The Shepherd's Voice

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, April 30th, 2023:
​The Fourth Sunday of Easter

---

John
10.1-10

Jesus said: “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.”

Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

I recently watched (not for the first time by any stretch) the movie Prince of Egypt, an animated film about the story of Moses. I was curious about which actors had voiced some of the parts and, when I looked them up online, I was blown away by the information about how the filmmakers chose to represent the voice of God. In the movie, God’s words are expressed by many of the actors at the same time, forming a kind of chorus, avoiding any speculation about who exactly God might sound like. In the scene where Moses encounters God in the burning bush, the voice that stands out most strongly is that of Val Kilmer, the same actor who voices Moses. 

This strikes me as a most beautiful theology. God speaks to us in the voices of all those around us, in varying ways and in different measures. And so often when He speaks most clearly, God speaks using our own voice. We hear Him in our conscience, in our souls, in the deep understanding and convictions that He places on our hearts. 

We run to God, the Good Shepherd, because we know His voice. He is the one who speaks truly and calls us by our name. His voice is familiar to us in some measure because it is the voice that He gifts to each of us in the mystery of our creation. There may be many false shepherds who try to lead us astray in this world, but we will not go astray while we look and listen for the voice of the Good Shepherd, who is more present to us than we are to ourselves. May we always follow where He leads us. 



Sr. Gemma MacLeod

---