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“Name Calling”
He calls his own sheep by name …John 10:3b
By the Reverend, Dr. Jeffrey G. Guild
PSALM PSALM 23:1-6
1The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; 3he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
4Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff — they comfort me.
5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.
GOSPEL JOHN 10:1-10
1“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. 2The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
The recent mini series “The Bible” depicts God speaking to Abraham. In an earlier conversation, God appears to Abraham as a man, accompanied by two angels. The message is clear, Abraham’s wife long past the age of child-bearing will give birth to Isaac in fulfillment of the promise to make of Abraham a great nation.
A subsequent appearance by the Lord, portray Abraham in conversation with him concerning the destruction of Sodom. But God also speaks to Abraham in ways only Abraham can comprehend. The voice of God within sends Abraham to the Promised Land, and tests his face by requiring his son Isaac to be sacrificed.
Our text from John’s Gospel reads”
He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.”
In the scriptural account, God calls Abraham by name, first Abram, then changing his name to Abraham.
Today, I have good news for you. God calls each of us by name.
But you ask, “pastor, I have never heard God call my name!” We might understand what God wants us to do through our reading of scripture or through the pastor and the Church, but I have never heard my name called.”
I want to suggest that God calls each of us by name, but there are so many other voices calling us that we can’t hear.
In the Gospel, Jesus uses a metaphor to explain to his disciples how God speaks to each of them in a personal way. He likes them to sheepwho follow their shepherd into the safety of the pen. Other shepherds who want to steal them, says Jesus, are calling the sheep, but the sheep will only follow the voice of their shepherd.
We hear those voices every day. They call our name telling us to be angry, or to engage in gossip. They call our name and we rationalize our addiction. They call our name to lust over images of sexual intercourse on the Internet. They call upon us to hate, to steal, to kill, to cheat on our spouse, and to take the Lord’s name in vain. They tell us that we are not smart enough, pretty enough, skinny enough, smart enough, or rich enough.
We hear those voices every day telling us that there is no God, or no justice in the world, or no hope for us. They call us by name and tell us we are worthless. There are many, many voices calling us by name.
The voice of the Good Shepherd calls us by name and says to us:
“You are loved. You are of great value to me. I will be with you always. For God so loved the world, I offer you abundant and eternal life, you are beautiful, you are created in my image, I LOVE YOU.
If you hear any voice telling you otherwise, it is not the voice of the Good Shepherd. You do not want to listen to those voices. The voices of the shepherds who wish to steal us away come through our culture. It comes through the TV set in our homes, the Internet, and perhaps our friends and family. They are loud and persistent voices demanding our attention and response. They are relentless, but they are not the voice of our Good Shepherd.
So, how to turn off or at least tune down these voices? First, do you know the voice of your Good Shepherd? If you were called by name, would you recognize that voice?
There are many examples in scripture and in history of how this is done.
Jesus sought out quiet and lonely places to speak with his Father on a regular basis.
Paul understood his life to be governed by God, even torture and imprisonment.
Moses argued with God.
David listened to the prophets sent by God.
I cannot tell you how to hear God calling your name, but can assure you that there are many opportunities to listen for the word of God. Worship is at the center of our life here at First Presbyterian. We gather here each Lord’s Day, not to hear a good sermon, or fine music, but to hear a word from God. All that we do in preparation for this worship service is designed to help us to focus on God, and to listen to God’s word.
Individually, I recommend you spend time in reading scripture and praying. We are a Christian church whose message is that God speaks to us through His Son Jesus Christ, and through the gift of the Holy Spirit, which we will be soon celebrating on the day of Pentecost. God bless you all. Amen.