+ 28 February AD 2021+

Reflection for Second Sunday of Lent, Year B

In today’s Gospel pericope we hear God the Father declare Jesus as his Beloved Son. This declaration played a significant role for Jesus as he passionately approached the days of his passion. But also, the Father’s voice, in the presence of two great Old Testament figures,  Moses the bearer of God’s Law, and Elijah the great prophet, played an illuminative role for the Apostles. They were to look through the veil of Jesus’ humanity to his divinity. They were to look beyond Jesus’ crown of thorns to his crown of glory. The Cross, was to stand not as a sign of ignominy or weakness, but as a sign of salvation. Yet, the event of the transfiguration was not merely revelatory, it was a transformative experience that would open the way to salvation. To realize this goal of salvation, the Apostles and all those who would choose the way of Christ must listen to Christ. Indeed, the Father’s voice is heard in all our Churches today: This is my Beloved Son, Listen to Him.

Are you listening at all to Christ? Today more than ever, it has become increasingly difficult to listen to Christ for a number of reasons. First, there are so many voices today that all clamor for our attention. It is very easy for the voice of Christ to get lost in all the noise around us. In fact, today more than ever, the World seems to be experiencing some kind of sensory overload. We are daily inundated with texts, news feeds, email, calls, video clips, tweets, chats, far-from-reality shows, soap operas, stand-ups, and commercials all yelling at us and taking us to different directions. One might be even forced to wonder if we have not reached the threshold of what our ears can hear and our minds can absorb. In all these, it is pertinent that we ask ourselves, can we still have time to listen to Christ?

Are you listening often enough to Christ? It is one thing to be willing and ready to tune out of the cacophony of the world from time to time, yet, the next question that must be asked is how often do we listen to Christ, and are we doing that enough so as to retain what we hear from him? Some studies have shown that on the average we forget about 93% of what we hear within seven days after hearing it. The pertinent question then is, is it enough just to listen to Christ on Sundays, what about the remaining days of the week? If we must retain the message of Christ, we do need to listen to it more often during the week. It would require a certain level of commitment and intentionality for us to retain the message of Christ during the entire week. Thankfully, many parishes have daily masses, there are so many apps on our phones that can help us mediate on God’s words and of course, for those who drive, we are blest to have the opportunity to listen to God through music and audio Bibles. 

How Can we listen to Christ? We can listen to Christ by reading and meditating on his Holy Word- the Bible. We can listen to Christ by sitting at his feet quietly in the chapels and churches that are open for private prayers. We can listen to Christ by actively participating at Mass and listening to the sermons being preached from the pulpit. We can listen to Christ by paying attention to the voice of conscience within us. We can listen to Christ by creating time to enjoy some religious programs on different social media platforms. We can listen to Christ by adhering to the wise counsels of parents, family and friends. 
Are you listening actively or passively? There is a huge difference between active and passive listening. While passive listening requires less to no efforts, active listening requires a lot of efforts. In passive listening, all that is needed is a “pretentious or makebelieve presence.” On the other hand, in active listening, there is a presence of one’s body, soul and mind. As Christians, we must allow the message of Christ that we listen to, to challenge us, inspire us, touch our souls, clear our doubts, sometimes discomfort us, as well as propel us to action. We must learn to listen actively to Christ. 

Are you listening with open mind and heart? We are all familiar with the reality of selective listening. In selective listening, we filter the speaker’s message and choose what to pay attention to and what not to retain. In selective listening, we tune in and out at intervals to the speaker, depending on what he or she is addressing. Unfortunately, many Christians today are guilty of selective listening. They listen to Jesus when he talks about feeding the five thousand, but tune out immediately he begins to talk about the cross. Those who are not ready to give up certain ways of life tune out immediately the message of Christ begins to challenge them. We are invited to listen to Jesus with an open mind and heart. 

God invites us today to listen to his son Jesus Christ. Let, us like Abraham in the First Reading, not only listen but obey God, even when his words seem not to make any sense to you, like God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac through whom he had promised he would make Abraham the father of many Nations. You never know what God is cooking. May we all be blessed as we listen to the voice of God this week and beyond.
 

    Fr. Lazarus Onuh