John 10: 27-30

To fully understand today's short Gospel (Jn. 10:27-30) it's important to know how sheep were raised in olden times in the Middle East. They were raised mainly for the wool they produced and had therefore the prospect of a longer life-span than sheep in Europe. The shepherd got to know his sheep roaming on the open terrain. So intimate was the relationship of shepherd and flock that they would recognise the voice of the shepherd calling them by name. Those who keep pet sheep know all about this. When Jesus claimed a similar relationship with those who believed in him his listeners had experience of what he meant.

The essence of the Christian life is to become attuned to Jesus' voice, gently drawing us towards becoming loving persons. We are aware that today there's the Evil One also tugging at our heart strings with a view to making us selfish, self-centred and less loving. Today's Gospel reading urges us to distinguish between these two discorded voices - the more we choose to listen to the voice of our Shepherd, the gift of eternal life will never be stolen from us.