God is speaking but are you listening?

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

For those who complain that God isn’t speaking to them - and I’m not referring to the delusional types who hear voices inside their heads - this Sunday’s readings remind us that God is always speaking, but the real issue is this - are we really listening? God’s Word is contained in sacred scripture and sacred tradition. How many of us take the trouble to put aside some time every day to study it, to meditate upon it and to apply its message to our lives? And I don’t mean to shame you to take out your Bible or your Catechism and read a few paragraphs today. I will be happy if you could do it every day.

Since technology has given us more ways to communicate than ever before, social media which makes information (and disinformation) readily available, state-of-the-art equipment to amplify sound and to listen to our favourite music or podcast, there are very few excuses for us to be “disconnected” or “out of touch.” More often, if we don’t hear what someone is saying, it’s because we don’t want to hear it. It’s called selective hearing. Whether it’s ignoring emails, screening phone calls and texts, staring at the screens of our devices while someone else is talking, or simply putting headphones in and cutting ourselves off from the world – we all practice selective hearing, even when we know we shouldn’t.

And it’s not a new phenomenon – Israel, in Samuel’s time, had a severe case of hearing deficit. It wasn’t that God wasn’t speaking; they still had the Law given to Moses to provide them with guidance, but neither those tasked with preaching it nor those tasked with listening were doing their job. Take for example the sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, who were all anointed priests of the Lord. Instead of preaching and teaching God’s Word to the people of Israel – as they were called to do – his sons were notorious for stealing from the portion of sacrificial offerings offered to God and for sleeping with the women who served at the tabernacle. But the most egregious sin was their refusal to listen to anyone who tried to correct their sinful ways.

As a result of the obstinacy of the religious leadership, God decided to give them the silent treatment. Since Israel had stopped listening, so God stopped speaking. That’s what it means when it says, in those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions. God wanted to speak to His people, to lead them, discipline them, forgive them, comfort them but because they refused to listen to Him, God refused to speak. It was the worst judgment possible.

And so enters Samuel, who is apprenticing with Eli his mentor. God calls Samuel to replace these hopeless ministers who have stopped listening to His Word. There is only one simple criteria – he must be willing to LISTEN, put it into practice and communicate it faithfully.

We turn to the gospel as we see the Word Incarnate finally emerging and the various peoples responding to His Word by learning to listen. We have the Baptist’s disciples listening to their master as he identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God and then they decide to follow up with their own investigation. They heard and heeded our Lord’s invitation to “Come and See” and was transformed by that encounter. Now having heard and encountered the Word personally, and not just come to know of Him by hearsay, they began to share the Word with others. We see this ripple effect finally reaching Simon Peter. His brother Andrew comes and shares his experience and thereafter took Peter to meet the Lord. Peter’s name serves as an apt conclusion to this whole episode. Simon (Shimon) in Hebrew means hearing or listening. Though the name was a real name and not just a symbolic one, St John the Evangelist weaves it beautifully into his narrative to summarise the process and dynamics of discipleship - the disciple is one who listens and puts into practice what he has heard.

So, God continues to speak to us through His Word. And His Word is not just found in a book, but in a living breathing person, Our Lord Jesus Christ. We should have no excuse to not listen. And yet, we can find a load of excuses not to listen. I guess that busyness is easily the number one excuse for not hearing, not meditating, not praying, not taking time to study God’s Word. But busyness is just a cover for the real reasons. One common reason is pride. Pride that wants to say “Listen up, Lord, I’m speaking” rather than “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”  Others don’t listen because they are angry with God, and so we choose to give Him the silent treatment. Or maybe our problem is just sheer laziness. Bibles, study guides, online formations – and more – are all easily accessible, but we’re just too lazy to make use of them.

 And yet, God in His grace, continues to speak. God is more persistent than we can ever imagine. He hasn’t taken His Word from our lives – in fact, just the opposite, He speaks to us in more places and ways than ever before. In spite of our selective listening, and in spite of our sinfulness, God continues to speak to us, for only one reason: Love. God is Love and He continues to love us in spite of our obstinacy. He speaks to us day after day, year after year, in order to break through our obstinacy. God never gives up even if we are hard of hearing. Remember Samuel?

God’s Word has the power to do what none of the other voices in the world can do: He transforms us so that we not only want to listen, but we are emboldened to obey. St Paul reminds the Corinthians in the second reading that after having heard the Word, they can no longer go back to their previous depraved lives. Living such a life might not always make sense. It won’t always be popular or be politically correct. But it is God’s Word – the only voice we can trust in this noisy world and which can set us on the right and straight path to holiness.

