I was at a little league game the other day when a 1-year-old walked by, looked up at me and said with great enthusiasm, “Ga galag habad!”

His mother was close behind and immediately broke out in laughter.

She said, “He wants to borrow your catcher’s mitt!”

I gave him my mitt, then asked his mother how she could have possibly understood her child’s gibberish. She said, “Easy, it makes sense to me because I’m around him all day.”

This Sunday the Church will celebrates Good Shepherd Sunday, our annual foray into one of Christianity’s most memorable images. On this day we are reminded that Christ is our shepherd and that we, as sheep, know his voice.

How do sheep know his voice?

Like the 1-year-old’s mother – it’s because they’re around it all day.

Presence breeds familiarity.

Constant companions do not go unrecognized.

How are we being called into deeper familiarity with the voice that longs to lead, guide, provide, and care for us?