Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Are you listening? (6th Sunday of Easter 2020)
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Are you listening? (6th Sunday of Easter 2020)
John 14
One of the most basic ways to love someone is to listen to the person. This listening includes doing according to what the person desires. But often we forget this fundamental skill in a relationship and impose what we like on our beloved people. Flowers are commonly considered as a beautiful gift and expression of love. However, the person you love might not agree with it. More successful people in relationships look for what people like and appreciate through conversations and observations. The more listening we are, the deeper our relationships become. Husbands and wives wish their spouses may know their hearts, but this does not happen unless they first listen to each other and do what their spouses’ hearts desire.
All of us Christians say we love Jesus. But very often I find myself contradictory or selfish in my prayer saying, “Lord Jesus, I love you. Please listen to me.” I hope not you find yourself often in this way. If I were a mature person, I would say, “Lord Jesus, I love you. Please tell me what you like. I am listening.”
In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus tells us in a similar way: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” If we say to ourselves that we love Jesus, then, we should listen to what Jesus wishes. He asks us to receive his commandments and keep them through words and deeds. But the commandments of Christ are not like the precepts and regulations of the law of Moses. The traditional Mosaic law is made up of 613 commandments. They are more specific and don’t leave much room for interpretations. On the other hand, Christ Jesus gave us his commandments fewer enough that we can count with the fingers of one hand: Love God and love your neighbours. However, it seems there is much more room for interpretations. Throughout the history of the Church, many Christians chose to impose their interpretations on Jesus and his commandments. And many of them fell in heresies and schisms. What we need is to listen to Jesus carefully first. Because this listening or discerning the divine heart of Jesus goes beyond our human knowledge and heart, Jesus promises of the Holy Spirit, the divine Helper.
My brothers and sisters, how seriously have we been trying to listen to the heart of Jesus? Are we praying to the Holy Spirit so that he may help us to discern the heart of Jesus? During this pandemic, daily, we have to make many new and conscious choices. We have to think and decide even where to sit in the pews, whether to touch a door handle or not, whether to speak to our parishioners or to keep silent, and so on. Here, we can make choices either with love for others or with self-love. Let’s listen to Jesus and his Sacred Heart.
View all episodes
By Fr Swann KimJohn 14
One of the most basic ways to love someone is to listen to the person. This listening includes doing according to what the person desires. But often we forget this fundamental skill in a relationship and impose what we like on our beloved people. Flowers are commonly considered as a beautiful gift and expression of love. However, the person you love might not agree with it. More successful people in relationships look for what people like and appreciate through conversations and observations. The more listening we are, the deeper our relationships become. Husbands and wives wish their spouses may know their hearts, but this does not happen unless they first listen to each other and do what their spouses’ hearts desire.
All of us Christians say we love Jesus. But very often I find myself contradictory or selfish in my prayer saying, “Lord Jesus, I love you. Please listen to me.” I hope not you find yourself often in this way. If I were a mature person, I would say, “Lord Jesus, I love you. Please tell me what you like. I am listening.”
In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus tells us in a similar way: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” If we say to ourselves that we love Jesus, then, we should listen to what Jesus wishes. He asks us to receive his commandments and keep them through words and deeds. But the commandments of Christ are not like the precepts and regulations of the law of Moses. The traditional Mosaic law is made up of 613 commandments. They are more specific and don’t leave much room for interpretations. On the other hand, Christ Jesus gave us his commandments fewer enough that we can count with the fingers of one hand: Love God and love your neighbours. However, it seems there is much more room for interpretations. Throughout the history of the Church, many Christians chose to impose their interpretations on Jesus and his commandments. And many of them fell in heresies and schisms. What we need is to listen to Jesus carefully first. Because this listening or discerning the divine heart of Jesus goes beyond our human knowledge and heart, Jesus promises of the Holy Spirit, the divine Helper.
My brothers and sisters, how seriously have we been trying to listen to the heart of Jesus? Are we praying to the Holy Spirit so that he may help us to discern the heart of Jesus? During this pandemic, daily, we have to make many new and conscious choices. We have to think and decide even where to sit in the pews, whether to touch a door handle or not, whether to speak to our parishioners or to keep silent, and so on. Here, we can make choices either with love for others or with self-love. Let’s listen to Jesus and his Sacred Heart.