“Voices” (John 10:22-30)

On this Mother’s Day we celebrate our mothers.  I can remember that as a child that it was only my mother who could console me when I had fallen or gotten hurt.  How it only took the sound of her voice to calm me down.  I can remember how she was that calming influence . . . that refuge of safety . . . whenever my world seemed to be spinning out of control no matter what age I was.  I can remember how happy I was to hear her voice across the thousands of miles when I grew up and moved away.  In her voice I found all that I needed to know that I was loved and wanted.  I remember my mother’s voice even though it has been many years since she has died . . . and, I miss it.  What I would do to hear her voice one more time and to know that I was loved . . . that I was wanted.

I know that I am not the only one who feels that way.

I think that it is the same for my children . . . it has always been in their mother’s voice that they have found the reassurance necessary to know that they were loved and wanted.  Not that they didn’t believe that I loved and wanted them.  It was just that their mother’s voice could stop the tears, ease the pain, and restore the hope.  And, it is the same with my grandchildren.  If mom and dad are in the same room when one of the grandchildren trips and does a face plant, they don’t go running to Daddy . . . no, they run to Mommy.  There is just something about a mother’s voice that lets children know.

I heard a story about a couple whose marriage was falling apart . . . they were contemplating divorce.  But, they weren’t quite ready to throw in the towel, and so, they made an appointment to see a counselor.  They told the counselor that they loved each other, but just couldn’t stand to be with one another.  Hearing that the counselor pulled out two chairs, put them back to back in the middle of the room, and then told the couple to sit in them.  Then he turned out the lights creating total darkness.  Then he told the couple to say each other’s name . . . over and over, and to keep doing it until they heard their names like they used to say them when they were madly in love with one another.

They asked the counselor when they should stop.  The counselor replied, “You’ll know when you hear it . . . it will be in the voice.”

Apparently, the voice was the key to what Jesus was attempting to explain to the people who gathered around him wanting to know whether he was the one . . . the Messiah.  They wanted a straight answer, to which Jesus says, “I did tell you, but you do not believe.”  Repeatedly, Jesus told them . . . he told them in the miracles he had done . . . he told them in the acts of compassion he had done . . . he told them in the way that he lived his life . . . but, they would not believe.  They were not of his flock, not one of his sheep.  He tells them, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”  And, because they do, all that comes with knowing his voice and believing, is theirs.  It is theirs through their relationship with God . . . the love, desire, and knowing that they are wanted.

In the voice they hear the reassurance.

The psalmist speaks of that reassurance in the 23^rd Psalm:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall lack nothing.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

He leads me beside quiet waters,

he restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely goodness ad love will follow me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Those who believe . . . they hear that voice . . . that voice of reassurance, nurture, love, and desire . . . that voice of Jesus.

Unfortunately, all of us hear many voices every day of our lives.  There are voices everywhere!  There are voices all around us.  There are the voices we hear on our radios and television sets.  There are voices in the people we relate to . . . family, friends, and co-workers.  There are voices we hear in our gatherings, worship services, club meetings, and sitting around shooting the breeze and enjoying a cup of coffee.  There are voices in the books, magazines, and newspapers we read.  There are voices in the movies we watch and the songs we hear.  There are voices everywhere . . . and, they are all demanding our attention . . . wanting to us to listen to them, believe in them, and follow them.  There are so many voices it makes our heads spin just trying to hear them all.

In the end, though, which voice is the voice that brings to us that knowledge that it is the one true voice that brings to us that reassurance of being loved and wanted.  Which is that voice that lets us know that we are where we need to be.  That voice that lets us know that we are on the right path . . . that we are not alone.

I imagine that if you ever heard Jesus call your name, that you would remember that voice.  It is hard to forget once we have heard that voice in our lives; yet, that voice is sometimes drowned out in the noise of all the other voices in our lives vying for our attention.  It is in those moments that we seem to forget.  But the voice is there.

The voice is there.

The voice is there when we pause a moment to acknowledge another person in his or her sadness or joy.  The voice is there when we take the time to help another in their time of need.  The voice is there when we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and give water to those who thirst.  It is there when we pick someone up who has fallen, who needs a hug, and whose tears we wipe away.  The voice is there when we cry out for those who are lost . . . those who are forgotten . . . and, those who are oppressed.  The voice of Jesus is there when we take the time to care and love.

That is the voice Jesus refers to when he answers those who are gathered around him in the temple questioning whether or not he is the one. 

The voice is there . . . we just have to listen.

And, if we still cannot hear the voice, then maybe we heed the words of God . . . found in verse 10 of the 46^th psalm . . . “Be still, and know that I am God . . .”

It is a voice that we will know when we hear it.

Sometimes that is all we need to make it through the darkest times in our lives.

There once was a time when I was really struggling in my life while in college . . . wasn’t sure what the future held . . . nothing seemed to be going right.  Life was pretty miserable and dark . . . pretty worthless.  So, I made a call.

After several rings, a voice came on the phone . . . it was my mother.  “Is everything all right?” she asked.

Overwhelmed, I answered, “Yeah . . . I just needed to hear your voice.”

So, it is with the Holy.  We just need to hear.  Amen.