Acts 11:1-18 / John 10:1-10
If seeing is believing , then what does hearing lead to? All too often, the emphasis is on the visual and what can be seen.
In the Bible, seeing may lead to believing, just as the disciples saw the Risen Christ and believed in Him.
But seeing is just one aspect of the faith experience. The other equally important is the hearing aspect.
If seeing leads to believing, then hearing may lead to understanding.
In the 1st reading, Peter saw a vision. But he also heard a voice telling him what the vision means.
And when Peter related the account, he couldn't show the vision but he described the vision and more importantly, he repeated what the voice told him.
Peter recognized the voice that told him the meaning of the vision and the direction he should be taking.
In the gospel, Jesus also talked about the sheep listening and knowing the voice of the shepherd.
The sheep do not recognize the voice of strangers; in fact they run away from strangers, and we can imagine that they are frightened by an unfamiliar voice and they run away.
Everyday we hear many voices. Most are real voices that we hear from those around us and those we come into contact with.
What they say affects us and influences us. May we pray and discern what is from the Lord and what is not, so that we will recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow Him.