Right now I’m on sabbatical, which means—plot twist—writing has stopped feeling like a chore and started feeling like recess. I’m wandering into whimsical territory, writing about things I normally wouldn’t dare put on paper (or at least not without snacks).

Each Sunday in the Easter season, I’m playing with the RCL gospel texts in fun, slightly unexpected ways. Think less “serious scholar,” more “what if this got a little weird?” So yes, there’s a Holy Humor Sunday, and yes, somehow Scooby Doo has wandered onto the Road to Emmaus. Come for the theology, stay for the cartoon mysteries.

Now, heading into this Sunday, my brain is still covered in glitter from a crafting retreat called Create in Me at Lutheridge near Asheville, NC. My good friend Cindy Fritz was there, along with my 88-year-old mom because nothing says “creative inspiration” like three generations, tiny paintbrushes, and a table full of projects.

Somewhere between making Ukrainian eggs and tea cup flowers, my brain did what brains sometimes do: it wandered. Suddenly, I’m thinking about drum circles, The Jetsons, and the Good Shepherd from this Sunday’s Gospel. As one does, obviously.

It sounds like an odd trio at first—rhythmic drumming, a futuristic cartoon like The Jetsons, and a passage like John 10:1-10. But stay with it, because they all hum around the same question: whose voice are we listening to?

Imagine a drum circle. No sheet music, no conductor, just people gathered with instruments, listening closely. At first it’s noise; just random beats, clashing rhythms. But slowly, something happens. A pattern emerges. You begin to recognize a steady pulse of Little Drummer Boy, and someone starts to belt out the song – all the verses. You adjust your own rhythm to match it. The circle becomes one sound, not because everyone is the same, but because everyone is listening.

Now picture the world of The Jetsons. (Catch the theme song here.) Everything is automated, fast, and efficient. Buttons do the work. Voices come through screens. Life is filled with noise like bells, buzzers, and commands. It’s convenient, yes, but also disconnected. In that world, it’s easy to respond without really listening. Easy to follow whatever voice is loudest or closest. Rosie is always on the frizz, too. Noise really amplifies when that happens!

And then we hear Jesus: “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” He doesn’t say the sheep follow the fastest voice. Or the most entertaining voice. Or even the most logical voice. They follow the one they know.

That’s where the drum circle comes back in. Faith isn’t about instantly recognizing God’s voice in a noisy world. It’s about practice. It’s about listening long enough to know the difference between chaos and calling. In a drum circle, you don’t just bang your drum and hope for the best. You listen. You adjust. You find the rhythm that holds everything together.

Jesus calls himself the gate. Not a wall, not a barrier but a way. A point of entry into something fuller, richer, more alive. “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” That abundant life isn’t found in the constant buzz of a Jetsons-like existence, where everything demands our attention. It’s found in tuning our ears to the Shepherd’s voice amid the noise.

The challenge, of course, is that there are many voices. Some promise security. Some promise success. Some just want to keep us distracted. In the drum circle of life, plenty of rhythms compete for our attention. But not all of them lead to life.

So how do we know? We listen for the rhythm that brings connection instead of isolation. The voice that calls us by name instead of reducing us to a number. The beat that invites others in rather than shutting them out.

Maybe faith looks less like having all the answers and more like learning the rhythm. Showing up. Paying attention. Trusting that, over time, we’ll recognize the voice that has been calling us all along.

And when we do? We don’t just hear it, we join it. One steady, life-giving rhythm in the midst of the noise.

If you need a fun children’s sermon, check out this post.