Acts 9: 36–43; Psalm 23; Revelation 7: 9–17; John
20: 22–30
This is a homily by Fr.
Gene Tucker, given at St. John's Church in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania on Sunday,
April 17, 2016.
“ISOLATED
AND 'PROTECTED' FROM GOD’S CALL?”
(Homily text: John 10: 22-30)
Whenever I mow the lawn or
use a gasoline-powered piece of equipment like a string trimmer, I always wear
a set of hearing protectors, ear muffs. They shield and protect my hearing from
the harmful levels of noise that these machines create.
These ear pieces also have
the effect of isolating me from my surroundings. So whenever anyone wants to
say something to me, they have to get my attention by some other means other
than calling to me. I can hear my own voice quite well when I am wearing these
things (although it sounds strange), but I’m unable to hear much of anything
else.
Two ideas arise from the use
of hearing protectors: (1) Protection
from harmful things, and (2) Isolation.
These same two ideas are
present in this morning’s gospel text:
First, the Jews are trying to protect themselves from Jesus “harmful” ideas,
and second, they are isolated from knowing Jesus’ identity, and are therefore cut
off from being able to follow Him.
Let’s unpack these two
themes a bit. But before we do, let’s take a moment to look at the context of
this morning’s encounter:
We should begin with the
Feast of the Dedication of the Temple. This celebration, which is known as Hanukah
today, was a fairly recent addition to the yearly calendar of observances, and
its adoption dates from the second century BC. It celebrates the rededication
of the Temple in 164 BC, after it had been desecrated by a pagan king who had
erected an altar to Zeus in the Temple’s precincts. So the Feast of Dedication
celebrates the return of the visible reminder of God’s presence among His
people, the Temple. It also is connected to another, more ancient, celebration,
the Feast of Booths, which takes place a bit earlier, in the fall of the year.
The first century historian, Josephus, tells us that - in Jesus’ day - the
meaning of the Feast of Booths and the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple
were connected, for the Feast of Booths (known as Sukkoth in Hebrew)
celebrated God’s protection of His people during the time of their wanderings
in the wilderness after they had left Egypt. The Feast of Dedication picks up
this theme, celebrating the return of God’s visible presence (and protection)
in the rebuilding and the rededication of the Temple.
John tells us that Jesus was
walking in the Portico of Solomon, for Josephus tells us that this area of the
Temple was located on the eastern side of the structure, and that it was the
last remaining portion of the original Temple which had been built by King
Solomon nearly 1,000 years before.
Now, let’s turn our
attention to the interchange between Jesus and “the Jews”.[1]
In this morning’s
conversation, Jesus continues a teaching that He had begun in the last part of
chapter nine and the first part of chapter ten. There, He described Himself as
being the “Good Shepherd”.
Jesus says that the reason
“the Jews” do not hear His voice is because they “do not belong to my sheep”.
Then, He adds, “My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.”
Those who had encountered
Jesus as He walked in the Portico of Solomon demand to know if He is the
Messiah or not. “How long will you keep
us in suspense”, they say. But the problem is that they are so wrapped up in
their own beliefs and their own preconceived notions that they are unwilling
and unable to hear Jesus’ answer. It is as if they are wearing spiritual
hearing protection: They are isolated from hearing the truth from Jesus’ lips
and they are unable to grasp the message that Jesus’ miracles convey: The fact
that Jesus and the Father are one (John 10: 30).
Jesus’ opponents seem to
think that they know it all, and that they’ve got God all figured out. No
wonder they can’t hear what Jesus has to say, no wonder they can’t appreciate
the mighty works that Jesus has done through the power of His Father.
Their ancient problems are
our problems, too.
Sometimes, we may think
we’ve got God all figured out, and that we know all that we need to know about
God’s revelation, made complete in the person and work of Jesus Christ. If
that’s what we believe, then it’s no wonder we can’t hear what God has to teach
us, no wonder we can’t appreciate God’s work in our own day and in our own
lives.
Another problem which was
common to Jesus’ questioners and to us exists: In Jesus’ day, “the Jews” were
preoccupied with their own notions about God. They had lots of time to dwell on
what they thought they knew about Him. In our own day, another preoccupation
arises: It is the problem of being so preoccupied with other things that we
don’t have time to be still and to hear God calling us into a deeper
relationship with Him. We live in an age which has more distractions available
to us than at any time in human history: We are surrounded by portable devices
which enable us to text others who are sitting just across the room. We have
available a wide choice of entertainment or music on these same devices. We
have a world of information at our fingertips simply by pressing a few buttons.
We own more toys and gadgets than at any time in history.
Surrounded by all these
things, God’s voice and God’s call gets pushed aside. We are isolated from
God’s presence and from God’s invitation to a holy and more vibrant spiritual
life as a direct result of our own preoccupation with other things.
Like the people of Jesus’
day, we may believe that Jesus’ message is harmful. After all, hearing Jesus’
voice and responding to His voice always involves change. Sometimes, we may
think that such change is a threat to the way we’ve been living. But Jesus is
the Good Shepherd. He is the one whose call leads not to harmful things, but to
the way of life, peace and joy. His call leads us to find our truest selves,
and to know that nothing can snatch us away from Jesus’ loving embrace. Not
even eternity itself can take us away from the Good Shepherd’s presence and
protection.
Today’s gospel might prompt
us to examine and reconsider our ability to hear God’s voice. Perhaps today’s
gospel might prompt us to set aside our own preconceived notions of what God is
calling us to do in order to walk more closely with Him. Perhaps today’s gospel
might prompt us to take off the spiritual hearing protection that we can put on
so easily, so that we can see that God’s work, done in Jesus Christ, is
intended not for our harm, but for the purpose of giving us life in its truest
and fullest sense.
AMEN.
[1] Whenever we read or hear the phrase “the
Jews” in John’s gospel account, we should remember that he uses this term not
to describe the descendants of Abraham, but to describe all those who were
opposed to Jesus’ message and work.
