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Transcript of Homily
Today’s readings are clearly about hearing
God, you know?
We get a little nervous when we talk about
people who say they’ve heard God.
You know, you always get those stories
when someone gets a submachine gun and climbs up a water tower and starts
shooting people because God told them to do so.
And well, I don’t think God told them
to do that.
We get very nervous when we talk about
people who can hear God.
But, nonetheless, we’re suppose to be
able to hear God.
These readings are about hearing God.
When the scripture here says... talks about
the Word...
We’re accustomed to thinking of the Word
as the Bible...
And you know I’m big on this.... I really
believe....
That the usual way in which God speaks
to human beings is through the scriptures.
But.... not just a dead book, but a Living
Word in which God is present.
But.... in these readings the Word “word”
doesn’t specifically refer to the Bible.
It refers to God speaking.
And there are two other parts of scriptures
I’d like to draw your attention to.
First of all... I think I mentioned it
in a bulletin article, either this week or last week.
St. Paul says, “When you were heathen,
you were led astray to dumb idols.”
That’s the usual translation.
We think of dumb as stupid, but it really
means mute.
“When you were pagans, you were led astray
to mute idols.”
Well..... for St. Paul.... the important
point was God speaks.
And, if God speaks, you should be able
to hear Him.
Another text in scripture that I want to
bring to your attention that isn’t in readings....
Is in the very beginning of the Bible in
Genesis where God commands....
Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit of the
tree which is in the middle of the garden.
And Eve one day is walking by that beautiful
tree...
And the serpent says to her, “Look, nice
piece of fruit.”
She says, “Well, God told us not to eat.”
And the devil says, “Is it true that
God has told you that you cannot eat the fruit of the garden?”
And Eve says, “No, no, just the fruit
of the tree in the middle that’s in the middle of the garden.”
And the devil says, “Has God said that?”
The first question....
The first real question that the Devil
asks of humanity is, “Has God Said...?”
And now if the Devil came up to us and
asked, “Has God Said?”
Most of us would say: “Pfffttt, I dunno.
I’m not quite sure what He said.”
It is very important that our goal is to
hear God.
We may hear Him wrong.
But.... we need to hear from God.
There’s an old gospel song that says:
“God we need to hear from you.
Until we hear from you, what can we do?”
Our goal in prayer is usually, “God I
need this, I want that, please do this. Help. Amen.”
But... the goal of the person, who is mature
in God, is the person who says:
“Speak Lord, your servant listens.”
Have you ever noticed when Jesus teaches
the Our Father to His disciples....
They say, “Teach us to pray, Rabbi”
As John’s disciples ta.... or as John
taught his disciples to pray....
And, Jesus said:
“When you pray, do not pray like the
pagans...."
"Who think by multiplication of words they
will be heard."
"Because your Father in Heaven knows what
you need before you ask Him.”
Well then.... why bother to pray?
If God knows what you need.... why bother
to pray?
And Jesus goes on to say, “Our Father,
Who art in Heaven...” this is how you should pray.
The goal of prayer for the follower of
Christ is not so much to be heard as to hear.
God puts us in difficult situations.
He allows these things to happen.
And the purpose of that, I believe, is
that God wants to find us on our knees.
Sometimes it is very hard for God to get
our attention.
And so He puts us in a situation in which
we have no alternative but to listen.
"Speak Lord, your servant listens."
And that is what the Gospel is saying today....
That’s what the Readings are saying today.
That we are so often the people about whom
Jesus is speaking.
We hear.... but we do not understand.
We look.... but we never see.
Our heart is gross.
We don’t want to hear with our ears.
We’ve closed our eyes.
You know?
La la la la.... Don’t tell me.... I don’t
wanna do know.
Have you ever seen a kid do that?
When you say, “Now, I want you to listen....”
“La la la, I’m not listening. I’m
not hearing you. Don’t tell me, I don’t wanna know.”
Well.... unless they see with their eyes...
And hear with their ears....
And understand with their hearts....
And be changed....
And I heal them.
So.... He goes on to say:
“The seed sown on the path is the one
who hears the Word of the Kingdom, without understanding.”
Our job in life... and I know I’m grounding
this ax a lot, and I've....
Some people have complained bitterly when
I’ve said....
The Catholic has a moral responsibility
to study the Bible.
I’ve gotten some REAL complaints about
that...
The Catholic has a moral responsibility
to study the Bible.
Because.... you see.... we hear the Word....
We hear the Word every Sunday, but....
We don’t have understanding.
We don’t pursue the Word.
It’s not enough to simply hear God.
We must hear Him and peruse what He says.
Because God’s plan for my life is infinity
better than my own.
And, I insist on coming before God....
And speaking so loudly about what I want....
That I am incapable of hearing what He
wants for me.
So.... as we hear this...
Let us not be that people who hearing....
do not hear....
And seeing.... do not see....
But, let us say: “Speak Lord, your servant
listens.”
In the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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