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Gospel Reflection for Thursday, March 27, 2025
What Needs to Be Heard
In recent years, there has been talk of the “deaf community” as another group of victimized people… but by whom? Certainly, no one would dispute the fact that people without hearing need special support to navigate society. But from there to proclaiming “deaf pride,” there seems to be a big leap. In today’s readings, however, it appears there are those who are deaf by their own choice. And that is a matter of the heart. “Do not harden your hearts,” it says. It doesn’t tell them to open their ears, because they hear just fine. What they don’t do is listen. And that’s because their hearts are hardened. And with hardened hearts, they are stubborn in their wickedness. Closed off to anything God might say.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus drives out a mute demon… But those who have made themselves voluntarily deaf criticize Him. Would they prefer that the man remain deaf and mute so he couldn’t hear what Jesus has to say or proclaim His message? Possibly so, since they themselves have no interest in hearing the message. They are deliberately deaf and closed off.
Could the same happen to us? What would become of us, wrapped up in our own convictions and imaginations, if we refused to listen to a message that might challenge us to a life of conversion, to a heart open to the Word of God? The message could come through the advice of someone who cares for us, a good book, a well-delivered homily, or a moment of intense pain, difficulty, or even great joy. We want to sow and we want to bear fruit. We want our lives to have meaning. But we already have Christ’s warning. Those who are with Christ listen, no matter how difficult what they hear may be or how demanding life becomes. But the one who is deaf is against Him. And the one who is against Him scatters. What a pity, a life wasted on uselessness! Do not harden your hearts. Remove the wax from your ears. Let God’s call to live differently penetrate you. Let God open your lips to proclaim His message without fear.