FRIDAY, February 16
Read John 10:1-10
"The gatekeeper opens the gate for [the shepherd], and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." (John 10:3)
Christ calls us by name, trying to lead us to the green pastures of abundant life to flourish. Christ calls out our names, hoping we listen.
When I was in high school, I had the audacity to take time and read the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. My mother was a counselor, and the DSM was lying around the house. I was bored one day, so I picked it up. It wasn't the most thrilling read in which I've ever partaken, but I was able to piece enough information together to get myself into trouble.
I noticed one particular thing: a lot of mental disorders begin to manifest themselves during adolescence, around the ages of 16+. This just happened to be about the same time I read the information-not good in the wandering mind of a teenage boy.
I thought I was beginning to show signs of a mental disorder because, whenever I would go out into public places, I would hear my name being called. It happened again and again, "Will…," "Will…," "Will…," over and over and over. I eventually realized will is a pretty common word, and stopped listening to the "voices."
However, I did get a bit confused, because there were times when people were actually talking to me. I was conditioned to hear all these different voices say my name and I wasn't able to actually hear when someone was speaking directly to me, often for a good reason! I would just float on and on and on…until someone would shout in my ear and wake me up out of my self-imposed stupor.
Christ calls us by name, shaking us out of the daze we allow ourselves to be put in.
Prayer: God of many names, we pray to your Spirit to wake us up so we might hear your Son's voice and follow into abundant life. Amen.
William J. Sanford Ryan
