Reflection for July 16, 2014

"Let anyone with ears listen."(Matthew 13:9)

Is hearing the same thing as listening?  I asked that question last Sunday in my homily.  For me they are not.  I often hear things, but that doesn't mean I'm actually listening.

Sometimes I will hear my name being called at home, it breaks through whatever else I'm doing.  I hear the tone of the voice but I don't get the message.  Only when I've focused in am I listening.

Sometimes I will say I hear what you are saying, but does that mean that I'm listening?  I wonder if in some ways I use that phrase to defuse a situation.

For me the test of whether I'm listening would be, can I repeat what was said, does it cause me to reflect, and if I'd been asked to do something, does it get done.

We've been given ears to hear with, but only when that stimulation triggers the working of the mind does it become listening.

Blessings,
Ed