Finally, all this begs the question: What does it mean to listen to God?

The first step is to stop talking. It is amazing how God can speak to us when we shut up.

We can also listen to God intently through scripture.  There is a time for studying the Word to have a better grasp and understanding of the text. But the Word of God is also meant to be prayed. For centuries, the Word of God has been best explained and understood in the context of our Catholic liturgy. Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition are meant to go together because they both come from a common source. As much as we admire the Protestant’s proficiency in quoting scriptural texts, our Catholic exposition and appreciation of the bible cannot be done in isolation and apart from our liturgy, as our liturgy is deeply scriptural and our scripture is profoundly liturgical.

Finally, listening to God also requires patience.  Patience teaches us humility and docility - humility to recognise that God sets the pace, not us; and, docility to submit in obedience to the Word. The Latin root for the word “obedience”, “obedire”, simply means “to listen.” Ultimately, to truly listen to God’s Word demands obedience, as opposed to simply receiving information. For as the Apostle James reminds us: “you must DO what the Word tells you and not just listen to it and deceive yourselves.” (James 1:22) Listen! Do! Believe and Live!

Come down the Tree of Narcissism; Go up the Tree of Salvation

Thirty First Ordinary Sunday Year C

No one denies the vast benefits of Facebook, Twitter, and the likes in deriving and disseminating all sorts of information and staying connected at an instance. I have personally benefited from the use of social networking and see its value in terms of the new evangelisation and the ‘new media’ which the last three Popes have frequently spoken of and demonstrated through their own savvy use of technology in the service of the gospel. I state all these knowing that what I have to say next may sound holier-than-thou and self-righteous. But here it is: the increase in the use of social media is indicative of the relentless rise of narcissism in our culture. As some social commentators have noted, narcissism has reached epidemic levels. We’re on constant display. The raunchy, goofy, poignant, sexy or drunken self-portrait has been a common sight since phone camera met social media. Every word we say can be posted. Everything we do can become an instant YouTube video. Every mistake we make and every race we win is a public affair.

Narcissism means having an inflated or grandiose sense of self. A narcissist thinks she is special, unique, and entitled to better treatment than others. The term ‘narcissism’ comes from the Greek myth of Narcissus, a handsome Greek youth who rejected the desperate advances of the nymph Echo. These advances eventually led Narcissus to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. Unable to consummate his love, Narcissus lay gazing enraptured into the pool, hour after hour, and finally changed into a flower that bears his name, the narcissus. Despite its alluring promises, the truth is that narcissism kills.

Narcissism distorts our vision of humanity. We have been made in the image and likeness of God in order that we may come to know Him, love Him, serve Him and be with Him in beatific union for eternity. Yet, narcissism has caused us to fall in love with our own image, a false idol.  Narcissism in itself becomes a springboard for materialism and greed. We covet things of this world, rather than recognise that they are meant for the common good and for God.  We buy, we hoard, and start all over again.  Focusing narrowly on our own inner thoughts, experiences, feelings and felt needs, we ultimately cut ourselves off from the unfamiliar.  Wrapping ourselves in a cocoon of inwardness, we feel cozy in or own personal cult of self worship. Ultimately, we suffer from an addiction to ourselves. 

Someone once described this modern narcissistic culture by using this analogy – in the past, someone would climb a mountain in order to see the world. But now, people would climb the mountain in order for the world to see them – literally screaming for attention: ‘Look at me!’ Today, we are presented not with a story of a man climbing a mountain but a story of one who climbs a sycamore tree. Perched in its branches we find our man, Zacchaeus. So why was Zacchaeus up the tree? You can say that Zacchaeus was old school. He was not up the tree as a sort of personal announcement to the large crowds gathered there (an ancient form of social media, I guees), ‘Look at me!’ He was there because he was curious. Mystery had drawn him to the crowd and ultimately led him to climb that tree. Jesus was passing through Jericho that day, and many people were crowded around him as he walked through the city.

The curiosity of Zacchaeus, his thirst and desire to see Jesus reveals a powerful truth - God cannot be found by looking within yourself, your heart, your feelings and your experiences.  His Word is not the same as some inner voice.  His presence is not some warm feeling in the depths of your heart or the fluttering of butterflies in your belly.  Our God is a God who hides Himself where He may be found with certainty.  He hides himself in the mystery of the Incarnation – in the person of Jesus Christ.

