When I was in college, I spent a summer in India on a short-term mission project. Due to the flight schedule, I was forced to spend a night in Japan.

I made a reservation for a hotel in a town near the airport. All I had to find the hotel was the name of the town and the name of the hotel, written in English. I was able to find a bus from the airport to the town, but when I got off the bus, I didn't know where to go. For some reason, I guess I expected there to be more directions, in English, to help me get around. There were none.

I asked a few official looking people for help, but they just looked at the writing and shook their heads. Finally, a small woman tugged my elbow and asked for the slip of paper with the hotel name. She nodded, waved for me to follow her, and walked about 30 minutes, leading me to the door of the hotel.

When you are truly lost, nothing helps like a guide. A map can be very useful, but you are still essentially on your own to find your way. A guide takes you where you need to be. The only thing you need to do is trust them and follow them.

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus tells his followers, "My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me." Jesus is our shepherd, our guide, to all that we need to live full, rich, rewarding lives. This is good news to those of us who are lost, and know it.

Of course, the challenge for us in the post-Easter world, where we don't have the physical Jesus in front of us leading the way, is to recognize his voice. This is no easy task, for there are so many voices in our world urging us to follow them. We have parents, children, family members, teachers, coaches, bosses and employees voicing their expectations, not to mention the thousands advertisers and marketers trying to influence our values and behavior.

Jesus tells us that he is calling us still. "I give them eternal life," he says, "and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand." Clearly, Jesus is calling us. The question is whether we are able to hear and respond to him.

The best way to learn to recognize the voice of Christ, I would imagine, is to listen to what he has said before. We can do this by listening to the readings during our Sunday liturgies, and by reading and reflecting on the Gospel stories. We can also listen for the voice of Jesus in prayer.

I'll have to admit that I'm not much good at prayer, and when I do spend time in prayer I think it's safe to say that I do most of the talking. My prayers usually involve urgent pleas for help with something that has gone wrong in my life, or in the life of a friend. But if we spend more time listening than talking, and let the other voices in our lives clear out of our minds, we just might be able to hear the voice of Christ.

The good news is that we have a guide who wants to help us, who will walk us to our destination. Our challenge is to listen to him, and to allow him to lead us.

Bill Peatman writes from Napa.