The season of penance has begun. Let’s take advantage by looking at it as a time of prayer first, then fasting and almsgiving. From the overflow of the heart we speak and act. Let our words and actions be responses to what we hear God saying to our hearts in prayer.
Jesus continues with his life-changing teachings. These teachings prepare us for Lent, so now is a good time to focus on Christ’s lessons because taking them to heart and remembering them will help us on our Lenten journey. We began the liturgical year with the story of his birth and early years. Now we walk side by side with the great teacher who taught even the scribes at the young age of 12 in the Temple. If they were wise to listen to him then, we’d be wise to listen to him now. Listen to his wise teachings, and you will be a tree planted in the Garden of the Lord, bearing fruit even in old age (Psalm 92:14).
To notice the wisdom of Christ’s words, we have to listen with our lives. We do that by reflecting upon the ways in which his teachings match reality and our experiences. We listen by paying attention to our surroundings, not just by reading Scripture and meditating on it. The contemplation phase of lectio divina is ongoing. We ought to sit in silence for a while after reading and meditating, yes, but that’s just the beginning. We also ought to continue listening for God as we return to our daily work, other routines, and whatever else transpires in our lives.
As I reflect on this Gospel passage, I picture the crowds listening to Jesus. My part is the same as theirs. If I am to put myself in the place of Jesus’ disciples, this episode is all about listening. Jesus is giving us wisdom that is from heaven itself. It is good to be quiet now, because contemplating the wisdom of God’s kingdom leaves me speechless.
Sometimes I don’t want to listen. Sometimes I’m like Peter and think I know better. I hear God telling me to do something and I say, “But I’ve tried that already.” God is not telling us to predict the results of what he tells us to do. He just tells us to do it and to have faith, even when we doubt. Simon Peter did one thing right in this Gospel passage. He listened to and obeyed Jesus even though he doubted that it would make a difference. Let’s pray for the faith to do the same.
In order to properly listen to God, we must know his word as Mary and Joseph did. They were also blessed to be part of a community that upheld the traditions of their people. Salvation was offered to all nations because Mary and Joseph listened and obeyed God throughout their lives and, most importantly, throughout Jesus’ childhood. They kept him safe, they raised him in the faith, they followed all the Jewish customs. They listened. It just goes to show, the best way to hear God’s voice is by staying on his path.
When we listen closer to God’s word, we find deeper meaning. There are layers to Scripture: namely, there’s the literal, historical, allegorical, and anagogical sense. It’s easy to get caught up in just one or two and just ignore the others. When we listen closely though, which lectio divina is designed to help us do, we take the time to discover each layer. Sometimes God is also speaking directly to us in a way not even denoted in any of the established senses of Scripture. This is yet another way to prove that God is not only real, but living and breathing among us still so we also can be eyewitnesses of his glory.
Sometimes listening to God requires great silence so we hear what God is saying through all the din of life. Other times we do hear what God is saying, and the difficulty in listening lies in the struggle to execute what he is saying. While filling jars with water may not have been too physically difficult, I wonder what the servers were thinking. They were probably thinking that the order was quite counterintuitive, since they needed to get more wine but were being told to fill the jars with water. So the difficulty in listening to Jesus, for them, was in believing that whatever he tells them to do is going to produce more wine.
Oftentimes, the hardest part in listening to God is the faith part, having faith that what he tells us to do will actually help us achieve what we seek to achieve. Faith produces obedience. If we do not have faith in someone or something, we will find it hard to obey them. With faith in Christ comes great strength, because in being obedient to him his power works through us. When the time comes, will we have the strength of obedience to listen and do whatever Jesus tells us?
You may not have the sky open up and a dove descend upon you to validate that you are doing God’s will. But if you are paying close enough attention, you will notice that God does send little signs when he is pleased with your choices. It may come in the form of a genuine smile from a priest you respect, or an unsolicited “I love you” from your child. Moments like this come when we are obedient and simply do whatever Jesus tells us to do: keep God’s commandments, pray, and listen. Never stop listening for God’s voice in your life. A believer can easily become weary if he thinks God is not pleased with all his acts of faith. But if we are listening closely enough, we will notice the smiles and nods God sends our way. And his approval is the only approval we should seek.
