Knowing Jesus

 A famous actor at a social function was called on to give some recitations. He recited poems, love songs, pieces from Shakespearean plays.  Eventually, one of the guests, an old priest, asked him to recite Psalm 23, “The Lord Is My Shepherd.”  The actor‟s performance was technically perfect and warmly applauded.  The actor then turned the tables and asked the old priest to recite the same psalm.  At times the priest faltered, and his delivery was far from perfect, but by the time he had reached the end of the psalm, he had moved many in his audience to tears.  The actor stood up and said: “The difference between us is this: I know the passage, he knows the Shepherd!”   
 
       The English language has only one word for knowing, whether it is knowing people or knowing facts.  Many other languages, such as French and German, have different words to distinguish knowing a fact from knowing a person.  These are two completely different orders of knowing, as the actor recognized.  Knowing about someone is completely different from really knowing someone.   
 
       In this weekend‟s Gospel, Jesus points to himself as the shepherd of a flock.  He says he knows his sheep and that they know him, for they listen to his voice.  In a sense, our growth in faith is a moving beyond just knowing about Jesus to getting to actually know him, having a real, living relationship with him.  It is the difference between religion and faith, between theory and experience.  
 
       We must continually ask ourselves: “What is the quality of our knowledge of Christ?”  Does it remain on the level of just knowing facts about him: where he was born, things he said, and how he died?  Or do we actually know him?  Do we have a real, living relationship with him?  Do we follow where he leads, by living as he wishes us to live?  Do we recognize his voice in our loved ones, in daily events?  Do we make space to hear him speak to us in prayer, in Scripture, in celebrating the Sacraments in community?  Do we recognize his voice at all, or is our very religious practice a clever means of keeping Jesus at a comfortable distance, making sure we don‟t actually ever have to get to know him?   
 
       Knowing Jesus must make a difference! If we truly know him, it will inspire us, as it inspired St. Paul, to share our knowledge of Christ with others. As with St. John, our love for Christ should give us a yearning for the day when we will be brought together as a family united with God, when there will be no more hunger or thirst, no more tears of sadness.  And if that is what we truly hope for, then we will surely work to make these things more of a reality in our own world today.