’ or ‘fake news’. We have heard this phrase A LOT lately … and it is important to know. The Internet, Facebook/Twitter is full of ‘fake-news’ … so just how do you know?? My rule of thumb is this … if it is overly hateful or laughable, or even stomach turning – something like a person behind bars/ or people described or illustrated a certain way; for either party, my opinion is that its “fake-news.”

I will not go there.

Amidst all the voices, which evoke fear, shame, anxiety, demanding, critical, or giving you advice you never asked for, these are the voices that are detrimental to our peace of mind. KNOW the person who is giving you that advice, or making demands – do you trust them? How do they make you feel? Do you feel challenged in a positive way, or do you feel shamed?  We are evolving human beings – always open to change and growth – but – just where are these voices coming from? There are lots of wolves out there dressed in sheep’s clothing!

The voice of the Good Shepherd is a voice of promise -- a voice that calls us by name and claims us, as God’s own. The voice of the Good Shepherd liberates rather than oppresses, it does not stir anxiety, but peace, and it does not put us down, but builds us up. What voice are you following?

Do you hear the voice of love?

Do you hear a voice of hospitality, generosity, inclusion, justice and compassion?

Do you hear the sounds of creation and hope?

What voice are you listening to?

Know the voice YOU listen to …