God’s willingness to communicate Himself

 

God leaves no stone unturned in saving us.

Reflection on Today’s Readings, Thursday of 16th Week in Ordinary Time, Year I, July 27th, 2023
Texts: Exodus 19: I-2. 9-11.16-20b; Canticle Daniel 3:29-34; Matthew 13:10-17 

The message, today, is God’s willingness to communicate Himself to us. Today’s readings show that the way God speaks to us depends our disposition towards Him. Jesus Christ tells us today that He uses parables because of our unyielding attitude. When He speaks we will not listen that we may hear and understand. Our hearts are dull to understand. In His words: “This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”  

God also speaks to us through human agents and wants us to believe them. He spoke to Moses so that the people might believe Moses. God said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you for ever.”  In the reading we notice that God had to speak in a frightening way because they were deaf. Their hearts were dull and ears heavy to hear. Speaking in a frightening way He broke their deafness and inspired His reverence in them. This shows God leaves no stone unturned in saving us. 

We have to be close to God

We find it hard to understand God’s word when our hearts are far from God and unyielding to Him. Using parables, He speaks to us in a way that we need to take further step to understand. The further step is to draw close to Him to get the meaning. Hence, we have to be close to God. Then, He will say to us, “But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

Prayer 

God our Father, make our hearts warm for You and our ears open to Your word; may we yield our lives to You that You may heal us of our deafness and coldness of heart.  Amen
 
Fr. Andrew Olowomuke