Saturday of the 27th
Week in Ordinary Time
Reflection on the Gospel: Luke 11:27-28
Not Missing the Voice of the Shepherd
by Frank D. B. Savadera, SJ
I've heard of some who use the Gospel today to DOWNPLAY the role of Mary in our
history of salvation. Jesus appears to
be rebuking a woman who comes to appreciate His mother: "Blessed is the womb that
carried you and the breasts that nursed you." Jesus, as if parrying credit for Mary instead says:
In Mary's defense, we say: Blessed is Mary who heard the word of God and observed it.
I think if there's one helpful question that I wish to ask myself, it is this: Much like Mary, Am I able to hear God? Am I able
to follow his word?
Let me site some
possible BLOCKS to not hearing the Word of God:
1. SHEER
NEGLECT or an underdeveloped sensitivity to God’s presence. This maybe due to a lot of things i.e. laziness to pray, busy-ness
of life, incapacity to be still, etc. Can I while
away my time in prayer? We instill FAITHFULNESS in prayer:
Can I actually say: I enjoy praying. This may be the only time I can pray. Thus, I make the most out of it. Can I give my full
attention to what God may tell me? This is about the direction of life that I wish to live. Do I can to listen and be faithful to my prayer?
2. SPIRITUAL DEAFNESS due to anger, pain jealousy, bitterness, malice and resentment. Isn’t it true that when we are AT WAR with
another, we tend to defend and over-defend ourselves. Oftentimes, we even seek revenge and
justification. We can actually be so
consumed by our negative emotions … that we are just so compelled to air them
out … to speak, to criticize, to defend ourselves. We fail to listen. Fr. BERT ALEJO has a good
image of what it means to come home.
HOME in the Tagalog vernacular is TAHANAN, that which comes from the
root word TAHAN or TAHAN NA … STOP CRYING!
Thus, HOME is a place where we
STOP CRYING. We are finally AT HOME with
ourselves, at home with others. How are we moving toward being at home with ourselves
and the concerns, issues and the drama of my life. Can I settle and be ready to listen and not be deaf. The call perhaps is to have a GREATER SENSITIVITY TO THE GRAND DESIGNS OF GOD. We do not tackle our issues simply for the
sake of burdening us and hitting our heads with stone. We also would like to believe that God does
not mean us to suffer. But even our
worst situation/ experience in life can actually prepare us for what the Lord
wishes us to do. Can we have a listening ear as to where God is always leading us?
3. UNBELIEVING HEART or our incapacity to trust and risk. Is
this really true? Is this really
happening to me? Am I just fooling myself?
But I have a lot to lose? I may
be asked to surrender my attachments … what principle and beliefs that I may
hold true. I may further hurt myself or
make a bigger fool of myself. Can I
afford to make a mistake. Amidst our constant doubts and fears, it may help to ask ourselves: WHAT’s THE WORST THAT CAN
HAPPEN? Shame, embarrassment,
failure? CAN THOSE KILL ME? What cannot kill you can make you a better
person … isn’t it? The call therefore is to SURRENDER with great GENEROSITY. What is your will, Lord? We remember the evangelist John's image image of a true SHEEP. The true sheep will hear the voice of the
Shepherd and will be led by Him (John 10:1-5). The true sheep will not follow a
stranger’s voice, only God’s.
Thus, we pray to remember: God speaks to us in a
very specific and personal fashion. We
cannot miss his word. We must all expect to
hear God’s voice and then follow it … thru our FAITHFULNESS TO PRAYER, GREATER SENSITIVITY TO THE GREAT AND GRAND
DESIGNS OF GOD and our SURRENDERING and our GENEROSITY to risk and follow the voice of the Shepherd.
