Smart... yet dumb!

Text: John 10


"I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me."


Well, I finally did it. After carrying around a certified antique for several years now, I stepped into the 21st century. My trusty Motorola that did nothing but make and receive calls (and text at ridiculously slow speeds) has given way to a shiny new smart phone. No, it's not an iPhone, the true techie geek tool of choice... but it is nevertheless a nice phone. So far so good... but geez, what a long learning curve! Anyway... as I'm reading this passage in John's gospel account, I thought about how many ways there are to contact someone these days. Email used to be the "cool" way to communicate, but not so much anymore. Texting isn't bad, but it certainly has space limitations (and thumb keyboards aren't that easy to navigate for us rookies!). These days, many of my friends are Facebookers... now THAT seems to be a popular communication device... cause it networks us together and helps us live life together in a cyber sort of way. Nevertheless, to us old-fashioned types... by far the best way to be comforted than by a friend is - not by reading what they've typed, but - by hearing their actual voice.


As he was apparently talking with his good friends, Jesus told them something strange, and yet something wonderful. He called himself a shepherd... the GOOD shepherd... and referred to them as sheep. Now he was a great rabbi at this point, but I'm sure they wondered why their friend was calling them stupid animals (at least I would have been). But we know the rest of the story. We know that Jesus' voice would be a vitally important thing to the eleven men whose lives were turned upside down after Jesus ascended back to the Father. Now, they may never have "heard" the voice of the good shepherd with their ears, but you can bet they heard him loud and clear with their spiritual ears. Why else would they have subjected themselves to poverty, starvation, and numerous forms of persecution as followers of "The Way" - that ragtag cult of Jesus followers who refused to hail Caesar as Lord. Jesus left them in physical form, but nevertheless, he continued to breathe his grace upon them by his Spirit. One of the names for the Holy Spirit is "Spirit of Revelation..." as in, the very voice of God... the very presence of God... the very power of God, being revealed to His followers, and through them.


Oh, God... reveal Yourself to us as we struggle through this life....


And, oh, God... reveal Yourself to the world THROUGH us, so that your name would be glorified, and lost sheep would find their way home and experience your resurrection. Amen.