The Voice That Calls Us by Name

Voice over by Gracie Aye Chan May

Acts 2:14a.36-41, Psalm: 22, 1Pt 2:20-25, Jn 10:1-10

My dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

On this Fourth Sunday of Easter, often called Good Shepherd Sunday, the Church invites us to listen for a voice. In a world filled with competing voices—the voice of fear, the voice of ambition, the voice of despair—there is one Voice that calls us by name and leads us to abundant life. Today’s readings reveal the identity of that Shepherd and the nature of the flock He gathers.

In the Acts of the Apostles, Peter stands before the crowds on Pentecost and delivers the definitive proclamation. He has been filled with the Holy Spirit, and his words cut to the heart: “Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” The crowd is pierced. They ask, “What are we to do, my brothers?” Peter’s answer is the gateway to the sheepfold: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Three thousand souls enter the fold that day. They have heard the Shepherd’s voice through Peter, and they respond.

Saint Peter, in his first letter, describes the path of the flock. He speaks of suffering unjustly, of bearing pain while doing good. He holds up Christ as the model: “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” When insulted, He did not retaliate; when suffering, He did not threaten. Instead, He entrusted Himself to the One who judges justly. And then comes the shepherd language: “By his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.” Peter, who once denied the Shepherd, now shepherds the flock. He knows what it is to stray and to be found.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus speaks the parable of the Good Shepherd. He contrasts the true shepherd with the thief and the hired hand. The true shepherd enters through the gate. The gatekeeper opens for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. “When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice.” The intimacy is striking. The Shepherd knows each sheep by name. He does not drive them; He leads them. He does not flee when danger comes; He lays down His life for the sheep.

Then Jesus makes a claim that would have stunned His listeners: “I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.” The gate is not an institution or a set of rules; the gate is a Person. Jesus is the entrance to salvation, the passage to abundant life. And what is that abundant life? It is life with the Shepherd—life that overflows, life that endures, life that no thief or wolf can steal.

Pope Francis reflects on this Gospel: “Jesus is the Good Shepherd who gives His life for His sheep. He is the gate through which we must pass to be saved. He knows us by name, and we recognize His voice.” St. Augustine, contemplating the same mystery, wrote, “The sheep follow because they hear the voice of the Shepherd. They do not follow a stranger because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”

This Easter season, we are called to recognize the voice of the Shepherd. Many voices are competing for our attention—voices that promise quick fixes, voices that sow division, voices that lead to dead ends. But there is one Voice that calls us by name, that leads us through the gate, that lays down its life for us.

How do we recognize His voice? We recognize it in the Scriptures, where He speaks to us. We recognize it in the Eucharist, where He feeds us. We recognize it in the Church, where He shepherds us through the successors of Peter. And we recognize it in the quiet of prayer, where He whispers our name.

Let us pray for the grace to know His voice, to follow where He leads, and to enter through the gate into the abundant life He promises. For He is the Shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep. And we are the sheep of His flock. Amen.

May God bless you all!