May 15, 2011.  Fourth Sunday of Easter A. Our Lady of Grace, 5:15, 6PM.  Acts 2:14a, 36-41.  I Peter 2:20b – 25.  John 10:1-10. 

As I make phone calls around the parish a little child often answers the phone.  When I say, “May I speak with your mother please?” children often respond, “I will get her Fr. Bob.”  I am amazed that the child recognizes my voice.  A child will stop crying when she hears her mother’s voice enter the room.  Many family dogs turn back flips in celebration when they hear the voices of the family children getting off the school bus.  The voice of a person we love has great power in our lives.

Jesus said, “The shepherd calls his own sheep by name and he leads them out of the pen.  When he has led out all of his sheep the shepherd walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice.  They will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”

I was working with a young man whose life had come apart. He was desperate for help and I could not find the words that would help him deal with his problems and his hopelessness.  I asked him if he ever talked to God.  He said that God was very far away and that he was sure that God wasn’t interested in him.  He wanted God to speak to him but God was saying nothing.   I took a long shot.  I told Joe to go home, take a piece of paper and write a letter to himself from God.  I said, “Say in the letter everything that you want God to say to you.”  The next day Joe came back with his letter in his hand.  I said, “Well, read the letter.”  The letter started with “Dear Joe,”   Then Joe stopped reading.  He started again, “Dear Joe.”  I said, “Come on Joe, read the rest of the letter.”  Joe started to cry.  He said, “That is the best part of the letter.  I always think of myself as some kind of a dead head.” (Joe used a four letter word with head that I am not repeating here.)   He said, “I can’t believe it.  God called me ‘Dear Joe.” 

Jesus cast seven demons out of Mary Magdalene. When she mistook him for the gardener after the resurrection Jesus spoke her name with so much tenderness and love that she immediately recognized his voice.  Jesus gave Peter a new name when he first met him.  He changed his name to “rock” - after the resurrection when Peter had denied Jesus three times Jesus used his old name saying. “Simon, Son of John – do you love me?”   The old name reminded Peter of his weakness – but Jesus still acknowledged that Peter loved him more than the others did.  Jesus affirmed Peter’s role as the rock upon which he would build his Church by saying "Feed my sheep.”   Both Mary Magdalene and Peter had a very deep and personal relationship with Jesus.  They recognized his voice as he said their names even in the very darkest moments of their lives.  Jesus pronounced their names with great power and great love.

By what name does God call you?   I am always surprised that when I am in the most trouble God always begins with “Dear Bob” when I take time to pray. We may have many names for ourselves and other people may have names for us too.  Some names are positive and some may be destructive.  God gives us each a name that will lift us up and make us more than we ever thought we could be. 

I am reminded of the play Man of La Mancha – in it a crazy old knight takes a prostitute as his fair lady.  She shouts at him that she was born in the gutter and she lives with filth – she tells him to get the stars out of his eyes – she is nothing and is worth nothing. The crazy old knight gives her a new name – He calls her Dulcinea – his sweet and fair one.  He showers her with love songs.  He speaks to her with a tenderness that she had never experienced before. He sings:

I have dreamed thee too long - Never seen thee or touched thee -   But known thee with all of my heart - Half a prayer, half a song -     Thou hast always been with me - Though we have been always apart -    Dulcinea – Dulcinea -  I see heaven when I see thee Dulcinea.   
 
The new name given to the prostitute completely changed her life. The same was true for Mary Magdalene and Peter and it can be true for you and for me.  Jesus came to shower tenderness and love on a sinful world and on the prostitute and sinner in each of us.  Jesus came to show by his death on the cross that we are deeply and powerfully loved by God. What new name does Jesus, the Good Shepherd give you when you listen to him in the depth of your heart in prayer?   . Do you hear Jesus calling you “My Son” or “My Daughter” “My Friend” “My Chosen One” “My Beloved” or “My witness in the world?”
 
Quiet, heartfelt, personal prayer is the key to a peaceful, happy and effective life. When we open our hearts to the Good Shepherd he calls us each by a new name; he walks before us and leads us as we listen to his voice.  It would be a tragedy to never hear the Shepherd’s voice and never know his new name for each of us.  For the wisdom and the courage to listen to the Good Shepherd’s voice daily in prayer we give God thanks and praise.