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Friends,

There’s a moment in John’s Gospel when folks gather around Jesus on Solomon’s porch and blurt out what’s been simmering inside them: “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you’re the Messiah, just say so!” (John 10 : 22-30).  I hear a familiar impatience there—something between hope and weariness—like waiting for a loved one’s flight to finally appear on the arrivals board.

Jesus doesn’t meet their demand with a headline; he points to the quiet evidence already in plain sight: sheep who hear his voice—wounded people like you and me— who are never abandoned, but held safely in the Father’s hand. Recognition, it seems, grows in the small, steady acts of love we often overlook while scanning the horizon for something bigger.

The good news is that the true Shepherd never wanders off. His voice still threads through coffee shared after morning drop-off, through a phone call to someone who’s hurting, through a prayer whispered in traffic. These are the quiet signs that answer our question long before we realize it—evidence that we are already held in a grace larger than our suspense.

So here’s our invitation: pay attention to the ways Christ is already saying “I am here” in your everyday routines.  Let those discoveries fill the suspense with wonder instead of worry—and bring a story or two when we gather next week to celebrate the Shepherd who never clocks out.

Alex+