4th Easter - Fr. Leo
The sheep follow the shepherd, because they recognize his voice. They will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.
The shepherd is the true voice who speaks God’s truth and love. Jesus is the shepherd who leads us to pastures of the fullness of life. However, there are voices that try to call us away from God. Voices that bring misery and death, though they may seem attractive. The Christian is the one who seeks God’s voice and follows Christ to full unity with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The spiritual life is coming to know the voice of God in our lives. This voice is not an external voice, but a voice that is the ultimate truth and ground of our being. Only through prayer, meditation and contemplation can we come to recognize God’s voice and draw nearer to the Lord.
Because of sin, hearing and being faithful to God’s voice can be painful. We can be like kids on the playground who do not want to go home for lunch. We will gladly forgo what is necessary and healthy for what pleases in the moment. Yet, over time, we as a group, and as individuals, come to know what is truly good through experience and the grace of the Holy Spirit. Our guide here is a well formed conscious. Deep down we know what is true, good and loving.
To move beyond the surface voices that try to rob us of God by appealing to our false self, we need to enter into silence. Beyond words, and concepts, there is a wordless truth in us that communicates when we embrace the abyss within. That abyss can be our existential loneliness experienced in quiet. Even an anxiousness. But when we let go of everything, that darkness turns to light. We find ourselves alone, not lonely. Peace comes from knowing we are with the one who created us in love and chooses to live in us sharing his ever renewing love.
Life becomes authentic as our lives are lived in continual dialogue with God. The exchange of love as we become one with God renews us in every moment and each and every beat of our hearts become a prayer of praise and thanks to God.
Be still so you can know God and hear his voice. Sit quietly, feel your heart beat, breath deep, and rest in the one who loves you and holds you in the palm of his hand. Then you will have life more abundantly, which is what we hear the Lord praying for at the end of todays Gospel. Peace, be with you. Come, rest in the God who is within you and around you.