Many years ago, I used to have a very long commute to work. During that time, I would listen to the radio. It would not be music or news but more often than not I listened to talk radio. This was at a time before Catholic radio became what it is today – a wonderful and rich resource. At the time Catholic radio choices were limited, but this was not the case for our protestant brothers and sisters, for there were many protestant radio shows on air. Some of you may recognize the name of Hank Hanegraaff also known as the Bible Answer Man. I enjoyed his radio show in particular. Listeners would call in with Bible questions, and he would answer from his deep and expansive knowledge. I mention Hank because he had a catch phrase which went something like this: “you should be so familiar with the truth that when a counterfeit appears, you immediately recognize it.” We as Christians, should quickly recognize counterfeit voices for there are many that compete with the voice of our shepherd. This is only truer today than back in the 90’s. For today television, the internet, social media, newspapers, etc., create a cacophony of voices each one vying for our attention. I would suggest that the dangers of all these voices for us are broadly twofold.
The first are the voices of distraction. These are the voices we ourselves allow into our lives, and perhaps even encourage. In so doing they become so distracting that before we know it, the precious gift of time has passed listening to these voices and avoiding the clear call of our shepherd. “I know I should read my bible, but I can always do that later.” “Today I was so busy, but I will pray tomorrow.” “The game is on, so I won't make it to Mass.” We all know Catholics who have fallen away or become disengaged, because the voice of the shepherd has become lost in the chorus of other voices. Today there are so many voices of distraction. These voices steal our time. Time which appears limitless but is not, since we are each given only so much.
The second danger I will call the voices of destruction. These are voices that preach against the truth, against reality, and so against freedom. During the early years of our church, these voices were called heresies. In response, the church held the first ecumenical councils to help clarify important aspects of our understanding and faith and so confront heretical voices. One example of such a heresy was the teaching that Jesus was born an ordinary man but was adopted as the son of God. This was called adoptionism and this heresy spread in the 2nd, 3rd and 8th centuries. To confront this and similar heresies the councils of Nicaea and Chalcedon affirmed the teaching that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. As in the 2nd, 3rd, and 8th centuries, so today we see books about the ‘historical Jesus’ such as, “How Jesus Became God”, “The Godless Gospel”, and “Jesus the Man”. Each robs our Shepherd of his divine identity and corrupts his teaching.
We commit and train ourselves to always hear the voice of the Shepherd so that we can quickly recognize a counterfeit. The counterfeit is the thief and robber who does not enter by the gate but rather climbs over elsewhere to claim their power. In our gospel reading, Jesus would indirectly accuse the Pharisees of being thieves and robbers since they had used their authority to expel the once blind man Jesus had healed from the synagogue. Rather than help and encourage the blind man and rather than recognizing the authority of Jesus in working this miracle, the Pharisees doubled down to protect their own power. We are to be wary of the voices of thieves and robbers.
The voice of the shepherd is the only voice that is authentic and true. It is vital that we recognize his personal call to each of us and not fall victim to counterfeit voices.
But following the Shepherd’s voice is not always easy as we heard in our second reading. At times we suffer from doing good. Hank Hanegraaff would ultimately leave his evangelical protestant roots (2017) when he became a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church. This break from his evangelical past was not painless for he would lose his protestant radio affiliates, and his audience would shrink dramatically as his influence waned. Yet to hear the voice of the shepherd, and to respond to that call, I am sure Hank is now blessed in many new and profound ways.
Jesus has made clear his desire for us. His desire is that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Let us discover the fullness of this life by hearing and obeying the one voice that matters; the voice of our Divine Shepherd. Amen.
Deacon Peter Bujwid
St. Agnes and St. Camillus, Arlington, Massachusetts
