Differentiating Voices
Two
weeks ago, I began my vacation with a short trip to Amish country. Someone asked, “What was your favorite part
of the trip?” I didn’t have to think
long before I shared this story.
From
the time I got to Amish country until I left later the next day, it had
rained. My ‘sightseeing’ was based on
running from the car to a restaurant or a store and back again. That said, I didn’t spend much time walking
the sidewalks browsing. When I noticed a
store that looked interesting, I parked and went in.
On
Monday evening after visiting a couple towns and stores, I arrived at my
destination, The Inn at Walnut Creek. It
was time for dinner and I was just a block away from the famous Der Dutchman. After eating a wonderful meal, I walked
outside with my umbrella. Coming across
the street was an Amish woman, probably in her early 60’s, dressed in typical
black. Unsure of whether she would
engage in conversation, I hesitantly asked her if she could tell me what time
most Amish stores closed at the end of the day.
That
simple question turned into a 30-45 minute conversation about life, faith, and
exclusion. You see, Lydia had been
brought up in the Mennonite tradition.
She married a Mennonite man and had lived in PA for most of her
life. But after he died, she met and
married an Amish man and moved to Walnut Creek 12 years ago. Now, Lydia struggles with that decision. She is shunned by the Mennonite community for
leaving their tradition and she is shunned by the Amish community as an
outsider within their ranks. She has
nowhere to turn. She is alone in the
middle of society.
Lydia
explained that she attended a few classes related to theology and that the
teachers have suggested that she has prophetic gifts. She can see truth beyond the view of the
majority. However, her gifts are also
shunned by her traditions. I stood and
listened as she explained how she recognizes the power of control by men in the
Amish tradition; how women are subdued rather than allowed to live out their
talents.
Pain
was evident in her eyes as she described her seemingly fruitless challenges to
people at church with Scripture. She was
not afraid to question traditions in relation to God’s message of grace, yet
when others had no answer to her questions, they simply dismissed Scripture for
their own comfortable traditions. “What
are they really worshiping,” she pleaded?
She wants to go back to PA, but her aging husband will not move. Should she leave on her own to find a
community, ANY community that will accept her and her talents? What does God want her to do? Does she stay in this place where nobody
trusts her? Where nobody listens to
her? Where nobody accepts her? She feels so trapped and alone!
“The
gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them
out. When he has brought out all his
own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his
voice.” We are bombarded by so many
voices…the voices in our head, the voices of family and friends, the voices of
culture, the voices of agendas, even the voices of pastors.
But
Jesus said, ‘They will know MY voice.’ As
we honor mothers today, I remember a conversation with my grandmother who had
served as a UM pastor. She once stated,
“most people that come to me for advice already know the answer in their
hearts. But they would prefer to find
the easier and less painful option. Our
conversations generally lead them to the truth that they already know but would
prefer to deny.”
Each
of us, like Lydia, struggle to hear Jesus’ voice in the chaos of other
screams. Jesus said that those who come
before him are robbers and thieves and that they come to kill and destroy. Jesus, The Good Shepherd, whose voice we will
know, “came that we may have life and have it abundantly.” Those voices competing for our attention want
to tell you that you aren’t wealthy enough, fast enough, smart enough, old
enough, young enough, or thin enough.
They tell you that you will find your happiness in bank accounts,
exercise programs, hard work, new relationships, and awards. But these are the voices of the thieves who
come to kill and destroy.
We
know the voice of the Good Shepherd. It
doesn’t say we WILL know or that we SHOULD know…we KNOW his voice. Just like my grandmother’s suggestion that we
know the truth though we attempt to avoid it.
Does
hearing Jesus’s voice make Lydia’s decision-making process any easier? Absolutely not. Might she be called to a decision that is challenging
and difficult? Possibly. Does Jesus’s promise to bring life and to
bring it more abundantly assure us of convenience and prosperity? NO!
Abundant life in Christ is not defined by abundance according to the
world. But there is peace and fulfillment
that comes with following his voice and his call, even when the path is
difficult. Amen.