"Very truly, 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." (John 10:1-6)
They did not understand what he was saying to them. I love that. Jesus uses a pretty typical image to describe his relationship with people, and the people who are listening (most likely the Pharisees) don't understand. So he explains it again, using the same imagery. We don't know if they ever get it; there is no verse where they say "Oh, yeah, I see now!" Really? Sheep and a shepherd. They must see them almost every day. Why is it so hard for them to understand?
Yet we think we understand. We use this image to describe Jesus. The Good Shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. There are churches named "Good Shepherd." Bishops carry croziers as a symbol of their pastoral authority. The crozier is shaped like a shepherd's staff, with a hook at one end to pull any straying sheep back to the flock and a point at the other end to encourage and guide.
We think we understand. But do we listen for the shepherd's voice, or are we listening to the thieves and bandits? Jesus says his sheep know his voice and will not follow a stranger. Maybe this is what they don't understand. Maybe they've seen sheep following the wrong person. Jesus' coming into the world did not do away with all the other voices calling to us, nor does Jesus raise his voice to insist we follow only him.
People have been trying to hear and heed God's voice, with varying degrees of enthusiasm and success, since there have been people. Scripture is the library of these stories. Few of them end with people successfully listening to God. Yet God never gives up. God never stops calling to us.
Very few people in history actually heard Jesus speak, and most of them did not understand what he was saying. So we should be gentle with ourselves, as we imagine Jesus as the good shepherd, the gentle shepherd. We should try to listen, knowing that we will make mistakes. We will follow the wrong voice from time to time. But no matter how far we stray, our shepherd knows where we are and is calling.
