LISTEN TO HIM

HOMILY FOR THE 2^ND SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR B

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

Listening is an art. The art of listening requires some form of work. Since listening is an art, and every art involves learning, then listening requires learning. Listening as a word can actually be understood in two different and important ways: to pay attention and to obey instruction. An example of the former could be when a teacher tells the students: please listen carefully as I explain; while an example of the later could be when the same teacher tells the students that good students listen to their teachers. These two considerations complement each other in that someone who pays attention is more prone to obey than someone who does not pay attention. Faith comes from hearing. At this point, listening then goes beyond an act of mindfully hearing and attempting to comprehend the meaning of words spoken by another person to encompass an act of conscientiously and practically putting the meanings made from the words heard from another person into action. In other words, listening entails obedience – the obedience of Abraham.

The First Reading (Gen. 22:1-18) gives us a widely known biblical story of the sacrifice of Isaac. Abraham heard the words of the Lord who commanded him to offer his only son, Isaac as a sacrifice for Him. The rest of the story demonstrated the obedience of Abraham and how God provided a ram in place of the boy having seen how zealous Abraham was to execute the command. We must know what is regarded of us here is not to analyse the horror of God’s command, but on Abraham’s response. We can imagine what he passed through as he complies with the divine command. We feel the silence as the father and son walk together, coming closer with each step to the land of Moriah, the place of ultimate decision. We notice Isaac’s innocent question and Abraham’s evasive answer. We become sober at the very point of execution, ranging from the building of the altar of sacrifice, sharpening of the knife, and the action of carrying the boy to execute him on the altar till the intervention from God. It turned out to not one of tragedy as Abraham did not kill the son and did not disobey either. He has withstood the test and Isaac still lived.

The story is concerned truly with Abraham’s great faith, and his willing obedience to God. Obedience may cause pains, worry, tensions, misery, and distress. However, the end point is always victorious and comforting. Disobedience does not pay. Abraham demonstrated a character worthy of emulation by all in our obedience of God and our fellows. The first law, it is always said in heaven is obedience. In the army, it is a known slogan that everyone must obey the last order. Obedience breeds alacrity and resourcefulness. Disobedience breeds laziness and backwardness. Disobedience affects the group and initiates quarrel and rancour to the point of disunity and disintegration. The sin of Adam and Even was disobedience. The sin of Angel Lucifer was disobedience. Disobedience is a sin that is contagious. This is why the Christian must avoid such so as not to infect others with it.

The Gospel Reading (Mark 9:2-10) continues with this insistence on Listening. The story of the transfiguration is another popular story in the Bible. One peculiar difference between the story of the baptism of the Lord (cf. Matt 3:17) and his transfiguration is seen in the words of the Father. After the dreadful events, ranging from the appearance of Christ, his speaking with the dead (Moses and Elijah), the overshadowing of the crowd, the words of the Father ended in: listen to him. This is a call to obedience. This simply means that the whole purpose of the transfiguration was to call the apostles towards an obedience of faith. It is directed at ensuring that the faith of the apostles in Jesus is made practical. That call on the apostles to listen was not just a call to pay attention to the teachings of Jesus but also to do whatever he tells them to do. God desires that we listen to His son, Jesus, who has shown us so great a love by allowing Himself to be sacrificed for our sake.

Indeed, the Second Reading (Romans 8:31b-34) calls our attention that the Son of God was Himself obedient. He was obedient to the Father. His obedience was for the purpose of our redemption. And because we have been redeemed, no one can condemn or accuse us again. No one can intimidate us again. Obedience removes condemnation, accusation and intimidation. When we obey, we run away from being condemned, but when we disobey, we inadvertently invite accusation and condemnation. The obedience of Christ made us free. We must learn to obey so as to help in setting others free. Listening to God paves way for success and salvation. Listening to God is also affective. Abraham listened to God and became the father of faith, the faith we share today. Jesus listened to the Father, and became our Saviour. We must listen so as we affect the lives of others positively. We must learn the art of listening.

Going beyond listening to God and doing his will, we must also listen to our fellow human beings. It is true that obedience to one’s elders must be emphasized; it is even truer that elders need too to pay attention to their younger ones. We must learn to listen to ourselves, understand ourselves and tolerate ourselves. Everyone desires to be heard out. No one wants to be snubbed. Good friends listen to one another.  When God enjoins us to listen to Jesus, it is an invitation to make ourselves his friends. Listening to others shows we are interested in their affairs. Listening itself can be an act of comfort and consolation. It helps to calm the person who is pouring out his/her minds to the other. Dale Carnegie in his book, How to win friends and influence people exalted the art of listening in people’s conversation. He said “If you want to know how to make people shun you and laugh at you behind your back and even despise you, here is the recipe: Never listen to anyone for long.” We distance ourselves from others and reject our union with them when we fail to listen to them. This is the same way we distance ourselves from God when we fail to listen to him. May God assist us always. Amen. I wish you a blessed week. God bless you.