The Importance of Listening (HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE SEVENTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II (AUGUST 03 2024)

HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE SEVENTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR II (AUGUST 03 2024)

Jer 26:11-16,24; Ps.69; Matthew 14:1-12

The Importance of Listening

The ministry of John the Baptist took place during the reign of King Herod. The content of this ministry was to prepare the hearts of men for the coming of the Messiah. This preparation was basically one of repentance. But then, before the people can be moved to repent of their sins, they have to first be convinced that they have sinned. It is only the truth that has the capacity of convincing a heart of wrong doings. So, John went about preaching the truth so that men may see their need for repentance.

In was in this process that he encountered Herod. Usually, the truth is hurtful to the one it addresses. People express their discomfort for the truth in different ways all in a bid to eliminate the truth. When John told Herod that it was wrong for him to take Philip’s (his brother) wife as his own, Herod expressed his discomfort for the truth by putting John into prison. An average person would not have been able to do this. Herod could do this because he was a king. So, it becomes obvious that Herod saw himself as one who has the right to be listened to without the obligation to listen to anyone.

This is a feeling that we sometimes accommodate towards others either because we are senior to them by age or by position. You see that even though Herod had no intention of killing John the Baptist, the feeling that he ought to be listened to and not listen to others, put him in the wrong perspective.

We need to know that God is not bound by social conceptions when he wants to speak to us. He can choose to speak through the lips of the weak, the poor, the uneducated, and the “nobody”. If we must be alert to identifying the voice of the Lord in our midst, we must learn to listen to others. One who does not listen is susceptible to many and grievous errors. In truth, it is in listening that we are able to speak meaningfully. The one who does not listen cannot make sense when he/she speaks.