Photo by Mike van Schoonderwalt: https://www.pexels.com/photo/bald-man-covering-ears-with-his-fingers-5511605/
I can’t hear you!
Remember when you were a little kid, and a grown-up or a friend was telling you something you did not want to hear, and you put your hands over your ears and said, “I can’t hear you!” While certainly much more serious, that is what the people are saying to Jeremiah as they seek to kill him.
They do not want to hear what Jeremiah wants to say. Or, even when they ask him to tell them what it is that God has said, they do not really want to do what God wants them to do. They are simply hoping that what they want to do and what God tells them to do magically come together.
Sometimes, though, we can be the same way with God. When we hear something we should do, say from the gospel or the Church, we too can cover our ears in hopes that we will not have to do anything. Or, we can be in a situation where we just hope that what God wants aligns with whatever we have already decided we want.
At least in my life, when this happens, it is usually because I am being asked to do something I do not want to do. Or, the message from God seems too difficult or will require too much sacrifice. So, I cover my ears.
But why? Why do I do this? How often has it been the case that God has not wanted for me what is best? When has God ever led me astray? When is it that I have ever not received the good news and grace from God when I listened to him with an open heart and uncovered ears?
Though it is not in our readings today, perhaps we should make this prayer ours today: If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts!
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