"Therefore Jesus said again, 'Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.'"
John 21:7-10
I had the opportunity to attend the statewide CCM retreat at St. John's in Morris Hall, November 14th-16th. This was a very mature and contemplative retreat and I was so happy to see all of the students so readily dive into the deep. The topic of the weekend was discipleship and the retreat facilitator was Dr. Linda Rooney. She offered a retreat that appealed to every sense and invited everyone to put on faith, hope, love, and Christ Himself. The music by UCA/Hendrix CCM, the presentations, and mass with Monsignor Francis Malone on Saturday night were spectacular. Liz and Trish did a tremendous job on this weekend!
During
the closing session on Sunday morning, the topic turned to sheep. Dr. Linda
Rooney read the scripture from John 21 where Jesus asks Peter three
times if he (Peter) loved Him (Jesus). I'm sure you've heard the story
and, depending on your version, Jesus tells Peter in reply to feed and
care for His sheep. And that was the challenge for the morning. Who are
my sheep? Who has God asked me to not only feed, but also to care for. How am I doing that and how can I do it better? There are many ways to feed God's sheep, but she emphasized what it is
to have someone in your care; loving them and watching over them until
you reach the destination. We listened as she described the role of a
shepherd, our job as shepherds of the lambs and sheep of the Lord, and
the role of Jesus as our shepherd. We broke up into small groups and shared about our little flocks and how we can love them better. It was really nice to hear the thoughts of the students around me.
As we ended our time together, Dr. Rooney invited anyone that wanted to share their weekend's experience to come forward and speak from the microphone. I have to be honest, that it not usually my favorite part of a retreat, because some people just like to talk and it doesn't have a lot of meaning. But-this time was different. It was not only amazing how many people came up to share meaningful experiences they had over the weekend, but I was even more amazed at how many students spoke of things that God "told them." Or how they "heard the Lord say" things to them.
This is amazing to me because I don't hear a lot of young (or non-charismatic) use those kinds of terms. I have even seen people get offended when they hear others suggest that they hear God talk to them. Like, "oh, sure. I bet you hear God talk to you. You crazy." Or I wonder if terms like that make people feel inferior of left out because they don't feel that they actually "HEAR" God's voice. I always find this amusing (and sad) because God has ALWAYS talked to His people (or sheep) throughout salvation history. And why wouldn't God talk to His sheep? I think THAT sounds crazy! Why would God put us here and NOT TALK TO US! Are you kidding me?!
All the talk about sheep reminded me of the scripture in John 2 that says that "his sheep follow him because they know His voice." They know His voice! God is speaking to all of us in so many ways, but we have to get in the quiet and have intimate time with our shepherd if we want to hear that still small voice within us. We have to practice. Many of us are hearing God's voice within us frequently and give ourselves the credit as if those wonderful, wise thoughts are coming from us. Frankly, we are not that cool! How great is our God that he would speak to us and lead us as our shepherd.
If we open ourselves up to this, we will hear the voice of God within us. That is where God lives and we are baptized and following God, so we can hear his voice. Isn't that great news!
May we all look to the Shepherd, follow Him, and listen to His voice on this beautiful path of discipleship.
"The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice."
John 21:3-4
