The “art of listening” is an art which is fading away. We really listen to each other so rarely anymore. So often, we are racing ahead in nearly all of our conversations, planning what we will say in response or figuring out how to get our “two cents” in.
Jesus, by contrast, was an expert at listening. The Gospels are filled with moments when He asked people what they needed or how He could help them – and then He waited for their response. He listened intently and never presumed to know what others either wanted or needed.
An example of Jesus’ expertise at the art of listening is St. Luke’s account of the Journey to Emmaus (24, 13-35). Jesus listened patiently to the version of history that the two travelers had. He didn’t cut them off after a few words. He heard them out. He listened, and in the light of what they said, He read the past for them in a new way: “Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them the things about Himself in all the scriptures.”
Are we willing to let Jesus interpret the ways and the workings of God in our lives? Are we willing to hear Him put all of the successes and failures of our lives in the context of God’s goodness, care, and love for us? Do we really trust that the thread woven through our lives is the grace which God has provided – and continues to provide?
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Creemos firmemente que Cristo murió por nosotros y Resucitó de entre los muertos. Celebramos la Pascua como hermanos y hermanas en torno al Señor Resucitado, para abrir nuestras mentes y corazones a su Palabra, y para dejarle que nos llene con su presencia viva. Él nos dice, como les dijo a sus apóstoles: “Miren, soy yo mismo; escúchenme; tóquenme en la comida y en la bebida de la Eucaristía.”
Especialmente durante la temporada Pascual, proclamamos a Cristo Resucitado y damos testimonio de Él. Pero esta fe ha de encontrar expresión visible en nuestra vida católica de cada día: ya que Cristo ha Resucitado, tiene que resucitar también en nosotros; tenemos que llegar a ser nuevas personas y nuevo pueblo en los que Cristo vive. Tenemos que dar testimonio de Él con toda nuestra vida.
