Scripture Passage
John 10:2-6, 9-18
Message Audio
Message Text
I hope you enjoyed your first week back at school – except for Sarah, Jonathan and Matthew, I hope you enjoyed your extra week off!
So, the routine has started back again – homework, assignments, test, extracurricular activities, etc. You’re back in class with your friends and classmates. There was probably some chatter about what you did over the March Break, but after a day or two the classroom dynamics have probably gone back to their normal routines, and you’re back to familiar social patterns. What did you feel or experience over this past week as you got back into your routines?
- Did you slip back into familiar social routines and forget about the retreat experiences?
- Did you notice any disconnectedness with people around you and feel a void?
- Did you see any changes in your own perspective and how you approached your friendships?
- Did you practice any I-Thou relationship behaviours with your friends and find some deeper connection with them?
One of the joys of being a pastor is the privilege of getting to know people more intimately over time and building real relationships. I know that I don’t get to spend as much time with each of you as I would like, or have good one-on-one discussions as I desire. But you are all deeply on my mind throughout the week. You’re in my prayers, and I think about what you might be going through as I prepare my messages for you. Learning about what you go through, your thoughts, your struggles, challenges and joys is a true delight, and I’ve been so blessed in my short time being your pastor.
It made me think about what it is that makes us human at the deepest level. And I think we sensed what that is at our retreat: a sense of connection and belonging. Belonging somewhere or to someone.
There is nothing as powerful and transformative as feeling understood, feeling listened to and feeling accepted. And we realized that this is something that is so missing in our world.
I listened to you all share so openly at the retreat. A good number of you shared that it’s a challenge at school to feel connected with people. Some of you talked about how you have friends, but feel like they don’t really know you or know what you’re going through. We agreed that many of our friendships are friendships of convenience – I-It relationships – that are there so that we don’t feel alone and isolated, but where we don’t really go beyond that. Some friendships may be there merely because of history and time we’ve spent together.
But to be truly understood, listened to, accepted and loved is one of the most powerful things in this world. It’s when this is absent that people become hurt, resentful, bitter and angry. It’s the saddest thing to live life without that.
This is the beautiful nature of the God we worship. God came down in human form – as Jesus, to show us a different way to live life. Through Jesus, God showed us how he loves us. We read a beautiful passage today about what God is like. God is good shepherd.
God is intimately connected with us. Look at this: God knows us and we know him. We know his voice and follow that voice. He lays down his life for us and he seeks out lost sheep. What a loving and amazing God this is!
God is a God that loves us deeply and seeks that connection with us.
We are the sheep. What does it mean to be intimately connected with God and to know his voice?
Rev. Kim shared with us at the retreat a great example from real life. When we hear a symphony orchestra, it sounds great, doesn’t it? To our untrained ear, we don’t know what is good or not. But when an experienced conductor comes in, he or she listens to the orchestra and notices things we cannot. He will say “hey oboe, you’re flat”, or “hey clarinet, one of you is off pitch”. The conductor has trained her ear to pick out every little detail.
That is how it is in our relationship with God. At first, we don’t really know how to distinguish God’s voice from the many other voices out there. And so in the beginning we’re very confused. We don’t know whom to listen to or where to get our guidance about life. But as we deepen our relationship with God, we come to know God better and hear his voice.
We are God’s sheep. The greatest gift we have is the sheepfold – the church, the body of Christ.
We have each other. We imitate the love that God has for us with each other. We lay down our lives for one another. We share with one another, and we listen to one another. We offer that great gift of listening and understanding – not judging and condemning, but listening and understanding out of love.
When we feel safe in that community, we are then open to learn of God’s ways.
My prayer is that we be a connected community, where we offer the gift of listening and understanding to one another. As we listen, we will come to understand ourselves at a deeper level. This sensitivity will make our hearts more sensitive to God as well, and we will slowly start to hear God’s voice better.
So may God flow within us, and may the love of God be at the center of our community.
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