some clarity

I think I finally have some clarity about this passage. I think I might know where to go (which is good since I'm supposed to be off the next two days).

I got it while reading Bruce Milne's commentary in John Stott's The Bible Speaks Today series. He sets up what Jesus' hearers would have seen in their mind's eye as he spoke this "parable."

Jesus' imagery would have been familiar in a society where sheep-farming was a a staple of the economy. The 'fold' or pen was probably a large, communal enclosure where several flocks were herded for safety at night. The calling of the sheep in the morning would be crucial as each shepherd assembled his own flock from the larger herd in the fold. During the night a guard would be hired. He would remain at the only door to the enclosure. Robbers would enter only by scaling the enclosure. The guard would admit only the true shepherds by the door when they arrived in the morning. (145, emphasis mine)

It brought to mind the word I woke up with this morning - cacophony. Between the other shepherd and the thieves; the sheep and the dogs, there must have been a cacophony of noises in and around the enclosure. It took a look of training, it would seem, for the sheep to know the distinct voice of their shepherd in the midst of all that noise.

Isn't that what discipleship is all about? Learning to hear our shepherd's -The Shepherd's - voice? Maybe all the other voices we hear aren't thieves and strangers so much as other shepherds - maybe it is hard to discern whose voice to follow because there are a lot of good voices out there. But the truth is, that there is only one voice that brings life; that of Jesus.

Know to turn that into a sermon.