Have you ever been in a group where someone up front was describing something new, saying things in a different way, explaining the situation from a different point of view, or teaching a new way of work, while over in the corner the perpetual naysayers were grumbling to each other about how it would never work for one reason or another? Sad to say, it’s a familiar picture to most of us. It’s what Jesus was experiencing in our gospel for today.

The grumblers, the complainers, the undercover murmurers, in for too many cases, aren’t interested in hearing about what might be better if they gave it a chance, if they tried it to see how it worked before they dismissed it out of hand. They are not even listening to the speaker/teacher, or if they are, they are not listening with their hearts. William Barclay says, ”There are different kinds of listening. There is the listening of criticism; there is the listening of resentment; there is the listening of superiority; there is the listening of indifference; there is the listening of the man who listens only because, for the moment, he cannot get the chance to speak.” Oh my, I don’t know about you, but when I read that list, I’m sorry to say I could see myself listening in every one of those ways from time to time.

I know that if I want to be “taught by God,” to be “drawn by the Father” into God’s loving presence, I have to pay attention with all my being, to be open and alert to God’s invitation, however it may come. I can’t close my ears, or filter out what I don’t want to hear, what makes me uncomfortable, or ignore what is new and different or maybe just difficult simply because it is new and different or difficult. I have to let go of my resistance and recognize that, while God’s message may come in an unexpected way, I can only enjoy the bread that God provides for my sustenance if I have “ears to hear” (Mk.4:9), if and when I listen with the ears of my heart.