DAILY DEVOTIONAL

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

“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.” – John 10:1-5

For the Jerusalem religious-political leadership, Christ’s growing popularity was disconcerting, a problem in the making.  Why were they following Him and not following their leadership?

Christ warns of false prophets, those who seem to be representing God, but somehow their words and their manner do not resonate with the timbre and tone of Christ’s Voice.  Oh, these false prophets are clever is the patching together of scriptures to build a seemingly shut-and-close case … but something is not right in the tone and timbre of the argument.  Oh, these false prophets know how to push the buttons and anxiety and fear, the buttons of zealotry and human passion … but something is not right in the tone and timbre of their fiery rhetoric.  Oh, these false prophets can recruit frenzied crusaders motivated more by unholy rage rather than holy reasoning … and again, something is not right in the tone and the timbre of their battle cries.

The most Christ-like and spiritual souls I know … have nurtured the grace that both listens for and listens to that distinctive, gentle, merciful voice of Christ, for they can discern which voice is truly imbued with the tone and timbre of a More Perfect Love.

Possibly this is why people in conflict shout their slogans so loudly … in an effort to drown out that one voice that often comes by way of whispers.

Always in Christ’s Service,

Fr. Charitas de la Cruz