Today, we celebrate what’s called “Good Shepherd Sunday.” Psalm 23 and Jesus’ words in St. John’s gospel both capture the image of Shepherding God. Jesus says to those who are not sure about who he is and what he teaches, “My sheep hear my voice” (John 10:27). I would like us to reflect on this saying this morning.
Do we hear his voice? If so, how do we do it and what does it sound like? For the sake of argument, does he speak to us in English or Aramaic (which is known to be his spoken language) or Koine Greek (which is the written language of the gospels)? When we talk about listening to God’s voice, it is almost always used metaphorically and thus quite abstractly. If we were to break down what we mean by hearing Jesus’ voice, its closest interpretation is that we listen by heart, not through our ears. But does this hearing of the voice of Jesus have to be metaphorical and abstract? Hearing Jesus’ voice presupposes that Jesus hears God’s voice. That he is one with the Father is to say that they voice the same. Our goal is to hear what Jesus hears because he voices what he hears from God. What then is this voice of God speaking? God speaks the language of silence. This silence is not mute. Its sound is always present. We generally don’t notice it. Close your eyes and try to listen to all the sounds around you. For me right now, I can listen to cars passing by, sometimes music these drivers listen to, winds blowing, birds chirping, leaves falling, buzzing sounds from light bulbs, my computer running, clock ticking, my stomach gurgling on and off, and my own breathing in and out. Even if we might have hearing problems, it can work better for the purpose of listening to the silence, for there are fewer disturbances to get to the sound of inner silence. Where we want to arrive is this inner sound that bases all the other sounds. It’s that very foundation that embraces all. It’s what’s underneath all surrounding sounds and noises. As Jesus’ breath is the same as ours, what Jesus hears, which is the voice of God through the language of silence, is what we want to and can hear. Again, our goal as Christians is to listen to what Jesus listens to. Not only do his sheep hear his voice but also hear what he hears. This sound of silence is universal to all human beings. Every human being as well as every creature, I hope, can listen to and speak this language of silence. Yet, the ability to listen to this sound of the voice and to speak the language of silence doesn’t happen automatically. It requires exercise and practice. It’s just like learning a new language. I’m reminded of the time when I first came to the States at the age of sixteen and was anxious to master English. I often heard it would take about a year for my hearing to pick up on the language, meaning that I would be able to understand spoken sentences, and about two years to speak more fluently. The hearing comes first and then speaking takes place. The best tip I received, however, was to mimic. With the language of silence, we can too mimic. We close our eyes, sit in silence, and pay attention to our breath. As we focus on our breathing in and out, we locate the inner sound of silence within ourselves. We discover stillness within us. Our breath in and out becomes a tempo of silence gently singing. We can feel its coolness coming into us and its inner warmth going out of us. We can have a sense of light above our eyes around our foreheads. We can stay in this state of focusing our breath in and out, noticing the inner space where the inner sound of silence resonates. We can enjoy that moment. At times, it might take longer to center ourselves and might not be as pleasant as we expect. Yet, we can still listen to the inner sound of silence. Every experience we have is a learning process to be more fluent in the language of God. This process of listening to God’s voice is contemplation. Just as Jesus’ gospel of the kingdom of God dwelling within us is not merely metaphorical, figurative, or poetic, contemplation isn’t either. It’s experiential, practical, and even physiological. The more we are aware of the sound of silence, the more we are used to the language of silence. The more we practice listening to and speaking, the more we are convicted of the kingdom of God, God’s presence, dwelling in us. With this awareness, this ability to listen to and speak the language of silence, we can follow our Good Shepherd wherever we go. I imagine and envision all of us being so attentive to and conscious of the inner dwelling of the Holy Spirit so that our presence itself becomes the presence of peace, joy, and hope wherever there’s fear, anxiety, or despair. The source of our hope is the Spirit dwelling within us so we don’t need to look further but look within. My friends, remember everything we need is already within us and given by God. All we need to do is to listen to the sound of silence and simply act in the name of compassion. |
Paul"...life up your love to that cloud [of unknowing]...let God draw your love up to that cloud...through the help of his grace, to forget every other thing." Archives
January 2025
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