Session 5: The Face I Give to God, and Whose Voice Am I Hearing?

0:00

As we continue with the retreat, can you recognise the face you give to God, and the voice with which God speaks…?

Open yourself… and breathe in God’s love… breathe out anything that is not of God… come gently into the loving gaze of God… and meet God eye-to-eye…

3:22

Now listen to Jesus speaking about how to recognise his voice…

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… I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

5:21

illuminant

soma sova

Notice that the sheep recognise the voice of the Good Shepherd because he knows each one of them by name… he knows each one of them intimately… and they never recognise the voice of a stranger…

Spend some time considering the voices that arise within you from day to day…

Which is the voice that drives you to emptiness and loneliness...?

Which is the voice that draws you to life and to love…? Is it the voice of demand or delight, judgement or friendship, distance or nearness…?

Perhaps you can distinguish the voice of the Good Shepherd from the voice of the stranger… Jesus knows you just as you are, with no falsity or pretence… he neither pushes you to do too much, nor to do too little, but encourages you to do what is just right…

You can recognise the humble voice of Jesus amidst all the other competing demands on your attention… Does that voice have a face you can recognise too?

Ask God to help you recognise the voice of Jesus speaking in your life… and listen for God’s response…

As you go about your daily life, become more and more aware of whose voice you are listening to… are you able to let yourself be guided by the voice of the Good Shepherd…?

God, before all else, you are the ground upon which I stand, you are holding me in being, and you love me every day.