GODtalk

We are fond of talking and expressing ourselves. It is believed that an average man speaks about 7,000 words a day, while an average woman utters 20, 000 words a day. But a study shows that both men and women speak about 16,000 words in average (M.R. Mehl et al., "Are Women Really More Talkative Than Men?", Science, 317(5834) p. 82 July 5, 2007). These assumptions, though differing in their conclusions, point to the fact that humans are talkative. This fact is manifested in different kinds of talks: debates, dialogues, discourse, diatribe, #realtalk, #bodytalk, door talk, TedTalk, Pop talk, etc. There is even an app today which encourages it: Omegle: Talk to Strangers (though we are taught by our parents not to talk to strangers!).

   

In the gospel (Lk 11:1-14), Jesus teaches us a different kind of talk. It is a talk not between two human persons but between man and God: a God-talk; a heart-to-heart talk with God. Jesus teaches us, through the request of an anonymous disciple, how to pray. He introduces us to a prayer, which is an intimate conversation with God. (More than a distant God to whom His subjects make supplication and adoration). Jesus teaches us to call God our Father, and so we have the courage to say: Our Father. It is with the Father that we talk our hearts out. It is through those intimate conversations with God that we come to discover that we have a merciful Father in God who gives life to us, who provides for our daily sustenance.

The prophet Jonah (Jonah 4:1-11) saw for himself this mercy of God as He spared the Ninevites from destruction as they repented from their sins; as indeed, God cares for Nineveh. This realization came about through the prophet's talk with God as if God is there beside him as he mused on the fate of the Ninevites, and contemplated his death. Through his prayers and conversation with God, Jonah learned about the boundless love of God for His people as a Father who would care for His lost children. This fact can be made known to us through prayer; through a constant conversation with God.

Prayer then is a conversation with God. Prayer may be done in personal words, a casual chat with God. The Good news is when our words could not contain our deepest desires and sentiments of our hearts; when we do not anymore know how to pray or what to pray for in life, Jesus teaches us a prayer that contains all the essentials of a prayer to God. He instituted a Church that guards and provides communal prayers that can express our hearts: the celebration of the Holy Eucharist (as a form of thankful prayer), the Lord's Prayer. He teaches us that God is OUR Father not only MY Father. Therefore, in our prayer as a Church, we pray as a community or as a family prays for one another; praying WITH one another. Praying to OUR Father as a community and as a Church is our safeguard for not deducing God as our only personal God (who would be shaped by our personal whims and caprices). Our Catholic Christian prayers direct us to the true identity of God as OUR Father, not only a Personal Lord and Savior. In our prayers, therefore, we may engage with God in a personal conversation with Him, but when this fails there is the communal prayer instituted by Jesus that we pray with one another; pray for one another.

In life we occupy ourselves with lots of talks, but when was the last time you had a heart-to-heart talk with God; when was the last time you had a God-talk? When was the time you prayed with all your hearts? Should this not help you, Jesus offers to us a perfect prayer; the Lord's Prayer, so that you can pray with your fellow Christians, through which you can pray for one another.

LISTENING WITH THE EARS OF THE HEART

Hearing is one of the vital senses which man possesses. I witnessed this for the first time when I anointed a sick person. The patient was unconscious in the ICU. The nurse tried to wake him up by touching his chest and calling out his name. He remained asleep until his niece bent towards his ear and called out his name: “Tito Antonio! Tito Antonio! We are here to pray for you.” Hearing a familiar voice, the patient moved his head and with much difficulty, he nodded. I administered the sacrament to him, presuming that he was listening intently to the text I was reading as he kept nodding his head.

A lot of things come from hearing. We learn our ABCs by listening to our teachers. We come to know what we should do in an exam by listening to the instructions given to us. We believe in God, as we receive our faith by hearing His voice calling us by our names and directing us with His gentle words. On the contrary, deafness disables us. We fail to hear what we ought to hear. Eventually, deafness leads to muteness, as deaf people grow accustomed to silence; unable to utter words properly as they themselves could not hear what and how they articulate words.

Having healthy auditory sense, however, is no guarantee that we will be able to do good things in life. We may be able to hear, but unless we truly listen, we shall not understand a single thought or phrase communicated to us. There is a big difference between hearing and listening. Hearing (naririnig) implies that one senses the words spoken to him but does not necessarily mean he comprehends it. Listening (nakikinig) does otherwise. We may have been hearing the words of God every Sunday and in all masses we attended, but it is possible that we have not truly listened to them, as we have not yet fully integrated their message in our life. We might have been listening to other words besides His, leading us to disobey His will. In the case of Adam and Eve, for example, they heard God's command but they chose to listen to the serpent and fell to the temptation to be like god. Thus, by listening to a wrong object, man was led to disobey God and fall out of His grace (Genesis 3:1-8).     

