Disposition to Listen

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 27th week in Ordinary time

October 8, 2024 - Galatians 1: 13-24; Luke 10: 38-42 

The Word today insists on our need to listen to God. The credit that has to be given to Saul, in his turning into Paul is fundamentally his readiness to listen to God. In fact, what strikes us in Paul's narration of his Christ experience is his readiness to perceive Christ, inspite of his totally opposed prior experience. That was possible because of his capacity to Listen. If he were as stubborn as he always was, he would not have heard the Lord's voice from his horse! Paul himself reiterates his capacity to listen to God, by narrating his initial journey in the Lord, preparing himself to be an apostle: that was to the major part, an attentive listening to the Lord and to all that the Lord wanted to reveal.

Mary at Bethany, is yet another icon of listening to God. She knew where the life giving source was: "to whom shall we go Lord, while you have the words of eternal life" were the words of Peter to the Word made flesh. Today we are called to discover the life giving Spirit in the Word that comes across to us on a daily basis. Mary was considered wiser than her sister Martha in her choice because she chose to listen to the Lord inspite of all the excitement involved.

How do I rate my capacity to listen to the Lord? Let us begin from listening to each other... I can listen to the other only when I begin to reduce my talking, my thinking about myself. And that will gradually help me to open myself to the Lord too...for the Lord is all the time calling us, speaking to us, communicating to us - it depends on me to listen! It is a quality to grow in: the attitude of listening; a disposition to listen.