HOMILY for July 16, 2017: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

PODCAST - Press sideways triangle below to listen   

or click here if there is no triangle

15^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

St. Mark’s Church, Fallston

July 16, 2017

Unleashing the Power of Listening

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

The Message: Listening

This morning I want to reflect with you on listening.

I am doing this because listening is the main point in today’s Gospel.  In the parable, the seed stands for the Word of God and the different types of soil represent different ways that we may or may not listen.

I am also focusing on listening because our culture has a problem with this.  In recent years, I have become very sensitive to the fact that we often don’t really listen to one another.

Lots of times we interrupt others when they are speaking.  We can probably see this played out in our personal experience and I know for sure that we see it on TV and in the public life of our country.

But, I don’t want to dwell on the negative.  The more important thing is that listening can be a very positive force in our lives.

It can be enriching for us when we really listen to others.  And in turn, it can be respectful and affirming of those to whom we listen.

Response to Jesus: 3 Recommendations

So, in this Gospel parable, Jesus is asking us the question: “How well do we listen?  Do we just hear what they’re saying, but are not really listening to them?” 

I have three practical recommendations for responding positively to Jesus’ desire that we be good soil or good listeners.  And, if you following along, you’ll see that they are intimately connected: the first recommendation leads to the second, and the first and second lead to the third.

Recommendation #1: Believe

My first recommendation is: Believe. 

If it is the Scripture or Bible we’re listening to, we have to believe that this is the inspired Word of God.

We are called to believe that God speaks to us here in these passages.  There is a message here for us from God, or about ourselves in our particular situation, or about how we are to relate to God and to one another.

If it is another person we’re listening to, be it a family member, or friend, or neighbor, or fellow employee, or whomever, we again need to believe. 

Here we need to believe that the other person has value, that he or she is made in the image and likeness of God, just as we are.  And so, we begin by assuming that this person may have something worthwhile to say or is deserving of our attention.

Recommendation #2: Inquire

So, my first recommendation is Believe. My second recommendation for good listening is: Inquire.

Perhaps a passage of Scripture that is proclaimed here at Mass or that we read at home is confusing.

So we need to inquire.  We look at the footnotes or a commentary on the Bible or we ask the priest or deacon or someone in faith formation on the parish staff to clarify this for us.  

Or perhaps we are in a conversation and trying to be attentive to what the other person is saying, but we need understand better.

So again, we need to inquire.  We respectfully ask: “Would you please explain what you meant by that?” or “I don’t think I understand; could you please say more about that?”

Recommendation #3: Receive

So, Believe and Inquire. My third recommendation for effective listening is: Receive.

If it is the Word of God, Sacred Scripture we’re listening to, we need to receive it.

This means we need to take it in, reflect and pray over it, and see how it relates to our lives right now, for it is God’s intent that it do so.

It means – and this is crucial – that we are willing to allow the Word of God to enhance our vision of life or alter our opinion about something and to make a difference in the things that we say or do.

If it is what another person has said, we again need to receive it.

Here this means that we enter into the person’s life experience or thought process that lie behind what he or she has said.  It means that we at least appreciate or understand more about that person as a result of what was said.

Conclusion

So, we need to (1) Believe, (2) Inquire and (3) Receive if we are going to listen well to the Word of God and to one another.

Believe opens us up.

Inquire draws us in.

Receive transforms both myself as the listener and my relationship to the one who’s listened to!