Sermon: Hearing God Speak. The Fourth Sunday of Easter

Hearing God Speak: The Fourth Sunday of Easter

It’s the fourth Sunday of Easter already, where did the time go? I want to talk about a touchy subject, hearing the voice of God. It’s touchy because it’s not a simple formula.

It’s hard to communicate. We think we‘re good at it, but we’re not. Twitter, texts, often miss the context. There is a difference between shallow conversation and deep communication. God desires the latter. 

Deborah Tannen wrote a book on listening, its title is, Why I Can’t Hear You. The book helps people actively listen to each other. Apparently men and women speak different languages. 

There are certain terms that men don’t recognize. “Fine,” means “I am right, but I’m sick of hearing you so stop talking.” “Nothing,” nothing alwayss means “something.” Finally, “Go Ahead.” this is a dare, it’s not permission.

What we say and what we hear is very different. There’s the age and gender gaps, education, economics, race, political views, and the list continues forever. No wonder we have a hard time listening. 

If we have a hard time understanding each other, no wonder it’s difficult to hear God’s voice? But Jesus seems to think it’s easy to listen and follow wherever the shepherd leads. 

Let’s look at hearing God’s voicetoday. 

God is like a shepherd.

That is why this Gospel account is inspirational, it reminds us that when we feel lost, the voice of the Good Shepherd will speak to us. Our lessons for today all refer to sheep or shepherds. In the Psalm God is the shepherd who leads and speaks. We, God’s children, are the sheep. This is one of the most familiar images of Scripture: God as the shepherd of the flock. 

The shepherd king of Israel used the image of a divine shepherd to soothe himself, and his people. David had a vivid memory of life before the throne. We can tell he remembered where he came from when we read the 23^rdPsalm. “The Lord is my Shepherd.”

The shepherd theme carries over to the New Testament. But it centers on Jesus. He is the ultimate Shepherd of God’s people. Jesus even said, “the shepherd will sacrifice his life for the sheep.” 

God is the shepherd, we are the sheep.

Let’s change our focus for a moment; look at that imagery. I can’t speak for everyone, but I’m not flattered when someone compares me to a sheep. 

Most of us prefer to think we are smart, and too free-spirited to be a herd animal. Americans are autonomus people, we shouldn’t stoop to herd animals. 

When we think of sheep, the first image that comes to mind is timid animal easiely led astray. Sheep have a tendency to follow the crowd, even if it leads to danger.

It’s tough compare us to sheep, epically when we act more like mules than humble sheep. A mule can be hard of hearing. Sheep are different. They are good at one thing, listening. “My sheep hear my voice.” If God’s like a shepherd, and we are like sheep, then we should listen to God’s voice. 

If we can accept our identity, God will speak to us. 

The Shepherd speaks, but do we listen?

There is a subtlety in the sheep/shepherd relationship. It’s not one sided, or transactional. It’s a two-way relationship. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me.” The sheep listen, Jesus calls, they follow.  

I read a story about a man from Australia, charged with stealing a sheep. He fought the charges and claimed he owned the sheep. The sheep was missing for days and when hefound it. So, he jumped another man’s fence and brought it home.

The case made it to court and the judge decided to settle a case of such magnatude quickly. So, he interviewed the sheep. 

Then he ordered the plaintiff to step outside and call. He called, the sheep raised his head, looked around, then went right back to eating grass. 

Then judge then instructed the shepherd to go to the courtyard and call the sheep. When the defendant called the sheep, it ran toward the door. It ran toward the familiar voice.

“The sheep knows him, case dismissed!” 

I really think God speaks to our hearts if we have ears to hear. I God would be louder, but more often God gives me a gentle nudge. That’s when we know it’s time to follow Christ toward green pastures. 

But it’s not that easy, is it? It’s hard to follow Jesus’s voice when he says, “be still, just listen.” We have so many books that supposedly tell us how. Christian celebrities (the anthesis of discipleship) tweet and preach ways to listen to God that makes it sound easy. It’s not that easy, but it sells conference tickets. 

God expects us to follow.

If it’s difficult to silence the noise in our lives to hearGod’s voice, it’s even more difficult to followGod’s leading. 

There is the ever-present web of relationships, finances, loss, grief, heartaches, and ambitions that scream at us. They can silence God’s voice and even make us too anxious to follow. Love and forgiveness, those speak. They call us to follow by living them in our world.

Following is action. We’re good at that in The Episcopal Church. Sometime so good we put the cart before the horse. But following also means choosing to lie down in green pastures. 

God needs us to learn the holy spiritual practice of rest. The psalmist knew, he said the shepherd “causes me to lie down in green pastures.” Most westerners don’t value stillness because we assume that movement is the same as progress. Yet the shepherd says be still, listen, follow me and rest. 

Jesus even left his took down time as part of his vocation. He would put ministry on hold and go pray, or break bread and drink wine with his friends. Sisters and brothers, we need not feel guilty of taking care of ourselves. It’s easier to hear God’s voice when we are quiet. 

Remember, God’s the shepherd, and we are the sheep. God speaks to us, and God invites us to follow the way of Jesus.  

Conclusion:When I visited the Holy Land, I watched a drama unfold in the shepherd’s fields outside Bethlehem. I realized that Westerners rarely understand what it means to lead sheep. Western shepherds drive sheep, often with sticks or with dogs. 

Eastern shepherds, like those in Biblical times, lead their sheep differently. They lead the sheep instead of driving them. The shepherd is ahead of the sheep.

Our tour was outside of Bethlehem and I noticed a shepherd with a herd of sheep on a hillside. The shepherd sat on a rock while the sheep grazed. Then he stood, said a few words, and walked away. The sheep followed along behind him. He didn’t need a stick to beat them, or a dog to chase them, the sheep knew his voice and they followed him.

“My sheep hear my voice… and they follow me.”

God watches over us and God speaks to us. The shepherd invites us to follow the way of love, mercy and compassion. Are we listening? Are we following the voice of Jesus?

Amen. 

Sermon for the fourth Sunday of Easter: Listening to the voice of God. Sermon homepage here.