Homily For Thursday the Second Week of Advent Year B, 14th December 2023. The Memorial of St. John of The Cross

Readings Isaiah 41:13-20; Ps ,145; Matt. 11:11-15

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

HE WHO HAS EARS TO HEAR LET HIM LISTEN

 

The ears as we know are one of the very important organs of the human person. This organ consists of the pinna which aids the human ability to hear. It is a gift from God through which we have the faculty of being able to perceive sounds and recognize something in an auditory way. To exercise the faculty of this organ effectively we must learn to use it to listen attentively to information. The world no doubt is full of noise, echoing different things in our minds through our ears.

 

But how are we using these organs? How has this organ helped us in our spiritual life in this noisy world? How have we managed the noise in our lives,  in our families and in society which distracts us from listening to God? What are the things we hear or listen to? The Word of God we hear every day how has it developed our relationship with God and our neighbour? Hence Jesus ends our Gospel passage today by saying: If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen!’

 

Here, Jesus is referring to our ability to listen to God's Word and act on it even amid this noisy world. Jesus was making this comment while referring to the mission of St. John the Baptist as his herald to proclaim his coming into this world and to prepare the path for him. He revealed to all of us the truth about God’s love for us. So, referring to the role of John the Baptist in the mission of the Lord, Jesus said: I tell you solemnly, of all the children born of women, a greater than John the Baptist has never been seen; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is.

 

Thus, we can say that the persons who seek to gain some spiritual insight into what Jesus is saying will have that insight increased when they listen, whereas whoever does not listen to Jesus will end up in spiritual ignorance. To avoid this, we are reminded through prophet Isaiah that the faithful people of God would not be forsaken or abandoned, for God still loves us despite all the terrible and sinful things we do if only we could listen to him.

 

Dear friends, by listening, hearing and following Jesus, we grow in familiarity with his voice and hear him more. And by so doing we make Jesus the light of our lives placed on the lampstand to give light and insight to our souls as individuals, family and society, illuminating all the darkness around us. Therefore, we are called to put our ears into positive us and be submissive just like John the Baptist and so cultivate the habit of listening to God and one another. This act of listening to God is one of the virtues of John of the Cross whose memorial we are celebrating today.

 

St. John of the Cross is one of the great doctors and mysticists of the Church who truly listens and embraces the Word of Jesus and has inspired our soul, to continue to be in love with the Lord, he said:  What more do you want my soul and what else do you search for outside, when within yourself you possess all the riches, delights, satisfactions, and fullness of the kingdom of your beloved whom you desire and seek. Therefore, be joyful and glad in your interior recollection with him for you have him so close to you. Desire him deep within your soul, and there adore him. Do not go in pursuit of him outside yourself for he is deep with you.

 

 LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, our ears are gifts from you, help us to use them properly. And as we carry out our activities today, may our ears through the intercession of St. John of the Cross hear the consoling words of Jesus guiding and directing us towards the light of his presence. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Remain blessed.