John 10:22-30

4^th Sunday of Easter | 05/08/22 | Sermon on John 10:22-30 | By Brad Everett |

Listening to and listening ‘for’ Jesus that we might hear him is not an occasional thing—something we do once in a while when we need a little bit of extra help in sorting out a situation or resolving a dilemma.

Listening to hear Jesus must be a way of life—it’s an integral part of what it means to live as a child of God, a sheep of his flock. It’s crucial for the life of discipleship. If we think or live otherwise, we are kidding ourselves and living in delusion.

Jesus says as much in today’s gospel. It’s winter and Jesus is walking in the sheltered part of the Temple out of the prevailing winds to stay warm. The Jews (the religious leaders) gather around him and say to him ‘if you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ At first glance it appears they are asking Jesus a question and are ‘listening’ for his answer.

But it turns out to be quite the opposite. Jesus declares he has already told them, not just with words but with works he has done in his Father’s name that testify to, or back up his claim to be the chosen one of God. The problem isn’t that Jesus hasn’t told them plainly, the problem is that the religious leaders don’t believe—they don’t truly listen, they don’t follow him, they aren’t members of his flock.

Because listening isn’t just about taking in sound waves, it’s about paying attention to what is heard, recognizing it, and then acting on it.

There’s the story from way back when, about a telegraph company advertising for the position of an operator—one who could send and receive the telegraph messages in morse code. The waiting room was full of individuals waiting to be called in for an interview, when one more young man walked in. Of course, the place was alive with activity, noise of messages being sent and received, people coming and going. He found a seat but within a minute or so, he got up, went over to the manager’s office and walked in. A short while later the manager came out and thanked the group for their interest but that the young man had been given the position. Of course those waiting were upset, dismissed without even a brief interview. The manager then asked if they had noticed hearing morse code while sitting in the waiting room. They all indicated they had, and the manager said, that the code was simply a message saying “If you understand this, come into the manager’s office, the job is yours.” The young guy was the first one to hear the message and act on it.

Everyone in the office ‘heard’ the message, but only the young man was listening for it, and he truly heard it.

Likewise, everyone in the crowds that gathered around Jesus as he travelled the countryside and cities preaching and doing the works of the Father, ‘heard’ what he said, but only those of his flock were listening, because they followed and they followed because they believed.

This is the distinction Jesus draws between the crowd and his flock—those found in his flock are those who listen and follow Him.

The two go hand in hand. One must be constantly listening and trying to pay attention, in order to be able to follow (otherwise one is making it up on their own).

One must be following, or at least trying to, in order to be able to listen—one must be in a position, not just physically but also spiritually and mentally to hear what our Lord is saying. One need be part of Jesus’ flock, one of his sheep who he knows and who he speaks to and who he leads.

At this point, there is the temptation for us to start looking around at others and speculating if they are listening and following or not. We run through a mental checklist to see if what we have seen them do and heard them say would indicate they are following Jesus.

We do that because we are sinful and because we don’t want to have to ask and answer those hard questions for ourselves. We don’t want to run that same mental checklist on ourselves.

Am I listening to Jesus? Am I doing all I can in the power of the Holy Spirit and my baptism, to follow Christ? Is how I live my live, the things I say and do, the choices and decisions I make, centered on following the path Jesus has called me to as sheep of his own flock?

Or do I treat Jesus as some sort of Divine google application that I submit my questions to when I’m stuck for answers? Or perhaps I keep Jesus behind a window, with a little hammer hanging next to a sign that says, ‘In case of emergency break glass’. Or to put it more plainly, I listen to Jesus when I think I need to, or when I want him to speak (assuming of course he says what I want), but otherwise ignore him.

Listening to our Lord can’t be an occasional activity done on our terms when we think we need to.

Listening to Jesus and following him is how we live our lives, because we know we need to—as St. Peter said “Lord to whom shall we go, you have the words of eternal life”. We know that life apart from Jesus is death—death here and death in the life to come. We know and trust the promise he gives of eternal life and no one will snatch us from his hand.

We know this i.e. we live our lives according to it and in it because we have heard it and continue to hear it.

When we struggle with our many and varied sins, we hear his promise in the words of absolution and are freed to live in his forgiveness.

When we are surrounded by confusion and uncertainty, we hear his promise in the passages of Holy Scripture such as today’s Psalm, and our hearts and minds are kept from the worry and anxiety that plagues so many in this life.

When we grieve the passing of loved ones, we hear the liturgies of the funeral rite and Holy Communion speak of the eternal life offered us in Christ so we know our relationship with those hasn’t ended but has simply changed for a time when we will be with them as Revelation tells us.

When we spend time in prayer, talking to and listening to our Lord, He confirms for us in various ways and means that we are His, he will not let us go.

And at the risk of stating the obvious, the only reason any of this matters, the only way any of it makes sense is because Jesus Christ rose physically from the dead by the will of the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit. Because he is alive he speaks to us. Because he is alive he leads us. Because he is alive, we too have the hope of the resurrection.

But we only hear him when we listen, we only follow when we trust and live in the baptismal promises spoken over us. We follow only when there is nothing more important than Him when our hope isn’t in our plans or desired outcomes but Christ alone our Lord, our Saviour, our Shepherd.

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Pr. Brad Everett

Calgary, AB, Canada

Email: everettsts@gmail.com