listen

The words from Jeremiah in the first reading: This is what I command my people; LISTEN to my voice” (the caps are mine) has haunted me most of the day even until now; it is midafternoon. I have been wondering how well I do as a listener. I have had all sorts of training as a therapist, priest, etc. to learn how to listen; but do I really listen to God? In reflecting today, I realize how noisy I have let my life begin. TV is on in the background, You tube videos, scrolling through Facebook from time to time, texts dinging, phones ringing, etc. How do you really listen with all the background noise and the inner noise too? We all have an ongoing conversation with all the different parts of our personalities, and it can drown out any divine voice within us.

In the life of Elijah, we are reminded that God spoke in the quiet whisper. For Moses, it was the quiet voice of the burning bush. For Jesus, the quiet voice of the Spirit in the desert. So, we need to take the time to quiet down our inner and outer world and hear what God wants. Last fall, when the parishes I am with had our listening meetings, I became convinced that if we did not listen to God and will not listen to the voice of the Spirit, we will fail in whatever we try to do.

Silence has become a precious commodity in our busy world. As much as I love music, it can get in the way of truly listening. If you are reading this, take the time to be quiet for 5 minutes and just be. To hear God’s voice takes no work; it only takes an open heart.