Mark 7: 31 - 37
How Do I Reflect God's Message to Me?There is so much noise in our world today: horns, jet engines, traffic, TV, talk radio, rap music -- all this and more that seemingly grow louder each day. Yes, each day. For many silence has become a rewarding and true discovery. Perhaps today Jesus would say something different from what he said to the deaf man. For us to listen to Jesus in our times we need silence, opening our ears to whispers from the Lord. Certainly he would call us to become more aware of our need to listen to his words, to open our ears not to noise but to messages from the Holy Spirit.
Another season of praying. Praying On the Hill comes not from Capitol Hill. But every experience of prayer is a moment when we climb up a hill, to sit at the top freed from distractions, ready to open heart and mind to the "whispers" from our God. In the reflections that will continue, it is my hope that what I gain from my own prayer and reflection will lead you to the top of a hill that has become your private space for meeting with the Lord. Enjoy the solitude. Relish the silence. Listen, listen for the voice of God. It is this silence, this solitude that will bring peace and harmony to your heart.
Today as you are on your hilltop, pray for a cessation of the hatred that has infected so many daily experiences we witness or become involved in. No four or five weeks in our history seem to have been so charged with hatred and mistrust. Our nation truly needs our prayer for a return to civility. As mentioned in a midsummer posting, we need not worry about Al Quaeda charging against our nation. We have become our own enemy inflicting so much hatred in our communities. Mary, the Mother of Sorrows, today's liturgical feast, became a mother whose life became filled with sorrows when hatred brought death to her son. Think about how much goodness is killed by human disrespect and enmity. Surely there is not the slightest chance that the word of God will never enter hearts that are so vicious, so filled with hatred.
