April 30, Easter 4A (Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 23; John 10:1-10)

“Listen to the sound of my voice.” What does this phrase evoke for you?

For me, it brings me back to my childhood, when my sisters and I would play in our dark, cavernous basement. We would guide each other toward the stairs by following each other’s voices. In a pitch-black space, my path was traced by sound.

In this week’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells of sheep following a shepherd’s voice, trusting him rather than a stranger whose voice they do not recognize. The contrasting images are somewhat stark in this parable: the stranger versus the familiar, the thief who breaks in versus the true shepherd using an open gate, the act of killing or destroying versus life and abundance. Jesus’ strong imagery makes more sense once we recognize that this scene takes place in the middle of a debate, riddled with emotion and theological impact.