April 13, 2008

The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church

John 10, 1-10     

Recognizing the Voice

Pr. Per Inge Vik                                                                      

Let me start by sharing an experience from my childhood. When I was 11, I had to stay at the hospital for a longer period of time. It was quite lonely for a boy at that age to be away from my family and friends for 11 weeks. I got both visits and letters, though. Once all my classmates wrote to me, one letter from each student. It was fun, they told what had happened to them.

So one day I was lying in the hospital bed. All of a sudden I heard a sound in the corridor. Not anything sensational. It only was someone coughing. But strangely enough, that coughing filled me with a quivering expectation! The reason was that I thought yes, in the same second I was completely sure that it was my father who coughed out in the corridor!

And quite correctly, a few seconds later he entered the room. He hadn’t given any notice on beforehand, and it was weeks since last time I saw him. He was always busy working, so it was a nice surprise that my father came to visit.

Imagine, I recognized him on his coughing! Today Jesus says, the shepherd 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.

My parents-in-law were sheep farmers all the time till they were around 80. In Norway the sheep are at pasture in the mountains during the summer. I can imagine the sheep flock, small lambs and the adults.  

After months in the sheep shed they are a bit doubtful as to what is going to happen. If one tries to rush them, they get scared and flee in all directions.

My father-in-law was a skilful sheep psychologist. He could handle the animals, and did so in a good way. He had a bucket of sheep meal, that he shook gently. Then the oldest and most good tempered animals approached him first. And as my father-in-law went in the front, the sheep followed. They forgot to be afraid. They had a feeling that they could expect something good.

It went well as long as my father-in-law was able to go. But as he was aging, we younger ones had been more and more involved in the most heavy work of bringing the sheep up in the mountains. The steep track up to the mountain though, had started to (gro igjen). I remember the last year we had the sheep, we were doubtful as to where the way was going.

I tried to lead on, and call on the sheep, but they didn’t move. I understood that something was wrong. Then an old sheep mother comes forth and captures the command… She knew where the track went! I was mute with admiration. We say now and then “stupid as a sheep”. But this time I was (satt grundig på plass), by a sheep! Imagine, I was supposed to lead, but I didn’t know the way…

So I was not a good shepherd. I lacked two things. I didn’t know the terrain well enough. The other problem, that again became visible in the fall, as the animals were to be brought down again, was that I didn't know the sheep. To me, all the sheep looked equal! It was a mystery to me whether a sheep belonged to us or other farmers. 

One day in the fall we were up looking for a mother with two lambs that hadn’t come down together with the other sheep. It was late in the fall, and the show had started coming. The search attempt was quite exhausting.

But finally we found them. We thought. Only that as we arrived at the farm, it showed up to be the neighbor’s sheep we had brought home. Why didn’t I recognize them? Because I hadn’t been together with them.

Today Jesus says that The Good Shepherd goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. Jesus wants to protect us from the evil enemy. We are not always conscious that there are hostile powers around us, that want to destroy. Lead us to fall. Turn us away from the good life.

For the time being I read a little book with the title   

”40 Day Journey With Martin Luther”.  Every day there is a short text from Luther’s Small and Big Catechisms and a Biblical word of Wisdom. Further a Psalm Fragment, and some questions to ponder, and finally a prayer. Today I read Luther’s explanation to the 4th petition in Our Father.

In his flourishing way, and in accordance with Jesus’ word that he will give life, and give it abundantly, Luther explains that daily bread is everything needed “such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, farm, fields, livestock, money, property, an upright spouse, upright children, upright members of the household, upright and faithful rules, good government, good weather, peace, health, decency, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors and more like that.”

Then Luther continues that this prayer is directed against our chief enemy, the devil, whose whole purpose and desire is to take away or interfere with all we have received from God. “ If it were in his power and our prayer to God did not restrain him, surely we would not have a straw in the field, a penny in the house, or even an hour more of life—especially those of us who have the Word of God and would like to be Christians.”

I think we need Martin Luther to reawaken a consciousness about the hostile power, and how it is operating. Not only around us, but even within us. An enemy that wants to tear down and destroy. Jesus is our Savior against this evil. He is the gate to life and life abundantly.

We just have to practice, and sharpen our ability to listen well, so we can discern Jesus’ voice from the other voices. The recognition of Jesus voice will create joy within us, just as when I recognized my father even before I saw him. It was enough to hear him coughing in the corridor.

How can we get the assurance about what is Jesus’ voice, and where God wants to lead us? In what way will God save us from evil, as we pray about in Our Father?

It is all about being together, I think. That we are together with Jesus, stay close to him, so that we can recognize his voice.  Specifically it is about taking part in the Christian fellowship, listen to the Bible and to the Holy Spirit, and act according to that. There is always a compliance/correlation? between the written Word and the teaching of the Holy Spirit.

There are so many false shepherds in the world, who want people to think that happiness is a lot of money, material things, fame, success. That is not true. Through the Ten Commandments God has shown us what the good life is. As we live truly and honestly together with God and each other, that is the deepest joy, that is to have life abundantly.    

When we show respect for God’s holy name, for the day of rest, as we honor our father and mother, show respect for life, keep marriage holy, discern between what is mine and yours, not envy others in what they have as theirs. Godliness with contentment, that is the good life.

Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, who was, is and will always remain one, true God from eternity to eternity. (Congregation:) Amen

The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church ·  924 E. 21st St, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2952 ·  (612)874-0716