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<v SPEAKER_00>In today's gospel, they ask Jesus a question that sounds honest, but it's not.

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<v SPEAKER_00>How long are you going to keep us in suspense?

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<v SPEAKER_00>If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.

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<v SPEAKER_00>In other words, just say it.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Make it obvious.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Remove the doubt.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And Jesus answers in a way that almost feels frustrating.

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<v SPEAKER_00>I told you, and you do not believe.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Which means the problem is not clarity, the problem is receptivity.

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<v SPEAKER_00>We like to think that if God were just clear, we would follow him.

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<v SPEAKER_00>If he made it more obvious, he if he gave us a sign, if he spoke louder, then we would believe.

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<v SPEAKER_00>If he would make himself present physically, I can see him.

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<v SPEAKER_00>But Jesus says this is not the issue.

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<v SPEAKER_00>You have already seen enough.

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<v SPEAKER_00>You already have heard enough.

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<v SPEAKER_00>The real question is not whether God has spoken.

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<v SPEAKER_00>The real question is whether you're willing to listen, block out all the noise, and all that attracts you.

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<v SPEAKER_00>He says, My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.

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<v SPEAKER_00>There it is again.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Not my sheep understand everything.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Not my sheep has no doubts.

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<v SPEAKER_00>My sheep hear and they follow me.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And that helps us understand the first reading because what is happening there makes no sense on purely human level.

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<v SPEAKER_00>The church is being persecuted, Stephen has been killed, people are scattered, it looks like a total failure and a collapse.

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<v SPEAKER_00>But instead, something else is happening.

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<v SPEAKER_00>They go out, they start preaching.

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<v SPEAKER_00>At first, only to those who are familiar, only to their own.

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<v SPEAKER_00>But then something shifts.

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<v SPEAKER_00>They begin to speak to the Greeks, to those outside, to those who were not part of the fold.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And the text says something simple but decisive.

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<v SPEAKER_00>The hand of the Lord was with them.

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<v SPEAKER_00>That's the difference.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Not strategy, not planning, not perfect execution.

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<v SPEAKER_00>The hand of the Lord was with them.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And people turned.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Lives are changed.

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<v SPEAKER_00>The church begins to grow.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And then Barnabas arrives.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And I love this line.

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<v SPEAKER_00>When he saw the grace of God, he rejoiced.

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<v SPEAKER_00>He did not analyze it, he did not try to control it, he recognized it, and he encouraged it.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Remain faithful, he says, in firmness of heart.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Stay steady, stay rooted, do not drift.

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<v SPEAKER_00>I love to say, stay structured, stay disciplined.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And then he does something even more important.

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<v SPEAKER_00>He goes and gets Saul.

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<v SPEAKER_00>He brings him into the mission.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And for a year they teach, they form, they build something real.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And it is there in Antioch that they are first called Christians.

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<v SPEAKER_00>That matters.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Because they were not called Christians because of what they said.

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<v SPEAKER_00>They were called Christians because of the way they lived.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Something about their lives made people say they belong to Christ.

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<v SPEAKER_00>I want what those people have.

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<v SPEAKER_00>I want to know that Jesus.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Now that brings us to the gospel.

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<v SPEAKER_00>My sheep hear my voice and they follow me.

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<v SPEAKER_00>This is not about information.

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<v SPEAKER_00>It's about identity.

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<v SPEAKER_00>You belong to Him.

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<v SPEAKER_00>You recognize Him.

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<v SPEAKER_00>You follow Him.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And then Jesus says something that should change the way you walk through your day.

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<v SPEAKER_00>I give them eternal life.

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<v SPEAKER_00>No one can take them out of my hand.

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<v SPEAKER_00>No one.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Not your past, not your mistakes, not your failures, not your anxiety, not your circumstances, not even death itself.

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<v SPEAKER_00>No one can take you out of his hand.

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<v SPEAKER_00>But here's the tension.

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<v SPEAKER_00>If that is true, then why do so many people live like everything is so fragile?

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<v SPEAKER_00>Why do we live like peace can be taken away from us at any moment?

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<v SPEAKER_00>Like identity can be shaken, like everything depends on us holding it together.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Because we're listening to the wrong voices.

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<v SPEAKER_00>There are voices in your life telling you that everything is on you.

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<v SPEAKER_00>That if you do not control it, it will fall apart.

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<v SPEAKER_00>That your worth is based on what you achieve, what you produce, what others think of you.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And then slowly, without realizing, you start following that voice.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And it leads to exhaustion, to anxiety, to a life that feels like it's always on the edge.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Who can live like that?

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<v SPEAKER_00>But Jesus says, No, you are in my hands, and my Father is greater than all.

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<v SPEAKER_00>It's not poetry.

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<v SPEAKER_00>This is security.

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<v SPEAKER_00>This is who we are.

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<v SPEAKER_00>So here's the question: What voice are you actually living by?

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<v SPEAKER_00>Not what you say you believe.

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<v SPEAKER_00>What is shaping your decisions, your reactions, your priorities?

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<v SPEAKER_00>Because that is the voice you're following.

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<v SPEAKER_00>So the invitation is learn to hear his voice.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Not in theory, in reality, in prayer, in silence, in scripture, at the Eucharist.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Because the more you hear him, the more you begin to recognize him.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And the more you recognize him, the more you trust him.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And the more you trust him, the more you will follow him.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And when you do, something changes.

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<v SPEAKER_00>You stop living from fear.

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<v SPEAKER_00>You stop living from the pressure.

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<v SPEAKER_00>You stop living like everything depends on you.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And what happens is you start living like someone who knows they are held in the Father's hands.

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<v SPEAKER_00>You see, the early Christians did not change the world because they had better arguments.

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<v SPEAKER_00>They changed the world because they knew whose voice they were following.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And they stayed faithful, firm in heart.

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<v SPEAKER_00>So today, do not ask for more clarity, ask for deeper capacity to listen.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Because a shepherd is already speaking.

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<v SPEAKER_00>The question is, will you follow?

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<v SPEAKER_00>Because if you do, you will discover that what they discovered at Antioch, that your life begins to look different.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And it starts to look different without you even trying.

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<v SPEAKER_00>People will notice and see it, and they will know that you belong to the Good Shepherd.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Amen.