VOICES!  

LISTENING  TO THE VOICES

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time [B] is, “Voices! Listening to the Voices.”

Today’s 3 readings along with Psalm 95 can be unpacked a bit by considering the theme of voices and listening.

We sang 4 times in the Responsorial Psalm, “If today you hear his voice; harden not your heart.”

So the title of my homily is, “Voices! Listening to the Voices.”

TEDDY MEEHAN

I was stationed 2 times, a total of 14 years - with a wonderful  priest, Father Frank Meehan.  He lived till his 90’s and went through life with the nickname of  “Teddy” because he had buck teeth like Teddy Roosevelt.

He lived and taught in our seminary - a four story building - in Esopus, New York, 15 minutes away from near Kingston, New York. 

Teddy was on the second floor. Well one day I saw him with a glass and an index card at a window sill - trying to do something. I asked him what he was doing. He said he was trying to get a bee into the glass. He said, “This building is 4 stories high. This bee got trapped here at the second floor window. He could fly up to the roof. However, that  would be too high  for him to fly - that is, if he wanted to get to the other side of the building. So, I just carry him across the corridor in this glass and let him out on the other side.”

That's what he was doing. Interesting.

VOICES ARE DIFFERENT

Let me now jump to voices. Like bees - voices are buzzing around us all the time.

Unlike bees however, voices can go right through walls.

There are exceptions. In certain places -  buildings block sound - like those on Church Circle in Annapolis.  If I’m driving home - heading through Church Circle - and I hit the red light - and I have my car radio on - the radio dies when I’m next to the building there across from St. Anne’s.

But most of the time voices come through walls.

In fact, this room is filled with voices right now. I don’t know how many, but if everyone who has a cell phone turned them on right now - we could have lots of voices in this church. So too radios and TV’s or what have you.

Voices are everywhere.

If we were on a bus or a plane or in a restaurant - if we listen, we can hear lots of voices.  

Voices. In this homily my voice is saying to listen up. Listen to the voices. They are everywhere.

PRAYER

Prayer is all about listening.

Prayer is all about God’s voice saying all sorts of things.

God speaks to us in thousands and thousands of ways.

Memories - stories - fill our RAM - our Random Access Memory. 

I remember sitting on our stoop in Brooklyn, years and years ago.  and my nephew Michael is at bat - playing stick ball on the street - and he sees this lady trying to pull her grocery wagon up the steps of her stoop - and he drops the bat - yells to the other kids - “I’ll be right back” and runs and pulls the lady’s wagon up the steps - she opens the door - he pulls it in - and comes flying back - and continues the game.

All the kids saw that act of kindness.

He was doing what Teddy was doing with the bee.

He was doing my favorite Bible text, Galatians 6:2, "Bear one another's burdens and in this way you're fulfilling the law of Christ."

I hear that text all the time when I see someone carrying something heavy.

Everyday all of us can hear the voice of God - saying, "Make life easier for this person." “Listen to this person.”  “Give this person the right of way.”  “This person is crying. Somethings wrong. Give them your ear.”

TEMPTATIONS

Temptations are voices.

They can go, “Hhhm” to us.

For example the temptation to gossip - the temptation to judge - the temptation to make fun of - another.

TODAY’S GOSPEL

In today’s gospel this guy has unclean spirits in him.

He yells out that he knows who Jesus is.

This too can happen to us.  That's the good news - if and when we turn to Jesus.

Our problems, our history, our day, can be loaded down with too many ugly voices. If they can get us to cry out to God - then that's good news.  

What a great prayer, "I know who you are and I  need you Jesus Christ."

And hopefully we pause and listen to Jesus pray over us as he says, “Quiet come out of him.”

Today’s gospel can get us to know Christ better.

He wants to make us whole - not divided.

CONVERSATIONS

Today’s second reading gives us a hint about the voices inside every person we meet.

People are filled with voices - anxiety - worries.

Each day at coffee breaks or car pools or  cell phone calls - we can really listen to others and really mean it when we say, “How are you doing?”

However, I don’t know about you, I’m finding myself getting worse and worse as a listener and a conversationalist.

I have so many stories in my 78 year old memory - stories that get triggered by other people’s stories - and I end up not listening to the other.

I have to keep on saying, “Shut up and listen.

CONCLUSION

So the title of my homily is, Listen to the voices.

This week listen to the voices that are our surround sound.