Monday 12 May 2025 - The shepherd's voice

Monday 12 May 2025

Today is Monday the 12th of May, in the 4th week of Eastertide.     The Winchester College Chapel Choir sings, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’, by Stanford.     The Lord is my Shepherd, therefore can I lack nothing He shall feed me in a green pasture, and shall lead me forth beside the waters of comfort. He shall convert my soul, and shall bring me forth in the paths of righteousness, for His Name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me, Thy rod and Thy staff comfort me. Thou shalt prepare a table before me against them that trouble me: Thou anointest my head with oil, and my cup shall be full. But Thy loving kindness and Thy mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. Today’s reading is from the Gospel of John.    John 10:1-10  ‘Amen, amen, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.’ Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.  So again Jesus said to them, ‘Amen, amen, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.’  Today, we will step deeper into the scene as we spend some time reflectively engaging our sense of hearing. Imagine for a moment that you are hearing Jesus tell this story. What can you hear? What does his voice sound like?     In the story Jesus is telling the sheep: follow the shepherd’s voice. What does this voice sound like to you? What sort of things would the shepherd say, do you think? Notice how it makes you feel…     What do you think the voices of the stranger, thief or bandit would sound like? What might they say? Why would the sheep not follow them?     As you listen to the passage again, notice the contrasts between the shepherd and the stranger…   John 10:1-10  ‘Amen, amen, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.’ Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.  So again Jesus said to them, ‘Amen, amen, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.’  As this time of prayer comes to a close, you might pray for all you need to hear God’s voice clearly, walk through the gate, and have life abundantly…   Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.   As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be  World without end  Amen