Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

SELECTIVE HEARING
Wisdom 12: 12, 16-19; Romans 8: 26-27; Matthew 13: 24-43 

Our gospel this morning is the second in a series of three where the Church focuses on Jesus as the master storyteller. Taken from the thirteenth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, what we’re hearing is what is called the Parabolic Discourse – a collection of parables that Jesus uses to teach us about the Kingdom of God. So last week we heard the Parable of the Sower and the Seed, this week the Parable of the Weeds among the Wheat and the parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast. And next week we will hear an anthology of very short parables likening the Kingdom of God to a buried treasure, to a pearl of great of great price, and a net thrown into the sea. Although gathered by Matthew into one setting, these parables were probably told by Jesus at different times and in different places. Matthew collects them into a single chapter for convenience sake, to better organize his Gospel, and that none should be lost. 

So you would think that in a passage so beautiful and so rich as our gospel reading is this morning that it would be a piece of cake for me to write today’s homily. But it wasn’t. Part of the problem is that Jesus himself explains the parable, one of only two times that he ever did. And so I think it would be pretty presumptuous of me on my part to think that I could offer a better commentary on it than Jesus himself. So rather than me attempting to do something that would be complete folly, the Holy Spirit took me in a whole different direction. And so as I prepared my homily this week and meditated on the gospel, my attention became fixed on only one line. It’s the common line to both today’s gospel and the one we heard last week: “Those who have ears ought to hear.”

We all suffer from “selective hearing” at times, don’t we? Selective hearing is that chronic disease where we hear only WHAT we want to hear or hear only those WHOM we want to hear. We learn how to do this very early on in life. As little children, when faced with something we don’t want to hear, we cover our ears with our hands and then loudly start singing “La La La La La” to drown out the words of a parent, sibling or friend. It becomes a little more sophisticated when we reach our teenage years and we slam the door to our bedroom, put on the earphones and pump up the volume. And by the time we reach adulthood, we use the remote control to switch off what we don’t want to hear and tune in to that which is more to our liking. Or we do a mental cut and paste – we delete the things that we don’t want to hear and only remember the things we do. 

We can do the same thing with regard to our faith. I’ve mentioned this before – that the purpose of the gospel is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. And those parts of the gospel that are meant to afflict our comfort zones disturb us, challenge us, and hardly seem to be in any way, shape or form what is supposed to be GOOD News. 

It’s easy to hear, “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest," as we did a few weeks ago. But not so easy to hear today that we’ll have to wait till final judgement at the end of the world for evil to be eradicated, and that until then, good and evil will coexist side by side. “Anyone who has ears ought to hear.” 

It’s easy to hear about a Good Shepherd who searches for the lost sheep and lovingly places it on his shoulders and carries it back to green pastures. It’s hard to hear about a king who separates the good sheep from the bad; and the good sheep are rewarded, while the evil who did not recognize him in the poor, the needy, the alienated, the socially unpopular, are sent off to Gehenna. “Anyone who has ears ought to hear.”

We’re consoled when we hear of a love so great as to lay down its life for those he loves. It’s hard to accept the words that came from the same mouth to “love your enemies, to pray for those who persecute you. “Anyone who has ears ought to hear.”

It’s nice to hear that “in my Father’s house there are many rooms.” But it’s hard to take when we’re told that the first shall be last and the last shall be first, and that the simple, the childlike, and the ones who serve rather than being served are greatest in God’s Kingdom. “Anyone who has ears ought to hear.”

It's hard to hear that we must take up our cross daily and follow in the footsteps of Jesus. We don’t want to hear that in order to be forgiven we must forgive seventy times seven times. We just don’t want to accept that we must love our neighbor as we love ourselves, and that our neighbor is the modern day Samaritan – the Moslem, the gay, the terrorist, the immigrant, Chuck Schumer, Donald Trump or anyone who has so personally wounded us that it’s like they have left us for dead. We simply don't want to hear a gospel which proclaims the sanctity of life and of marriage, and the value of chastity, when the rest of the world shouts at us that the greatest virtue is self-satisfaction. “Anyone who has ears ought to hear.”

What about you? Have you started to pump up the noise and drone out the voice of God in your life with other voices that offer a message that is sometimes more pleasant to hear, less challenging and seeming to offer more immediate satisfaction? Here’s seven tips for hearing God’s voice that you can try this summer:

1. Desire God – Acknowledge that there are other voices that compete with the voice of God in your life and simply desire that God speak to you louder and more clearly. 
2. Get Quiet - Remove all distractions externally and internally. Put your phone away and just unplug from the busyness of life. Give God room to speak to your heart.
3. Meditate on the Word - Grab hold of one Scripture passage and unpack its meaning throughout the day. Allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate the Word within through prayerful pondering.
4. Zip Your Lips - Go on a word fast. Try to cut-down the amount of words you use, especially in situations where it’s becoming habit. Bring your speech under submission of Christ and take your cues from Him on when to speak.
5. Bookend Your Day - Early in the morning before getting out of bed and right before falling asleep, both are great times to discern God’s voice. Let Him speak into your day at these pivotal parts of the day. Begin and end with Him in mind.
6. Go for a Prayer Walk - Take a stroll in the cool of the day around the block or along the beach just like Adam in the Garden of Eden. Initiate dialogue with God through prayer and listen attentively for His response.
7. Find Your Mountain - Getaway with God. For Jesus it was Mount of Olives, for the prophet Elijah it was Mt. Carmel and Moses it was Mt. Sinai. Find your secret place with God for regular moments of solitude and divine impartation.

The fact of the matter is, the gospel is a challenge for us to live. And you know what? It was two thousand years ago too. The gospel is not just a collection of consoling sayings that we like to see on bumper stickers and throw pillows. The gospel is a challenge that’s meant to be transformational, to make us better than we are right now. We’re not meant to practice “Buffet Christianity” where we’re able to pick and choose only our personal favorites of what tastes good, smells good, sounds good or makes us feel good. Rather, we’re meant to come to the table of our altar, to feast on the Bread of Life, the Cup of Salvation and EVERY word that came forth from the mouth of God. 

“Anyone who has ears ought to hear.” How’s your hearing?