Readings:
Sermon:
‘My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.’
I’ve recently discovered the joy of noise cancelling headphones and I only wish that I’d experienced the pleasure of them sooner because it seems to me that wherever we go these days we are subject to so much noise. Of course there’s nothing quite like being in the middle of nowhere with just the sound of birdsong or the wind in the trees but that is a luxury (for most of us) that we might savour on a rest day.
Even when we’re not in conversation ourselves or surrounded by others who are, we’re exposed to the sound of piped music in so many places and it’s hard to get away from all that background noise. So after spending a week in the vibrant city of Marrakech after Easter I found myself sitting in the airport luxuriating in the sound of absolute silence as I waited to board my flight home and this got me thinking about our gospel passage for today.
In response to the question put to him by the Jews, Jesus answers:
‘My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me.’
I wonder if you’ve ever stopped to consider what Jesus’ voice actually sounded like during his ministry here on earth. He was obviously a gifted speaker, able to command and hold the attention of countless crowds of people. I wonder what he sounded like when he commanded the waves to be still in the storm on the lake or when he was sat round the table with his disciples or spoke to Mary from the cross.
I wonder if you’ve ever heard the voice of Jesus. Some claim to have heard him and others are often left wondering whether they have or not. Whatever our experience, with all the demands on our time and all the voices competing for our attention it is so necessary to take time out and listen. It’s not only necessary but vital for our spiritual health to set time aside to simply listen so that we may hear what Jesus wants to say to us. This is a discipline that we need to foster and encourage in our church communities.
So often we fill the spaces in our liturgy with words because it feels uncomfortable if the silence is held. So often we fill our prayers with words because we don’t want to sit with the silence and this is especially true in group settings. Silence can feel so uncomfortable; we’re not used to sitting in silence with others. But we so need to do this.
And never more so than in this current time when the Church is seeking to appoint a new spiritual leader in the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Crown Nominations Committee will meet again this month to pray and reflect on potential candidates. And further meetings are planned for July and September.
In this past week the Crown Nominations Committee from our own diocese has met once again with the aim of shortlisting potential candidates for a new spiritual leader here in the Diocese of Worcester.
Each of these prayerful processes require many words and much silence. Silence - in order to hear through the applications those who have recognised the voice of Jesus calling them on. Those who have affirmed these calls and all who support them.
We’re encouraged to support this by surrounding the process in prayer. The diocese have therefore created some helpful aids to prayer and have also created a timetable for individuals or parishes to sign up and commit to praying during a particular time slot. See the link in the written copy of this reflection or visit the Diocesan website to sign up. How you use that slot is entirely up to you and there are some suggested prayers but you may just choose to simply sit and listen for the voice of God.
https://www.cofe-worcester.org.uk/news/praying-for-the-recruitment-process-for-our-next-bishop.php
So we pray -
For the Crown Nominations Commission
- that all may be open to the guiding of the Holy Spirit;
- that all will listen carefully for God’s voice in each other’s voices;
- that all will speak truthfully in love as God leads them;
- that the call of God may be discerned in the diverse needs of our diocese;
- that the call of God may be discerned in the diverse gifts of the candidates.
And for the candidates
- that each may offer themselves in openness and humility;
- that each may speak openly of their commitments and convictions;
- that each may discern their own inward sense of vocation;
- that each may share honestly their vision for our diocese;
- that each may trust themselves to the guiding of God’s Spirit.
- And that we may support and uphold these processes in silence and in prayer.
‘My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.’