Now, we could spend a lot more time discussing why Zacchaeus climbed up in the sycamore tree. We could debate—and many commentators have—exactly how much Zacchaeus knew about Jesus before he climbed the tree. We could speak about how impressed we are at the ingenuity and creative quick thinking of Zacchaeus or wonder whether we might have done the same thing. All these discussions may be fascinating but it’s really losing sight of the forest for the trees (or at least one tree)! The lesson of that tree really isn’t about Zacchaeus nearly as much as it is about Jesus. That tree is where Jesus came to save a sinner. Zacchaeus receives more than he bargains for as Jesus will summon Zacchaeus from his perch atop the Sycamore and invite himself to dine at the reviled tax collector’s home. His encounter with Jesus would change everything. He would ultimately find liberation from his narcissistic obsession with wealth. Jesus taught him to look beyond himself and his goods.

Last week, I had the opportunity to share with you the profound connection between the liturgy and the virtue of humility. Today’s story illustrates how the liturgy can save us from ourselves – Good liturgy puts the brakes on narcissism. Notice that we are bombarded throughout the week with secular ‘liturgies’ (social media, rituals of affirmation we receive at home, at work or in school) that guide our loves and desires towards a ‘me, me, me’ kingdom, rather than God’s kingdom. It’s a self-focused kingdom: a kingdom that loves me and only me. But liturgy protects us form simply making worship into a self-pleasing act. Church then, is meant to be the place away from it all. The home away from self-display. It’s meant to be the place where the liturgy guides us towards a desire for God’s kingdom, to worship Him and not ourselves. And that is why I have put a stop to the habit of applauding during the mass. It’s not because I’m an old Scrooge, an avowed party-pooper and wet blanket. It is because our applause takes away our focus from what is most significant. Pope Benedict XVI said: “Wherever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that the essence of liturgy has totally disappeared and been replaced by a kind of religious entertainment.”

Thus our first priority if we are to affect a reform of our lives and of the life of the Church is the reform of how we celebrate the liturgy. As another priest blogger puts it: ‘Save the Liturgy, Save the World.’ We must be taught again that the Mass is not a what, it is not a human rite which can and should be manipulated so as to express human desires or to promote human goods. The Mass is not another tool to serve a ‘function.’ The Mass is rather the prayer of self-offering of Jesus Christ to His Father for the remission of sins. Our usual complaints often betray our misconceived idea of the liturgy – music must be louder and more ‘happening’, benches and kneelers must be softer, church must be cooler, homilies must be funnier, and services must be shorter. The perduring idea that the liturgy should correspond to my likes and dislikes perpetuates individualism within the liturgy.

Time and time again, the assumption is that the key to drawing back young people to our parishes and churches is simply to make a few style updates to the liturgy that would cater to their contemporary taste – edgier music, more casual services, exciting innovative homilies with lots of lame jokes thrown in at regular intervals, loud bands and concert style rallies, an updated web site that’s awesomely cool. The truth is that these young people have enough of this outside the Church. It would truly be tragic and ironic and ‘boring’ to witness the same old thing when they step into church. But here’s the greater truth, the liturgy is not meant to feed the addiction to self and be another outlet for narcissistic expressions. The liturgy is not meant to please the crowd and be another avenue of entertainment. The liturgy is the Source and Summit of our lives – it is the Father's gift of Himself in Christ to us and, through Christ, our offering of Christ and, with Him, of ourselves – our minds and hearts, our daily lives – to the Father. The truth is that many young people are indeed being drawn back to beautiful traditionally faithful celebrations of the liturgy, because just like Zacchaeus, they sincerely want to see Jesus. They want the real thing, not a performer merely play-acting and attempting to please the crowds.

Today, we are invited to ascend the ‘Tree’, not the sycamore tree that Zacchaeus climbed – the sycamore tree is just type of something far more important. The sycamore tree reminds us of  the Tree of Life, once denied to Adam and Eve when they fell into sin of self-idolatry, narcissism in its most ancient form; the very Tree which now awaits us in the gardens of Paradise. It is the Tree on which our Saviour hung, the Cross, once barren and wintry but now burgeoning with new life, announcing a new springtime of the resurrection. Augustine of Hippo, in his commentary on the Gospel of St Luke, wrote : “The crowd laughs at the lowly, to people walking the way of humility, who leave the wrongs they suffer in God’s hands and do not insist on getting back at their enemies...Say what you like, but for our part, let us climb the sycamore tree and see Jesus. The reason you cannot see Jesus is that you are ashamed to climb the sycamore tree” … the Tree of Life, the Cross of our Redemption and Salvation.