Week in Review for the Week Ending May 25th

sheep knowing their shepherd’s voice as a metaphor for discernment and hearing g-d

Later in the week a soldier was approached by a woman who begged him to release her flock, arguing that since her husband was dead, the animals were her only source of livelihood. The solider pointed to the pen containing hundreds of animals laughed and said that even if he wanted to help, it would be impossible because he could not find her animals. She asked that if she could in fact separate them herself, would he be willing to let her take them? He agreed. The soldier opened the gate and the woman’s son produced a small reed flute. He played a simple tune again and again, and soon sheep heads began popping up across the pen. The young boy continued his music and walked home, followed by his flock of 25 sheep. — Ruth Harder, In Search of Tablelands, 2016

Below you’ll find the audio from Pastor Jack Taylor’s sermon from yesterday, Sunday May 25, 2025, delivered at Faith Fellowship Church, which I’ve started to attend. There’s much wisdom in Pastor Jack’s words, if you feel so inclined to listen. It’s not my intention to preach or pressure, only share what I find helpful and spiritually healthy. Ultimately you can choose to ignore or you can embrace, reader the choice is always yours. Just as it’s my choice to embrace what I do and let go of what I do.

It’s known that in the world of shepherding, the sheep know, recognise, and respond to the voice of their master. Yesterday was the 68th anniversary of my church, and a former, now retired, pastor—Pastor Jack Taylor, came to give the sermon. He spoke about listening for and hearing g-d’s word in our lives as we navigate trials and tribulations and the complexities of our family relationship. Just as sheep do, we can fall into dangers when we become isolated and alone in the wilderness, separated from the shepherd. There are many voices in our world, they call out loudly and often sound convincing and persuasive and they can lead us astray from the path of safety and peace, lead us away from goodness and light.

Sometimes the not-so-good and unhealthy voices can sound good, sometimes they can drown out the good and healthy voices. How can we know, reader? Sometimes we can’t tell. What do we do, then? We listen hard for g-d’s voice to show us a sign, to give us direction. We might not like the direction it gives us, we might not like the signs we receive. G-d’s answer to our questions and prayers might feel heart sinking and heart breaking. Ultimately g-d knows and we do not. Sometimes He removes people from our lives for reasons we don’t see. Trusting and accepting that which we cannot change, trusting and accepting that which feels unacceptable to our human nature — these things challenge us, they call on us to carry things we never imagined and, frankly, don’t want to do.

There are many things wrong with the world and with the way human society works right now. Over the weekend we saw Hamasniks try to complicate and derail a peaceful event for Israel organised by the Jewish community. We saw misguided people use and exploit the Palestinian cause to try to harm Canadians by blocking a major food terminal in Toronto. We saw misguide people, including some in leadership positions, justify last week’s brutal murder of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinky. We saw communities struggle amongst themselves under the weight of chaos and hardship. The loudest voices often prove to be the most abusive and destructive. Discernment feels impossible, like trying to spot a needle in a haystack, like trying to hear a low whisper in a deafening din.

How can we hear g-d in all that noise and suffering?

Patience and stillness can feel difficult and lonely and even humiliating. It requires a shift to ask what can I learn from this and how can it help me grow closer to g-d, rather than why me, this is unfair, I don’t want to play this game. Life isn’t fair, it’s beyond these contracted human perceptions which we project onto it and others who bully, abuse, berate, and oppress us in our lives and in society generally. Ultimately the way others treat us and respond to us belong to and reflects them as humans, and it’s in our best interest and in the interest of grace and self respect to resist the urge to carry that burden and to remember to deflect the projections others try to place upon us in relationship. It’s obviously easier said than done.

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Below the line you’ll find last week’s missives.

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