More than hearing by our ears, we are to listen with the ears of our hearts. It is these ears that we have to open before our Lord so that we may fully listen and receive the life-giving words he gives to us. It is through these ears that we can truly listen and discern the will of the Father for us. No voice and sound may be heard. Fear not. After all, the open ears of our hearts can understand the silence of God.      

At the middle of our celebration of the sacrament of healing, Tito Antonio stopped nodding his head and ceased to make any movement. I continued the celebration nevertheless, believing that my words fell not on deaf ears but to the open “ears” of his heart. After I anointed him, there was a visible peace and calmness in his face. He had truly heard and listened to the comforting words of God.

To whom or what do we listened to? Do we listen to the false promises of Satan or to the powerful words of Gods? Through which are we listening to: simply through our ears or through the open ears of our hearts? 

WINNING DIVINE AND HUMAN FAVOUR

Have you ever seen a child or a baby superhero? Most superheroes in movies are adults. That is because children are often portrayed as powerless and weak. Today the all-powerful God presents Himself as the Holy Child (Sto. Nino). It is a description far from the image of a fearsome God in the Old Testament who created the entire universe in His words, who submerged the earth to cleanse it from sins, who destroyed armies of enemies, and who created a nation for Himself. The Child Jesus shows to us the strength of God through an image of a crowned child holding a globe and a scepter in his hands. How can this adorable Child be so powerful?

The strength of the Child Jesus lays in his ability to obey the will of the Father. Young as he was (twelve years old), the Child Jesus listened to the Father and was able to attend to His Father's concerns. We are pleased to see children following the instructions of their parents. The Father is pleased when the Son realizes His will. The ability to obey begins with the willingness to listen. Obedience comes from the Latin words ob-audire, meaning “to listen to.” Those who listen carefully to instructions are the ones who do the right things. Those who attentively listen to the instructions of a proctor have higher chances of passing an exam, for they are able to know what to do during the exam. Not paying attention to the voices and instructions around us may cause us to do wrong things, and worse, may even endanger our lives.

Listening is not enough. We have to be selective about what we are listening to. We may end up doing the wrong things because we listen to wrong voices. Once there was a jogger who kept listening to his iPod while jogging on a busy street. He was so immersed with the music he is listening to. When a vehicle was fast approaching him, he missed the shouts of people warning him from a distance. He ended up being injured by a vehicular accident that could have been avoided if only he was listening to the right voices at that particular moment.

When we listen to kind words, there is a big chance that we will be kind since we will know how to be kind. When we listen to lascivious words, we may end up either being lascivious like the person we listen to, or despising such lascivious person (that is if we are a discerning listener), and uphold what is decent and proper.

To whom then should we listen to; who are we to obey? We are to listen first and foremost to God, for He is our Father who desires only what is good for us, who instructs us through His Son with His wise counsel. We are to listen too to those who listened to the Father and reechoed His message to us. Mary and Joseph are examples of these people who listened to the Father and conveyed to others the same message they heard from God (They went to Jerusalem every year for the feast of the Passover as prescribed by the Law). Thus, Jesus listened and obeyed them. Do the people and the voices whom we listen to resemble that of the Father's voice? Do our voices and messages resemble that of the Father?

Knowing by listening to what we ought to do is just half of the task at hand. Knowing the Father's desire should move us to realize it in our lives, even if it means moving outside of our comfort zones. A child's comfort zone is the reassuring presence of his father or the loving arms of his mother. The Child Jesus left these that He may attend to His Father's business.

We hear the Word of God every Sunday. We access it in our social media anytime we want to. Have we realized and lived in accordance to the will of the Father? Have we busied ourselves with the will of the Father, or have we simply retreated to our old and sinful occupations? Have we become truly obedient children of God, or have what we heard simply passed through our ears because it is too inconvenient for us to obey them?

Obeying God will always involve inconveniences, for we are following Christ who suffered and died before He gloriously rose and sat at the right hand of the Father. Be consoled, however, that obedience to God will bring forth wisdom and understanding. It will truly please the Father.

By knowing and doing, listening and obeying the Father's will and those who reecho his message, we can truly become children of God who have increased in wisdom and age and in divine and human favor. Mga anak ng Dios na may pinagkatandaan, at kalugod-lugod sa Dios at sa tao.

We do not have to be superheroes to win divine and human favor.

By simply listening and being obedient to God’s word, we can surely become pleasing children of the Father.