Jesus keeps talking to you ... Listen to him.

Good morning, happy Tuesday, and blessings.

Today’s Gospel reading (John 10:22-30) seems tailor-made for that purpose, for in today’s Gospel reading we find Jesus debating with some of his religious opponents, and so we get a direct window on Jesus in debate!

To underscore his point, Jesus made his reference to the way sheep are known by their shepherd. “My sheep hear my voice and I know them, and they follow me.” Is this not the intimacy we seek? I think we all yearn to know and be known by the Good Shepherd. Today I want to share several characteristics of the sheep which I think Jesus expects of us.

Sheep produce wool all the time. Since birth, sheep produce wool. The more the wool is shaved off, the more it produces. It never stops; it doesn’t need someone to tell it to produce wool because it happens naturally. It does not need new techniques, it simply produces. Its production does not stop for any reason, it does not depend on anything, it is always producing, it always gives fruit. In other words, they understand the principle of giving fruits, winning souls, talking about Jesus, living with Jesus, having an initiative, not standing still, not waiting for things to happen, making things happen.

Sheep are picky eaters; they do not eat junk food. Unlike the goats that are known as the garbage collectors of the desert, because they eat everything, they find in front of them. They are known as the garbage collectors of the wilderness because they eat everything in front of them. Everything seems to be appetizing to them. They eat cans, plastic, anything. Sheep eat grass, and the grass needs to be fresh, and of good quality. Sheep do not eat garbage or look for different types of food. Even when they come across something new, they do not try to see what it is, because they don’t know where it came from, or who made it, or if it will be bad for them. Like sheep, God always has something new and fresh for you, but there is only one source, the Word. A wellspring cannot be a source of both dirty and clean water. The Word only produces clean water.

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. This is the most important characteristic of a sheep: Listening to the Voice of God. We often hear God’s voice, but we do not follow Him. God is screaming in our ears: do this, go there, come here. However, we do not follow, therefore there is no use in simply hearing. Many people say they are waiting for God to speak to them, and God is already speaking.  but s/he does not take action because s/he is listening to the Voice of God, but he is not understanding, so he does not follow Him.

Sheep are the only animals that do not make noise when they die, they do not complain when they need to be sacrificed, they do not complain about the circumstances, they do not get angry and they do not try to escape. Now I wonder, am I a sheep of Jesus?

Blessings

Fr. Luis+