They Asked. He Spoke, They Didn't Listen

My sheep hear my voice;

I know them, and they follow me. 

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. 

No one can take them out of my hand. 

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,

and no one can take them out of the Father's hand. 

The Father and I are one."

Well, here He went and did it.  The crowd asked Jesus to tell them plainly who He was and he did it.  "The Father and I are one." Those words could not be plainer. The crowd heard what he said and immediately picked up rocks to stone Him. He walked away from them and went across the Jordan River. 

The people in our story could hear, but they did not listen. One hallmark of a Christian is that they hear the voice of Christ in their life.  They try, through the daily tribulations of life, to do what He commands. The command of Jesus is simple but powerful.  He commands us to love others as He has loved us.  At the Last Supper, He showed us by washing the Apostles feet.  The next day He showed us by dying on the cross for us.

It is this love we are to show one another.  It is a love that can be expressed only with the help of Grace in our lives. This Grace comes upon the wind, in the voice of the Good Shepherd.  We, His flock, must listen for His voice.

 The voice of the world will be much louder and at times more persuasive. But we listen for His voice and we are not drawn away from Him because it is His voice that we yearn for, and only His voice impels us to move. 

Today, the Lord has something to say to YOU.  Listen to what He says. Follow His voice and you will be doing His will and you will be safe with His arms around you as you feel the beating of the Sacred Heart as it beats as one with yours.