BAAA!!!!!

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

The great Christian writer, C. S. Lewis wrote that the most emphatic noise is the one we are trying not to listen to. My grandmother and grandfather lived less than 100 yards from the railroad tracks in St. Mary’s, KY. Trains would go by at all hours of the night. Yet I slept like a lamb when I stayed the night there. That is I slept well until my grandmother started snoring. She had one of those irregular snores. The sound was rafter rattling, and it came in different tones and at different rhythms. While I could easily get used to the roar and rumble of a passing train, Ma Ma Lee’s snoring pierced doors, ceilings, pillows, blankets, and fingers. If we had known then what we know now about sleep apnea, I would have gladly spent my allowance (selfishly) on a breathing machine for her.

In John’s Gospel today, Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” Sometimes that voice of Jesus is like the lulling train noise. Amid the other voices that are going on from the media and that may seem more appealing, the truth of Jesus and the Gospel can be ignored. Our preferring to hear other voices above His call dulls the gentle and challenging voice of Christ. But there are times when God’s call comes at us like a like a piercing siren. As much as we would like to silence it the truth of the Gospel screams at us.

A lot of the times that happens when we are not living the truth and justice of the Gospel. For instance we know that we are all made in the image and likeness of God and that we are all considered children of God. Yet we allow the unborn, the poor, folks with different skin tones, different beliefs, immigrants, and many others be treated as “not valuable”.

The truth and compassion of the voice of Christ screams at us also to tell us how much we are loved and forgiven. Yet the voices of our culture tell us that we are only valuable when we look a certain way, or when we wear certain clothes, or when we comply with certain cultural standards, or when we own an adequate amount of stuff. We let the false voice of Sin be more persuasive than the truth of God.

This week let’s spend some time listening to the Good Shepherd. Just fifteen minutes a day would do us all good.

paz,
Fr. Chuck