Emotional connection to hearing the sound of voices

The sound of voices fills our world, whether our loved ones in front of us, our TV entertaining us or the power of the media vying for our attention.

As I pondered voices this week, I was drawn to a painting this week by Francis Barraud.

The piece, painted in 1898, depicts a white Fox Terrier, Nipper, tilting his head quizzically at a wind-up Edison Bell phonograph, his black ears attentive to the sound.

The story behind the painting is that after Barrauds brother, Mark, passed away, he discovered that he had inherited his nipping dog, a phonograph and a recording of his voice.

As Francis Burraud played the recording, Nipper responded with a puzzled look.

Burraud decided to capture the image, and his painting became iconic imagery recognizable worldwide.

Burraud tried to sell the painting to publishers and was met with several rejections and responses such as “dogs don’t listen to phonographs.”

The artwork, later known as, “His Master’s Voice,” was purchased for 100 British pounds by the “Gramophone company,” which later became the record company HMV.

The symbol has depicted the story of emotional connection to sound for decades.

Throughout scripture, we read of God speaking to His children, each book rich with examples of how God speaks, with many references to us as sheep and Jesus as the shepherd; the well-known

Psalm 23 tells us, “the Lord is my Shepherd, I have all I need,” or Isaiah 40 verse 11, we are comforted that, “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.”

John 10:27 says, “The sheep that are My own hear My voice and listen to Me; I know them, and they follow Me.”

Shepherds and their sheep have a special relationship; sheep recognise the voices of their shepherd over all other voices.

As the sheep go astray or break a leg, the shepherd will carry the sheep until it is mended, creating a bond.

We are often referred to as sheep in scripture; it could be because sheep lack direction, are often defenceless, or that they follow the next sheep.

Or, more likely, the relationship with the shepherd is of utmost importance for direction, rescue, survival, comfort and friendship.

You might wonder, how do we hear the shepherd’s voice?

As we are all created unique, the beauty is that we will all listen and hear in different ways, some through being in a faith community, others in nature, often in silence and always in the reading of sacred scripture.

Whichever way you find works best for you, let's all take time, commune and listen to “The Master’s Voice.”