Sunday, January 29, 2012

Refuge

Just a few more thoughts out of John 10.

It’s a pen - a sheephold. Rocks stacked define the borders of the enclosure. It took a great deal of effort to build the pen; first locating, digging out of the clinging earth boulders of varying sizes then hauling to the place the pen would be built. The gagged rocks and boulders then stacked laboriously on upon another of a sufficient height to keep within the sheep belonging to the Good Shepherd.

On the east side, facing the morning sun, an opening is allowed, a void in the rocky walls where a gate is built permitting ingress and egress. The gate is constructed of rough hewn timbers, precious wood in this arid land. There is an element of beauty to the pen with it’s rocky walls showing the jagged grey and brown hues and timbers revealing brown wooden striations. The engineering of the safekeep itself speaks of a beauty and love the Shepherd had in mind while constructing the pen. It is a place of refuge for those of us who know His voice.

The pen itself offers minimal safety. Predators could leap upon the enclosure if not for the Shepherd’s presence guarding the hold. We sheep crowded in the pen would be easy picking for the hungry predators. But the Good Shepherd stands guard, never sleeping, allowing us the peace of restful sleep.

At daybreak the Shepherd speaks rousing us to activity. He and He alone opens the gate and bids us follow Him. His voice echoing deep in our hearts leads us to pasture and water, His watchful eyes always on alert for us. We may wander off as we move here and there, but if we are careful to listenwe will hear His voice guiding us where to go.

It is in this listening where I find life, abundant life listening to the Good Shepherd’s voice.

Voice

Scattered in John 10 is the notion of the Good Shepherd and His sheep who know and hear His voice. The first mention is in 10:2-18, a passage that was spoken at the end of what I imagine was a very long day. The narrative begins in 8:12 and appears to take place during the days of the Feast of the Tabernacles. Jesus again picks up the same theme in 10:25-30 while in Jerusalem for the Feast of Dedication. The time break between the two passages does not lessen His desire for His sheep, His desire that they would know His voice.

There is something intimate and unique about our voices. Some time ago my cousin David told me I had a very unique voice and he could pick it out of a crowd if he heard it. My friend Jeff and I started our deep friendship over the phone in 2005. We talked daily for the next two years. We learned much of what we know each other through those conversations, listening to one another's voices. To this day we know more simply by the sound of our voices rather than the words spoken. My maternal grandmother passed away in 1990 but I can still remember her voice. There is something about the uniqueness and intimacy of a voice.

This brings me to Jesus - His voice. How can we hear and know His voice? Do His statements spoken that day still apply to us separated by so many years? I go back to Scripture often to hear Him but this is not "study" as we might traditionally think of it. Don't take me wrong; study, the opening of our intellect to the Holy Word is important. What I am thinking of are those moments in those pages when something becomes clear in a flash that once was unclear, the revealing of the "unsearchable riches of Christ" as Paul put it in Ephesians 3:8. I call them "Ah-ha" moments. It is at those moments I hear and know His voice as the Spirit reveals something. It is a gentle whisper that can only be heard at my heart level. Out of those moments when my heart is beating in resonance with His heart I find His presence. Often in those moments I sense the intimacy in a relationship where He is saying, "This is for you, Kelly, my beloved son". This intimacy draws me up short, almost breathless in beauty.

Out of those experiences I've learned to listen more carefully even when I am not at my park table with Holy Word open. In learning this His voice becomes more a part of my day. It is a voice I have come to rely upon, to lead me, to encourage me, to simply be with me. It is touching into the mystery of Christ in me, me in Christ."My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. John 10:27 & 28.

There appears to be a connection to living out the Life He offers and listening well to His voice. I don't believe listening is any less important because we were not there that day to physically hear His voice. The implication then is that prayer, at least for me, has become more about listening than speaking. Silencing my voice helps me hear His voice.